Income Potential

[csolace]

Hi everyone.. I am new here and excited that I am looking into starting a vending business. I am a teacher with 2 young children and at this point, finding it very difficult to work full time, manage my family and work around my husband's rigorous work schedule. My question is, what is your opinion about the income potential? As I research, I keep getting mixed reviews ranging from making very little to over the top? I guess what I am looking for is for some people to share their success stories! Thanks for this forum! Cathy

[lisa vending group]

welcome to the forum.I started my due dilligence in march,and after a month I decided to buy my first 5 1800 machines.with the help of vendiscuss(which i owe a great deal to my sucess) I now have aprox.80 locs.and growing.I did this by using locator co. myself,and buying existing routes.

my income exceeds the national average ofaprox. $20.00 a triple,a mo.which is my  1-800s.

machines.I also converted many of them to racks,and doubled those locs. keep in mind not all locs. warrant a rack.(a rack is two 1800s on a metal stand).I am both charity and comm.I try to reinvent the wheel every day.

read and listen,and ask questions...this forum is a wealth of information,and we will all be happy to help. good luck and again welcome

[bostonvendor27]

Hi Cathy, welcome  to the forum!  As you read more you will find that there are many different factors that will affect how much your vending business will earn.  I have found that although vending can be an easy way to make money it requires a lot of hard work and time to make it  profitable. Luckily you have found this site!!! Read as much as you can and you will be able to see what you can expect to get out of vending and what will work for you. What type of vending are you interested in? There are many more experienced vendors on here  but if you would like to get into more specifics I would be happy to share my experiences with you.   You can PM me.

Good Luck!

[csolace]

Thanks Kelly... looks like you have a great thing going....My concern is walking away from a teaching salary but if I know that I have the potential to make decent money one day.. I hope to have the best of both worlds...a business owner and the flexability to be there for my family....If you could offer some quick tips I'd love to hear them... FYI.. I want to begin with bulk vending and go from there! Cathy

[mainor5251]

Start slow and listen to members like kelly and you can minimize your mistakes.  Start with quality machines and limit your product selection.  Keep in mind gumballs, toys and stickers is where the money is at in this business.

[mission vending]

Welcome to the forums Cathy,

[Hillbilly]

Hi Cathy, Welcome to the forum. A lot of good people on here. Feel free to ask anything. We were all new once and had the same concerns and issues as you.  Feel free to PM anytime.

I'd start with single or double machines just to get a feel for it. Oak, Northwestern or A&A are about the best to start with IMO.

Be sure to look at the breakdown of machines to get a basic understanding of how they work.  Basic hand tools are all that are really needed for repairs.

Here is a good website for parts,pictures, and machines.http://www.aaglobalind.com/ Most everyone here deals with them.

[will.vend]

My concern is walking away from a teaching salary but if I know that I have the potential to make decent money one day.. I

It might possibly take years to match your teaching salary unless you have lots to invest to kickstart your vending career, I suggest you take on bulk vending as a secondary income and build from there.

[timberframe50]

Welcome Cathy, you got some great advise already. You will be able to replace your current salary, but it will take some time or a lot of money. Are you at the point you have written plan? well anyway welcome.

[The Mage]

Hey Cathy.  Welcome to what many here would call the best resource for starting and running a vending business.

Read everything you can, and search the forums.  There is tons of information here, and a great many experienced vendors who are very willing to help out.

I am just over a year into running my vending business, and know that this forum has been instrumental to my success so far.  But I am still very small right now myself.

I always recommend that anyone who is thinking about getting into vending start out slowly.  Just one or two machines first, or (carefully) buy a small local route.  Then simply run it in your spare time.  That is the benefit of vending, the fact that you are able to start small, and then build it exactly how big you want it to be.  Some people are happy with a little extra income, and the security it brings by having a secondary source of income.  Others find they love this business, and decide this is their career/business.  They build it as big as they can handle.

As a teacher, I assume you have your Summers off.  You could start out slowly now, learning the ropes, building a small route on the evenings, weekends, and your days off.  This gives you the chance to learn the business, not spend too much in the beginning, and does not affect your current job.  Then once summer vacation rolls around, you will have the time to go full out, using everything you have learned to build your business up.

Once Autumn rolls around again, if your still going to teach, you can probably run your business on the evenings and weekends, until the next Summer.  Also instead of just jumping out of teaching, I believe that once your ready, you may be able to reduce your position, maybe teaching part time, or becoming a Substitute.

Planning things this way removes a lot of the risk and fear.  When you are ready to cut down your hours at work, you won't be wondering if you can make enough, because you already will be, or be close before you take the next step.

Good luck whatever you choose to do.