Are you looking for profitable opportunities to start your own business? Do you want to make investments that will allow you to work from home most days? If so, then you need to learn all that you can about how to write a vending machine business plan.
No worthwhile venture starts without a bit of preparation. By doing proper research and fleshing out your business model, you'll soon see that a vending machine business can pay off in a big way.
See below for an in-depth guide on how to write a vending machine business plan that will have you excited for the future.
1. Find a Reputable Vending Machine Opportunity
As Mark Cuban likes to say, "Creating opportunities means looking where others are not." That certainly rings true for the vending machine niche, a growing business sector with unlimited potential.
A great deal of vending machines is filled with the same items: snacks, candy, and beverages. If you want to separate yourself from the crowd, you'll need to find a vending machine opportunity that differentiates itself from other competitors.
Here at BabyVend, we strive to help families in their time of need. Our vending machines are filled with family supplies in locations where the family might need them most.
For example, if a family is rushing through airport security, they may have accidentally misplaced their child's pacifier. With a conveniently-located BabyVend machine, they can purchase an extra binky in no time at all.
The best part? We offer options for interested investors such as yourself. If you'd like to get a BabyVend machine in your area of business, we can help you there. For those of you wanting to start a vending machine business, we can help set you up with our top-of-the-line machines. We also offer new owner information and training to get you up and running!
2. Find and Specify Your Vending Machine Locations
If there's one vital factor to the success of a vending machine company, it's this: location, location, location! Generally, you want to find an area where other sources of food are minimal.
For example, placing a food and beverage machine next to a gas station wouldn't do you any good. They can find the same snacks, and even more, inside the gas station's shop. However, place it at a rest area right off the highway and it can be a gold mine!
You'll also want to find areas with a mixture of people that are in a rush, as well as people that are forced to wait around for a while. This could be places like:
Sport complexes
Hospitals
Office buildings
Apartment complexes
Rest areas
Car repair shops
Airports
Malls (in areas far from cafeterias and food vendors)
Foot traffic plays a big role. The more people you have passing by your vending machines daily, the more revenue you'll generate; it's as simple as that.
Take a few days/weeks to look for opportunities in your community. You might even check with your network for ideas of high-traffic areas. Get creative!
3. What Will You Stock Your Machines With?
Full transparency: there's a bit of a learning curve, here. It might take some trial and error to figure out what your target customers are interested in buying, as well as what they are not.
To make it even harder, clients will crave different things depending on where the vending machine is located. For example, a customer at an office building might elect for healthier options (such as pistachios or coconut water) river a customer at an airport looking for junk food and caffeine.
You'll also want to configure the sizing of the items you stock. Fortunately, you can avoid a good portion of the learning curve with our training. We'll help you understand the BabyVend difference and how it can help you maximize your vending machine company's profit margins from the get-go.
4. How Will You Buy Your Vending Machines?
Even though vending machines only cost a few thousand dollars (which is low compared to other business startups), you might need a bit of financial help getting things up and running. If you need a loan, there are two great options: equipment financing and short-term loans.
With equipment financing, you would use the vending machines as the collateral for the loan. If you fail to make payments, then they can be taken to cover the loan.
Short-term loans allow you to repay the loan in 18 months or less, with interest. It can help you get the upfront cash to cover the vending machine costs.
5. Round Out Your Business Model
A vending machine business with just vending machines isn't very sustainable. If you're going to run a business from it, you need to round out your business operations.
For example, you can outsource your customer service and ensure that every call is handled with care, the right script, and maintain open communication with your clients.
Also, consider the fact that you'll be the one collecting the money from these machines each week, so the vending machines need to stay in an area that's accessible to you or a business partner.
We Can Help You Create a Successful Vending Machine Business Plan
You don't have to know anything about the subject to feel out starting a vending machine business plan; we can help you get on the right track!
You can read this article for more information and specifics on how to start a vending machine franchise business and see incredible returns. For further inquiries, give us a call directly at 907-929-VEND (8363) and we will be happy to assist you further.
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