"Don't Fix it if its not broken" What a stupid saying

[Keeton]

Hey Everybody,
I need some advice from business owners who have entirely pivoted their businesses. I'd like to know if it was a smart idea, if things turned out for better or for worse. And how you handled the change.

I own a little under 60 vending machines in the southwest U.S. and we sell healthy snacks and beverages. Most items you cant really just go to a store and get because we stock mostly D2C brands.
I want to start moving away from vending machines and maybe moving into distribution. The wholesale accounts we open up have MOQ's which some vending machine operators might not be able to handle, because they don't have enough machines yet. So I would like to sell the products to other vending machine owners with no MOQ's, so they can start selling healthy snacks. However I don't know if the demand is there, if enough vending machine owners would want to start moving towards healthy snacks in their machines. I want to start selling my machines and doing this avenue, but I don't know if its very sustainable. I could always start doing distribution as well as operating my machines, that would be the safer route, and if the distribution is going well, then I could start selling my machines.

I'm kind of checked out of the whole machine gig though, and I can tell my employees at the office are as well. They're bored with managing the machines, and it looks like they want something new to do. So I think distribution could be a great new opportunity for the company. Let me know what you guys think.

How have you guys handled pivoting your businesses if you have, Did you go for it even if you weren't sure it would work out well?

 

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[heavy_industry]

As long as you will follow CENTS, you will be able to change your business or branch into anything you want.

Also, the implementation is much more important than the idea itself. You can have a brilliant idea and do nothing with it, or you could sell sandwiches and become one of the most influential companies in the world (McDonald's).

So it's not an easy yes/no answer to your question. It all depends on how you do it.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I think healthy options in vending machines is a great idea.

I'd test in a few machines and test demand.

As for your employees being "bored with managing machines," that's irrelevant.

You're running a business, not a amusement park.

Do what creates the most profit, and serves the greatest need.

 

[Guest-5ty5s4]

I think healthy options in vending machines is a great idea.

I'd test in a few machines and test demand.

As for your employees being "bored with managing machines," that's irrelevant.

You're running a business, not a amusement park.

Do what creates the most profit, and serves the greatest need.

“You’re running a business, not an amusement park.”

I love this line. Even if it was an amusement park, the fun is for customers!

 

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