February/March 2023 - 34

on potential customers. Her family
stepped in, using their collective skills
and talents, and was instrumental to
the beginning growth of the company.
On her first day off from running
routes, Miros landed a large account.
That's when she knew her place
was in sales and building customer
relationships.
" Establishing new business is
DAC Total Refreshments makes
a hoopla at micro market grand
opening for Fidelity Manufacturing.
my strength, but I was doing all the
labor-intensive operational work, " she
said. " I had to get the business into the
black, and the only way to do that was
to get out and acquire new business. I
also wanted to establish a relationship
with existing accounts by having the
time to get to know them better. "
Prefilled racks
for DAC's
installation
of nine micro
markets at
E-ONE, a
fire truck
manufacturer.
NOT-SO-TURNKEY
As is often the case, what was
presented on paper as a minimal effort,
lucrative venture immediately proved
itself to be far less profitable than
expected - and far more work. It was
also evident from the beginning that
Miros' business partner did not have
the time to devote to the new business
due to her personal obligations.
" In reality, that first week, I
thought, 'What have I done?' " Miros
recalled. " With other jobs, you can
turn in a resignation letter. As a
business owner, quitting is not an
option. I knew I had to make it work. "
When she found herself in the red
by thousands of dollars at the end of
the first month, Miros delved deeper
and discovered the four employees
she inherited who were running two
routes and the warehouse lacked
integrity and were draining revenue.
So, within the first three months, she
systematically let each of them go.
" I had to roll up my sleeves and
figure it all out, " she said. " I had to run
the routes, which meant starting at
4:30 a.m. and work until 8:30 p.m. I
needed to learn where all the accounts
were located. I had to order products
and pick up those products using a
trailer. I moved vending machines.
I even hired a homeless man once out
of desperation to help me move
some machines. "
Miros knew she needed to
land some new accounts to get her
business in the black. She had to get
off the truck and free up time to call
34 Automatic Merchandiser * February/March 2023
FAMILY TO THE RESCUE
Miros' son, Matt, while earning
his degree in economics, took over
the task of receiving inventory at
the warehouse. Her son, Thomas,
and his wife, Aida, who lived out of
town, would come visit and hop on
a truck to run routes. Her son, Drew,
who was a business owner, set up a
bookkeeping system. Steve, Miros'
husband, was her biggest cheerleader.
He supported her in many ways:
helped her network, moved machines,
supported her when she fired
employees, and helped her create a
better flow in the warehouse.
It was clear to Miros that she
needed to be off the truck, so she
convinced her son Drew, who worked
remotely in Cocoa Beach, and his
wife, Kayla, to move to Ocala so Kayla
could run and manage a route. The
addition of Kayla, and all the skills she
brought with her, proved fruitful. Not
only did Miros gain a route driver, but
Kayla, who is naturally mechanically
minded, watched YouTube videos and
taught herself the fundamentals of
the mechanics of vending machines.
From repairs and installing credit card
readers to replacing compressors, she
became a self-taught expert technician.
February/March 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February/March 2023
