|
Dear Marva Coursey,
Enclosed
please find photos of our business. Jim and Phyllis Dulude
(his mom) are beside the delivery van in one photo, and Jim
is at one of the very good locations with two machines, both
of which have to be filled once a week.
Phyllis
(my wife) is the money counter, banker, bookkeeper and buyer.
Jim is the technician, installer, warehouse man, delivery
man, and customer relations person. He sees that the customers
are happy and satisfied. He will make many changes to accomplish
this.
I am
Bob Dulude, Jim's dad and I work on finding new locations
and financing. We started the business in 1998 with 11 complete
machines. Today we have 17 complete machines and (1) snack
machine . . . (all Antares).
Our goal
is to increase the number of machines so that the business
will be a full-time job for Jim, with the independence of
being "his own boss".
We certainly
were very proud and excited to receive the new equipment.
Jim, being very technically orientated found no problem setting
the first machine up. The equipment is so foolproof it is
a pleasure to work with.
We are
particularly happy with (3) three locations that have (2)
two machines each. There, the people have a choice of 14 drinks
and 18 kinds of snacks. It sure is nice to take the money
to the bank for those locations! We have purchased a great
coin-counting machine from Italy that is a great time saver.
The business
is becoming easier as we become more familiar with every location,
our suppliers, and the machines. Although it is not an easy
job physically, I highly recommend it to keep in shape! Phyllis
and I take over for Jim occasionally and we both will be 78
in a few months.
Jim feels
the job challenging from a logistical point of view - he works
as a machinist, which he finds a little boring. He also enjoys
getting out and meeting new people.
The company
has supplied excellent support to get started. We did find
our own New Hampshire Economic Development Department also
very helpful in providing some specialized lists of 25-50
employees and also for 50-100 employee places.
Another
thing that has saved time and improved the looks of our machines
is that we have developed a way to make our own flavor cards.
We purchased a Hewlett Packard Color Copier 190 and using
photo paper with wrappers, cut cards, etc. make great looking
flavor cards. The truck is always loaded with a file of all
our products.
We are
now all located in southern New Hampshire, where Jim lives,
and which is a very fast growing area.
Thanks,
Phyllis
Dulude
Bob Dulude
Jim Dulude
NEW HAMPSHIRE
P.S. Thanks
for the flyers!
|
