Simplicity Vending - Small Change, Serious Returns

Although Steve Sartin was a teacher for many years, he comes from a family of entrepreneurs. ‘Perhaps that explains why I started a lawnmowing round when I was ten,' he laughs. ‘Throughout my time at college in the States I tinkered with small businesses and I have always had an eye out for something unusual or off the beaten track of traditional concepts. Things like cafés require you to attract customers every day, and that can be hard work. I kept searching and asking the question, "How could I get an income that would work for me in every sense?"'

Living in New Zealand and with two little girls to bring up, both Steve and his wife Leigh realised they would like more time as a family. They also wanted a business they could work on together - one that did not require the daily 9-5 (and more!) grind of school. ‘The answers began to come together when I bought some vending machines,' says Steve.  ‘Vending machines work for you 24 hours a day, they don't need holidays, they don't need much maintenance and they don't require expensive premises. They also offer the advantages of an all-cash business.'

Steve and Leigh established their own company, Simplicity Vending from their home in Hamilton in 2004. They now operate 160 vending machines of their own which dispense confectionery and novelty items to generate the income they wanted. Last year, the company began offering licences to others who want to follow them into financial independence.

History shows that, whatever the economy is doing, there will always be a market for convenience products and Simplicity Vending only sells recognised brands and products. ‘Such products as M&Ms are always in demand and easily affordable,' Steve says. ‘Because they are global, you as a licensee benefit from the ongoing advertising these brands invest in. We may be in a recession, but while people have stopped buying plasma TVs, they still have loose change. If there is a convenient machine, they will use it.'

Packages To Suit

Simplicity Vending offers a number of packages to enable licensees to get started. ‘The most popular so far is our Simple Start package which costs $43,000 and buys 25 machines,' says Steve. ‘It is designed to allow people to start a small business with low capital, then beyond that licensees can select their level of investment to suit the time and money they have available. With vending, you can work any hours you choose to fit in with what you really want to do. After you have sited the machines, it's mainly a matter of re-stocking them and collecting the money.

‘Success breeds success and we want our licensees to make money from the word go. We have done our utmost to take the risk out of the initial stages: we do all the set-up, including the machine delivery and provide $7,000 worth of stock. We want our licensees to be able to run their own business but with confidence that there is a solid support system behind them.'

The initial package includes training, all start-up locations and delivery of the machines to a wide variety of high traffic locations: takeaway outlets, pubs, RSA's, sports clubs, office and factory lunchrooms, airports, waiting rooms, shopping malls, and retail outlets among others. ‘Half of the flat fee of $3 per machine per month goes to World Vision which gives us a unique selling point when presenting to owners of such businesses,' says Steve.

Keeping it simple, a further advantage is that the machines require no power. ‘They are all mechanical,' Steve explains. ‘You put a dollar in, turn the handle and the goods come out - easy as that. I call them my little employees. They are always on time, they don't talk back and no ACC payments are required!'

Making Machines Work For You

The result is a business that offers a 20-30% return on investment, ‘but if you are prepared to work hard at it then that could easily be 60%,' says Steve. ‘A bigger pool of machines will produce a decent income but even a small number can produce good money. Like any business, you have to keep tuning it - I have found moving under-performing machines just a few feet in the same building can improve their performance markedly.'

With six Simplicity Vending licensees already in place, Steve and Leigh are now looking for more throughout the country. ‘We want people who can think outside the square. People who are interested in making money but don't have a lot of spare time - mums with small children for example. They need to be friendly and prepared to build a relationship with owners of the places where the machines are sited. If that sounds like you, give me a call.

‘I often get asked, "How can selling lollies be a serious business?" Well, come and look at the figures and see for yourself just how serious this can get. One of our licensees has 200 machines out there making very good passive income for him after just 12 months.'

This advertorial is taken from Franchise New Zealand magazine Volume 17 Issue 4

Contact details for Simplicity Vending

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