Merits and Demerits of Planet Antares Vending Machine Business

Till date we have often been looking at one side of the coin and are only considering the positive aspects of vending machine business. Just as a coin has two sides, so does vending machine business. Similar to all other business models, vending machine has both merits and demerits. However, the merits of this business dominate or out beat its demerits thus making it very popular among business community.

Let us now look at both these aspects. To begin with, let us look at some of the benefits operators derive from taking up this business:

• Unlike other business ventures, vending can be started with limited capital.
• Operators have the option of starting this business either on a full time basis or a part time basis. In case you are already full time employee and looking for some additional income to support your family, vending is perfect for you.
• There is complete flexibility in terms of operations style, selection of products, working hours, kind of machine to purchase and the location you would like to install it.
• This is one of the very few business models that give you financial independence while letting you be your own boss.
• Profit margins are quite high. However, they are not uniform across all products and keep varying from one product to another.
• Purchasing a new vending machine is also pretty cheap and affordable by most entrepreneurs.
• One of the highlights of this business is that it does not ask for any specific knowledge or skill set. So, anyone can take up this business.
• Overhead and operational costs are also very low in comparison with most other business models.

On the other hand, the disadvantages or demerits of this business are:

• The ease of starting up this business is drawing more and more operators towards this business thus leading to severe competition.
• Chances for theft and pilferage are high especially when these machines are located outdoors.
• Replacement of parts is little expensive.

Identifying New Vending Locations – Planet Antares

Expansion is part and parcel of every business. Vending is no exception to this fact. In fact even though vending business is started on a small note, every operator dreams to expand it over a period of time. Every operator has two options when it comes to expansion. You can either add new machines to existing ones or go expand your business by going in to new locations.

Choice of expansion depends on available funds and most importantly your scale of operations. However, operators reach a stage where is becomes imperative to look out new and prospective locations. In this situation, operator may find new locations all by him or take the assistance of a professional vending locator.

If you want to go by the first method and find new locations on your own, you can resort to these methods. Flyers are ideal while searching new locations. Flyers carry information about the services offered by the operator along with his contact details. However, a lot of care needs to be taken while designing them. Flyers need to be short and informative. Flyers is one of the best methods for collecting information like existing operators in the locality, most commonly used models of vending machines, their prices, services offered and other information that impacts the success of your business. Operators should keep on distributing flyers until they identify the most profitable location for installing their machine.

Another way of identifying new locations is by advertising. But before investing in advertising, operator needs to be very careful. Huge amount is spent on advertising expecting good returns on investment and good returns would mean generating good leads and thus identify prospective locations. So, operators need to be very choosy while investing their hard earned money.

Once you collect leads, it is up to the operator to close the deal on location. One point that we would like to reiterate before closing is to choose the right place that is capable of generating huge revenue.