Starting a route from nothing
What the first six months actually look like, written by people who sell machines and would still rather you did this properly.
- First machine from
- $210
- Typical start-up
- $3,500
- Sites to ask
- 30
- To first profit
- 4 to 9 mo
The order to do things in
Almost every route that fails did steps three and one the wrong way round.
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Line up locations before you buy anything
Walk into thirty small businesses within twenty minutes of your house. Ask who handles the break room. Expect twenty-seven no's. Three yes's is a route worth starting.
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Agree the terms in writing
One page is enough. Who owns the machine, what commission the site gets, who pays for power, how much notice either side gives. We will send you the template we use.
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Buy the machine that fits the site
Not the other way round. A dental office with eleven staff does not need a 40 selection tower, and a shift plant does not want a countertop unit.
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Deliver, level and program it
Freight drops at the kerb unless you pay for liftgate. Bring a friend and an appliance dolly. Levelling matters, because a cabinet out of true will jam a coil.
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Fill it, then leave it alone for two weeks
Your first planogram is a guess. Two weeks of sales data tells you what to change, and it will not be what you expected.
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Set a route day and keep it
Same day every week. Locations notice when you drift, and a machine that is empty on a Friday afternoon is the fastest way to lose a site.
What you need before your first machine
Short list, and shorter than people expect.
Genuinely needed
- A business entity and a sales tax permit for your state
- A vehicle that will take six full crates, so a hatchback or bigger
- Roughly $200 per machine in product float
- An appliance dolly and moving straps
- Somewhere dry to store stock that is not your kitchen
- General liability insurance, since most sites will ask for a certificate
Not needed, whatever you have read
- A warehouse
- A box truck
- A route management subscription, until you pass about fifteen machines
- A wholesale club membership on day one, since a supermarket sale often beats it
- A paid course, and we say that as people with something to sell you
How much time it takes
Averages from customers who track it. Shopping and counting are included, driving is the biggest slice.
| Machines | Filling and driving | Buying stock | Books and repairs | Total a week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | 2 hrs | 1 hr | 1 hr | 4 hrs |
| 4 to 8 | 5 hrs | 2 hrs | 1 hr | 8 hrs |
| 9 to 15 | 9 hrs | 3 hrs | 2 hrs | 14 hrs |
| 16 to 25 | 15 hrs | 4 hrs | 3 hrs | 22 hrs |
Around twenty machines, something has to give. That is the point most people either hire help, buy a route management system, or stop growing on purpose. All three are fine answers. Deciding it in advance is better than finding out in a car park on a Tuesday night.
The three mistakes we watch people make
We see the same ones over and over, from the returns desk.
Buying for the route they want
Someone buys four machines because the plan is four sites. Two months later three cabinets are in a garage and the plan has changed. Buy one, place it, then buy the next.
Pricing to be liked
New operators price everything at a dollar because it feels fair. Your product cost is not a dollar. Price to the market around you, not to your own discomfort.
Chasing one big site
A 400 person plant sounds like the whole business until they put it out to tender and you lose it in one meeting. Spread across six ordinary sites and you can survive losing any one of them.
We will look at your plan for free
Send us the sites you have lined up and what you are thinking of buying. If the maths does not work we will say so, and we will tell you what to change.