Starting up a vending business is easy enough, just about anyone can do it, but long term success is a whole other matter. The funny thing about entrepreneurship is that almost everyone thinks they’re cut out for it, but very few people actually are. Most people are in love with the dream of running their own business, but unprepared for the realities. What most people fail to calculate is that most times when you work for yourself, you’ll be working harder than you did working for someone else. The number one reason most new businesses fail is due to being underfunded, but a lot of new businesses also fail because their owners had a limited understanding of their chosen business or a full understanding of the market. While underfunding isn’t usually an issue in vending, certainly not fully understanding the business is a big reason that so many people end up not being successful in vending.

A lot of people get into vending expecting it to be easier than it is and this is almost assuredly a recipe for failure. People that get into vending with unrealistic goals or expectations will become quickly discouraged at all the work involved in running a full time vending route. There’s a lot of hype in the vending industry and this another big reason that many people go wrong. Most of the businesses telling you how easy or profitable vending can be have a vested stake in promoting this view of vending. Yes, vending is relatively easy, after all it’s not brain surgery. Yes vending can be profitable. So, why do so many people end up dropping out? Well, easy isn’t always as easy as it seems and profitable isn’t as profitable as most people hope.

Most people don’t realize the numbers involved in vending. Each vending machine head only averages about $7 a head, so a full time vending route will require hundreds of machines. Most people can’t see the beauty of a business that only makes $7 at time, but it’s quite possible to make a decent living in vending one quarter at a time; however it will take 400 – 500 locations to make decent money. Ultimately I think too many people get into vending looking for quick easy money and end up getting quickly discouraged when they find out that there is actual work involved.

If you’d like to increase your odds of success, keep your feet firmly planted on the ground. Don’t get into vending with some pie in the sky dream of easy money. Realize that purchasing 400 machines will take a lot of money. If you’re hope to build your route slowly with little cash investment, then you better be prepared to build your route slowly over 2-5 years. Most people simply fail to keep their eye on their long term goals and end up getting frustrated and impatient with the work involved. Don’t let this be you.