Hillbilly Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 I landed another location while tooling around today and should have another by the end of the week. A lady who owns a consignment shop has her daughter as a partner and wants to OK it with her before accepting machines. I did get a packette store today. Kind of like a convenient store with some groceries. That makes it 12 heads out in the last 6 weeks. Cruised by Sam's and picked up some PMM and 5 boxes of GB for the routes coming up. After filling all those machines up with toys I'm skimming the bottom. Hopefully cash flow will get much better with these locations. 11 Toy machines and 1 gumball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpvnc Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 Capital Capital Capital! The ever present need of the shoe string start up business. Just imagine how much it would cost you guys if you all bought brand new machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PnutGallery Co. Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Capital Capital Capital! The ever present need of the shoe string start up business. Just imagine how much it would cost you guys if you all bought brand new machines. I don't have to immagine it. I am placing new Beaver machines as I get locations. Been liquidating a lot of things to fund this new venture. I feel very strong that it is a good move, so all is going well. Getting locations at this point has been much easier than I would have immagined which is making things tough to keep up with along with the corporation startup, logo, cards, brochures, website, insurance, small trailer, product to vend, and more I am sure. I do love starting new ventures however. Have been self employed since 1986 and would not want it any other way. There are the lean times, yes, but the time I am able to spend with the family and never miss the important stuff is priceles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 I do love starting new ventures however. Have been self employed since 1986 and would not want it any other way. There are the lean times, yes, but the time I am able to spend with the family and never miss the important stuff is priceles. I can certainly appreciate that comment, Been doing the same since 1990 and vending since 1995. I say this in jest when talking about owning you own business, some people get it others don't. " The best thing about being self-employed is that you get to work as many hours as you want and you never have to worry about the boss sending you home because he can't afford the overtime" ; ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly Posted April 11, 2011 Author Share Posted April 11, 2011 I too started with new equipment. With the locations I got, I knew I would not be able to grow as fast as I wanted to and keep buying new. That is when I switched to buying used. I still put a few dollars in to the business, but nothing like what I did when I first started. I even purchased some extra product before putting these machines out. It just apparently wasn't enough. I think sometimes I get in a rush to get the equipment out the door without thinking everything through. It takes a lot of product to fill machines. In a sense, people like Pnut and Mission are my heroes. They have stepped out on their own. Throwing away the security of a paycheck. Ready to deal with any consequences that may occur. That gentlemen, takes a really big set, and I admire you for your accomplishments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PnutGallery Co. Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 People say it is great to be able to pick your hours. I always say it is wonderful being able to pick which 16 hours of the day I work. Most weeks I can even pick which 7 days I want to work also In general I like what I do, so I work hard and do have my fair share of fun when I can also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpvnc Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 The freedom would be great and in some ways would make things a lot simpler. Finding locations with a schedule I can service them in is a bit tough. If you can afford new machines and can wait the time it takes to pay them off then why not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beach Bum Vending Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 This is same struggle we all go through. I am going through some growing pains rite now. Just sit down and try to fill out financial statement. Your bills should be same amount every month. Then see how much you have left to play with after all expenses. Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Throwing away the security of a paycheck. Maybe this will sound a little strange, but I don't see security in a paycheck. As a matter of fact to me its more risky than being on my own. Think about it, if you are an employee or self employed your continued income is to a very large extent dependent on your ability to get up in the morning, leave the cave, go out and kill something and then bring it home. As someone who is self employed I depend on myself. Success or failure its all on me and only me. As an employee you are also dependent on those that employ you making the right decisions leading to growth of the company, if not well...... think Circuit City. You also depend on those employing you being motived to act in the best interests of the company and not themselves.... think Enron. my .02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly Posted April 11, 2011 Author Share Posted April 11, 2011 Maybe this will sound a little strange, but I don't see security in a paycheck. As a matter of fact to me its more risky than being on my own. Think about it, if you are an employee or self employed your continued income is to a very large extent dependent on your ability to get up in the morning, leave the cave, go out and kill something and then bring it home. As someone who is self employed I depend on myself. Success or failure its all on me and only me. As an employee you are also dependent on those that employ you making the right decisions leading to growth of the company, if not well...... think Circuit City. You also depend on those employing you being motived to act in the best interests of the company and not themselves.... think Enron. I hope I remember this post when I am ready to take that step. Always helps to have someone view the picture from the other side of the fence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havending Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 One thing that you guys will learn esp when going full time is that the cash flow isn't like other types of business. I always keep 30 days of product and cash on hand to operate for 30. So this way I can in a worse case service for 30 with no income. Its never happend but I'm prepared. Always keep plenty of product on hand. When you use it pick up the phone. When your full time you will have orders comming in each week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 One thing that you guys will learn esp when going full time is that the cash flow isn't like other types of business. I always keep 30 days of product and cash on hand to operate for 30. So this way I can in a worse case service for 30 with no income. Its never happend but I'm prepared. Always keep plenty of product on hand. When you use it pick up the phone. When your full time you will have orders comming in each week. And the choir sang .... AMEN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PnutGallery Co. Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 The reason I decided to get into vending is the ability to be making money when I am not working. I completely understand that vending is a lot of work, but what I do now pays directly to the amount of hard work I put in each day. As soon as I stop, so does the money. I felt like vending was an opportunity to still be profiting and making money when I take a week off. For me it is a long term venture. Don't need the money at the moment so I want to slowly build the business so someday I can slide into an easier business as I get too old for other things. That is hopefully 10 years down the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEREMYTINA Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I have the product onhand, and the cash flow is starting to add up now (as of this month). Even though I am continuing to expand at a fairly prodigous rate, it isn't as fast as I want to. I am seriously looking into buying a medium size snack/soda route, along with two bulk routes. My issue with the bulk routes is that they are 100% candy. To me I know this means changing out at least 30% of the product to toys, which is an added expense, and I also know I would be dumping probably 20% of the locs that I buy, because after making selection changes they still aren't going to gross enough to be worth it. As far as the soda route, I am trying to figure out where I am going to find 25% of the cost for a down payment, otherwise this deal won't go through. I have taken a hard look at borrowing from my 401K, but that is a last resort for me. If I have to borrow from that, I'll have to keep working for the man for another five years (worst case scenario), in order to not have to pay it all back in one shot to avoid distribution penalties. If I manage to get a loan, I would basically still be financing 100% of this venture and I would need to make sure that I can still profit enough to pay all the bills, and then I could consider going full time. I am right at the cusp of what feels like a huge leap of faith, and I am not a big risk taker. Time will tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agrantha Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Jeremy Borrowing money is instant slavery. That is what jobs are for. Trying to grow too fast is a pit. That is what the lottery is for. I only have 9 locations that gross over $300 per month. I do not quite understand with the number of locations some bulk vendors have that their net income does not justify full time bulk vending. What are you doing with the proceeds? If you spend the rest of your life paying on debt, including mortgages, you will never be any better off than an employee. Get out of debt and stay out of debt and you will stay free regardless of what business you are in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpvnc Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Jeremy: You have grown a lot in the last year. I myself would rather pay as I grow. With a loan from the 401K If you end up leaving your job before it is paid back. You could end up paying a crap load of taxes on that borrowed money. According to Dave Ramsey He says never borrow from the 401 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly Posted April 13, 2011 Author Share Posted April 13, 2011 My temporary cash flow problem has been taken care of. I serviced a bunch of locations today. Gravy ones at that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEREMYTINA Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 Jeremy Borrowing money is instant slavery. That is what jobs are for. Trying to grow too fast is a pit. That is what the lottery is for. I only have 9 locations that gross over $300 per month. I do not quite understand with the number of locations some bulk vendors have that their net income does not justify full time bulk vending. What are you doing with the proceeds? If you spend the rest of your life paying on debt, including mortgages, you will never be any better off than an employee. Get out of debt and stay out of debt and you will stay free regardless of what business you are in. I hate borrowing money. I would prefer to never do it. I haven't ever borrowed money for this business, and other than money I loaned myself which the business paid back, this business has been debt free. I have 126 bulk locations that gross just under $2400 per month (this is low, as a number of places haven't reached the end of their first cycle.). Add in my 3 fullline locs and it's around $3800 a month. The profit every month gets plowed back into finding new locations, funding equipment, parts, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEREMYTINA Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 Jeremy: You have grown a lot in the last year. I myself would rather pay as I grow. With a loan from the 401K If you end up leaving your job before it is paid back. You could end up paying a crap load of taxes on that borrowed money. According to Dave Ramsey He says never borrow from the 401 I would pay the loan back before I paid taxes on it. The interest on a 401k loan is generally around 5%. That's interest you pay to yourself, and the 401k that I have has had only a 7% return so far for the last 12 months. If I were to leave this job, I have money in joint savings with Tina and I could pay it back before rolling it over. My main goal for growth right now is to be able to employ my father in law when he retires from his full time job this summer. His job has been very physical and over the years has taken a hard toll on him. He and my mother in law will be unable to make ends meet on her job and his social security. As the head of this family (and to avoid having them move in sometime down the road), I am trying to find a solution to this problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpvnc Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 I understand what you are trying to do. Kudos for your commitment to family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mainor5251 Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 I understand what you are trying to do. Kudos for your commitment to family. Ditto, I second that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 I hate borrowing money. I would prefer to never do it. I haven't ever borrowed money for this business, and other than money I loaned myself which the business paid back, this business has been debt free. I have 126 bulk locations that gross just under $2400 per month (this is low, as a number of places haven't reached the end of their first cycle.). Add in my 3 fullline locs and it's around $3800 a month. The profit every month gets plowed back into finding new locations, funding equipment, parts, etc. While it certainly preferable to fund growth out of cashflow, taking on a reasonable amount of debt is not out of line to grow the business. Yes you will increase your overhead and pay interest adding to the cost of the transaction but there is also a cost to the lost opportunity. Only you can determine if it would be right for you. IMO, if you are looking to borrow from your 401K and finance 100% of the full line route you are looking at then its probably not a good idea. With that kind of debt load it will hinder further growth and leave you little room to breathe if for some reason you lost a couple of accounts which is not an uncommon occurrence when there is a change in ownership. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.