For the serious investor who is determined to begin the process of purchasing a small business or franchise business it is clear that there are a seemingly infinite number of possibilities. There are several options both in the work from home arena and the office or retail arena. With so many possibilities out there, it is often true that the future franchisee can feel overwhelmed with the choices and simply decide on the most well known product, or a franchise that is known for being a success. While this is definitely a good idea, to choose a franchise that has a track record for success, problems can arise with this strategy. The franchise may be well known or successful because it has already saturated the market in which the future franchisee is considering. The franchise may also be well known because of large marketing campaigns on the national or corporate level, which is helpful but is also costly and the cost is passed down to the franchise owner in the form of higher percentage fees and start-up costs. For the future franchise owner that wants to break into the franchise market with a high level of success while ensuring a growing market and a low cost start up there is one particular breed of franchise that should defiantly be considered; the vending machine franchise business.

Vending machines are incredibly common. Vending machines can be found in grocery stores, video rental shops, banks, malls, gas stations, doctor's offices, retail stores, auto repair shops, virtually anywhere that people go in order to conduct almost any type of business there is a market for vending machines. The market shifts depending on what type of business it is, the demographics of the people that visit a particular place of business, and the geographic location that the vending machines are in. Most people do not know, however, that the majority of vending machines are owned and operated at franchise businesses. Many vending machines companies in order to reduce the amount of employees, paperwork, and lengthy service routes have found franchising the vending machine business to be a profitable and beneficial solution. As a vending machine franchise owner there is no limit to the area that can be covered by the franchise, yet the franchise can begin with as little as one vending machine.

One of the biggest benefits to owning and operating a vending machine franchise is that the franchise owner owns one of the most flexible home based business opportunities in the franchise industry. With a vending machine franchise the franchise owner owns a home business without having to actually work at home. The work in a vending machine franchise is mostly through the initial location and negotiation with the location owner about the placement of the vending machine. Once a vending machine is put in its location and the product is stocked there are only two things left to do for the life of the vending machine; keep the vending machine stocked, and collect the profits. The pros to owning a vending machine franchise are incredible on the general level, the majority of vending machine franchises can be started with the initial vending machine for around $10,000 including all service charges, fees, and the initial vending machine. With a truly low cost franchise like this the main decision will be how many vending machines to start with and discovering the rate of cash flow that the vending machine franchise business will create. The other highly sought after benefit in the vending machine franchise world is the 100% cash based business. Unlike so many other franchise opportunities the vending machine franchise never requires invoices, insurance, or payments. The customers always pay with cash.

There are some drawbacks to a vending machines franchise, the big picture of the vending machine franchise offers extremely attractive home based franchising, though each specific franchise can offer it's individual drawbacks.

Mad Dog Energy Products is a vending machine franchise opportunity that offers the Buzz Bites. Buzz Bites are a small bite size chocolate chew that has the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee, or three cans of soda. The Buzz bites markets to the consumer that has a desire for a pick me up without spending $5 on a latte or having to drink bad tasting energy drinks. The formula for Buzz bites follows that of a typical vending machine franchise, the franchise owner finds a suitable location where there will be a high traffic of the ideal customer base and puts the vending machine in that location. The Buzz bites cost 50 cents each which when compared with energy drinks, soda, and coffee is a very inexpensive product. The franchise owner purchased the product for 15 cents per bite yielding a 35-cent profit off each bite. The basic formula for the franchise is one of high yield cash profits. The con to this particular franchise is that the Buzz Bite targets a very specific market and while incredibly successful in some locations is not the type of product that will make huge profits in every market. The Buzz Bite product can be incredibly effective and typically finds it's franchises successful in the gas station or convenience store market, especially in places typically visited by customers who are on the road for extended periods of time, or young college age customers.

Another vending machine franchise option is the VENDSTAR franchise. Unlike the Mad Dog Energy Products, the VENDSTAR franchise does not provide the franchise owner with a specific vending machine product. The VENDSTAR franchise is simply the vending machine itself. A three-in-one vending machine the VENDSTAR vending machine offers choices to the franchise owner of what type of product they will stock. Gumballs and various candies such as m&m's or skittles work best in this style of vending machine. The VENDSTAR vending machine has its positives in this area offering a selection of choices and the option for the franchise owner to rotate products based on success with customers and availability and price of the product. Again the beauty of a vending machine franchise is that it is home-based and the servicing of machines can be done at any time on the schedule of the franchisee making it one of the most flexible home based franchise options available. The downside to the VENDSTAR is that the product does not come with a specific cost structure nor is it specifically designed for any one type of candy or toy. The franchise owner of a VENDSTAR will have much more success with their franchise based on careful consideration of pricing, what type of product to vend, and keeping careful track of what products make the most profit, and which products sell the quickest. While this is more work for a franchise owner than a franchise that provides a product with a proven cost structure, when run properly this franchise model can be made extremely profitable.

While there are many franchise options available the vending machine franchise certainly falls into it's own special niche. It's the type of business that most people will start off with as an investment that brings in additional income as a work at home franchise often does. As the business becomes successful and the machine has paid for itself and begun to bring in a steady stream of cash flow the franchise owners reach that critical decision; whether or not to expand. The vending machine franchise business is certainly exciting and flexible, but one thing it is not is predictable. The vending machine franchise is highly unpredictable in that the same product in the same type of machine in the same type of business place could be completely different in its consumption rate simply because of a change in location. What works in one grocery store may be much slower and less profitable in the grocery store across the street. What failed in a gas station, may be a huge success in an office supply store. There really is no way to truly know how successful each individual location will be with a vending machine franchise other than testing various locations and being able to recognize the draw of a specific product to a specific customer and trying to match the location of the vending machine with a retailer that shares the same customer base. All in all the vending machine franchise is a relatively low-risk home franchise that can be started for very little investment and always yields a sweet reward.

April 30, 2008