6 Factors to Consider Before Starting a Cooking Oil ATM Business

Any successful business needs preparation. No matter how simple it might seem you need to prepare well by ensuring everything is in place. Even a road side kiosk or mama mboga needs to ensure that they have a premises, stock and everything else that is necessary to ensure the business starts well. If you are interested in starting a salad cooking oil ATM business this post is for you. We will be looking at 6 factors to consider before starting a cooking oil ATM business.

6 Factors to consider before starting a cooking oil ATM business

Business plan

What is a business plan?

According to Investopedia, a business plan is a written document that describes in detail how a business—usually a startup—defines its objectives and how it is to go about achieving its goals. A business plan lays out a written roadmap for the firm from marketing, financial, and operational standpoints.

Wikipedia describes a business plan as a formal written document containing the goals of a business, the methods for attaining those goals, and the time-frame for the achievement of the goals.

From the two definitions we see that a business plan is a written document that helps you to have a roadmap/strategy of how you start and run the business. Therefore ensure you come up with one.

Target customer

In business, knowing who’s your target customer is very important. Don’t just go on a fishing expedition by throwing your net in the waters hoping to catch something. This is where market research comes in. You need to make a market survey to know if your target customers are likely to buy. Determine if they are likely to buy cooking oil from an ATM or would they rather buy from the supermarket. This helps know which neighbourhood to set up business.

For example, residents of leafy suburbs like Karen, Muthaiga, Gigili, Lavington aren’t likely to buy cooking oil from an ATM. They prefer to buy the expensive brands in the supermarket. However residents of Eastlands estates will most likely buy from the ATM.

Location

Location is also closely related to the above but you need to go further and determine how accessible your business premises is. Do not set up the business in some hard to access location even if the rental is cheaper. You stand to make more returns with a business that is located at a place that is really accessible to people.

Competition

You should determine if there are too many competing businesses in your target area. However there could be many businesses located in that neighbourhood but the demand is so high that even the existing ones aren’t able to satisfy the demand. The good thing with populated estates like Kayole, pipeline, Umoja etc. you find that even if you just target one or two streets you have a sufficient client base. Still it’s important to note there’s an optimum level beyond which it becomes unsustainable.

Stock source

One of the main aspects of a business that needs to be well established because it determines the survival of a business is the source of your products. Who supplies you with the stock? On this you need to have several stock suppliers to ensure that you aren’t inconvenienced in case one of them can’t deliver for whatever reason. The supplier must also be stockists of good quality cooking oil so that you can sell salad oil that is not harmful to the health of your clients.

Start-up costs

Another important consideration before starting up the salad cooking oil business is the capital needed. There are several things that determine how much cost you will incur. Let’s look at them below:

Cost of acquiring the salad oil ATM

This is the main equipment that you will be investing in. you should carefully choose the manufacturer who has a proven record of making high quality cooking oil ATMs. At Saset, we are the leading manufacturers of high quality salad oil ATMs in Kenya. You can request us to send you a catalogue of our products to see the prices.

Cost of renting the business premises

Another cost consideration to make is the cost of renting the premises. In Kenya, most rental spaces are paid on a monthly basis but when starting, you are required to at least 2 months deposit if not more. This can make the initial cost of starting the business shoot up significantly.

Cost of renovating the premises

With a premises, sometimes renovation is necessary. Consider what renovations are needed if any and how much the renovations will cost. If you are just going to be selling cooking oil, you might not be required to make a lot of renovations. However if you will include other products then definitely some renovations will be needed and this costs money.

Licences & permits involved

To run a legal business in Kenya, you need licences and permits from the county council. In most cases for small businesses, the licences and permits don’t cost much but all the same it is a cost consideration that needs to be made. Visit your county offices to know what licences are needed and how they cost and pay for them.

Cost of stock

Another important cost you need to carefully plan for and ensure you have it sorted out is the cost of the stock. You must always have sufficient stock of the salad oil so you don’t run out abruptly. We advice that you have stock that can run an entire week at least to ensure business operations are not affected. Then ensure you restock on a weekly basis to replenish what you are selling.

NB: The above 6 factors to consider before starting a cooking oil ATM business do not only apply to a salad cooking oil ATM business but are applicable to almost all other businesses. We hope that you are now well equipped with the right information you need to start your cooking oil reselling business. We wish you all the best in your new venture.

Are you considering to start a cooking oil ATM business? Get high quality salad ATM from Saset

If you are interested in starting a salad cooking oil ATM business and need a high quality cooking oil ATM get in touch with us today. You can reach us via WhatsApp, call, email, comment box or filling the contact us form. We will get in touch with you as soon as possible if not immediately.