Are Vending Machines The Part Time Business You Have Been Looking For?

perhaps you've been hit hard by this economy and are searching for a new opportunity? Then consider getting into the vending business! Here's how you can turn the change that we all carry around with us every day into the sweet sound of success for you

Vending is a tried and true business that's been around for a very long time. In fact, the earliest known vending machine was invented in Ancient Greece back in 215 AD! It dispensed holy water by gravity when a coin was inserted into it. So we when we look at the vending business, we are talking about a well-established industry. But how does one get started in vending?

Well the first thing is to ask yourself if you have the free time necessary to build a route and to properly service your machines. Of course, if you are currently out of work due to the economy, the answer would be "yes". Then you need to decide what kind of vending machines you want to purchase. There are many different types. Candy, soda, snack, combo, ATM machines, coffee services, the list is long. Whatever way you go, your best bet will be to buy used equipment in good condition. Brand new machines look great. But they are very expensive and the markup is tremendous. You can pick up a "gently used" machine for less than half the price in many cases. Your budget will be the best determining factor here.

Then, what you need to decide is whether you are going to locate them yourself or would prefer to hire a professional locating company to do it for you. The reality is that most folks don't have the time, skill and patience required to locate good companies to place their machines in. Competition for prime spots can be fierce and many don't have the time required to make hundreds of phone calls or spend days walking down the boulevard talking to business people. That's where the expertise of a good and reputable locating company comes in. They can remove the headache of locating your machines on your own and free you up to devote yourself to other aspects of your business or to your fulltime job, if you have one currently.

So everything considered, the vending business can be a lucrative and rewarding business if you approach it the right way. And that would be with the right equipment in the right locations. Take some time to check it out on the Internet and you may just be listening soon to the sweet sound of success jingling in your pocket!

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Renting a Virtual Office Space: What Good Can It Do for Your Business?

What good can it do for your business? Well, in these tough economic times when most businesses are looking to cut their operational costs in order to survive, the wisdom of using a virtual office becomes even more evident. By having a virtual office space, you can do away with renting an expensive office space, increase your productivity and spend less time on the road. Aren't these reasons enough for you to consider it?

Let's face it. Even while recent technological advances now allow people to start their own business from the comfort of their home provided they have an internet connection, having a virtual business address at a prestigious location can still work greatly in your favor. So, what are the benefits you stand to receive when you decide to rent a virtual office space? Here are some of them:

A virtual business office can help build your credibility. Having a bona fide business address at an exceptional business environment can help build your clients' trust and confidence in you and your business. Without it, you may have a hard time convincing them that you are running a legitimate business. Are you willing to put your credibility on the line just because you chose not to have your own virtual office? Think about it.

It offers a cost-effective solution to all your business needs. The beauty of renting a virtual office space is that you get to use the office facilities when you need it. You can use the meeting facilities to meet clients, get a prestigious business address to use for business correspondence and have your own virtual secretary to handle calls should you choose to - all for an affordable monthly fee.

It allows you to comply with the legal requirements in doing business. You will need a business address when applying for permits and when drawing contracts with clients. While your home address may prove to be sufficient in some cases, a legitimate business address will definitely give your business more credibility.

It can help reinforce your brand. What can an impressive and well-kept office do to your business? Well, a lot! It can help conjure an image of excellence, stability and commitment to quality. It can create a lasting positive impression that can help propel your business to the next level. Can anyone resist that?

It allows you operate instantly. The typical set-up time takes about one to two business days at the most so you can instantly be in operation the moment you decide to.

You can use the facility as long as it works for you. By choosing to rent a virtual office space, you are not obligated to sign a long-term lease. It basically works on a "land and expand" principle so you are free to go whenever you feel the need to move on.

Renting a virtual office space can be your ticket to running a more profitable business. Would you consider getting one?

Starting a Cleaning Service In a Metro Area - Mobile Power Washing Business Has Advantages

there was an interesting article online explaining how folks who are out of work might start their own business. It suggested some of the easiest types of businesses to start, along with some of the trendiest currently. Amongst them were personal coaches and service cleaning businesses. Now then, that caught my eye because as a former franchisor founder in the cleaning service sector, I know a thing or two about that, plus, a franchisor is a mentor to all his franchisees. Okay so, let's pick up where that last online advice left off shall we?

Now then, let's say you wanted to start a cleaning service type company? What type of cleaning would you wish to do, would you want to become a maid, janitorial for commercial businesses, clean windows, what? Well, I've been involved in a number of cleaning businesses from decks to windows and from cars to fleets of vehicles. Still, if you are in a metro area, the traffic and the cost of fuel can be a real killer on time, cost, and productivity. If you run a janitorial business you can work at night, no traffic, and that solves that problem.

However, if you want something different, and not run of the mill, might I suggest a power washing or pressure cleaning company where you go out and steam clean concrete, parking structures, fleets, and buildings. Most of that work must be done after hours when the traffic dies down and essentially you'll have the city all to yourself, which sure makes it nice, let me tell you.

Plus, power washing concrete at night is a job that can be done with only one helper, or even as a solo entrepreneur. The money is good, and the contracts are even better, while the cleaning process isn't all that dirty and the jobs always move along quite briskly. It is guaranteed money because dirt and filth keeps getting on the concrete, and it must be power washed to maintain its cleanliness, it's definitely a repeat business.

Are there any drawbacks you ask? Sure, there is a little bit of competition because the industry can be lucrative once you get it up and running and have a substantial clientele base. Still, the positives far outweigh the negatives because you don't have to deal with traffic in a Metro area, therefore you do not waste all your time and fuel parked in traffic when you could be making money cleaning something. If you are considering getting into this line of work I can highly recommend it. Please consider all this and think on it.

Staying Connected to Your Purpose

You know, that feeling where you were totally disconnected from the purpose of the business and the goals you set for yourself? Did it feel like some grim combination of drudgery and running in quicksand, and that your business was in charge of you rather than the other way around? Me too. To say the least, it's not an inspired or creative state.

I have worked with small business people for a while and I am frequently amazed at how creative they are. The sheer volume of things created from nothing but an inspired idea is stupefying. It is the genius driving the economy and it is a pleasure to watch.

However, building and operating a small business is extremely difficult, given the number of tasks you have to take on. There are marketing activities, sales activities, online activities, providing the product or service, customer service, bookkeeping, strategic planning, normal administrative things, collections, payments, personnel issues, and learning to do all the things that you don't know how to do.

With this bewildering array of hats to wear, it's not surprising that business owners disconnect from the purpose of their business. Bookkeeping, paying vendors and learning how to do SEO are not necessarily inspiring, and may have little to do with the purpose of the business or why you went into business in the first place. And yet it all has to get done. The problem is that doing all of this can cause a form of burnout, robbing you of the inspiration and creativity necessary to be successful.

Here are three things that you can do to prevent this form of burnout and stay inspired about your business and connected to its purpose.

Connect with your purpose every morning
Prioritize and time block your activities
Eliminate, delegate and outsource


1. Connect with your purpose in the morning

I don't know about you, but my thoughts will go in any direction they wish if I don't tell my brain what to do. I am not a morning person and most days I do not wake up inspired to build my business. I don't wake inspired to do anything. That said, going out into my day with whatever random thoughts and emotions are running around in my head doesn't lead to inspired performance from me. Running my business with that lack of focus can feel like drudgery.

There are several cures for this. Some might include:

Writing out your primary vision and goals in the morning along with what you can do today to achieve them. Doing this will enhance your focus and sense of purpose.
Meditating about your vision for your life and your business first thing in the day.
Read an inspiring story every morning. There are several books that are compilations of inspirational short stories available.
Listen to audio programs that are inspiring on your way to work and throughout the day.

Connecting to my purpose in the morning helps me stay motivated to accomplish my vision and goals. Try it. It works!

2. Prioritize and time block your activities

Not everything you do is of equal importance, so in a day with a limited number of hours, doing the most important things first seems only logical. However, tasks don't present themselves in their order of importance. Further, there are a lot of unimportant things that seem urgent and will drain away your day if you allow them to. Then there are the easy, comfortable tasks that pass the time which are by no means the most important things we need to do but we do anyway, giving us the illusion we are accomplishing something.

Here are some tips to get more done in your business day.

Identify the most important things you need to accomplish today and this week. Do these items before doing anything else.
Time block important activities on your calendar as if they were an appointment with a client and keep the appointment as if it were an appointment with a client. During this time, do only the most important things in their order of importance.
If your business involves leaving the office and meeting with clients or prospects, try and group these out of office activities on the same days, where possible. Do the same for office work. Try and group office activities on the same days to give you a chance to build some momentum in your office work by being able to do the work for an extended period of time. By eliminating the time it takes for you to transition from out of office mode to office mode, you will be more productive.
Don't do some things at all. See point 3 below.


By deciding to do the most important things, you will be running your business instead of the other way around. Feeling the empowerment of being in control your business and minimizing the daily overwhelm will help keep you connected to your vision and goals.

3. Eliminate, delegate or outsource

How much is your revenue generating time worth? That is, the time you spend providing your product or service, finding new clients, staying in touch with old clients or creating effective marketing campaigns. Now compare the value of that time with what you could pay someone to do some of your non-core business functions like database management or bookkeeping. If your time doing revenue generating activities is worth more than what you could pay someone to do a non-core activity, delegate or outsource that activity making more time available for your core business activities.

Another thing to consider is whether a task is worth doing at all. Does it really need to be done? Why? Eliminate something that is non-core to your business and use the time to work on revenue generating activities.

By eliminating, delegating and outsourcing non-core business activities in favor of core revenue generating activities, you will accomplish two things:

You will make more money because you will be focusing your efforts on the things that make you money.
You will stay more connected with your vision and goals because you will be focusing on the core purpose and activities of your business.

Suffering from overwhelm and being stretched too thin, and finding yourself in the proverbial weeds is an occupational hazard if you run a small businesses. They can disconnect you from your vision and goals, make your work seem like drudgery and harm your ability to develop a successful business. Using the tools described in this article will keep you connected to your purpose, make your days seem more rewarding and eventually make you more money because you will have run your business in an inspired and creative way.

John Bulman, MBA is an author and a business coach focusing on small business. His latest book is "Profitability Thinking:: Simple Concepts, Strategies and Tools to Effectively Manage Cash Flow and Make More Profitable Business Decisions." He believes that if you can change thinking and skills at the same time, amazing results happen. John is committed to helping small businesses owners grow their businesses faster, make more money and make better decisions.

John's coaching practice is a combination of traditional coaching and mentoring of business skills. As a result of Profitability Thinking coaching, business owners are more empowered to run their businesses successfully.

Product Launches: The 7 Key Mistakes To Avoid When Planning Your Product Launch

my first online product I made some fundamental mistakes which gave me some of my biggest learning's. In this article I'll share them with you so that you can make it easier for your clients to engage with you. And you want to more clients' right?

Mistake #1: No Client Pathway: Leaving the customer confused about how they are going to navigate through your website will only leave them hanging with no place to go or they may just leave. What to do instead: Map out your customer journey. One of the keys to a successful online business is have a clear map of how you customer will engage with you and how your will manage them from being an uninterested visitor to a high revenue client.

Mistake #2: Unclear on the start point. Even if you have the customer journey defined it is important to have a clear view of the start point otherwise how will your prospect know how to get into your website? What to do instead: Define the points, and they could be many, where, and how your prospective customer will enter your website.

Mistake #3: No customer Engagement Events: I made the mistake of having people "optin2 to my mailing list and then didn't know what to do with them. What to do instead: Define the customer interaction events that will create value for your customer, keep them engaged with you and provide them with an enhanced journey.

Mistake #4: No Automation. My first foray into the online world left me tired and running on empty from the effort that was necessary to keep pace with multiple marketing channels. What to do instead: Create an automated funnel, to market your product, inform and educate your audience as well as keeping them engaged.

Mistake #5: No Product to sell. I made the mistake of attending networking meetings and "selling" Project Management to an uninterested audience. I realised that clients are reluctant to buy open-ended services from a website and selling a service is infinitely harder than a product. What to do instead: Create a product strategy for each area of your business with a clear process to move your customer up to your high-end programme.

Mistake #6: Perfection. My fear of launching my product led to procrastination and the pursuit of perfection followed. What to do instead: Take action and get your material out there and learn from it - you will learn more from the feedback that seeking perfection.

Mistake #7: Focus on the wrong end of the problem: Many online marketers focus on getting the customer to "optin" with little thought for what comes next. Imagine going on a journey and you haven't worked out what your destination is. What to do instead: Focus on the outcome, the destination is the most important aspect of the plan


If you're ready to transform your own achievement then take a copy of my FREE e-book "How To Get From 'Boom & Bust' Cash Flow To A Stream Of High Revenue Generating Clients" which contains more guidance on transforming your business.