Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Sometimes The Best Way to Make Money is to Go Offline

Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008 Lou Gubitosa



Millions of people have bought into the idea that the Internet is a goldmine for people, who desire to achieve the American Dream through self-employment. We have heard the success stories of people who made good with their Internet businesses. Unfortunately, we have also heard the heartbreak stories of those who have lost their pants with their online businesses.

Let's be honest about this subject. Internet riches are a reality that many people may be able to achieve, but it is not a path that everyone should choose. Many people will simply be better off seeking participation in brick-and-mortar opportunities that have been making people wealthy for decades.

Offline Paths To Success

For every millionaire you hear about online, chances are that you will know about more people who have built their wealth with brick-and-mortar businesses.

Think about the person who owns your local McDonald's or Chick-Fillet restaurants. If you did not realize it, most outlets for these companies are franchises, so the owners of those outlets are generally people, just like you, who live in your hometown.

Consider the carpet-cleaning companies in your town. People who live in your city most often own those kinds of businesses.

Think about your local gas station or convenience store. Chances are the owners of those outlets live in your town also.

While franchises and convenience stores are out of the price range of most hopeful business owners, they are not the only brick-and-mortar business opportunities out there.

Service businesses tend to be the more popular choices for people who have smaller nest eggs to invest into their business startups. Home cleaning and car detailing services tend to be good business startups for many people. But these business models also tend to require huge time commitments from their operators.

Those individuals, who desire business ownership, but cherish their private time and a flexible schedule, often turn to vending businesses. According to Automatic Merchandiser Magazine, the vending industry generated 23 billion dollars in revenue during 2007. According to the same report, a full 75% of vending machine operators are in the small business segment, producing less than $1 million in annual sales.

Benefits Of A Vending Machine Route

A vending business has a lot in common with a convenience store, with one major distinction: less labor. In order for a convenience store operation to generate sales 24/7, the store must pay a warm body to man the cash registers for every hour the store is open to the public. With a vending business, the only staffing requirement is to have someone available to refill the vending machines, as needed, yet sales can continue 24 hours per day, so long as the machine continues to have product available.

Depending on the placement location of the vending machines and the sales volume those machines run, vending machines may need daily restocking or weekly restocking. Either way, each vending machine typically only requires 15-30 minutes onsite to restock.

Many vendors only work a few hours each day or each week restocking their machines, yet most will earn a nice secondary or primary income from the process.

Vending Product Types

Some people are surprised at the diverse variety of products that can be sold in vending machines: soft drinks, coffee and other hot drinks, energy drinks, energy foods, sandwiches, microwave meals, ice cream, candy bars, gum, snacks, stuffed dolls in game machines, video games, movie rentals, over-the-counter pain medications, phone cards, pre-paid debit cards, newspapers, stamps, money-changers, ATM cash machines and more.

Payment systems vary from coin slots, paper money slots, and some of the newer designs also have debit-card and credit card capabilities. Of course, the value of the items being sold will play a big role in deciding what payment features to make available to consumers.

Vending Trends

The vending industry has been around since 1926, and it appears to hold a solid foothold on the future.

A Department Of Commerce study revealed that fewer than 5% of new vending companies fail. Compare that to the 65% failure rate for independent, new business start ups, as stated by the Small Business Administration.

According to the Vending Connection website, "70% of vendors start off on a part time basis, keeping a full time job, and checking their machines and servicing them after work or on weekends." They also suggested that 85% of new vendors turn to full-time vending after just two years.

Most small business owners enter the vending industry with one type of vending machine, and then after they have generated some early success, they expand their businesses to include other product placements.

In a poll conducted by Vending Times, it was learned that 72% of vending industry participants buy products in at least two categories. Many of their respondents currently purchase products in several categories, reflecting the results of a poll they did in the 1970's that concluded that their average reader served 4.9 product categories.

In Conclusion

If you have been contemplating a startup business model to serve your own dreams for financial success, you owe it to yourself to seriously consider the opportunities available in the vending industry.

Of those people who have been successful with an online business, the vast majority of those people spent 2-3 years building the foundations of their business, before they started to see real financial success from their enterprise.

But, if you were to invest your money into a vending business instead of an online business, there is no reason that you should not be able to start earning your money back in as little as thirty-days time. If you have what it takes to work for yourself, the vending business could be very profitable for you, and the best part is that there really is not a learning curve to slow your growth to profits.




About the Author:
Lou Gubitosa is the owner of Vending Systems. If you seek to Work At Home and Make Money with a lucrative home business opportunity, then you owe it to yourself to look into a Vending Machines business. Buzz Bites(r) Vending machine routes are available all over the United States, for those interested in getting involved with this proven business model. For a FREE INFORMATION KIT on this HOT NEW business opportunity, visit Lou's website at http://www.VendingSystems.com or call us at: 1-800-779-0025


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