Welcome to July’s Tubz Vending roundup, your one-stop spot for franchising news, editorials and information from across the world wide web. This month we’re finding out why marriage and franchising can be surprisingly similar, meeting successful US franchisor Gordon Logan and making sure your entrepreneurial spark doesn’t get in the way of smart business decisions!
If this question sounds like it’s leading up to a punchline to you, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. According to blogger James OBrien at Executives Online, franchising really is like a marriage, from courtship and the Big Day, through to rocky patches and growing old together.
With wedding season well and truly upon us, we couldn’t think of a more appropriate blog to kick off our July round up. Great stuff which will make you look at franchising opportunities with very different eyes!
It’s always inspiring to hear from established franchisers who have been there, done it, got the t-shirt and kept succeeding. Although a US based site, About Money is packed with interesting reads for franchisers and franchisees alike, including regular franchisor profiles, like this fascinating insight into Sports Clips Haircuts – a US wide franchise started by Gordon Logan in the early 90s, today boasting over 1300 stores in the US and Canada.
As you’ll learn, success hasn’t always come easily to Gordon, from embezzlement by staff members, to bankruptcy, his path to franchising stardom has been paved with obstacles and problems,. But with a whole lot of determination, Logan has created a strong, nationally recognised franchise. Read more about how he did it on the About Money blog.
If you have an entrepreneurial spirit, you’ll know just how easy it can be to get carried away with a big idea. The more you think about it, the more enthused you get, the more enthused you become, the more excited you are about it – and all of a sudden you’ve lost sight of the big picture and the crucial little details.
A firm handle on a potential franchise’s financial options and legal issues is absolutely essential when you’re considering buying into a business. Keeping a cool head as you appraise these options is a must if you’re serious about investing your time and money in a project you want to see flourish and succeed. That’s why this blog from FranchiseWorks.com is a very useful “cool down” read. If you’re excited by a new prospect, read this and start approaching your opportunity with your head not your entrepreneurial heart!
Do you struggle to zero in on the nitty gritty when you’re excited about a project? Which franchisor inspires you? Let us know below or email your thoughts and opinions to the Tubz Vending team at: info@tubzbrands.co.uk
Over recent years, healthy eating has become a buzz phrase that has become more and more popular in many sectors. With media campaigns and celebrity chef’s extoling the importance of a healthier diet and lifestyle, as a nation we are certainly becoming more educated in our snacking habits.
One of the key targets of these campaigns is snacking between meals and what to snack on. So today we are going to ask how does vending fit into this new awareness and how appropriate and effective are healthy vending options compared to the more traditional confectionary and savoury snacks?
Firstly, let’s be clear that the purpose of this blog is not to negate either side. It is of course important to be health-conscious and to eat properly. It is also important however to understand the reasons that we snack and why we enjoy things like chocolate and crisps. The purpose of being educated is to be able to make informed decisions. What we are going to look at here is healthy vending as a business option compared to the more common types of vending that are available.
Light and dark german beer in big mugs and bowls with salty snacks and nuts, autumn beer festival concept, dark wooden table, top view
Stress-snacking.eu states that there are several reasons that we snack: it could be hunger, or it could be that you are low on certain nutrients, it may be triggered by stress or boredom or it could even be through a desire to celebrate or reward yourself. How often have you treated yourself to some chocolate or candy when you have finished a task or when you have felt your energy levels were low? Continually opting for unhealthy snacks when you are hungry is of course going to have detrimental effects on your health. On the other hand, having the occasional munch on some candy isn’t going to be sending you to the hospital any time soon. If a snack is available to you and convenient to acquire, you are more likely to take advantage of it.
Impulse and convenience of course! Since the advent of the first vending machines such as gumball machines and bulk vendors, people have been drawn to them because they are there and they have the impulse to use them. True, vending machines that supply sandwiches, for example, are meeting a specific need to a degree but think about where they are usually placed: stations, hospitals and colleges… situations where you are likely to get hungry and it will be some time before you can get home or to a shop. If we are talking about some Skittles or a small tub of Pringles, however, you are more likely going to purchasing them on impulse.
At home, you have choices – you could have some cereal or a piece of fruit or you could have some chocolate! When you are out and about or at work for example, your options are more limited but let’s not blame vending for the choices that are being made. When was the last time you went out for a drink? Did you buy some peanuts or a packet of crisps across the bar? Did you really need them or did you buy them simply because you fancied a snack and they were available? We make these choices based on desire and we know that they are not the healthiest options. Have a think next time you go shopping about what snacks you put in your trolley – are you stocking up your “naughty” cupboard as well as your fruit bowl?
Starting a vending business has one key motivation behind it – to generate an income. So as with any business, you need to think about what products are going to sell the best and what opportunities you have for venues where your products are likely to sell. We have looked at appropriate venues for vending machines before and one of the most common factors is matching your products to your market. For example, you wouldn’t put a toy vendor into a site where children are never present! So with healthy vending snacks, you are going to want to place your machines where people are going to be more conscious of what they are eating and the choices that they make: health clubs, gyms, schools (the awareness in schools is going to be through official policy more than the child’s choice). Consider this: when you go for a pint, you don’t usually find yourself fancying a fruit salad or some carrot sticks.
The point here is that yes there is a market for healthy vending but that market is going to be more specific than sweet or crisp vending. You can make money from it but you would need to be very conscientious in terms of where you would be placing your machines.
There are some other important considerations if you are thinking about including healthy products in your vending machine business: for example, the shelf life, packaging and waste and the convenience of the actual product: would you need a spoon to eat it for example?
If you are starting a vending machine business and want to include healthy snacks, it would be worth finding out first what possibilities there are in your region first – try getting in touch with the local authority to see if you can offer the service to schools and colleges in the area. But never limit yourself to one thing.
And remember that it is your customer that is making the choice, not you!
www.oxforddictionaries.com defines “wealth” as follows:
1. an abundance of valuable possessions or money
2. plentiful supplies of a particular resource
3. [in singular] a plentiful supply of a particular desirable thing
In truth, “wealth” means different things to different people.
Firstly, a vending franchise is not going to make you a millionaire so let’s put that out of our minds. Most people in this current climate are generally looking for something that will provide a steady income and a healthy balance between work and quality of life. So really wealth can be considered on two levels.
In terms of how much money you can make from vending, you have to ask yourself some basic questions to determine the best route for you:
We have already seen in other posts that vending is by comparison a low-cost start-up. Cost of equipment is key to this. Non-electric machines like Tubz towers are cheaper to purchase and can potentially mean starting with a higher income once they are all active. This can then help lead you to expanding your business sooner. If you are looking to acquire a business loan to start out, be very sure that the costs of the loan won’t negate the profits from the machines.
Only you can determine this as everyone has different living expenses. Before you commit to anything, be clear in your mind what you need to earn and then what you would like to earn. This will define whether a vending franchise is right for you. Avoid over-burdening your business.
Vending is a flexible business but you will still need to invest some time to make it work. This will be determined by how many machines you have, the area that you cover and your other commitments.
Compare vending to a retail or restaurant franchise for example and the costs involved in opening a second venue. Some vending concepts such as tower vending have the benefit of many suitable locations in any region and with the choices available, it is much easier to scale up your business with relatively little cost.
Make sure that you have taken into account all the costs involved – are there franchise fees? Cost of repair? Fuel costs? As we have discussed before, vending does have low overheads but they still need to be considered. Decide what profit margin you are prepared to accept on your products after wholesale price, venue commission / charity payment, fuel and so on. Keep in mind also the VAT threshold – most vending machine operators stay below the threshold to avoid additional costs (go to http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/ for more advice and information).
Expansion? An extra revenue? A legacy for your children?
The other important question that you need to ask yourself is: What do you want the business to do for YOU? One of the most attractive factors of a vending business is that it allows more time for you to spend on what is really important to you, whether that’s time with the family, the freedom to work on other projects or pursue other interests. It means that you don’t have to be tied to a desk, you can be your own boss and still earn a steady income. That sort of wealth is immeasurable.
We have talked about the benefits of franchise businesses before, and mentioned that one of the most significant advantages is the established brands that you are working with.
In this post we are going to look at why established brands are such an advantage for franchisees, and then explore the brands on offer from Tubz.
Franchises give you the opportunity to offer well known and well loved products to a market that already likes them. A new business has to work hard to promote itself and its products, especially if they are selling products that people are not familiar with. They have to develop a following from scratch and this can be incredibly difficult.
Selling recognisable goods is also advantageous because it means you have to do very little marketing for your franchise, if any. If the brands you are selling are already popular and advertise themselves, this leave little for you to do, other than take advantage of their popularity and make some money!
If, like Tubz franchisees, you sell famous sweets from known brands, there is an immediate trust in your products. This is a fantastic benefit and one that should help you make a lot of sales.
Tubz deals with trusted brands, and products that are known and loved across the UK and beyond. These popular brands include:
For more information on vending products follow this link. The popular products and established brands offered by Tubz are one of the secrets to our success, and that of our franchisees.
If you are a young person and you are wondering what to do with your life, you are certainly not alone. It seems an increasing number of people are leaving school, college and university without a solid career plan. This is no bad thing necessarily, but of course you probably want to start earning money as soon as possible so you can begin your own independent life. With this in mind, in this post we are going to discuss starting a business franchise and why this could be a great opportunity for you.
A good reason to consider a franchise is the current job market. According to the media things are picking up, but this is a gradual improvement and it is still very difficult to find a job – more so for young people with little work experience. Previous experience is not required to start your own business franchise and the numbers of franchisees in their early 20s and even younger are increasing in the current climate.
Rather than searching for an elusive job, you could start your own business from scratch. The risks of this plan are considerable, though. Most brand new business unfortunately do not succeed, and even though you may have the enthusiasm and drive to push your enterprise forward, you may lack the knowledge of how to do this. A franchise allows you to run your own concern, with the benefit of a great support network.
A franchise is a shrewd way for a young person to get into business, as they can seek guidance and help from their franchisor. This means that you can be your own boss but still ask for help if you need it. Plus you will be trained in everything you need to make your franchise a success when you first invest.
The problem with many franchise opportunities is that they are only opportunities for people with many thousands of pounds. Of course young people don’t often have this kind of money lying around, but at Tubz Brands our franchises are available from as little as £2,499 + VAT.
Another appealing fact about franchises is that you do profit from your own hard work, and the better you do, the more money you make. Most young employees earn just a basic salary, or perhaps an occasional bit of commission, bonus or overtime. With a franchise you are in charge of how much you earn, so this is a great opportunity to make some serious cash.
Although the last 40 years have seen the presence of women in the UK workforce strengthen considerably, with the gap in pay between men and women becoming narrower in the last 10 years, it is no secret that the lower-paid occupations are largely dominated by women. [1]
Some of this can be attributed to longstanding (and out of date) attitudes toward gender in the work place. A good proportion of the difficulties for women, especially single mums, are found as a result of not being able to juggle the many different roles that they have to fulfil. In fact, statistics show that only around 8 per cent of single parents are fathers. [2]
The availability of affordable and reliable child care is a primary concern for many women looking to enter and maintain employment. According to National Statistics, 46 per cent of people using childcare said it was informal. “For single parents working 16 hours a week or more 34 per cent had a childcare arrangement with the child’s grandparents, and 17 per cent had an arrangement with their ex-partner”. Working single parents are more likely to struggle to meet childcare costs than working couples. [2]
Balancing work with their duties at home places not only restrictions on women but also considerable stress.
Single working parents are more likely to find it difficult to meet childcare costs compared to working couples.
Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC, has been quoted as saying that “all too often the jobs in the sectors where women tend to work … are underpaid and undervalued. We’ve come a long way but sex discrimination, unaffordable childcare, a lack of quality part-time work, and the undervaluing of women’s work still cast a shadow over our labour market.” [1]
The imbalance seems to also extend to the higher-powered jobs, with less than a third of the UK’s senior employment positions being held by women [4].
Facing this sort of adversity, it is no surprise that more and more women are seeking alternative routes of employment with self-employment and business ownership amongst women increasing considerably.
“Twenty years ago, fewer than 650 thousand women were self-employed – now there are more than 950 thousand self-employed women in the UK” (www.isbe.org.uk/facts) [3]
Over the last decade more and more women are starting their own businesses or achieving the top jobs in major companies, including IBM, PepsiCo, DuPont, Facebook, Yahoo and Mondelez ( Kraft ) There are certainly far more opportunities available today for Women who want to start their own business than there were only five years ago.
When faced with the facts, it comes as no surprise that vending is becoming an attractive option for a lot of women. With flexibility of working hours and the affordability presented by vending, Tubz Brands have seen a marked increase in the number of single and working mothers looking to vending as an employment alternative. Here are some of the more common benefits that have been identified:
• Flexible working times – you can in essence choose your working hours to fit around school, leaving more time to spend with the family in the evenings and at weekends.
• Affordability – starting a business for yourself can be expensive and when funds are limited, it is important to find a business concept that can yield a quick return for comparatively little outlay. Concepts such as tower vending can do just that.
• Income top-up – many women in the workplace find that part-time employment doesn’t quite offer a suitable income but working part-time is their only option. Because vending can be operated on a part-time basis, it can lend itself to providing an opportunity for an extra income that isn’t going to be detrimental to family life.
• Safety and security – although you are handling cash, there is less risk to you than there would be with a business that involves doorstep collections such as some of the popular mail-order concepts (for example). You can be working during daylight hours and even if some of your sites are licensed premises, you can be attending them during the safer times of the day when it is less busy. Plus you do not have to be attending the same sites at the same times on each visit so it would be less easy for someone to identify a pattern of cash collection.
• Support – It is easier to start a business when you have the support to do so. “There is consensus in the research literature that women who are self-employed often face additional problems associated with lack of business knowledge and training, discrimination and prejudice (particularly in obtaining finance), as well as increased home/work conflicts and stress.” (www.isbe.org.uk/facts) [3] There are increasing government initiatives to help women move into the self-employed sector but being able to work with a company that is progressive and established in its field can provide much of the support that has been missing. If a franchising company, for example, can provide you with professional advice, tools and training, this can help pave the way to personal success. With low start-up costs, finance or loans are not necessarily the only option to fund starting a vending business – if you have a little capital that could be all you need. Also, having a marketing service made available to you to help reduce the amount of time that you spend getting your business established can be invaluable, especially when you are already working.
• If you are already working, you don’t have to make an immediate and complete life change to get started in vending. If you can commit to just a few hours a week to begin with, you can soon build up your business to whichever level you wish to take it.
• Being your own boss – to be responsible for your own income and to not be answerable to someone else when you are working not only brings you a greater sense of pride and confidence but also helps to extend that freedom than employed work doesn’t always provide.
[1] – Katie Allen, The Guardian Sep 13
http://www.theguardian.com/money/2013/sep/25/uk-women-lower-paid-work-figures
[2] – http://www.gingerbread.org.uk/content/365/Statistics
Family and Children Survey 2008, Table 16.5. DWP, 2010
Family and Children Survey 2008, Table 16.1. DWP, 2010
Childcare and early years survey of parents 2009, p.83. NatCen/Department for Education, 2010. Research Report DFE-RR054
[3] – http://www.isbe.org.uk/facts
(Marlow et al 2005, 2006, Carter et al 2004, Dti 2004). http://www.isbe.org.uk/facts#sthash.aUVhZI1c.dpuf
[4] BBC News research, 29/05/12 – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18187449.
