Happy New Year!

Another year comes to a close. It seems every year flies by faster and faster. Yesterday, Peter spent the day entering our end of year numbers. This is it- the end of 2013. 

I'm not much of a new year's person. Since becoming a mom, I despise losing any moment of precious sleeping hours, new year's feels as exciting to me as starting any other month of the year. I don't make resolutions, or put together "this was my year" slideshows. However, one thing has never changed month to month or year to year, and that's that God has been good to us. 

So. Very. Good. 

It was 4 years ago this very soon January that we started our business. Considering most businesses fail within the first year, we feel very blessed to even still be in the game. Not only that, but we've done better every year. Our revenue has gone up, we've gotten more locations, expanded on to our business, learned more things, and met more people. God has gone before us every step of the way. There have been multiple opportunities for us to fall on our faces, screw this whole thing up, but God has been merciful to us and this business.

This year of blessings has not been without its challenges either. The biggest occurrences in our business this year were taking on Northland College in Ashland in May as a location, and starting our A Sweet Event extension business. Don't be fooled by the brevity of that sentence. These were large, massive undertakings that required a lot of time and a lot of money. 

It has not always been the easiest path, working three jobs between us all without the assistance of a daycare. But this is where we were almost exactly 4 years ago. I was pregnant with Clara, we knew WE wanted to be the ones to raise our babies, and we wanted to be a family as much as possible. God has been good and provided a way for at least one of us to always be home with the kids, working two jobs, and running the business. We get tired, worn out, and stressed, but we've never forgotten our goal in the last four year- to be a family, as much as possible. We still believe this business is our ticket to this goal. We don't want to be millionaires or run our own office or join a country club- we just want to be together.

There are days where this goal seems more elusive than others, but we believe this is what God has for our family. Some days that's all we can stand on. 

We have had a lot of fun together this year. It's been so rewarding to watch God work in and through our business. We are so excited for 2014 and what that holds for our family and for this business. We at Northland Vending wish you a very happy new year full of God's best for you!

First Event Fundraiser Candy Buffet

Peter and I feel extremely blessed to have had the opportunity on Sunday to participate in the Night 4 Life Fundraiser for the Women's Care Center here in Duluth. They asked us to provide a candy buffet for the event, and we jumped at the chance.

In short, the Women's Care Center is a pro-life center in Duluth that helps women through their pregnancies and parenthood. Throughout the life of our business, God has used income from our business to bless a Christian youth center, our church's food shelf, the local animal shelter, and various other causes close to our hearts. The pro-life cause, however, is especially near to our hearts. Since they've opened just last March, they have saved 23 babies, including one whose mama came to their center mistankingly thinking it was the abortion center across the street. They've also helped tons of moms and dads along their parenting journeys in various ways. We love what God is doing through the Women's Care Center, and we are so honored to have been part of their event.

We understood they were expecting 250 or so people. I think there were at least double that in attendance. The candy buffet was a huge hit too. Peter and I hung out most of the time and just watched people enjoy it. Here are some pictures:

God is using our business to bless the causes close to His heart, and we are so enjoying being along for the ride! 

"Life" is indeed very, very sweet. :)

Marinas and Machines

As far as vending is concerned, today was our official end of summer, especially with our Ashland and Bayfield accounts. Business has picked up significantly at the college and dropped off at the marina in Bayfield. We took Peter's brother Mark along as extra brawn to help pick up the vending machine from the marina. We are undecided if it will be worth it to return next year. So for now, we are selling the machine. 

Because Mark joined us today I squeezed in between the kiddos in the back seat. 

Logan wasn't feeling well today. Poor little man.

After dropping the boys off at the college

The kids and I headed to Wal-mart to kill some time. The colder weather means no  more park dates for awhile, much to Clara's disappointment. Spending time at Wal-Mart with my kids means spending the entire time in either the toys or the books.

These days are long days for everyone. I'm not sure how many trips the whole family will make to Ashland over the winter. Whenever we have the opportunity to spend time as a family, I try to make it happen, no matter how inconvenient at times.

With soda machines and the marina down for the summer, we are excitedly exploring some new opportunities for the business. More to come!

A Very Special First Birthday

Today we celebrated our son Logan's first birthday. After looking around at a lot of different decorations, I finally settled on a circus theme. Which is ironic, because I hate the circus. But the decorations I found online were just so adorable, I knew that had to be the theme for his first birthday. Our candy buffet was a perfect touch for this theme. Our guests loved it and it went really well with the theme. Here are a few photos from the buffet.

We have so enjoyed this last year with Logan as a part of our family (and business by default). He is so curious, fun, sweet, and silly. He loves being with us, and we thank God every day for the unique personality, gifts, and joy he brings to us.

Summer's End

I'm a lot behind in my blogging, but that doesn't mean our business isn't moving forward and full of action. 

The end of summer for us has meant ramping up our efforts out at Northland College in a Ashland. The machines there are doing well. So well we are looking at twice a month trips. As usual, I try to accompany Peter with the kids whenever we can. We value the time together as a family so much it's worth the effort. Clara and Logan really enjoy playing at the park in Ashland while we wait for Peter to finish up, and we've been blessed with nice days. Here are a few photos from our last two trips.

Some other notables are about a week ago two of our soda machines were broken in to with a crow bar. Luckily, not much cash was stolen from our family, but breaking in to machines like that ruins them. Several other machines in Duluth were also broken in to. Thus, Dr. Pepper decided not to replace them outside. One location remains without a machine, the other we were able to replace inside. We try to be as open handed with our money as possible, since God has never failed to provide for our family. But it's still an unsettling experience. There aren't many jobs out there where someone can grab a crow bar and steal your paycheck from you.

In  happier times, Peter was able to obtain a free Red Bull machine off Craig's List. We are not sure what we are going to do with it yet, but either way it will be a blessing.

Next week, Peter and I meet with our advisor at the Entrepreneur Fund. We are looking forward to our next steps!

Moving Forward

Yesterday we took the whole family down to the Entrepreneur Fund to meet with our business advisor. A few months ago, Peter and I took out a micro loan from them in order to give us some working capital to sustain our growth. Not only has the loan been great in allowing us to continue our rapid growth recently, but additionally, borrowers receive all kinds of free help from the Entrepreneur Fund. Services like free mentoring and advice from other successful business people, free attendance at local conferences, free business classes, etc. This is obviously great for our business, but also helps cure that itch I have to go and do something crazy like get my master's degree. I love to learn, and I've been missing the intense learning that came with school. I think some classes will satiate that appetite while not dominating my schedule the way a master's degree would.

Our business advisor advised us to take some time together and put together a business plan, as well as a life plan. We put together a business plan when we first started, but haven't revised it since. Obviously, our business, our goals, and the way we run it has changed dramatically over the last few years. Our plans for our life together as a family tie in well with our plans for our business, we just haven't put it in writing. So this is definitely something we plan to do. Peter and I are both excited to prayerfully consider where God is taking our business and our family, and how we can spend more time together. Running this business has already provided us with unique opportunities and experiences as a family, we love to dream together about where God is taking our adventure next.

We are so thankful for all if the added help and resources the Entrepreneur Fund has provided us. We believe this will be a true asset to how we run our business. 

As a side note, keep your eyes open on our local publications for our family and our story. That's all we will say for now!

As I mentioned, we also brought the kids along to the meeting. We promised Clara in particular if she was good we would take her to the toy store across the street when we were done to look around. She was great, so we did. She was very excited about it, and it turned out to be a fun family afternoon.

Our Little Logan

We are so enjoying our newest edition, Logan. He is almost 10 months old now and SO curious about his world. His pediatrician said if 9 month olds were in charge of curing cancer, it'd be done by now because they never give up and research everything. Here are a few pictures of Logan researching our vending machine. 

Peter took both kids out to one of our accounts in Cloquet today so I could get some work done. They love going and it affords me precious dedicated time to work. We are blessed!

Sweeten Up A Bar Mitzvah

A Sweet Event brought some sweetness to our first Bar Mitzvah today. At Northland Vending, we have been pleasantly interested in all of the different types of events we have been able to provide candy buffets for. They are certainly multi purpose- not just for weddings!

We picked up everything for today's event last night. Apparently there has been a run locally on salt water taffy, because we tried 6 different locations before we finally found it. Clara is always happy to help shop for a candy buffet.

We headed up to the new chalet together this afternoon to set up the buffet. We think it turned out nice and was a great mix of the fun sweetness of youth with the classy adult feeling. 

Weddings, school events, grad parties, at home parties, and bar mitzvahs. How can a candy buffet add a unique touch to your next event?

Ashland Trip Today

We took off as a family today to service our accounts in Ashland and Bayfield. We've spent 4 days out of our last week in a different state, as we took a family camping trip to Hayward last weekend.

3 out of 4 of our family is sick with summer colds. Apparently, no one around here knows the meaning of a sick day. Clara and mama trooped along well. Logan isn't great sick and has 2 modes: sleeping and crying. It was a long day but we like to be together when we can, so we made the best of it anyway.

The first stop was the marina in Bayfield. It was a beautiful day. Logan enjoyed his banana breakfast on the patio.

The kiddos always enjoy helping daddy with the machines... For a few minutes anyway.

While daddy finished up with the machines, the kids and I walked down to Lake Superior. Clara loved all the sailboats and was delighted to discover a duck friend as well on our walk.

After Bayfield, we headed to Ashland to service the machines at Northland College. I took Clara and Logan to the park for a picnic lunch. The beauty of photos is you can't see poor sick Logan screaming bloody murder in the background. Doesn't it look like a lovely family moment in photos?

We did enjoy our day together, but it was a long day for all if us. Praying speedy healing for our clan to keep tackling all that needs to be done!

Candy Buffet for Your Next School Event

A Sweet Event was excited to do another school event candy buffet. Our first was a grad party, this event was for a local high school's cheerleading squad. We decorated the candy buffet in school colors and the cheerleaders loved it! Looking to sweeten up your next school event? Give a candy buffet a try! It's unique and fun!

Unique Idea for an At Home Party

This evening I hosted (hostessed? ha) my very first at home party. It was for a company called 31, and they make the cutest bags, purses, etc as well as organizational solutions, which I have a bit of an affinity for, but not the budget- hence the hosting.

One of the great things about the hosting is the perks like discounts and free products. One of the not as great things is cleaning your house from top to bottom fooling people into thinking I live like this all of the time, and having to shell out money for food. I was looking for a unique idea for my party that would be fun and wouldn't break the bank.

Oh wouldn't you know?! I just happen to know a nice little company that does candy buffets! ;) So we set up a girly candy buffet to go along with the girly things like shopping for purses. Everyone loved it and it was cost effective. Looking for something unique to spice up your next at home party? Try a candy buffet to make your event extra sweet!

Mixing Business with Pleasure

A few weeks ago, Peter found a great deal on a snack machine in St. Paul. So we decided to purchase it for one of our fast growing locations in Duluth. This is the second time we have traveled to the twin cities recently for a snack machine. Even after paying for gas, getting a snack machine in the cities is cheaper than we can buy one in Duluth. So it is worth the trip.

We decided to make a weekend out if it being it was also our wedding anniversary. We can't afford to take big vacations, but weekends here and there are doable. And when it's all tax deductible, well that just makes it all the more affordable!

Maybe because we have to take car trips frequently, both kids are great in the car. Logan sleeps a lot and Clara will watch movies, but is often content to just look out the window.

Our original plan had been to take the kids to Como Zoo, but we had a bit of a health scare with Clara the day before. its very possible she has the same sensitivity to excessive heat as mom and dad, so instead, we made a quick lunch stop and then headed to Mall of America. Which now that we have kids, mainly means Nickelodeon Universe. We went on the Ferris wheel as a family and the Clara and daddy tried a few more rides.

While they were riding, I made a quick stop at the Disney Store. After her horrible day in the ER the day before, we were in the mood to spoil our princess just a little. So I found the "Lambie" character from her favorite show, Doc McStuffins, for a mere $10.

Needless to say, it was love at first sight.

Intern Logan may have a future in management like his daddy. He reveled in riding in the front seat of the double stroller calling out his orders to all passerbys.

Since it was our anniversary, we grabbed a nice dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Red Robin, before heading to our hotel for the night.

First thing in the morning, Clara requested to go swimming. So we spent the morning together at the pool.

Logan's favorite hotel feature was the big mirror, where he had many conversations with himself.

After some pool time we headed to the Children's Museum in St. Paul. The kids had a great time playing.

Even amidst all the fun, we still got some work done. We picked up the snack machine for a great price, had a small, impromptu marketing meeting in the pool, and even Clara and Logan found some time to get some work done.

We absolutely love living in Duluth, but the twin cities is one of our favorite places to get away as a family. Working three jobs between us doesn't leave us as much time together as most families, so we are always looking for ways to roll necessities of running our business with family time. 

Hope you had a safe and fun holiday weekend as well!!