Small Business Holiday Survival Guide

Conducting business during the holiday season can be challenging, especially if you depend on getting a certain amount of new business every month. With the exception of retail, most business slows down during this time of year. Most people are caught up in shopping, wrapping, and hosting or attending holiday parties.

How can you make the most of this "downtime" to ensure that you're ready to hit the ground running after the New Year's confetti has settled?

First of all, don't abandon the quest for new business entirely. Although it may be more difficult to win new clients now, you'll certainly fail if you don't try at all. Stick to your normal methods of prospecting - cold calling, networking, online marketing, etc.

Make the "warm and fuzzy" mood of the season work for your business. We all recognize the tried and true ritual of sending annual holiday cards to existing clients to thank them for their business, but you may want to take the concept a step further.

Think of how you can tie your product or service into the holiday season, even if it seems like a stretch at first. For example, an auto shop could run a holiday tune-up special, with the tagline "Will Your Car Make it Over the River and Through the Woods?" OK, don't be too hard on me! I came up with that on the spur of the moment.

Instead of sending cards, why not shower your clients with a more enduring gift? Be creative! Did you know that you can have a bobblehead made of yourself and branded with your company logo? If that idea seems a little far fetched, just remember that your goal in giving client gifts are to keep your name in front of the client, show appreciation for their business, and remind them of the need for your product or service.

Incorporate a subtle festivity into your daily marketing efforts. My business partner created a holiday version of our logo to use on seasonal coupons, in emails, etc. No matter how small, people appreciate the acknowledgment of this special time of year.

Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for Success in the New Year!

Michelle Mizuno is the Vice President of Marketing for Complete Business Systems. Her experience includes media planning and buying, account management, advertising sales, and copywriting for advertising, marketing, and PR. Visit the Complete Business Systems website to learn more about company branding at http://www.CompleteBizSystems.com

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Starting a Gumball Machine Business

Competition and strategies

The most frightful competition where gumball vending machines are considered is candy vending machine, and soda vending machine. Candy vending machines are an alternative to gumball ones, because they are both considered to be sweets. The difference however, is the fact that gumball vending machines are so much cheaper, so they have more popularity among people. Sales from a gumball vending machine are much higher than a candy one. And besides, the gumball vending machines are smaller and can be placed in any food store. A gumball vending machine is first of all a vending machine business niche element. So in order to make profit and be successful in your business, you most certainly must think about positioning the gumball vending machine. Considering the fact that candy vending machines cant be placed in a local food store - a gumball dispenser is, however, a great replacement, being smaller and much more adaptable to a local store. Kids are the main targets to a gumball vending machine, so placing vending machines in locations where kids go is a major factor in increasing your revenue and developing a profitable vending machine business.

The gumball vending machine business

Its true that gumball machines produce gum that is extremely cheap, so the price cant be so high. But think again, because things can be different. Having gumball sold in million pieces a day, you can even make a fortune out of gumball vending machines. Purchasing more than just one gumball machine is the key to increasing your profit. And placing them in childrens way is the key to a successful vending machine business. One of the major factors that can bring you trouble is direct sunlight. Having your gumball vending machine put straight into the sunlight can affect the quality of the gum not to mention the color that will slowly fade away. So, in order to protect your vending machine business, make sure you place your gumball vending machines in a shady cool place for the durability and good maintenance of the quality of the gumballs. Find out detailed information here: Vending Machine Expert

Commissions a basic strategy in vending

Paying a commission fee to the owner of the store you place your vending machine in, is a must. Usually, you will have to pay a fixed commission. But in many cases the commission is based on the sales, and has to do with the percentage of your sales. Most store owners will only charge you a small fee, because a vending machine is a good advertising source for them as well. Especially, if you have invested in a gumball vending machine, the commission is not highly rated, since the machine itself doesnt take much space. Though, make no mistake: paying commission is a basic in vending. There are stores that will ask for up to 25% of your sales. This is the case of a major superstore, with great sales itself, that will only do you good if it lets you place the vending machine in its location. Find fresh new vending business information here: Vending Machine Expert

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Vintage Coca-Cola Machine History

Vintage Coca-Cola machines are valued by many Coke memorabilia collectors, and many even want an old Coca-Cola machine that will actually vend the drinks. Fortunately, many of these machines have survived and there are many dealers who sell them, restore them and provide parts for repairs and do-it-yourself restorations.

Often, some of the most antique Coca-Cola machines are not much more than a metal box with the recognizable Coca-Cola script logo emblazoned across it. Essentially these were ice boxes designed specifically to be stocked with bottles of Coke and ice. Glascock was one manufacturer of such early vending units.

After these early vintage Coca-Cola machines that weren't much more than a glorified ice-box, came a refrigerated unit that didn't need ice. While it did have some advantages over its predecessor, such as a cleaner operation without the ice, it did have to be near an electric outlet and could require costly fixes.

Coin operated vending machines came next in common use and popularity, although some were seen as early as the end of the 19th Century. The history of coin operated machines actually goes back to the 1st Century when a coin resulted in vending holy water. One type of coin operated machine had a glass door through which bottles were seen and, after a coin was provided, a customer could pull out one bottle. If you weren't careful, you might not pull properly and would lose your coin.

The next type of machine dispensed the bottles one by one and was less likely to jam or malfunction. A popular maker of the early vintage Coca-Cola machine was Vendorlator in California. In the mid 20th Century they had a large market share. The Vendorlator 33 had a strange top opening and was quite small holding only 33 bottles. Other models were bigger than refrigerators. Vendorlator made machines for Pepsi as well, but rival Vendo made only Coca-Cola machines.

Most early coin machines were nickel machines, and you needed an actual nickel coin. As they became more sophisticated, some could make change, at first only from a dime, and eventually for other coins and, in modern times, even for dollar bills. For most, changing the price was pretty much impossible.

Bottle vending machines were supplanted when canned soft drinks became available in the 1960's. Cans were less likely to break than bottles, chilled faster and needed no bottle openers or cap receptacles.

You'll find the world's largest assortment of vintage Coca-Cola machines at Soda-Pop-Collectibles.com. Something for every collector!

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