 Before
Kathy R. started her own vending company, Mountain States
Enterprises, she had done a little bit of everything.
Kathy remembers her
first attempt to conquer the business world was as
a high school sophomore, when she marketed a calculator
stand her father was manufacturing.
In college, she helped
support her small family by making "final exam
survival kits" designed to help students make
it through the last grueling days of each semester.
Each kit was filled with snacks and study tips, an
inspirational note from home and toothpicks as late-night
"eye openers".
Kathy recalls that
at one point, she worked at home, typing real estate
appraisals after her children went to sleep, often
working into the wee hours of the morning hoping to
finish her work before the children woke up.
Kathy graduated from
Brigham Young University with a B.A. in Interior Design,
but found job prospects in her field were slim. She
had used her secretarial skills in the past, and,
quickly discovered she could make more money as a
secretary than as a budding interior designer. Kathy
was faced with choosing between making a good living,
or being able to be home with her three children.
It was clear that working full-time away from home
was not the answer yet, realistically, she knew she
needed to have an income.
Kathy began looking
for ways to work out of her home and still make money.
After months of research, she found the perfect answer
in bulk vending machines. This was a business she
could operate out of her home. The machines were light
enough for one person to move easily and she was able
to arrange her working hours around the needs of her
family. Kathy found a style of candy machine she liked
and, using her savings, she bought 16 machines.
Three years later,
Kathy has 50 machines and hopes to have 150 before
her company stops growing. In fact, her vending business
has become so successful, the company that manufactures
the machines she uses on her vending route hired her
to be one of their Utah distributors. Kathy believes
the vending business offers the best of both worlds
by allowing her to have an income and no compromise
her family life. She is even able to take her older
children with her while she services her route-noting
that the children love to help mom count all those
quarters.
"I think having
your own business is the only way to go. You have
the control and, if you are a success, you can thank
yourself and, if you fail, you can blame yourself."
Kathy noted that
she is keeping the entrepreneurial spirit alive in
the family-her oldest daughter recently purchased
her first vending machine.
-Salt Lake Tribune-
Article written by Marilyn G. Sanders
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