New Life

Life has been very busy lately. Dustin was born on October 26th. I have been taking this time to get to know him and take care of him. He is doing great. Soon he will be a good little helper like his brothers and sister. I forgot how much time and energy a new life requires. We are so happy to have him.

Fall is here and soda sells are reflecting it. Sales have decreased to about half of the summer high. They are right on track based on last year's fall and winter sales. People just don't buy as much soda in the colder weather. One trend that I have noticed is that the sales of Sprite tends to go up in the colder months. My theory is that as people get sick with the stomach flu, they tend to buy more Sprite. I know several people at the apartment complexes that have told me that they were sick and bought some Sprite. It is just a theory.

Actually, there is an upside to reduced winter sales. I don't have to spend as much time filling the machines in the cold weather. Granted, I would love to have a higher sales volume, but my little helpers and I are Texans through and through and do not like to be cold. We do a good job at maintaining our machines, but when it is cold, we do not do a lot of extras.

I am looking forward to being released from my doctor and going back to work. I have really appreciated the help that I have had throughout my pregnancy and recovery. I will miss her help very much. Luckily, we will get to see each other frequently and compare notes on our business trials and triumphs.

Marketing

Recently, I have been reading a lot of books on marketing. I am hoping to expand my soda vending business next spring, so I have been trying to come up with a plan while I am waiting for Dustin to be born. I have been very impressed with the Start-up Guide to Guerilla Marketing. It has a lot of really good ideas that do not cost much to implement. I am looking forward to trying some of them out next spring. I will keep you informed about how they work. I am including a link to the site of the author of the book. I did not see the exact book that I read, but he has many other books that look just as interesting listed on the site. Beware, the home page has an automatic video that is a little irritating if you aren't ready for it. Guerilla Marketing Online has many resources that are listed. I have not had time to explore them though. Maybe you can find something of interest.

Soda Vending as Usual

The soda vending business is slowing down now that cooler, wetter weather is here. This is exactly what I expected from last years numbers. Now until about March should be relatively slow in the soda vending world. It is a little sad to look at the numbers now compared to the middle of summer, but I realize that this business is cyclical. It will improve again next spring. Everyone is hunkering down for the winter. People do not get as thirsty for fizzy sodas now as in the middle of summer. Now people are more interested in hot drinks like coffee, hot chocolate, and tea. Maybe one day I will venture into that arena, but right now I want to stay focused on the soda business.

I am a little concerned about some of the rumors of legislation against soda. I have heard that some people want to impose a penny per ounce sin tax on soda. I do not know how they expect to collect it from all of the small vendors. Lucky for us small people, Coca Cola is already preparing a counter attack. I hope they have enough clout to stall such legislation. It would just be another tax on the poor and middle-class.

Now is a great time to think about fixing any machines that have minor issues with them. Since there are not as many sells right now, it is a good time to replace parts that require turning the machine off for a while. Also, it is still a reasonable temperature to do repairs. It is frustrating to try to fix an outdoor machine when it is near freezing outside.

Update on my soda business

My soda vending business is still managing nicely. I am in the baby growing business a little more than the soda vending business right now. The baby growing is doing extremely well. Dustin is healthy and happy and my obstetrician is happy. Growing a baby, especially the last bit, takes a lot of energy and that has taken away from other areas of my life, like my soda route.

I finally got all of my machines functioning again, at least at a level that I am happy with. We think that one of the machines actually got struck by a power surge. The dollar bill exchanger suffered some severe damage. It is a machine located outdoors and the electrical box is broken. I have requested several times that the property owners fix the box, but they have not yet. Right now it has electrical tape wrapped around the box to try to seal it from the elements. I think after Dustin is born that I will write a request to the complex manager to have the box fixed. There has recently been a change in the whole management. They may not know about the problem. I don't mind having my machine moved out of the way for them to repair the damage to the box. The location is one of my better ones, although with the recent management change there seems to have been a large turnover in tenants as well. I will just have to watch, wait, and see what happens.

I keep thinking that life will slow down someday. So far it hasn't. Maybe next week?!

When it rains...

The old saying, "When it rains, it pours" is very true. We have literally been getting a lot of rain in the Dallas area in the last week. That is great for the grass, but not very good for soda sales. People do not like to get wet. They will not take that trip to the soda machine to get a soda if it is raining. The soda machines do not do very well in the rain either. When it is wet and humid, almost all of the dollar bills are flimsy. Flimsy bills do not do as well in the dollar bill acceptors. They are more likely to get crushed or rejected than those nice, crisp, dry bills are. Soda machines are also electrical. Electricity and water do not mix very well. So, when it rains, it pours trouble for my soda business. Monday was a very challenging day for me.
1) My machine that is outside at an apartment complex was jammed and had even less sales than I expected. The dollar bill acceptor was not working at all. The indicator light was out and everything. The coin mechanism was also jammed. Luckily, it only had 2-3 sodas worth of money in the jam so not many people lost money. I called my trusty friends at Sharrock and they talked me through a few things before we decided the dollar bill changer was dead. So out it came. Unfortunately, it leaves a huge gaping hole in its place. Just inviting someone to stick their hands in it and get shocked or destroy some of the wiring. There is no real way to get to any of the money from that angle, but it doesn't seem that many people understand that.
2) My next machine also was having problems with the dollar bill acceptor. I had noticed a week or so ago that it was a little picky in the dollar bills that it accepted. It only took the nicer, crisper bills. When I looked at it, one of the belts that draw the dollar bills in was missing. Since it was still working, I didn't bother getting it fixed. After all, I am trying to reduce my activity to keep baby Dustin growing inside as long as possible. Well, with the rain, the bills were all damp and they didn't work well and then someone had their dollar bill get crumpled up. So I knew that I would have to get that one fixed, but I also new that it would be easy to fix. The cage on that machine has a metal plate in front of the dollar bill changer with just a little slit for the dollar to go through. That means that the gaping hole is pretty much covered so no one could stick their hands in and get hurt or mess with the wiring. So out came that dollar bill changer.
3) My last machine has been having trouble with the cradle. The new cradle finally came it. So I had to take the motor off, remove the cradle, take it to Sharrock to make sure that they had the right one. They had two different models and didn't know which would work.
4) Off to Sharrock we went. I also had an extra coin mechanism that I wanted fixed and we took that. Sharrock had the right cradle and they could fix the dollar bill acceptor with the belt problem. They did not have time to fix the other dollar bill acceptor or the coin mechanism. They did find a face plate that I could put in the gaping hole at the first machine to keep people from sticking their hands in their.
5) Off we went back to the first machine to put in the face plate.
6) Next we went to the soda machine to replace the dollar bill changer with the belt problem. That machine is now my best money maker and I didn't want to leave it without the dollar bill changer.
7) We went back and put the new cradle on. The old cradle was definitely bent, so we needed a new cradle. That selection still didn't work. After calling Sharrock three times we decided that because of the multiple problems with jammed cans from the bent cradle that the motor now had a problem also, like a slipped gear or something. We still have to fix that motor. By that time, I was exhausted and starting to have warning pains that let me know Dustin is not happy and I need to rest. So, we just left a note saying that the selection was not working and left.
8) Tomorrow, I need to go and retrieve my fixed coin mechanism and dollar bill acceptor and take the motor to Sharrocks to be fixed. Hopefully this will solve all my issues until well after Dustin is born. Sharrock gives me a 90 day warranty on all work that they do.

I do have good news. We got our van back. It looks great. It drives great. I am so happy to have it back. Also, State Farm, our insurance company, has decided that there is enough evidence to say that I was hit from behind and pushed into the vehicle in front of me. So I have them on my side fighting to get my deductible back. I do not know what this fight will entail, but it appears that they will do most of the fighting and I just have to wait for it to be resolved. My agent, Jennifer Wilcox, has been a tremendous help. When I have had issues with the main claims people, she has called them to help me get them resolved. Her office has given us the personal touch that I expect from my agent.

Waiting

We are still waiting. Waiting on the van to be fixed. Waiting for the insurance companies to decide what they are doing. Waiting for a cradle for a soda machine. Waiting (hopefully, for 7 more weeks) for Dustin.

The van had almost $4000 dollars of damage. Most of the damage was done to the rear end. The gate will have to be replaced, as well as the bumper and all the reinforcement. It should be fixed by next Wednesday. I can't wait to get our van back. We got a rental, but it isn't the same as our own van.

There wasn't too much damage to the front end. Just the grill and bumper cover needed to be replaced. I was able to get my van stopped before I got hit from behind and then was pushed into the vehicle in front of me. I think that is why there is very little front damage. There is a dispute over who is responsible for the front end damage.We will just wait and see what happens.

I had someone try to get into one of my machines over the weekend. They did not realize how the machine works. They tried to break in the coin slot. The coins are not anywhere near the coin slot. Luckily, there was no permanent damage done to the machine. The main damage was to the confidence that people have in the machine.

Why do people continue to put foreign coins in the soda machines? I had someone jam a soda machine with a coin from Honduras. I hope it is because they do not realize that they are putting a foreign coin in the machine and not that they are doing it on purpose.

Accident Puts a Few Dents in our Van

Accidents happen. Yesterday, the kids and I were in a minor accident with our van. We were rear-ended by a truck and pushed into the vehicle in front of us. Everyone seems to be fine. My obstetrician had me monitored to make sure that Dustin was OK. Everything seems fine with him. After I finally calmed down, he started kicking up a storm. I was having some irregular contractions, but not enough to worry about. The kids seem fine today. I am quite sore. I have been on the phone with various insurance companies, service centers, the chiropractor, and rental centers trying to set everything up to get me and our van fixed. I am going to let my medical insurance pursue the various auto insurance companies for payment on the medical bills I will have, such as the monitoring of my unborn son and chiropractic care. I have never gone through this, so we will see how this plays out. I hope it doesn't become a saga.

The soda machines are doing well. The machine that I replaced the coin mechanism on a few weeks ago is still vending properly. My customers have come back. Try very hard not to loose your customers. It takes a lot longer to gain their trust than to loose it.

I have one soda machine that is still giving me fits. I have had little problems with it since I bought it. I am still waiting for a part for it and today the coin mechanism was jammed. Eventually, I will get it running smoothly. It usually goes months without a problem and then all the problems seem to hit at once. But problems mean that people are using the machine which means that I am getting profits. Problems are not so good, but profits are great.

All is Well with the Soda Machines

Great News! All is well. Today, all the machines were in good working condition. There were no coin jams, no dollar bill jams, and no jammed cans. Everything was working. What a relief. I like it when everything is working right.

Actually, each machine is usually working at least 95% of the time. In the summer, when the machines are functioning at full capacity, that 5% down time seems to occur quite frequently. Luckily, one machine might have a jam and the others might be working. Then another one might go down and so on.

More Mechanical Problems with the Soda Machines

I really enjoy working with the soda machines. I took a personality type test last week and found out that I scored really high in technical areas. So these mechanical problems are right up my alley. I like figuring out how the machines work and function and how to fix them when they break down. I just don't want anyone thinking that I am complaining or thinking that all there is in the soda vending business is problems.

The more a soda machine gets used, the more likely you are to run into some mechanical problems. So the number of problems I am having lately is actually a good sign because it means that the sales are up in many of my machines.

This time I am having trouble with a cradle that holds the sodas. I had a can jam in the column and now every third soda gets hung up. The cradle is twisted. This cradle twisted once before and my husband just twisted it back. This time I think it is time to replace it. I am waiting for a new cradle so that I can fix the problem. Right now a person has a 33% chance of getting a soda, 33% chance of losing their money, or a 33% chance of getting two sodas from that selection. I have a sign on the machine explaining the problem and when I expect a solution.

The same machine also had a coin jam. This one was really different. Usually when I fill the machine, I test coins and dollar bills to make sure everything is working. When I tested it, it worked fine. I was called back to the machine a few hours later because someone had lost their money. I check the shoot and put money through it and everything seemed to be working. This morning, I went by to get some part numbers off of the machine and someone was there saying they lost money again. I refunded their money and started checking. The first 3 times I put coins in, it worked fine. Then it started acting funny. I finally took the coin mechanism out and check. It had a Canadian nickel and four pennies stuck in the coin mechanism. I have never had a coin jam before where I could sometimes get the coins to work. Now I will know to always take the extra time to check the whole coin mechanism when someone complains of a jam, even if I can get it to work with coins.

As a personal note, my pregnancy is going well. Baby Dustin is growing on target. My doctor is very happy with our progress. I will be hiring someone to help with the other three kids for the remainder of the pregnancy, just to make sure that we stay healthy. I have someone who has been helping me with the lifting and loading the sodas. She will take over the route until after Dustin is born. I hope to use the down time to learn even more about the soda vending business and to write some articles about what I learn.

Electricity and Water Do NOT Mix

The last week has been a little crazy. I have replaced a coin mechanism at one location. This was to reduce the number of jams. After consulting with a technician, I decided to get a new coin mechanism. They are designed to throw out pennies and foreign coins instead of jamming. It seems to be working so far. Sales are a little down while the customers gain trust in the machine again. That is why it is really important to keep the machines working properly.

Next, I went to check my newest machine and found it leaking water. When I investigated, the water was leaking around the drain that is supposed to direct the water away from the condenser. When we set the machine up, the tubing was disconnected from the drain insert. We fixed that problem, but I didn't realize the drain insert no longer set completely in the hole. The water leaked around it and got the foam insert wet that separates the condenser area from the motor. The water then followed a path that let it out along the electric cords that run up to control the condenser. I could not have that. It could cause and electrical short or worse. When I touched the cords to see where the water was coming from, I could feel a little tingling. We promptly unplugged the machine before conducting repairs. We had to use silicone caulking to seal the drain into place. I then used some flat discharge tube between the cords and the wet foam to direct the water that was leaking from the foam away from the cords. Hopefully, this will take care of all the problems.

My pregnancy is progressing well, but I have had to slow down a lot. After repairing the machines or doing the soda runs, there is no energy left to write about it. I will do what I can.

Canadian Quarters Do NOT Work in my Soda Machines

I have been dealing with a lot of coin jams the last several weeks in my soda machines. I do not know why people keep putting pennies and foreign money in the machines. I hope that it is little kids that just collect the money they find in their home and stick it in the machine thinking money is money. I know my youngsters don't really know the difference between the denominations yet. They still think pennies are great because they are a different color than the rest of the coins. I would be disappointed if I found out that it is adults that are placing foreign money and pennies in the machines. I clearly have stated on a sheet of paper that the machines only take American coins and will not accept pennies.

I have received a Canadian 25 cent piece, a Jamaican 5 dollar piece, and a lot of pennies the last several weeks. I wonder if some of the newer coin mechanisms are better at rejecting foreign coins and pennies. I think I will buy an extra coin mechanism from Sharrock & Company. I have been contemplating getting an extra coin mechanism for a while. When the coin mechanism has to be removed, the machine cannot vend. With an extra coin mechanism I can just switch the extra for the broken one without any extra down time for the machine.

The good news is the motor that I fixed last week is working well. I have to keep reminding myself that there are problems in all businesses. These are just minor inconveniences that have to be dealt with. At least these problems have been easy to fix.

Summer is great. The heat increases sales. I love summer.

Brake problems

It is a surprisingly rainy week for July in Texas. Rain usually decreases my sales, especially at any vending machines located outside. Wet dollar bills do not work well in the machines and the customers usually don't like getting wet either. I have one machine that needs repair. The brake on the motor is not functioning properly, so the cradle coasts sometimes. This causes the selection to fail to vend one time and then when someone makes the next selection, the can that didn't vend falls along with the new selection. So one person looses money and the next person gets a free soda. This only happens about every 4-10 times, but it has to be frustrating for the person that it happens to.

I never realized how useful all of the farm work would become. Now when one of my vending machines has a malfunction, I get my tool bag out and fix it. The vending machines are quite similar to some of the things my dad and I fixed back on the farm. I do not have a fear of taking things apart. I have found that many of the motors and cradles and things like that can be easily removed and taken to a local shop to be repaired or replaced. That has saved me a lot of money in service calls. Don’t be afraid of your machines. Always use caution and unplug the machine before servicing it to reduce the risk of shock and other injury.

Coin and Dollar Bill Jams

Today has been a frustrating day on the soda route. Three of my machines were malfunctioning. It is amazing that they always seem to malfunction at the same time.

The first machine I went to this morning had a major coin jam. It had been jammed for a while because there was more coins in the shoot than in the coin collection box. Someone had put pennies in the machine and then someone else put a popsicle stick in it. No one called me even though I have my number and a complete refund policy posted on the machine. I really do not like taking people's money. I would rather the machine function properly and have satisfied customers. Now it will take a while to regain the customers' trust.

The second machine I went to also had a coin jam. Again someone had put pennies in the machine. Pennies just cause jams. They are supposed to fall through, but a lot of times they get jammed. As I was fixing the machine, a lady from the rental office came over and said that they had lost three sodas worth of money. That is frustrating because they have my number and their phone is just 50 feet from the machine. Many times the office will call me when there is a problem, but for some reason they didn't. She said a lot of residents had complained. Since she was new, I explained to her that all they have to do is call and I will repair the machine within a few hours. If they take the names of the residents down, I would also return their money to them. A gentleman called and told me the machine was broken. I returned his money to him. He was surprised, but happy. Customer service is very important to me.

The third machine just had a dollar bill jam. Fortunately, when that happens only the person who put the jammed bill in loses money. No one else can use the dollar bill exchanger. They have to use coins. They might be frustrated with the inconvenience, but at least they don't loose money and they will generally come back with change if they are thirsty.

All of the problems were easy to remedy. They are also to be expected. It is just a thing you have to be willing to deal with when working with mechanical equipment.

Work Ethic

To be your own boss requires a strong work ethic. You will be telling yourself when to go and check the machines, when to fix them, and when to get more inventory. There is no one yelling at you telling you what to do. I find it very liberating to be my own boss and make my own schedule, but sometimes when it is 30 degrees outside, or when it is 105 degrees outside, it is hard to get motivated to go and load the sodas. I was blessed with a very good childhood that taught me how to get out there and work, no matter what the conditions or the job.

When you are raised on a farm/ranch, you learn to be almost self-sufficient, producing your own food and fixing everything that breaks. When I reached high school and was taking drivers’ education, we had to change a tire as part of the requirements. By that time I had lost track of how many tires I had changed on the farm. Once one becomes flat you are sure to have more flats. I remember one summer in particular I had to change a tire at least once a week on various pieces of equipment and our vehicles. My father always let my brother and I help him fix the implements when they were broken. At first, we were just the gofers getting him the wrench or pliers or whatever tool he needed. Then he started letting us actually take the bolts and nuts off of things. We had a combine that we would have to change the head on all of the time. It required crawling up into the combine and taking out at least 4 bolts. Dad always made my brother and I do it because we were smaller and it was easier for us to crawl up in there. That was the scariest job.

My beginnings as a farm girl

When I first set up this blog, my goal was to tell the story of how I got involved in the soda vending business. I have been having so much fun telling how the current business is doing that I have neglected to tell how I got started. I am going to try to post a little about what is currently happening interspersed with short tidbits about my journey to this point. Below is the first little tidbit.

I was raised on a farm/ranch in the Texas Hill Country near Fredericksburg with my brother, parents, and grandparents. We raised cattle, sheep, goats, and hogs and farmed the food stock for them. I also raised chickens. As long as I can remember, I was given something to do to help out my family. We had milk cows that we milked for our own consumption. I remember my grandfather letting me help him milk the cows before I even got to school. By the time I was 7, I had my own cow to milk. My other grandfather taught my brother and I how to plant a garden when we were 4 or 5. We started helping harvest corn as soon as we could sit still enough to brush off the corn silks. When we could handle a knife, we started helping to butcher.

The new soda machine is up and running

We got the new soda machine up and running this week. We first put the machine on location on Tuesday. Everything worked great. The only thing that I had to fix was the drain. I guess when the compressor was changed out the plastic drain piece popped off of the rubber tubing that directs the water into the collector. After I tried for a while to stick the drain piece in the tube, the owner of the location brought out a heat gun and we warmed the rubber slightly. He was able to get the two pieces together. He was fascinated that I was working on the machine. I have found that a lot as a mother with children running my soda vending business. No one expects me to get down and dirty and fix some of the minor problems that occur with the machine. I find it amusing that there is still a stereotype about women working with equipment.

Many months ago, when Breanna wasn't walking yet, I placed a machine with a cage around it. I needed to do some drilling to adjust the opening in the cage that allowed people to put the dollar bill in the slot. I had Breanna on my back in a baby sling and I had this big 18 volt drill and was drilling away at the cage. I guy came in a watched me for a while. He just couldn't get over the fact that I was using this drill, especially with my little one on my back and the other two kids running around beside me. He was a very nice gentleman and asked if he could help. I was tempted to say that I could do it myself, but I decided to let him help. He did a very good job and my machine and cage are working great. Don't be surprised if you get some strange looks when you take your kids with you to do your route. Most people look at you surprised and then they decide that it is a really neat thing that you can take your kids with you and work. Enjoy!

We went back today and checked the machine. It is running great. The owner had asked us to change the A&W Root beer selection to Country Time Lemonade. The strange thing is today when we got there, we had sold more A&W Root beer than any of the other selections. I changed it out like the owner ask. We will see in two weeks how the new selection is doing.

Delay in placing my sixth soda machine

Today was supposed to be the day that my sixth soda machine was placed. It did not happen. The person I bought the machine from was testing it this morning and found out that the compressor was not functioning. I was hoping that since I gave him almost two weeks that he would be able to test the machine before now. The good news is that he will give me a completely rebuild compressor. That should save me time and trips to the new machine once it is placed.

Always expect delays and problems when placing a machine at a new location. Something always seems to go wrong. It can be as simple as the weather to as complex as multiple malfunctions. If you expect something to need to be taken care of, you will be very much surprised and very happy when everything works perfectly. It is worth it.

Used versus Free soda machines

Today, as my friend that I am helping start her soda business and I were talking, she brought up an interesting point. She said that she will probably buy her next machines from someone rather than accept any more free machines. Now why would paying for a machine actually make better business sense than taking a free machine?

She has gotten two soda machines for free. One someone had given to our church for some reason and the church didn't need it anymore. The other was given to her by a business that did not want it around any more because it was vandalized.

She was actually given a third machine by the same business, but found out that it belonged to Coca-Cola. Beware if someone is trying to give you a machine. If it is a Coca-Cola machine, look inside it for the paperwork that says that it belongs to Coca-Cola. They lease machines to people to put onto location. These machines often get abandoned by the person running the route, especially if they have been vandalized. Coca-Cola wanted their machine back and came and picked it up from her. She chose not to keep it once she found out it had an owner.

The other two machines did not have an owner that wanted them, so she took them and put them on location. She has had a lot of difficulty with the machines. The compressors work, but she had trouble with the computer board in one machine. Both machines had issues with the dollar bill exchanger and the coin mechanism. Also, one machine had issues with the cradle that holds the soda and the motors. After it was all said and done, she had spent a lot of time and a decent amount of money repairing the machines to get them up and running. They were still cheaper than most used machines, but was the hassle worth it?

To my friend, it was too much hassle. She spent many hours fixing the machine, running various parts back and forth to a company here in Dallas that repairs vending machine parts. It was very stressful for her to try to figure out what was wrong with the machines. I was able to tell her a lot about what part was causing the problems, but they still had to be repaired. In addition, there was quite a bit of down time after the machine was placed. This is not good for business. People do not like loosing money in the machine.

So, the moral of this story is that getting a machine for free seems like a great break, but you have to be prepared for problems. Take the machine home or to your storehouse and make sure everything is working perfectly before placing the machine. This means plugging it in several days and making sure the compressor doesn't freeze up, the machine cools properly, that every selection works, and that the coin mechanism and dollar bill exchanger function properly. This gives you the very best chance of having it run properly when placed. Don't forget to clean the machine well and do any touch-up painting while you have it.

So what is the advantage of buying a used machine from someone? If that person offers a warranty, he or she has to deal with all the hassles if there is a problem. Make sure when purchasing a machine from someone that you get some references and that you get at least a 60 day warranty. Most of the problems will occur shortly after moving the machine onto location.

Vandalism and Theft Prevention of Soda Machines

The Fourth of July weekend was not as good this year as last year. I think that I might have some competition at one of my apartment complexes. Sales are down quite a bit at one particular complex. Often there is someone that will decide to sale soda and candy and things from their apartment. I will just have to keep providing good service and hope that they get tired of people knocking on their door all of the time.

Someone asked about vandalism and theft problems. The fourth machine that we placed was broken into within a week of placing it. Someone was able to break into the dollar bill exchanger by prying it open. See the picture of the damage. They only got about $15 but cost me more than $100 in replacement cost. I will try to take some pictures of our newly designed cages that offer more protection to the dollar bill exchanger. We have since put a metal plate over the dollar bill exchanger with a cut out for people to stick the dollar bills in. There is not enough room for someone to get their hands in it to get out the money. Since we did that we have not had any problems with that location. That was about 10 months ago.

Thieves are looking for an easy target. They don't want to get caught. Why bother something that is going to take 15-30 minutes to get into when they can go down the street and find something that will take less than 5 minutes to get into. So the goal in theft protection is to make your machine a lot of work to break into so they will move on to another machine down the road. I know that the cages that we have built can be broken into if someone is determined, but I am banking on them not wanting to put that much effort into their endeavor.

I only have cages on the machines that are located at apartment complexes. I have machines at businesses that I have not needed to place cages around because they are in more secure locations and only available during business hours.

Vandalism is a little harder to deal with. I consider vandalism to be anything that disrupts the functioning of the machine without loss of money or product that was placed in the machine or that defaces the machine in some way. The forms of vandalism that I have encountered are people putting things like leaves, pennies, sticks and so forth in the coin slot or sometimes dollar bill slot. The only way I have found to fight that is by responding whenever someone calls and says there is a problem. For about two weeks, I had someone putting things in one of my machines everyday. I just kept going to the machine every day and fixing it. They eventually gave up. I always put a sign saying that "Coin jam is fixed." or something like that. Then I put the date that I fixed it on the sign. I have actually laminated the sign and then I use a sharpie to write on it. Then I can take it down and erase the writing with alcohol. This seems to help a lot. People then know that I respond to any problems and they are more likely to call me in the future.

I have also had people smear the machine with mud, throw fingernail polish on it, or smear the buttons with paint (I actually think that was just someone not paying attention to how dirty his hands were when he pressed the button). I just clean it up. I keep cleaning solution in my bucket that I take with me when I service the machines. So far, I have not had anything that I couldn't remove with a mild cleaning spray and some elbow grease. I think that the cages also help with the defacement vandalism because people cannot reach the machine very easy to deface it. The cage doesn't provide a solid work surface for their "artwork".

We have been blessed with very little vandalism and theft problems. I try not to let any of the problems that I do have get me too upset. I have found that if I just calmly try to figure out how to fix it, life goes a lot easier. I knew that there would be problems with the soda machines. I think that if I didn't realize that there would be problems, I would be much more upset when things go wrong.

The Fourth of July

I checked my soda machine that often gives me problems at one of the apartment locations. It was functioning great. Already some of the inventory had moved from the previous day. It was 101 F here yesterday. The pool was open. I am looking forward to filling it up tomorrow.

A down note: one of my other apartment locations did not have the gym open yesterday. My soda machine is located in the gym across from the office. It gets great visibility, but because of some recent criminal activity at the apartment complex, the office has decided to close the gym when they are not in. That really has hurt sales at that location. I have a cage on the machine and believe that it would withstand some serious assaults, but the apartment complex is still leery of letting me place it outside so that it is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When placing the machines, keep in mind that many people work the same 8-5 or 9-6 that the apartment complex offices work, so they do not have a chance to buy a soda if the machine is located in a spot that the office closes when they leave. It is a more secure location for the machine, but it cuts into your sales revenue. So if you are confident in your anti-theft/vandalism precautions, try to locate the machine in a location on the property that has 24/7 access, or at least access from 6 AM to 10 PM so that you can generate more sales.

Busy Soda Vending Weekend

Last year I had a huge spike on the July Fourth Weekend in the amount of sales in sodas, particularly at one of my apartment locations. That particular machine sold about three times more soda per day than normal over the holiday weekend. I hope that this year is a repeat of that. In preparation for the holiday weekend, I am filling up my soda machines located at apartment complexes. I will also check the coin mechanisms and bill validators of the machines in the early afternoon on July 4th. Last year there was a coin jam. When a lot of people put money into the machine in a short amount of time, there is invariably a coin jam. Someone always decides to put three or more coins in a one time because they are in too much of a hurry. I want to head off any problems before they get bad. People do not like the machines to steal their money, and I do not want to steal their money. I want to provide them with a cold drink of their choice and earn their money. Hopefully, with these precautions, this will be a blockbuster weekend for soda sales.

Remember, keep your customers happy by providing them a working machine that vends cold soda every time they put their money in. I have a refund policy in which I will refund their money if they call a number that I have posted on the machine. I want to know when the machine is broken and I want to let them know that I care about maintaining it. I have chosen to deal with used soda machines instead of the fancy new soda machines that can notify me immediately if there is a problem. Those new machines are more expensive than I could afford right now. I wanted to start my business without debt. From yesterday's post, you can see some of the calculations that I have done to see what I could afford to start my business. The older used machines vend cold sodas just like the new fancy ones. They are simple to repair which also saves me money. Most of my locations are either outside, or in the laundry rooms and these old machines can handle the elements and abuse that they suffer.

Excel snapshot of potential profit for my newest vending location.

Here is a picture of my Excel file of my analysis of my newest location. Across the top I have the number of sodas that might be vended. Since this is a location without a lot of people, I am expecting just a few vends a day. The next row is the expected income based on selling the soda for $0.65. Right now I am able to get the soda at $0.27 which gives a profit of $0.38 per can of soda. The next row shows the net profit per day. The net profit per month is based on 24 working days a month. The profit per year is based on 12 (24 day months).

The next group of rows shows how many days that I could theoretically go between services. I do not like to leave the machine for too long, so I would go at least once a month. This assumes that all of the selections are purchased at equal frequency which is not always the case. Often one selection will run out before all the other ones.

The next group of rows shows how many days of income it would take to pay for the gas to service the machine based on various gas prices.

The next group of rows show the expected profit per month taking gas prices into account. Finally, the last group of rows shows the extimated profit per year after taking the price of gas into account.

I hope that this is helpful. I also hope that you can read the Excel numbers easily. I will try to find a better method of placing them in my blog.

Always look for opportunities to expand your vending business.

Last week while we were purchasing our new van, I talked to the owner, Jeff Jones, of the small auto dealership, Texas Auto Truck. He says that he sales about 2-3 vehicles a day. The two days that we visited with him we saw several new vehicles and several that were missing from the previous day. He has his wall of sales also with many vehicles sold. He runs his shop with his dad and a part time mechanic. As I was using my empty cases of soda to measure the cargo space, he started asking questions. He mentioned that he wanted a small soda machine. He needed time to talk to his dad. I gave him about a week to talk everything over with his dad and think about the soda machine and then I called him. He wants the machine. I was able to locate a small machine from someone that I have purchased machines from before. I will be delivering the machine on July 13, 2009. This is one of those times when I just happened to be talking to someone that needed a machine. Always look for opportunities. You will find them in some of the most unexpected places.

I did a profit potential analysis of the location. Texas Auto Truck is located in Wylie, which is between 17-19 miles from our home depending on whether I drive the freeway or the back roads. I usually try to get a location a lot closer. Most of my locations are within 2 miles of our house. I decided that I would go ahead with this location because I will not have to go very often, probably once a month. I wanted to insert my Excel file, but I haven't figure out how to do that yet. If the soda machine vends 3 sodas a day, it should net $27 a month or $328 a year. When the price of gas is taken into account, that is reduced to $19 and $232 assuming gas goes back up to $4 a gallon. If the machine vends 4 sodas a day, I should be able to make $341 a year. At 5 vends a day, that goes up to $451 a year. If this location is much better that I expect and vends 10 sodas a day, I would have to increase the number of times a month that I would have to visit to twice a month, but the profit per year would be $902. This is a little oversimplified, but it gives you an idea of what can be done with soda vending.

If I had to borrow the money to place the machine and this was the only machine that I had, it would take 1-3 years to start making a profit, but after that it is pure cash flow. I do not borrow money to pay for my machines, so I should have cash flow once someone starts buying sodas.

I will try to find a way to post my Excel file so that the calculations make a little more sense. I will also try to explain some of the calculations a little better when I do that.

Why did I start soda vending?

I have had several people ask me why I started my soda vending business. Most people think that I am a little crazy making more work for myself when I already have three children under 5 to take care of. Sometimes I wonder why I always want to do more. I am not satisfied with the status quo. I wanted something more for my children to do besides watch PBS all day. I was raised on a farm. I remember helping my father and grandparents with the farm work at a very early age. I learned so many valuable lessons working on our farm. I enjoyed spending time with my father while he worked. It made me feel grown up if I was able to help out a little bit. I was given a lot of responsibility at a young age.

Since we live in the middle of Dallas, I will not be able to teach my children how to farm, milk cows, feed chickens, hogs, cows, goats, etc. My husband and I want to teach our children the value of hard work. I wanted to spend time doing something with the children that they could participate in and learn from. That started my quest for a job that I could do with them. I will tell you more about my journey in another entry.

After a lot of soul-searching and research, my husband and I agreed to try soda vending. It has been a wonderful experience. My kids know that we go on our route on Monday and Friday every week. If it is hot or cold, we still go. If we are not feeling all that well, we still go. (I do find someone to take care of the kids if one of them is too sick to go with me, but thankfully, the children are very healthy.) The only time that we might not go to all of the machines is if it is raining hard. Electrical systems and water do not mix very well. We have two machines that are outside. These two machines we try not to open when it is raining. We still run the rest of the route in the rain because the other three machines are inside. The children do not even ask what we are doing any more. They just get in the car/van and we go. They are already learning several valuable lessons.

Packing the New Van for the Soda Route

Today was the first time we used the new van for the soda route. We bought a 2008 Chrysler Town and Country LX with 49000 miles on it. It drives very nicely. We loaded it up this morning for our route. It held the soda that we needed. We did really well at the first machine. The soda did not shift too much. By the time we went to Sam's Club and then to the second location, we had some problems. The sodas shifted during the drive so when we opened the tail gate, several cases fell forward. We busted 5 sodas open. At the third location we had a similar problem, but we were smart enough to check before we opened the tailgate. I was able to hold the shifted soda while someone else opened the gate. So we didn't loose anything else.

Sam's club is having a sale on their Coca Cola products. At least the one that I go to has dropped the price by a $1.40 a case. We went back this evening and bought 18 cases of Coca Cola products and some other soda that we will need for our route on Monday. This time, we were smarter and used bungee cords to keep the soda from shifting.

Children Helping with Soda Vending

Here are the promised pictures. These are my little helpers doing various tasks. Trevor is my ever eager child waiting for me to open the machine so he can see what can be done. He is full of energy and very helpful. Although he is only 3, he likes to show off his muscles and do what he can.

Evan, Trevor, and Breanna all got involved picking up coins after I cleared a coin jam from the machine. The kids are really good at picking up the coins that fall on the floor. They are learning the difference between quarters, nickles, and dimes. Working a vending route with children can lead to some teachable moments. Sometimes they have to have a little fun before they get any work done. This particular day, they decided that all of the coins in the coin collection box had to be thrown all over the floor before they could start picking any up. At least they got all of the coins collected eventually.

Breanna likes to help keep track of the locks for the soda machine. She is always finding little ways to help. I am amazed at the things she realizes that she can do to help. Breanna likes to stay close to the soda machine and picks up all the little things that we drop. She helps me gather all of the plastic rings from the sodas and collapse the empty boxes. She also likes helping collect the change when I am testing the machine. Breanna is not quite 2 yet, put she does a lot to try to help.

Trevor is very good at carrying out the trash. He has been helping with that job for the last year. The trick to letting the kids help remove the trash is to make sure the boxes are stacked neatly and do not slide apart. Evan usually helps also, but I wasn't able to get any pictures of him this day.

I never leave trash at the machine locations. Even though there is usually a trash can readily available, I do not want to create extra work for the location. If I threw all of my boxes in their trash cans, the cans would get full and someone would have to empty them out. For that reason, I always take my boxes and everything home with me.

Upgrading Vehicle for Vending Route

With a new baby on the way, we need a larger vehicle. I have been running my soda route with my three kids, all in car seats, in my 2005 Chevy Malibu. That car has amazing trunk capacity. I can get at least 23 cases of soda in it. Now that we have a fourth child on the way, we need something that can handle four car seats and 20-plus cases of soda. We have decided on a minivan, but most of the minivans do not have much storage capacity. The best American minivans that we have found are the Chrysler Town and Country LX or higher with fold-away third row seats and Ford. The Chrysler has to have the fold-away seats to allow more storage. When the seats are up, which they will have to be for the four kids, there is a well that will hold about 8 extra cases of soda compared to the Town and Country without fold-away seating. We have located a used 2008 minivan. Now onto the joys of buying a used car.



I am so glad that is it hot and dry. That is really great for soda sales. I have several machines at apartment complexes. They are located close to the pools. They do really great during the summer. Although, my best machine was a little down this weekend because the apartment pool was closed. It is interesting to learn what factors contribute to sales. I will show you some sales graph in the future. My next project is to see if I can get some pictures of some of my machines and the children up on this blog.

My Current Vending Business

Currently, I have five soda machines on location making enough money to meet my goal of paying for my children's education in our church school. I have three machines placed at apartment complexes and two machines at businesses. I have also helped a friend of mine start her own vending business. She has two machines on location and an additional two machines ready to place. She has been able to start her business for about half of what it cost me to start because I was able to steer her away from many of the little mistakes that I made. Don't get me wrong, it did not take extraordinary start up funds to start my vending business, but there were some things that I could have done differently. Keep reading my postings to learn where I could have saved money at start up and what other things I have learned in this process.

How can a busy mom of 3 make extra money?

About two years ago, I started searching for ways to make extra money for my family. I am a mother of now 4, 3, and almost 2 year old children. I have another baby due in October. I quit my job as a research associate in a molecular biology lab after my first son was born. I knew that I wanted to stay home with my children, but I also wanted to earn some extra money for our growing family. I wanted something that I could do with my young children. A small business seemed to be the best option. After doing a little research I decided that soda vending would be the best for me.

Join me as I tell you about my journey to find the best business for my kids and I, how I got started, what I have learned along the way. Find out what "treasures" my kids have found and how they are involved in the business. Learn what I have learned on this exciting journey into small business ownership.

It is hot in Texas and business is great. Luckily, we have nice, long, HOT summers here. Drink lots of soda.