1-Operators of snack boxes enjoy the friendships made on a daily basis. This is one of the things I enjoyed the most about the business. I would find myself taking off in the morning and as I would be driving along I would be thinking of one of my customers I would be looking forward to seeing. It was usually someone I had a connection with in the sense of something we both enjoyed. In my case, a lot of the time it would be racing as at that time in my life we had our son involved in go-cart racing.
2-Cost of start up is the reason I went into the snack box business. Prices have gone up since the day I sold out but even in today’s world you can place a box for approximately $40.00. When you stop to think about this it sheds light on why this is a great business to get into.
3-Dependability of the business. This is a business that relies on impulse buying. Can you think of any other item that draws peoples attention like a bag of chips or a candy bar? These items sell everyday to people on the go that for whatever the reason find the need to either reward themselves or to grab a bite on the go.
4-Being able to travel was one of the reasons I went into the snack vending business. I enjoy getting out with people and making friends. The snack box business is a relations business. If people like you they will help keep your honor snack box honest. I have friends all over the southern half of the state of Iowa which is where I built my business.
5-Limited amount of product needed to fill boxes. The snack box business is unlike most forms of the vending business in that it only takes between thirty and forty different items to fill a box. This in itself is a great advantage to a start up business. You will not need a huge warehouse filled with many different items tying up huge sums of money in your new venture. As I have said before, my wife and I started our business while living in an apartment.
6-20% shortage – you are asking yourself how can this be an advantage to starting a snack box business? Keep in mind that with vending machines you will have about $2600.00 dollars tied up in a snack machine (other vending machines can cost up to $8000.00 dollars each). And after tying up this much money your account will many times want a cut of the action, which can be as much as 30%.
7-Product life is another advantage to starting a snack box business. Most of the items you will be selling will have a nice shelf life to work with. Candy bars in many cases have a year of life on them. Chips will have the shortest life and in most cases they will have 6 to 8 weeks of life on them. Chips have a very good profit margin and are one of the items you will want to have plenty of in your boxes.
8-Limited amount of suppliers. If you are starting out with limited funds you may have to start with a couple of local suppliers but it doesn’t take that long and you will be able to buy from a company like Jones in St. Louis or Vistar which is a national company.
9-Vehicle expense-I started out running boxes from the back seat of a 1979 Chevy Impala. This car had a 3 speed manual transmission, am radio, and no power steering or air conditioning. Let me get back to the subject and off what brings back fond memories for me. My point is, if you are just starting out, you can start in just about any type of a vehicle. Once you have made a little money of course you will want to move up to a full size van such as a Ford E150 cargo van or any other equivalent make and model.
10-Starting part time-When you are starting out this is a business that is very easy to own and operate in a part time manner, but, don’t go into this business thinking it is only something to do on the side to make a little extra spending money. If that is what you are planning on doing you are only limiting your own future. My wife and I made a very good living off the snack boxes and you can also. It just takes a little dedication and will power to follow your dream.
11-Freedom of self employment-This is the illusive dream that many people are never able to achieve. I’m not here to promise you the moon and the sky. What I am here to do is to take the person that has the will power and the drive and to help them achieve great things in their life. My question to you is: “Are you one of those people I’m looking to help, and are you a dreamer with the drive to make great things happen in your life for you and the ones you love?”
