New Location

I finally found a location. I am so excited. I found out a week ago Wednesday that I had a location. I moved the machine to the location on Monday morning. There was a little glitch. The person I use to move the machine had alternator trouble on his moving truck. He got it fixed and I got the machine moved. The kids and I got it filled. Then while I was testing it, I found that there was a jam n the Sprite selection. We unloaded all the Sprite and got it reloaded. Then the dollar bill exchanger did not work well. I changed it out with my backup bill exchanger. I also had to replace the light and starter and drill one of the locks bigger. Every time I move a machine it seems like the locks do not line up properly.

The machine is working properly so far. I have checked it twice since placing it. I am so excited to finally have that machine on location. It has been sitting idle since November 10th.

I have been helping Evan sell the World's Finest Chocolate for his school this past week. We went out all day on Tuesday and Thursday and half a day on Wednesday with his class. It was a lot of fun. The kids were troopers. They are learning a lot of valuable lessons. He is learning to sell things early in life. I think it will serve him well. He has already gained a lot of confidence.

Business cards

I finally broke down and ordered business cards today. I designed my own logo. So far, I have been printing the business cards from home, but I needed to buy some more paper. I decided to check out some web pricing and found that Vistaprint had reasonable prices. They do a great job in up-selling. I ended up getting 250 cards, 25 magnets, and 140 address labels for less than $20.

Cold or Hot

Cold weather is not the best for soda sales. The kids and I braved the cold again today to fill up our machines. Dustin does not like to be cold. His poor little hands were so red. He cried and cried today. My kids are definitely Texans.

I can dream of summer. At least my back is getting a break from all of the lifting. I am so glad that we are in Texas. I don't know how soda vendors do it in colder climates.

Burning a soda machine

The kids and I were looking for locations yesterday and one apartment told us that their machine had been burned up. She said that some homeless guy was trying to get money out of the machine and crossed the wires and caused it to burn. I do not understand how that would help to get the money out of the machine. The money area is well protected so that as long as the door is closed it is very difficult to get to any of the money. She said that the guy had destroyed about seven machines in the area.

I have cages that protect against theft and vandalism, but I don't know if they would protect against arson. There isn't that much on a machine that can actually burn. I will need to look into this type of vandalism and see if there are any modifications that I can do to the current security system that will deter arson.

I welcome any comments on burning up a soda machine. I am interested in anyone's personal experience on how someone can burn up a machine, if it allows them access to the money, and how to prevent it.

Locations Search

We are still searching for a location for two or three soda machines. The kids and I visited another six potential locations today. We are finally see a little hope. Two of the apartment complexes that we visited do not have soda machines. Now we have to progress to actually procuring the location. So far I have four very good possibilities and another three or so potential locations.

I learned a hard lesson recently. I had a location that I thought was in the bag, but I lost it. I talked to the office staff and sent them a thank you letter. Almost immediately, they called me back to meet the complex manager. I meet with her and she was very happy with what I had to offer. She just had to get the final OK from the district manager. They had a location on the property and everything ready. I called back the next week like we agreed and they were still waiting. I thought I had the location secured, so I stopped looking for locations. I called back every 3-4 days and it was always the same answer. One day I called back and the person who answered the phone said that they already had a soda machine on the property and that they didn't even know the manager that I had talked to. Somehow I had lost that location. It was a great location with almost 300 apartment units and a lot of people without vehicles. I still do not know how I lost the location. How did someone get a machine on location while I was still talking to the manager? I am still trying to find a location for that machine that was supposed to go into that complex. Now I will keep looking until each machine is on location and generating money.

So, even though I have a few good leads, I will keep looking. None of the leads have said move in this week yet, so we keep going. I would rather have to go out and buy several more machines and build several more cages than have to still be looking at the machines in our back yard in March.

The Search Is Still On

The kids and I are still trying to find the most efficient way to conduct a location search. So far, we have been going to apartments, taking them a candy bar and a business card, and giving them my "elevator speech." The kids enjoy handing out the cards and candy. We have had good responses, although no immediate "move in tomorrow" responses. I have been trying to write a thank you card to the apartments that I visit. I have returned to a few of the more promising complexes and they remember me, the kids, and the thank you note.

I have to plan where to go next. There are so many apartments in this area. I drive around to specific ones and see others I need to stop at.

I have some more thank you cards to write.

New Year, New Search.

I found a replacement location for one soda machine, but I lost another location. I knew that would happen because I had two machines with the same management group. Thankfully, I had the best machine on location until November. The first time around, the kids and I visited 23 apartment complexes and we found a location that was not happy with their current vendor. We got that machine placed and it is doing well.

This second search has been more difficult. The kids and I have talked to about 50 complexes. I am confident that we will provide superior service to the current vendors, we just need a chance to prove it. The good thing about where we are looking is that there are still many more complexes to talk to.

I am having to grow in my marketing skills. This is an area that is difficult for me. I enjoy filling the machines and even fixing the problems. Talking to people and interrupting their day is hard. Conveying the confidence that I have in our ability to do a good job is challenging. Remembering to smile and be energetic after hearing no 5 times is hard. I am growing. I am becoming a better businesswoman because of this experience. My kids are learning a lot about getting out there and talking to people. They are troopers.