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February 21, 2024
Everyone knows that tech companies are some of the most profitable. One of the best strategies for making a ton of money in tech is by making a mobile app.
We talked to Amin Shaykho and Marwan El-Rukby, who created their own app, Kadama, when they were just teenagers. They started as an app to link students with tutors, but when COVID hit, they had to convert to online tutoring.
We’ll share the lessons learned by Amin and Marwan to help you learn how to create an app, the challenges you’ll face, and how to market mobile apps.
Read our guide start to finish, or click on any of the links above to jump to the info you need right now.
Case Study: Kadama
Amin and Marwan were barely out of high school when they met and started discussing how much tutoring sucks. They got talking about their interests and realized that they were in the unique position to build their own app for tutoring students.
They realized:
You don’t want older tutors. You want tutors from people around your age because they become more like friends. That makes it more fun to learn.
They were both doing internships and earned the money for the original app development. Amin told us:
We paid a contractor $3K to create the first version of the mobile app. I learned the business side, my partner learned the app development process and took over as we learned.
They had to overcome numerous challenges including people using fraudulent tactics to get free tutoring, learning the trick to making videos that encourage users to join their app, the pandemic, and nearly running out of money.
Despite all that, they double to triple their income each year and are expecting to make between $20 and $30 million this year.
Now that you know a bit about their experiences, get ready to learn about the mobile app industry and A-to-Z development process.
Mobile app development industry outlook
When you create an app, the outlook will vary depending on the industry that you are in. For instance, Entertainment software tends to have higher profit margins than healthcare or information services; eCommerce apps are highly dependent on what products you sell.
Type of Company | Gross Profit | Net Profit |
Computer Services | 25.52% | 4.40% |
Entertainment | 38.09% | -0.23% |
Healthcare Information and Technology | 47.67% | 5.72% |
Information Services | 32.72% | 3.49% |
Software (Entertainment) | 63.43% | 20.35% |
Software (Internet) | 59.11% | -14.32% |
Software (System & Application) | 71.52% | 19.14% |
How to make an app
Mobile apps need to be developed strategically because they can be a source of useful information and fun, but also major cybersecurity issues. The mobile app development process will normally follow the steps below.
- Create design specifications for your app idea.
- Analyze the market for your app.
- Create a wireframe.
- Design the app.
- Choose your development platform.
- Develop the app.
- Test the app.
- Publish your app.
- Measure performance.
- Market your app.
- Regularly update the app.
Get ready to learn how each step plays a part in the mobile app creation process.
Create design specifications for your app idea
Like any business, a successful app starts with a good idea. Effectively, you want to establish what problem you will solve and how you will solve it. Amin explained:
First to market is a huge advantage. If you can get in first and dominate, it will be hard for other mobile apps to catch up.
According to Apple’s app store, the 15 most popular types of mobile app ideas that are downloaded include:
- Photo & Video
- Entertainment
- Social Networking
- Health & Fitness
- Lifestyle
- Productivity
- Business
- Developer Tools
- Apps for Watches
- Graphics & Design
- Music
- Shopping
- Education
- Finance
- Navigation
Once you’ve identified a problem and come up with an app-based solution, you need to specify the requirements for a minimum viable product before you build an app. A minimum viable product is simply the features that will be included in the app to make it useful and earn money.
Analyze the market for your app
Like any other business, mobile apps need to make money. That means you need to research the demand for your service, the target market, and how competitors make money. You can use this tool to help document your research.
Competitor Analysis Research Tool
How to make money with an app
There are numerous ways to make money with an app. Some of the most popular ways to generate income as an app maker include:
- In-app advertising: You can sell advertising space to other businesses and earn revenue from it. You’ll want to track frequency and length of ads to establish optimal lengths and frequencies for customer satisfaction and revenue. You can also sell an upgrade to an ad-free experience.
- In-app purchases: Offer your app for free and create opportunities for users to make in-app purchases. This is particularly popular with eCommerce, restaurants, and game creators. It is most beneficial with depletable items.
- Subscriptions: Charge users to pay regular fees in exchange for access to the app or its features. Many apps use subscriptions along with in-app advertising to get people to spend monthly on their app.
- Freemium: Offer a free version of the app that is very usable but is lacking a few features that a user can unlock for a one-time fee.
- Crowdfunding: You can ask for donations from users to support your app. Wikipedia is probably the best-known app maker that uses this strategy to earn money from its app.
- Affiliate marketing: You can include links to products or services from other companies in your app. When a user clicks on the link and makes a purchase, your business will earn a commission.
- Collecting and selling data: You can sell your databases to third parties, but many people view this as a poor business practice. The Apple App Store requires disclosing when you track any person or device “across apps and websites owned by other companies for ad targeting, for ad measurement purposes, or to share your data with data brokers.”
- Paid apps: You can charge to download an app, but you’ll drastically narrow your target market. Most mobile applications that use this model are either highly successful or for business purposes.
- Sponsorship: You can have companies sponsor your content. This strategy will require an audience that the sponsors can benefit from.
- Selling merchandise: You can sell products in an app to make money.
- Transaction fees: Financial services often make money in a mobile application through transaction fees. Companies like Uber and Kadama also use this model.
Kadama is free to download. Then users pay for their tutoring sessions. Amin explained how Kadama makes money:
Let’s say they spend $100: We take $30, and $70 goes to the tutor, which is higher than people taking a salary.
He went on to explain how much Kadama makes with this method:
We made about $10 million last year from the 30% commission. About 80% of that is gross profit, while the other 20% goes to servers, advertisements, and to create application improvements.
Once you have established that there is a market for your mobile application, it’s time to build a prototype.
Get the funding
While the costs of making an app have gone down, part of learning how to create an app is figuring out how to pay for it. Some of the common ways to fund an app are:
- Pay for it yourself
- Borrow money from friends and family
- Get a business loan
- Raise funds with crowdfunding
- Venture capitalists
Amin told us:
Be excited for nos. We got 70 nos before we got a yes. If we had stopped any earlier, we would have failed.
He went on to explain that app developers should be careful when talking with venture capitalists.
Venture capitalists will try to scrape you for their data. There’s no such thing as an NDA in this world. Be careful what information you give them because they may be just trying to compare what you do to what one of their investments is doing.
How much does it cost to make an app?
Creating an app can cost as little as $60 per month and your time, but when you hire a designer and developer the costs can go up dramatically. Amin told us:
We paid a contractor $3K to create the first version of the mobile app.
While I (the writer) was working as the content writer for an Australian development firm, I was able to learn a lot about the app development process. Custom software design for fin-tech companies often runs between $9K and $100K per month between the original creation of the mobile app and the ongoing maintenance.
Create a wireframe
Mobile app development should start with brainstorming about a user interface, or what the customer sees when they use the mobile app. App makers normally create apps by starting with a wireframe, which is a two-dimensional illustration of a page’s interface. It shows your web page, app interface, or product layout.
Wireframes help programmers and designers think and communicate the structure of the software or website they’re building. These prototypes also help stakeholders or customers understand what each page of the user interface will look like.
There are three main types of wireframes, with increased detail:
- Low-fidelity wireframes: Just the basic blocks of where everything would be
- Mid-fidelity wireframes: These frames may be slightly more detailed and show how the user interface takes the user from one page to another
- High-fidelity wireframes: These are the most detailed and the best-looking wireframes, but the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) features still aren’t actually added
What’s the difference between user interface (UI) and user experience (UX)?
A user interface is a front end and the navigational elements that a user can see. Meanwhile, the user experience includes both the UI and other aspects like whether transitions from screen to screen work well, speed of loading, and predictive text.
UX might also include decisions like whether to use dropdown, fill in the blank, or checkboxes to simplify filling out information in app stores.
Design the app
This stage of the app creation process turns the wireframe into a more functional-looking UI, but it still won’t have all the elements of the backend that require a programmer for the app development process.
You’ll basically be making the app visually appealing with smooth transitions and logical interfaces. There are some differences in the user interface requirements when you create Android apps and iOS app development. At the onset, it’s important to know:
- iOS apps: iOS apps need to conform to Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines.
- Android apps: Google also has design standards to follow as an app builder.
When you create apps, it is extremely important to follow the appropriate guides because 6% of app rejections are because they don’t follow the different app stores’ design guides.
Choose your development platform
Once upon a time, you had to hire a development company to design and build an app, create the system architecture, create your own servers, and build your databases. Fortunately, there are no-code app-building platforms that work similarly to free website builders.
- Appy Pie: $60 per month for a no-code app on both iOS and Google Play Store
- Softr: Good for beginners
- Bubble: A balance between power and ease of use
- Glide: Good for creating simple mobile apps
- Draftbit: Good for creating powerful mobile apps
Alternatively, you can use legacy app development strategies and host your app on AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure.
Develop the app
Once you’ve chosen what platform to use, you just have to begin app development. This can be as easy as using one of the no-code platforms listed above or spending thousands of hours on custom development. The app development will include:
- Creating servers
- Adding automations
- Adding analytics software
- Integrating cybersecurity features
- Integrating payment options
- Establishing whether storage is on-device or cloud (some decisions are stipulated by app stores)
Once you’re done with app creation, you’ll need to test everything.
Test the app
When you build your own app, you’ll need to do application testing. The application testing process follows the steps below:
- Outline the process.
- Select test type.
- Prepare test cases.
- Perform manual testing.
- Perform automated testing.
- Perform usability and beta testing.
- Perform performance testing.
- Perform security testing.
You’ll need to perform this process for each of the operating systems before you submit your mobile app development project to the app stores, which we’ll discuss next.
Publish your app
Next, you’ll want to publish your app in each of the app stores. This part of the app development might be complicated for people who aren’t devs. An app builder will have to submit both iOS and Android apps to the respective stores for the operating systems.
Pro Tip: When many people create an app, they start with an Android app because the Google Play Store is not as difficult to get into as the Apple App Store.
Market your app
After your app development is complete and approved by the app store, you’ll want to market the app. While Amin is in app development, he is keenly aware of how marketing contributes to creating a successful app.
Amin warned:
Don’t be too married to an idea.
Use TikTok
The Kadama team markets their mobile app primarily on TikTok, which is what earned them a 30 Under 30 award. Amin explained:
You have to catch [viewers’] attention in three seconds. You have to add a twist that nobody has done before.
He went on to explain:
Research, post a video on social media that’s funny, and get them to download app.
It’s not without trial and error, though. They wasted a lot of money on ads before figuring out how to go viral. Then they changed their strategy to focus on content creation and only boost the content that had already gone viral. Amin explained:
It gets easier once you get to one million TikTok videos in a month. We started doing five videos a day. We just kept hitting more and more. You see a snowball effect.
Improve app store optimization
App development teams will have to submit information to the app store. Like other search engines, you can use app store optimization (ASO) to increase your app’s visibility, reach, and conversion rates. Some of the ways you can optimize your mobile app for ASO include:
- Use a descriptive title.
- Use keywords wisely.
- Describe your app well.
- Use high-quality screenshots.
- Add an app preview video.
- Pick the right category.
- Focus on icon design.
- Encourage positive reviews.
- Optimize your app’s title and subtitle.
- Add compelling visual elements.
- Update regularly.
- Monitor results.
ASO can cost up to $2,000 per month, and some ASO tools can cost more than $10,000 per year. Check out Velvetech’s reviews of some of the different tools.
Be wary of free trials
Many companies offer free trials, but you need to be wary of them as an app maker. Amin explained:
Free trials take a big hit. Overnight, we lost $30,000 and had to figure out how to [deal with] it. We also discovered that the people who used the promo codes never planned to buy and the people who would buy don’t care about the promo codes. So, we spent $50,000 to $100,000 to learn that.
This is consistent with my experience using apps. When I test a web app, I make it a point to use the free trials. Because I’m normally testing them to give my opinion on them in a blog, I have no intent of buying them.
An app maker should be looking for ways to identify the parts of their audience that spends money and focus on what is important for them.
Measure performance
When you create an app, you’ll need to monitor both the performance of the app on operating systems and how well it is performing with your target audience.
Depending on mobile devices’ tracking policies, an app maker may be constrained by the amount of tracking allowed.
You’ll want to at least monitor:
- Uptime and downtime: This helps you understand how well app users are able to access your app.
- Number of users: The number of users that are using your app on a daily, monthly, and annual basis are an indication of your reach and where you should focus your marketing efforts.
- User satisfaction: You want to track ratings, churn rate, and user feedback to help you understand whether your app design and business model are landing well with your target audience.
- Revenue: You’ll probably want to track revenue, earnings per user, and number of users who are free versus paying.
- Profit: You’ll need to track the expenses and profit margins.
- Cost of customer acquisition: Measuring the cost to acquire new users is critical because it shows how much you need to make from each app user to become profitable. Amin told us Kadama’s cost of acquisition is $200.
Use data to improve your mobile platform
Your data can be a key component when you develop an app. It can help you find new features and even turn your mobile app from a money pit to a profitable app. Amin explained:
We launched in 2020 and we were profitable in mid-2022. We weren’t profitable, and we had three months of earnings before we would lose funds. We increased the profitability by raising our commissions from 15% to 30%. I literally called our 200 best-performing tutors and convinced 99 that it would be better because we could invest in features that would make them more money.
Regularly update the app
Anyone wondering how to make apps might be surprised that when you develop an app, that’s just the beginning of your app-building journey. You should expect to keep building continuously. Some reasons you’ll want to keep building when you create an app include:
- Improving the app’s appearance
- Adding desired features based on user feedback
- Eliminating bugs in the app’s functionality
- Conforming to changes in the operating system and app store policy
- Removing features people don’t value
- Improving cybersecurity
Professional app developers understand all this, but many people new to app development are surprised at how often an app builder needs to update a web app to comply with the Apple and Android app development requirements.
At this point, you know how to create a mobile app, but there are differences in apps created for iOS, Microsoft, and Android devices. Let’s look at some of the differences that affect the entire development process.
How to create mobile apps for iOS and Android
There are two main ways to create an app that will work for both iOS and Android users:
- Cross-platform app: A development team will normally prefer to build in a way that ensures an app functions on both Android and iOS devices. You or your designer or developer will be able to use your coding skills to create the majority of the app, then you’ll need to make modifications for each of the platforms.
- Native app: If you want to learn how to build an app that works perfectly on a certain device, your app development company will need to build a native mobile app. This means you’ll need to create native apps for each of the platforms you want to be on…and it means you’ll be doing more work to create an app.
Let’s look at how to make an iPhone app first.
How to make an iOS app
You’ll want to spend a lot of time on Apple’s developer site when researching how to make iPhone apps. They recommend using the programming language Swift and the software tool Xcode. Check out their tutorials on each to learn how to create an app for iPhone.
Once you’ve completed the app-building process documented in the sections above, you’ll need to:
- Create a developer account for $99 per year (or $299 for enterprise accounts).
- Submit your app and all documentation.
- Wait for approval or change requests.
- Make any necessary changes to the app.
- Optimize your app shop listing.
- Resubmit when you make updates to the app.
You might be wondering how to man an app for iPhone for free. Let’s find out if you can.
How to make an iPhone app for free
Sorry, everyone. Unless you already have a developer account, you can’t get into the Apple app store for free. It’s only $99 per year, but every app builder who wants to include their app design in the iPhone has to pay the fee even if you are building a free app.
Other than that fee, you can build your app for free if you have a server and the coding skills to be an app builder without hiring people.
How to make an Android app
To begin Android development, you’ll need to follow the process below:
- Download Android Studio.
- Create a project.
- Find project files.
- Update the text.
- Change the graphics.
- Add padding.
- Review the code.
Pro Tip: For a more in-depth walkthrough, learn how to create an app for Android in this tutorial.
After the Android application development is complete, you’ll need to:
- Go to Google Play Developer Console.
- Link the developer account with a Google Wallet Merchant Account.
- Create your application.
- Apply for an App Store listing.
- Upload app bundles or APK to Google Play.
- Wait for content rating.
- Fix app pricing and distribution.
- Publish the application.
You can learn more about how to make an app for Android on AppInventiv.
How to make an Android app for free
Like iOS, Android app developers also have to pay to list an app. It’s a $25 one-time fee for each app you add to the Google Play Store. That’s why so many people who start in mobile application development choose to go with Android before building an iPhone app. Just follow the steps in the previous section.
How much does it cost to publish an app on the app stores?
Google Play Store requires a $25 one-time fee, while Apple charges $99 a year for individual app developers or a $299-per-year fee for your development team.
How to validate app ideas
There are numerous ways to validate app ideas. Some ways to validate your app ideas include:
- Survey your target market to find out what they want.
- Use wireframes and prototypes to establish whether people like the design of the app.
- Use the beta testing functions in the app stores to detect bugs.
Pro Tip: Check out some of the best ways of validating ideas.
How long does it take to create an app?
The average time to develop a mobile app is six to nine months. The app design process will vary depending on the programming language, desired features, operating system, and skill of the development team. Expect the mobile app development timeline to look something like this:
- Ideation and validation: 2–3 weeks
- Design and pre-development: 5–7 weeks
- App architecture: 6–7 weeks
- App development: 3–6 months
- Testing: 2 weeks
- Finalization and launch: 1 week
You can use automated testing to improve the time for testing and ensure the code is free of errors. If you’re set on learning mobile app development yourself, know it could take two to three years of training before you are up to the level of an experienced app builder.
Are you ready to build your own app?
We’ve broken down a complex concept by taking inspiration from Kadama’s success. While I, the author, am not a developer, I recommend starting with a no-code app builder to get an understanding of how to develop an app, then when you get stuck, hire an app developer to take your project to the next level.
What’s your app idea, and how do you envision making it profitable?
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You’ve looked into the steps of starting a vending machine business, but you haven’t developed business plans. We’ll help you create a vending machine business plan.
Adam Hill has owned and operated Hill Vending since 2014, when he bought a $120 vending route. Now he’s making over $600K in annual sales. He’ll share vending machine tips so you know how to estimate vending machine profits and other costs.
[su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]
We’ll explain everything you need to know to communicate your business plan. These vending machine business links will send you directly to the section of the blog you want to read:
- What Is a Vending Machine Business Plan?
- Why You Need a Vending Business Plan
- How to Buy Vending Machines
- Vending Machine Business Plan Template
- What Should I Include in a Vending Machine Startup Business Plan?
- Executive Summary
- Company Analysis
- Vending Machine Industry Analysis
- Customer Analysis
- Competitive Analysis
- Marketing Plan
- Operations Plan
- Management Team
- Financial Plan
- Income Statement
- Balance Sheets
- Cash Flow Statement
- Income Statement
- Appendix
- Executive Summary
- Vending Machine Business FAQs
- How Much Are Vending Machines?
- How to Start a Vending Machine Business
- How Much Does a Vending Machine Make?
- What Do I Need to Start a Vending Machine Business?
- How Much Are Vending Machines?
- Write Your Vending Machine Business Plan[/su_note]
What Is a Vending Machine Business Plan?
A vending machine business plan provides a snapshot of where your business is, where it’s going, and how you will achieve the business goals over the next three to 10 years.
Vending business plans will include market research on the vending machine industry, local vending machine associations, a marketing plan, an operations plan, and a financial plan to provide a clear path of how you expect your vending machine company to make money and grow.
Why You Need a Vending Business Plan
Your chances of starting a successful vending machine business double by writing and following a vending machine business plan. Plus, companies that follow their business plans grow nearly 30% faster and get more funding than those without a business plan.
Make sure to update your vending machine business plan annually as your company grows and achieves its goals.
How to Buy Vending Machines
The main ways to buy a vending machine business are personal savings, credit cards, private loans from the current business owner, bank loans, and angel investors.
Private Loans
One of the top ways to get into the vending machine industry is to buy an existing vending machine business. Business owners will often agree to owner financing, where you pay 0-20% down and then pay off the remainder over one to five years.
Bank Loans
Banks will want to review your vending machine business plan and decide whether they believe you can accomplish the goals you’ve included. More specifically, a loan officer will want to see a professional vending machine business plan to verify that your financial assumptions are reasonable.
Angel Investors
Another way to fund a vending machine business is by taking a loan or equity deal from angel investors. An angel investor is just a wealthy individual who helps people start businesses in exchange for a share of the profits.
Learn more about buying a vending machine.
Vending Machine Business Plan Template
You’ll want a business plan template for your vending machine business. Download our free vending machine business plan template below.
You’ll also get our How to Start a Vending Machine Business PDF.
Check out our other business plan templates for more resources or watch our interview with a business owner who started one of the fastest growing franchises in North America to learn how he writes a business plan.
[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Seac5PbUZXk"]
What Should I Include in a Vending Machine Startup Business Plan?
A business plan for a vending machine company should include:
- Executive Summary
- Company Analysis
- Vending Machine Industry Analysis
- Customer Analysis
- Competitor Analysis
- Vending Machine Marketing Plan
- Vending Machine Operations Plan
- Management Team
- Vending Machine Financial Plan
- Appendix
Keep reading to learn what vending machine operators should include in their business plans. We’ll also provide examples of what key parts of a vending machine business plan might look like.
Executive Summary
Vending machine operators should start their business plan with an executive summary. All an executive summary does is summarize what the rest of the document is about.
The executive summary should be under a page long and should include a sentence or two about each section so that people can get the main points quickly.
Company Analysis
This section of your vending machine business plan should include:
- An introduction to your company
- Your company’s mission and values
- Your goals
- The vending machine services you’ll offer
- Your competitive advantage
Vending Machine Industry Analysis
In your industry analysis, you need to provide an overview of the vending machine business. Your research will help you understand the market, improve your strategy to utilize market trends, and prove to readers you know what you’re talking about.
Your vending machine business plan should answer the following questions about the vending industry:
- How much do vending machines make a month? (Both as an industry and per machine)
- How much of the industry revenue is in the local market? Use the industry revenue multiplied by your location divided by the U.S. population.
- Is the market growing or shrinking?
- Who are the market leaders in the industry?
- Who are the primary vending machine manufacturers and suppliers of products?
- What vending machine business trends will impact the industry?
- What is the vending industry’s 5-10 year growth forecast?
I suggest using the IBIS World report we linked to earlier because it includes all the information about the U.S. vending machine market. You may need to purchase a local plan as well.
Industry Analysis Example
The vending machine industry makes $10 billion per year across 17,739 vending operators in the U.S. That means they make an average of $563,729 per year.
The average monthly revenue of a vending machine is approximately $2,000, which means a company needs 24 machines to earn the average across the industry.
The Las Vegas vending machine business market is approximately $69,343,972.03, and there are 99 vending machine operators, which means each vending machine operator is making approximately $140K per year more than the national average.
The market is expected to slightly decline in revenue, but companies that capitalize on existing trends like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and specialized vending machines are able to see growth by creating new markets in high-traffic areas.
According to ThomasNet, the major vending machine equipment manufacturers and suppliers are:
Company | Location | Year Founded | No. of Employees |
Wurth Industry North America | Brooklyn Park, MN | 1945 | 1000+ |
Haggard & Stocking Associates, Inc. | Indianapolis, IN | 1972 | 50-99 |
Atlantic Paper & Supply | Pawtucket, RI | 1948 | 10-49 |
Grune Technica | Gresham, OR | 1977 | 1-9 |
Elite Restaurant Equipment | Newark, NJ | 2001 | 10-49 |
Moses Enterprise LLC | Baton Rouge, LA | 2005 | 1-9 |
Westerfield Sales and Service | Cleveland, OH | 1946 | 1-9 |
Rockleigh Industries, Inc. | Rockleigh, NJ | 1998 | 10-49 |
IVM, Inc. | Indianapolis, IN | 1991 | 10-49 |
Lynde-Ordway Co. | Huntington Beach, CA | 1925 | 1-9 |
Adam suggested two manufacturers of vending machines he prefers to use.
[su_quote]AMS and Vendo are by far the best machines I’ve used.[/su_quote]
In addition, snack foods and drinks are available from stores like:
- Walmart
- Sam’s Club
- Amazon
- Coke distributors
- Pepsi distributors
- Other distributors
Customer Analysis
Your vending machine business plan should describe the target market you will be providing vending.
Your target market will impact the pricing and product options you carry. Make sure to understand the demographics of the customers in each type of facility you serve. You won’t want to offer the same vending machine products in a gas station as you would a cardiac wing in a hospital.
Analyze customer demographics. You’ll want to discuss the age, gender, location, and income levels of decision-makers, their customers, and where you want to place your vending machines.
You’ll also want to include psychographic profiles, meaning the details of your customers’ wants and needs. You wouldn’t want to offer all candy and soda in a yoga studio vending machine because the students will probably want water and healthier snack choices.
Competitive Analysis
Your vending machine business plan should include a competitive analysis that shows your understanding of the direct and indirect competitors you will be competing with for your target customers.
Direct competitors are limited to vending machine operators in the local area, while indirect competitors are any type of business where your target customers can get the same products.
A vending machine business will have indirect competitors, including grocery stores, convenience stores, delivery apps, pharmacies, and fast food restaurants.
Not mentioning these vending machine competitors may show lenders that you don’t realize there are other places where someone can buy the same products even when in a rush.
You want to describe in greater detail the other vending machine businesses you’ll compete with. Your direct competitors will be other vending machine locations within a mile of your machine.
Create an analysis of each local vending machine company that answers the following:
- What locations does each business serve?
- What items do they sell in the vending machines?
- How do they price each item?
- What are the machine owners’ competitive advantages?
- What opportunities do they leave open?
After you’ve done this, you should be able to answer questions like:
- How can I provide superior products?
- What products can I offer that competitors do not?
- How can I create an excellent customer service culture?
- Can I beat their pricing?
Finding ways to provide better customer service at a similar or lower cost will provide a competitive advantage. Just make sure the pricing is correct for your vending machine business to be successful.
Marketing Plan
Have you ever heard of the 4Ps of marketing?
They are:
- Product
- Price
- Place
- Promotion
Every vending machine business should include them in its marketing plan.
Product
This section of your vending machine business plan should remind the reader what type of vending machine business you are. Make sure to be specific about the products you’ll be offering in your vending machines. You’ll want to keep the product list consistent across vending machines.
Price
You should have already analyzed how other vending machine businesses sell their products. Now it’s time to create your pricing guide. Adam suggests pricing the products at twice what you pay for them.
If you buy a 12-pack of soda from Sam’s Club for $12.99, then your vending machine company should be selling each can for $2.25 if the market will allow it. At the very least, factor in 50 cents profit per item.
Place
Where will you be placing your vending machines? Document every location, the types of vending machines at the location, and how often you’ll need to check it.
You should also explain why each location is a good spot for a vending machine in your vending machine business plan. Learn more about vending machine placement.
Promotion
The promotion section of a vending machine marketing plan documents how you will help people find your vending machine company and the locations where you have placed a vending machine.
Some promotional methods you might use for a vending machine company include:
- A vending machine website
- Adding your branding to your vehicle
- Creating brochures for business owners
- Focusing on vending machine experience and user experience (UX)
- Keeping your vending machines clean and branding them to help people recognize your brand
- Placing vending machines in strategic locations
- Providing maps that show where your vending machine business is located
- Sharing cool features of your vending machines on social media
You could also create a course to help other people learn how to start a vending machine business. That’s one of the ways that Adam has built upon his vending machine business. Check out our free vending machine training.
Operations Plan
An operations plan is part of your vending machine business plan that explains your daily operations. Your operations plan should include two sections:
- Long-term goals
- Processes for operational excellence
Long-Term Goals
What milestones do you want to achieve in your vending machine company?
Your long-term goals might include the number of machines you want by a certain date, when you want to hire employees, and how much revenue you want within five years.
Make sure to add these details to your vending machine business plan.
Processes for Your Vending Machine Business
Your processes are the steps you will take during the day to keep your vending machine business running smoothly. Your main tasks will include:
- Buy vending machine products
- Store vending machine products
- Deliver machines
- Restock vending machines
- Clean vending machines
- Buy new vending machines
- Secure contracts for vending machine placement
- Buy vending machine routes
- Provide customer service
Management Team
You should also include your management team and business structure in your vending machine business plan. Planning for a team shows that you have thought through starting a vending machine business and realize that you can’t do everything.
While vending machine businesses are typically able to be run by a single person, that doesn’t mean you won’t need help from other professionals including:
- Attorney
- Accountant
- Vending Machine Repair Person
- Sales and Marketing
Hiring people to manage portions of the company you don’t understand will make starting a vending machine business much easier. Emphasize how your leadership team is going to make you more successful by touting their past experience.
Direct experience in the vending machine business is best, but if your team has experience in other areas that are related, it works well, too. An advisory board familiar with vending machines is also an option.
Financial Plan
When you own vending machine business assets, you need a financial plan. Your financial plan should cover one to five years from your vending machine business starting.
Three financial statements should be included with your business plan:
- Income statement
- Balance sheet
- Cash flow statement
Income Statement
A Profit and Loss statement, P&L, or income statement shows your revenues and expenses to show how much money you made or lost.
You’ll have to make some assumptions when you create an income statement. Vending machine owners will need to make and document assumptions that answer the following:
- How many products will you serve?
- What will inflation be?
- How much will revenue grow each year? How?
Example Vending Machines Income Statement
Let’s assume the following:
- We bought 10 vending machines for $20,000 with $0 down and one year to pay $25K.
- Revenue is $2K/month per machine.
- Gross margins are 50%.
- Taxes are 20%.
- Marketing costs $1,000 annually.
Revenue | $240,000 |
Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) | $120,000 |
Gross Margin | $120,000 |
Marketing | $1,000 |
Loan Expenses | $25,000 |
EBITDA | $94,000 |
Depreciation | $2,000 |
Earnings Before Income Tax | $92,000 |
Income Tax | $19,320 |
Net Income | $72,680 |
Note: EBITDA = Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization
Balance Sheets
Balance sheets are used to compare your assets and liabilities. Your balance sheet will show five sections:
- Current Assets: Cash and items that can be turned into cash within a year, including accounts receivable, inventory, prepaid expenses, and marketable securities.
- Long-Term Assets: Items that cannot be sold fast, like land, patents, brands, trademarks, goodwill, and vending machine equipment.
- Current Liabilities: Any debt due within a year, including accounts payable, debt financing, payroll, rent, utilities, and other accrued expenses.
- Long-Term Liabilities: Any debts that last longer than a year, including bonds payable, deferred taxes, leases, loans, and pensions
- Shareholder Equity: Shares, reserves, and retained earnings are all parts of owners’ equity
Effectively, you are aiming to balance the equation:
Current Assets + Long Term Assets = Current Liabilities + Long-Term Liabilities + Shareholder Equity
Learn more about balance sheets.
Cash Flow Statement
Your cash flow statement shows how much money you need in your business bank account to cover startup costs and operating expenses until you are fully self-sustaining.
Your cash flow statement adjusts the net income to add:
- Depreciation
- Decreases in accounts payable
- Increases in taxes payable
- Increases in accounts receivable
Then you’ll want to subtract the cost of any inventory to get the cash from operations. You’ll also want line items for any investment or financing you need for the following items:
- Cost of equipment like vending machines, refrigerated delivery trucks, etc.
- Cost of maintaining an adequate amount of inventory
- Payroll or salaries paid to staff
- Business insurance
- Taxes and permits
- Legal expenses
Appendix
The final part of your vending machine business plan should be an appendix that includes all the supporting documentation for your business plan. You’ll want to include tables, links, and citations so that anyone reviewing your vending machine business plan can verify your facts.
For the sake of brevity, in this Example Appendix, I am only including the formula I used for the Las Vegas Vending Machine Industry calculation.
Vending Machine Business FAQs
How Much Are Vending Machines?
Buying a vending machine will cost anywhere from $100 for a small candy vending machine to a few thousand dollars for new and used drink or snack machines. The custom vending machine cost can reach $20,000.
How to Start a Vending Machine Business
Starting a vending machine business requires:
- Establishing if the vending machine business will be profitable
- Creating financial projections
- Writing a vending machine business plan
- Forming your vending machine business
- Buying a vending machine
- Getting products to fill your vending machine
- Finding a location for your vending machine
- Storing vending machine products
- Maintaining vending machines
- Restocking and collecting money from your vending machine investment
How Much Does a Vending Machine Make?
According to Adam, most vending machines make around $2,000 per month if they are in good locations.
Market research may show that other vending machines can have even better results, but use $2,000 a month per machine in financial projections for your business plan unless you can document that your machines will have better returns.
Of the $2,000, approximately 30% should be profits or wages.
What Do I Need to Start a Vending Machine Business?
The vending machine business model normally requires a:
- Vending machine
- Business license and LLC
- Car
- Location for the vending machine
- Products
- Way to handle refunds
Write Your Vending Machine Business Plan
Whether you decide to offer ice cream vending machines, coffee vending machines, or bulk vending machines, a vending machines business plan will help you make the most out of your new venture.
If you haven’t already, don’t forget to download your free business plan.
What will be your vending machines business model?
Business ideas
Most people's first exposure to a business is typically the business name and logo. A brand name is a basis around which brand identity is built, but far too often people take cop-outs and choose names like Brandon's Blogs. We're going to show you a better approach for how to come up with a business name.Mike Andes, founder of Augusta Lawn Care, and Lee Smith, owner of Urbanity, gave us some tips on how to choose a business name, and we're going to share them with you along with some other tips from our experience starting businesses.We'll start by explaining the return on investment (ROI) of a name, what makes a good and bad business, and how to pick a name for your business name. Then, we'll discuss trademarking to protect your brand.Get ready to find the perfect business name for your new business.
Step 1. Understand the ROI of a name
Most great brands have a company name and logo that are identifiable immediately, but most small businesses either spend too much time thinking about names or create a business name like Mike's Mangos. Neither of those strategies is the best idea when wondering how to name your business.Good business names, logos, and reputations can be worth billions. To give you an idea of how important it is, Amazon consistently reports goodwill (an accounting term for the value of the stock above fair market value) at over $14 billion over three years. That is around 7% of their total assets.Granted most of us aren't going to build a brand like Amazon overnight, but we should still consider how to name a business and how this adds value to the company through:
- Domain value
- Other branding elements
- Setting the tone of the business
Let's discuss domains and how they impact names for a small business.
Budget for a domain name
A domain name is what you type in when you want to go to a specific website, such as UpFlip.com. The domain name is used to make it easier for us to remember the web address of a company because using an IP address like 192.178.135.245 would make it impossible for us to find a company name.Most domain names are fairly inexpensive (as little as $1 per year), but you still need to check when you decide, "I need a company name." If the domain name is owned by someone else, they can charge a much higher price though. Cars.com was sold for $84 million at one point. Most people can't afford names for small businesses that cost $84 million, so you need to check with a provider.
Domain providers
Common providers of domain names include:
Most charge an annual fee and can be purchased for up to ten years. Unstoppable Domains allows you to buy domains in the form of an NFT, but this is only something that should be done if you have blockchain experience.Keep reading for other information that impacts the success of business names.
Understand secondary branding elements
In addition to a catchy business name, there are other key elements that create a value proposition, create a great brand reputation, and lower the cost of customer acquisition.Mike suggested:[su_quote]When you are working on creating your brand identity, draw inspiration from companies that you aspire to be like. If you look at what the major players in your field do, it will give you an idea of how to create the perfect brand.[/su_quote]Other aspects that go into the company brand image include:
- Logo
- Font of text
- Colors used in logo and text
- Slogan
Keep reading for more information on how these impact how potential customers view a company.
Logo
Every business should have a logo. You'll see many small businesses with more artsy ones, but it is obvious that simple logos tend to do really well for branding. When you think of some of the most iconic brand logos, you'll probably think of these:As you can see a company logo can be simple, yet elegant and create phenomenal results.Mike warned us:[su_quote]Get started rather than try to make it perfect. It's going to evolve with the brand anyway. You can do a simple one completely free, then when you have some money hire a freelancer. Then once you have really grown, maybe a branding team. It's important to have a logo, but it's more important for new entrepreneurs to get started.[/su_quote]There are plenty of free logo makers. Here are some of my favorite:
EPCGroup did a review of Fortune 500 company logos that I strongly suggest you read before creating your own or hiring a freelancer.
Font
According to the EPC review, 75% of Fortune 500 companies use San Serif font styles, followed by Serif at 19%. That's not to say that a small business has to use that font, but they are used because of their minimalism, modernism, and ease of reading. MyFonts makes it really easy to view types of fonts by the font style.If you want to use other font styles, be careful about how readable they are. It can make it harder for people to remember the name of your business if the font is hard to read. No matter how unique a value proposition you offer, if customers can't read the company names, they can't search for the website URL.Keep reading to learn more about using color in your brand naming ideas.
Color
Color is used to evoke emotions. The psychology of colors has been studied since the early Egyptians, and possibly earlier. Depending on what type of emotion you want to communicate, you'll want your brand logos to be certain colors. The following explains the correlations between color and emotion:Mike told us:[su_quote]I was trying to inspire people to associate the company with the Augusta National golf tournament, so one of the things I did was use the same white jumpsuits with the name on the back that they do. It's a horrible idea in lawn care because they stain so easily.[/su_quote]Here's a picture of what they looked like:
Slogan
A slogan is a saying associated with your brand. For instance, Nike’s is "Just do it!" A slogan can help encourage people to think about the brand more and help create brand loyalty. You can file a trademark to protect your slogan as intellectual property.
Customer Service
Mike also pointed out that customer service and how your employees represent the business are also main components in the brand reputation. He mentioned:[su_quote]Facebook has gotten a bad reputation for some of its data handling and business strategies, which I think contributed to it changing its name to Meta. If there is a horrible public relationship nightmare, changing names can sometimes help disassociate the two.[/su_quote]To learn more about starting a business, read the intro to starting a business then dig into the sections you want to learn more about.
Step 2. Create a brand name tone
The name of your business will influence how people perceive it. Make sure to make it positive. If it has a negative connotation, it will likely hinder the company.Mike told us:[su_quote]I wouldn't want anything referring to dirt in a lawn care business name. It's just not what I would want my customers to be thinking about.[/su_quote]Now that you understand some of the elements tied to a business name, let's look at how to pick a business name.
What makes a good business name?
When considering how to come up with a company name, you want to make sure it meets four primary objectives:
- Check if the business name idea is available.
- Make the brand name unique.
- Create a catchy business name.
- Make your business name easy to say and spell.
- Name using good Search Engine Optimization (SEO) practices
Let's look at how each of these impacts the naming process.
Are the business names you want available?
You'll want to consider whether your business name ideas are available. There are three basic places you'll want to check:
- Domain availability, which we discussed previously.
- Trademark availability, which can be done on a national or global level:
- National: USPTO
- Global: World IP Portal
- Your local office for registering business names. Just search "where do I get my DBA in (Insert Location)".
If your business name meets all three of these qualifications, you can add it to the list of potential business names.
Step 3. Make your brand name unique
Unique business names tend to stand out more than using a name like John's Plumbing. Mike suggested using a name that already has meaning to your target market. He told us:[su_quote]I chose Augusta when coming up with business name ideas for several reasons: Augusta is based on Augustus Caesar. August is a busy lawn care month. Most people know how beautiful the Augusta National Golf Course is. I want it to bring up those kinds of thoughts when they think of my company.[/su_quote]We also asked Lee about the great business name Urbanity and he told us it means:[su_quote]An Urban state of being[/su_quote]Hear more from Lee about brand names and running a boutique in our interview below.[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wUc28d8KkE&t=171s"]Keep reading to learn how to name a company with a catchy business name.
Create a catchy business name
There are a ton of ways to come up with a catchy business name when wondering “what should I name my business?” Some of the best ways of generating an original business name are:
- Find names that create cool acronyms, like Men's Apparel Guild in California. They hold the MAGIC Trade Shows for the apparel industry.
- Combine two words like Lee did Urban and City.
- Include words that relate to something that is a long-standing pop culture reference. For instance, a car dealership called Hot Wheels might be associated with toy cars (or stolen goods). It makes a good example, but a bad name.
Those are some of the easiest ways to come up with catchy business names.
Make your business name easy to say and spell
Avoid words that are hard to spell because your target audience might not find your domain extensions if they type your name wrong in the search bar. If you have concerns about whether one of the business names you are considering is hard to spell, just ask family members and friends how to spell it and avoid company names they can't spell.
Use good SEO practices when naming your business
Search Engine Optimization is focused on increasing where you rank in results on popular search engines. There are some principles that are consistent across all businesses, and some that vary based on the type of business.
SEO best practices for all businesses:
- Use evergreen names: Terms that don’t go out of fashion, e.g. furniture, clothing.
- Use commonly searched terms: Include top searches for your industry. Use Google Trends to find them. For instance, “lawn care” is a commonly searched term for people who need yard work done.
- 32 Character Maximum: Keep your name under 32 characters so it will fit in the tab at the top of Google Chrome. Safari is slightly more at 35 visible characters.
SEO best practices that might apply to your business:
- Location: If you only serve the local community, it makes sense to name a business something like Las Vegas Plumbing, but if you are eCommerce it doesn’t.
- Trending Topics: Most businesses should avoid these, but Spirit Halloween is an example of a business with which it makes sense to include the trending topic “Halloween” because it's a popup store for Halloween.
Step 4. How to come up with a good business name
Choosing a good business name has never been easier. You can brainstorm or use UpFlip's name generator. Let's look at each.
Brainstorm a lot of names
Coming up with a business name can be easy if you already have great ideas for your brand name, but if you don't you can get name suggestions from a naming team consisting of friends, family, business partners, or customers from existing businesses if you are a serial entrepreneur.Part of how to find a business name is in discussion with other people. The more people involved, the better odds of finding a killer name. If you want an easier way of generating name ideas for your own business, keep reading for our value proposition.
Try UpFlip's name generator
We created abusiness name generator to help current and new business owners find a great business name idea for their new venture. All you have to do is type in some of the words, and our brand name generator will create hundreds of ideas based on the words you write.I'm not involved with the development of it, but when I tested it while writing this, it gave me 150 different ideas. Try it out and see if you find one you like. It takes out the guesswork in how to create a business name.
Why is our business name generator the best?
Our business name generator is the best available for a couple of reasons:
- It provides more names than other name generators. (We strive to be the only place you go to research any aspect of starting or running a business.)
- It shows you a variety of fonts, colors, and sizes to cover all the aspects of brand identity.
- You can customize the color, size, and text directly in the browser once you find the ones you like.
- It's free. You've got to love that.
- It connects you directly to NameCheap to buy your domain.
- We partnered with Trademark Factory to help our users get trademarked properly and make sure your intellectual property is protected.
Keep reading to learn about trademarking your business.
Step 5. Trademark your business name
When you are ready to apply for a trademark for your business name, the process can be complicated and time-consuming. If it is your first time applying for a trademark for the name of a business, you are likely to make some mistakes. The process I am about to describe is overly simplified; it can take up to 40 man-hours to successfully complete the first time you try. The steps include:
- Filling out an application with:
- Your business information
- What you want to trademark
- Which industry codes (the industry codes are the trickiest part) the trademark should apply to. The site to apply is my.USPTO.gov.
- Paying a fee based on the number of trademarks you are applying for.
- They will verify that your request is eligible for a trademark.
- If the name is not already being used in a commercial application, you'll have to wait until it is on a product that is capable of being sold. I used screenshots of a website to prove it when I applied.
- Multiple conversations to make sure you provide the right information to the USPTO.
- Proving you are using the trademark for commercial purposes. This can be just a screenshot of the product being sold.
- Trademark will be approved or denied.
We made it easy for you though. Trademark Factory handles all this for you for a flat fee. All you have to do is give a call, pay their fee, and the lawyers handle the whole filing process. 99.3% of their cases have successfully gotten their trademarks. The 1% that didn't, got a full refund.
Now You Have a Business Name
Now you know how to choose a business name. Once you’ve chosen a name, continue to start your business by reading 17 ways to fund a business or our other HUB articles.We love hearing how our readers choose their business names. What name did you choose and why?
Business ideas
If you’ve ever thought “I need a mentor” this is the blog for you. We’ll provide guidance to help you find a mentor that will help you master your industry.We interviewed Nic Reed and his mentor Mike Andes, and they shared their knowledge on starting a business and mentoring with us. Nic was employed by Mike at Augusta Lawn Care before becoming his first 3F franchisee. They have some great advice.We’ll be discussing the aspects of finding a mentor including what a mentor is, the different types of mentors, what to look for in a mentor, how to find different types of mentors, and how to maintain mentoring relationships.
What is a Mentor?
A mentor is someone who is more experienced and that takes another person, commonly called a mentee, under their wing to help them grow. The mentor-mentee relationship will commonly involve seven dynamics to help the mentee grow:
- Teacher: Good mentors help the other person develop the skills to be successful in their career.
- Sponsor: A mentor helps the younger person find their way in the social environment.
- Advisor: Great mentors will act as a sounding board to help young people look at different perspectives and offer advice.
- Agent: Success is often about the number of people who buy into your narrative. A mentor will have already acquired more people in their professional network and will advocate for a mentee, assuming the idea or role is a good fit.
- Role Model: A mentor should be someone you aspire to be like.
- Coach: Mentors should help motivate and inspire you to be the best you can be. Sometimes we all need a good motivational speech or dose of harsh reality. It should help with your professional growth and build the relationship stronger.
- Confidante: A great mentor will be someone who knows when to let you vent and when to offer a few tips. The pressures of building a career path, your own company, and your personal life can be a challenge at times. They’ll be there when they can, but they are busy too.
I reached out to Mike to follow up on our interview and he told me:[su_quote]Nic was not our first franchise fee but he was our first 3F (Franchise Fee Forgiveness) franchisee. He worked at one of our shops for two years and we forgave the franchise fee. That's where we really developed a mentoring relationship.[/su_quote][su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HwEN2uQlxM"]Keep reading to learn about different types of mentoring.
There are Different Potential Mentor Relationship Types
Depending on what stage you are in life, you may need a different type of mentor. You’ll probably read a lot of differing opinions because there doesn’t seem to be a consensus on how to define the roles a good mentor plays, but we’re going to define them as follows:
- Career Mentor
- Life Mentor
- Professional Mentor
- Business Mentor
We’ll discuss each of these in more detail below so you’ll know what kind of potential mentor to look for when you decide to pursue a mentor.
Career Mentor (Typically Early in Career)
A career mentor is typically encountered early in your career and helps you learn the ropes. They might be a family friend or your first boss out of college. This mentor-mentee relationship is typically going to be one that may stay with you the rest of your life especially if they are in the same industry.
Life Mentor (Personal Mentor)
A personal mentor will be someone who helps you navigate your personal life more effectively. I hope most people have had a few of these.Some of the people from my own situation that have played this role are:
- My parents, for teaching me I can truly accomplish anything if I put my mind to it.
- My grandpa, for teaching me I can say anything as long as I say it with a smile.
- My high school chemistry teacher (the only person I knew believed in me when I was struggling as a teenager).
- Dennis Rodman, (from afar) shows how you don’t have to fit a particular mold to create an amazing career path.
- My manager at Pizza Hut, for showing me that leadership skills are not dictated by position but based on a combination of professional skills and your ability to find mutually beneficial solutions.
These types of mentors can come from anywhere and are what help each of us develop our own varying perspectives. Make sure to communicate to them how much they mean to you. Many of mine died before I truly manifested the lessons they taught me.
Professional Mentor (Paid to Advise)
There are people who act as professional mentors either in person or through online platforms. They are paid extremely well but can give amazing advice. Many of the people we interview offer consulting to help others rise above their challenges.This might not be the best place to start because the costs can add up quickly, but if you get good feedback and absorb their knowledge it can pay off quickly as you gain from their expertise.
Business Mentor (Often Called a Business Coach or Consultant)
If you just need someone to direct you on the path forward, a business mentor, business coach, or consultant can help you. When you look for a potential mentor that fits into this category make sure to check their references.A good mentor might be from the same industry as you or they might be specialized. For instance, you might need a mentor for technology resources, accounting, or human resources. Even a specialized mentor should have experience performing their tasks in your field to be considered a potential mentor.These mentors differ from professional mentors in that they may not have a mentorship concept currently on their agenda, but if you connect with them, a mentor-mentee relationship may form.Keep reading for information on what to look for in a mentorship relationship.
What to Look for in a Mentor
Experienced mentors are all over the place, but they are busy and their time is valuable. Some of the answers to the question, “What does a mentor do?” include:
- They are in a good spot in their career.
- They give constructive criticism in a way that you find palatable.
- You have common ground upon which you can connect.
- They have an existing network that is larger than yours. This may be a personal network, in a specific industry, or across a variety of industries depending on what you are hoping to learn.
- They have the time, desire, and energy to teach you new skills.
- You enjoy having a casual conversation with them.
- They need a personal assistant, employee, or intern.
When we asked Mike what makes him qualified to be a mentor, he told us:[su_quote]I’m not sure I’m qualified (in a self-deprecating manner), but the things I accomplished so far including mowing lawns to pay my way through college, getting my MBA, and Augusta Lawn Care has 34 (now 77 and growing) franchises[/su_quote]Check out this portion of our interview with Nic and Mike below.[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kODF5YdiGQo&t=808s"]
How to Find a Prospective Mentor
Most blogs will tell you the process of finding mentors looks something like the one below:
- Identify your goals.
- Reach out to potential mentors via email, letter, social media, or phone call (if you know them).
- Ask for an initial conversation to help you get to know the potential mentors.
- Schedule an in-person meeting or virtual coffee.
- Discuss the industry, things you have in common, and goals.
- Ask the more experienced person to provide a mentorship once you’re sure they are the right mentor.
- Interact with them to ask for advice, keep them up to date with your career growth, and get feedback.
This approach might work best with family friends or when you are paying them. If you haven’t already built a relationship, they’ll probably ignore you though. So let’s set all of that aside and reimagine how to build a relationship with the right mentor.Mike told us:[su_quote]The first thing you have to do is ask and I don’t think that’s right. Absorb as much about them as possible from afar, then give first, ask later.[/su_quote]If we start with that, the process of finding mentors will look a little more like this:
- Identify your goals and who inspires you.
- Seek all the information you can about them.
- Google them.
- Follow them on social media.
- Buy, and more importantly, read their book(s).
- Interact with their posts by asking relevant questions.
This process may take a while, but you’ll be getting advice and guidance before ever meeting. If they are famous, you’ll probably want to accept that any guidance will be based on the knowledge they share with the world, but it never hurts to try to connect and build a deeper relationship.Mike also told us:[su_quote]The goal should be to figure out how to add value to the subject you want to be mentored by. They are typically extremely busy and are expensive to pay for their time. Just find a way to be close to them and you’ll learn from them.[/su_quote]When looking for a mentor, the next steps would be:
- Look for a job or industry meetup that would likely connect you with the person or persons of interest.
- For a job, look for one that would include directly reporting to the mentor you seek. Apply for it, and be prepared for the meeting. You have lots of knowledge. Use it. Be ready to show how you are a good candidate for the job.
- Industry meetups tend to have keynote speakers and they announce who they are in advance. Most keynote speakers share their expertise, make it a point to connect with the crowd afterward and share their email addresses.
- Follow up. Thank them for their time. Ask them questions you didn’t get to ask them in the meeting. Hopefully, they give you some guidance and request another meeting.
At this point, you haven’t truly asked for any of their time. If they are the right person to provide your mentorship, they’ll be aware you are actually interested in developing a working relationship. If they do not seem interested, don’t press it. You’ll have other places to look at as well.They might give you some feedback or constructive criticism. If they offer either, don’t take it personally. It’s just a different perspective and an opportunity to learn. Use that feedback to help you find a mentor.If you get the job or receive a favorable response, that’s your time to shine. You’ll want to:
- Work on building the skills and achieving success using their advice.
- Reach out again when you achieve a goal using the advice you got from them.
- Thank them for the advice they gave you and share the impact it had.
- If you worked with them, it probably impacted both your careers and they might already be aware they are developing a mentorship.
- Either way, ask them if you can meet for lunch as a way to thank your mentor for their help
That’s the truth about how to get a mentor. It’s not just about asking for the privilege; it’s about adding value for both careers. We followed up with Nic in part 3 of the interviews and he offered some great information on Mike’s mentorship of him.[su_quote]I actually met my goal back in August. I also hired my first employee. I’ve actually been investing more than I planned into growing the business to help it grow more.[/su_quote][su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BGA336bBIY&t=1362s"]Nic also told us that the mentorship continued with 30-minute coaching calls. He also said:[su_quote]I also talk with a lot of the other franchisees to learn from each person’s perspective.[/su_quote]In regards to mentorship, Mika also told us:[su_quote]I think franchising is kinda like a mentorship because the franchisor teaches you how to run the business their way. It is much stricter than a mentorship because you have to use their name, their colors, and their process, whereas a mentorship doesn’t control what you do.[/su_quote]Now that you understand the process to find a business mentor, let's look at some of the resources available to find a good mentor both in person and virtually.
How to Find a Mentor for Adults
Adults will need to look for a potential mentor via some of the following resources:
- Online
- Facebook Business Groups
- LinkedIn Groups
- Business Mentoring Sites and Apps
- Work
- Career Development Centers
- Charity Work
- Local Business Gatherings
- Co-working Office Places
- Think Tanks and Incubators
How to Find a Mentor Near Me
If you are looking for mentors near you, try the following options:
- Limit Online Searches to Your Location
- Work
- Career Development Centers
- Charity Work
- Local Business Gatherings
- Co-working Office Places
- Think Tanks and Incubators
How to Find a Business Mentor
A business mentor can be found by looking in the following locations:
- Online
- Facebook Business Groups
- LinkedIn Groups
- Business Mentoring Sites and Apps
- Work
- Career Development Centers
- Charity Work
- Local Business Gatherings
- Co-working Office Places
- Think Tanks and Incubators
How to Find a Real Estate Mentor
Some ways to find a mentor in the real estate industry include:
- Go to continuous education courses.
- Identify successful brokers in your town, and offer them a good deal to work under them and learn their ways.
- Go to networking events and open houses to meet other real estate professionals.
How to Find a Mentor on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a social network. Be social and join groups in your industry. Follow business leaders that interest you. Ask questions on their posts. Join the groups they are in and allow for meaningful connections. Develop a relationship and build it into a mentoring relationship naturally.
Use a “Find a Mentor App” or “Find a Mentor Website”
There are a ton of mentoring apps and websites listed on TrustPilot. Most tend to be industry-specific though.
Where Can I Find a Mentor for Free?
There’s no such thing as free. Everything costs time or money, but your best bet is family friends because they tend to already look at you favorably. Some call it nepotism, but it’s mostly people who like helping people they see as similar to themselves. You can try online, but that takes time.
How to Find a Mentor on Reddit
Reddit is a social network. You interact with people about subjects that interest you. Everyone in the group shares a common interest so you’ll eventually find people that you find insightful and can help advise you.Some tips for using Reddit include:
- Follow members that seem knowledgeable.
- Ask questions.
- Develop relationships and watch them grow into mentorships organically.
How to Find a Mentor for a Teenager
If you are a teenager and you have made it this far, kudos to you for wanting to learn how to find a mentor! There are some unique advantages that teenagers have over the rest of us. You are still in school and typically have larger social networks.Some of the unique opportunities for teenagers to find mentors are:
- Teachers, professors, and other educators
- Boys and Girls Club
- Guest presenters at colleges
- Coaches
- Youth activity leaders
Developing the Mentorship
Now that you know where to find a mentor, try this approach to develop the relationship:
- Identify your goals and who inspires you.
- Seek all the information you can about them.
- Find a way to meet when they are a keynote speaker or apply for a job that reports to them.
- Follow up, thank them for their time, and ask questions.
- When you achieve a goal using the advice you got from them, reach out again.
- Thank them for the advice they gave you and share the impact it had.
- Offer to assist them or take them to lunch.
Mentoring Relationships Have Several Benefits for the Mentor Too!
Now that you know how to find a mentor for business, I should point out that finding a mentor can benefit the person who is guiding you as well as yourself. Some of the reasons someone might want to be a mentor include:
- Helping others that are struggling
- Building a legacy
- Filling time in retirement
- Building a team to help achieve more than they can achieve on their own
Go Forth and Become Titans of Industry
A relationship where someone helps you navigate the challenges of the world can be an immensely rewarding relationship. When you find it, make sure to cherish your mentors for all that they do.We are working on creating a section of the site to help people share their ideas, and seek mentors or mentees. Make sure to subscribe to our mailing list to get updates on the services offered.Hopefully, these insights will help you to achieve your career goals. I want to try to do something different below. Let’s make this comment section a way to honor those who have touched our lives. Who have been the most positive influences for you?
Business ideas
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