Have you ever noticed what just about every grocery store, convenience store, movie theater, pizza parlor and every other retail store have in common? That's right, the ever popular gumball machine.
At first glance a gumball vending business appears to be a cash cow.
After all, the cost of a gumball is around 4 cents and they sell for 25 cents, not a bad profit.
But is it really a good idea? Lets explore that question.
The first thing we should investigate is the start up costs.
You can spend anywhere between 50 to 2500 dollars on a gumball machine.
The less expensive machines more than likely will not withstand the punishment that they will take.
The most expensive ones only make sense in extremely high traffic areas.
Its safe to say you will spend around 200 bucks per machine.
In order for you to make a decent profit in your gumball vending business you will need a large number of machines.
Around 25 machines is a good starting point.
However you probably will not get rich with 25 but as I say, it is a good starting point.
The average 1" gumballs cost around 30 dollars for 850 count.
Your cost for 25 machines plus the product to put in them, will be around six thousand dollars.
Now your savvy salesmanship will need to come into play in order to get your machines on location.
One would not think that a gumball vending business would be very competitive but that may not be the case.
The hot spots for machines may already be taken by your competition.
Negotiating the amount of commission you will pay the store owner may open hot spots up but it will also cut into your profits.
Keep in mind that most locations will either take a percentage of sales or charge a flat rate.
Unfortunately that seemingly big profit is not what it first appeared.
Lets not forget that your machines may get damaged or may even disappear.
There will also be an expense when restocking and collecting your money.
It may not be such a great idea after all.
My purpose in giving this information is not to discourage anyone from starting a gumball vending business, rather it is to let people know that the profits may not be what you anticipate.
How great would it be if your gumball machines were free and you only had to fill them once, also for free and they produced profits over and over for months even for years to come? That is exactly what an online business can do for you.
Yes, you can spend a small fortune marketing online, but you can also do it with out spending a dime.
When I was looking for a new business unlike the labor intense high over head low profit margin restaurant business I currently owned, I checked out many businesses off line and online.
The large investment, high risk off line options were not appealing to me because I had already been there, done that.
The low start up cost and unlimited earning potential of online marketing seemed to make perfect sense.
It did not really matter what business I purchased as long as I understood how to market online.
Whether you are marketing peanuts or motorcycles, online marketing is online marketing.
If you have an understanding of online marketing techniques, they can be adapted to most products and services.
There is of course a learning curve as in any new business venture.
If online marketing sounds appealing to you, my suggestion would be to find a training and mentoring program that will teach you all the aspects of marketing online in one location.
There are several of these programs available, find the one that you feel comfortable with and go for it.
If not, best of luck with your gumball vending business.