SIDE BUSINESS

So I’ve been given preliminary authorization to start a small side business at work. Here’s the situation. A can of any soft drink costs $1.05 at work which I think is a bit of a rip-off. They must be buying the cans in bulk quantities so you know it costs them way less than $1.05 a can. Even your average consumer can go into any supermarket and buy a 12-pack and pay less than $1.05 a can. Here’s another thing, Coke products are being phased out of all the food service facilities, which includes the main cafeteria in Phase I and the Think Tank cafe in Phase II. All the vending machines are already just Pepsi products.

Seeing this opportunity, I devised a plan to initially sell cans of Coke products for $0.75. We’re already doing a similar thing for snacks. Our production coordinator bought some snack-sized food items from Costco and set it all up in this general purpose room we have. It has a fridge and a water cooler in it. Snacks are $0.50 each and we rely on the honour system for payment. I think its worked out well so far.

I’m going to offer the soft drinks in the same manner. Co-located with the snacks, the drinks will be in the previously unused fridge. I’ll also have to rely on the honour system. I’m hoping it will be a success for several reasons. First, the main draw will be price. Seventy-five cents is way more reasonable than $1.05. A soft drink was $1 back at Black Box downtown, so it’s now even cheaper. Second, it’s all about location. Previously, skate team members had to either go to the main cafeteria located all the way in Phase I or go three floors down to the Think Tank to get a drink. Now it’s right where most of the team sits. Third, it’s all about 24-7. The main cafeteria closes at 7pm and the Think Tank finishes at 4pm. If you’re looking for a drink outside of their operating hours, you have to look for a vending machine, a Pepsi vending machine. With my setup, you can get a Coke any time of the day or night.

I’m saying this is a preliminary run because of a few things that might get in the way. The head development director (like a project manager), wants to assess how much profit I’ll be making off the team after the first little while. I’ll make just over $6 for every 24 cans, so I doubt I’ll be getting rich off this. I’m also hoping I won’t get ripped off. If I get two dollars collected for 24 cans, I’ll be mad. I’m not sure of the selection I chose either. I currently am going with an initial mix of 12 Diet Coke and 12 Coke Zero. Is this what the team wants? Maybe not.

I’ll keep everyone posted on how this turns out.