IAM1122- CEO Helps People Launch Vending Machine Businesses

Monica Johnson is the CEO of Giants Vending Solutions, a full-service vending machine company serving the DMV area. A seasoned marketing specialist, Monica has spent years developing strategies and techniques to reach new consumers. She has an eye for branding and understands consumer behavior. Monica’s latest endeavor has her wearing many hats, being the owner and operator of Giants Vending Solutions she’s focusing on scaling her business and teaching people how to make passive income through launching their own vending machine business.

• CEO Hack: YouTube for information
• CEO Nugget: Never stop investing in yourself
• CEO Defined: Creating a path for people to follow

Website: https://giantsvendingsolutions.com/

Philanthropic initiative:
https://instagram.com/giantsgiveback/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/giantsvending
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/giantsvending/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/giants-vending-solutions

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Transcription

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00:25 – 00:53
Intro : Are you ready to hear business stories and learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and level up your business from awesome CEOs, entrepreneurs, and founders without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresh values your time and is ready to share with you the valuable info you're in search of. This is the I Am CEO podcast. Hello, hello, hello.

00:53 – 01:01
Gresham Harkless: This is Gresh from the I Am CEO podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Monica Johnson of Giants Vending Solutions. Monica, it's great to have you on show.

01:02 – 01:04
Monica Johnson: Hi, thank you for having me. I'm so excited.

01:05 – 01:35
Gresham Harkless: Definitely excited to have you on as well. And before we jumped in, I wanted to read a little bit more about Monica so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. And Monica is the CEO of Giants Vending Solutions, a full-service vending machine company serving the DMV area. A seasoned marketing specialist, Monica has spent years developing strategies and techniques to reach new customers. She has an eye for branding and understanding consumer behavior and Monica's latest endeavor has her wearing many hats being the owner and operator of Giants Vending Solutions. She's focused on scaling

01:35 – 01:57
Gresham Harkless: her business and teaching people how to make passive income through launching their own vending machine businesses. And as someone who was always interested in entrepreneurship, I always thought about, and I think the first things I read about was opening up a vending machine business. So I love having you on the show to hear how you've been able to do it and grow it and do so many awesome things. So Monica, are you ready to speak to the IMCO community?

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01:57 – 01:58
Monica Johnson: I really I am ready.

01:59 – 02:07
Gresham Harkless: Awesome. Well, let's do it then. So to kind of kick everything off, I wanted to rewind the clock a little bit, hear a little bit more on how you got started, what I call your CEO story.

02:07 – 02:36
Monica Johnson: All right, sure. So I started Giant Spinning Solutions during the quarantine lockdown that we went through. I feel like the lockdown was really good for me. Like I had a lot of time to kind of just sit and just think about things. And I feel like that's what we all did was just sit and think about things, right? It's like, so for me, I kind of was just thinking like, you know, what are some things that I would be interested in getting into. And for me, just like you said, Venom Machines popped up. So once I

02:36 – 02:57
Monica Johnson: got the idea of like, this is something I wanted to do, I just went full ahead, like full steam. I researched, I lined up, got everything lined up in terms of, you know, just making sure my business was formed, my branding was formed and I hit the ground running. And out of COVID, I always say out of COVID, out of the pandemic came Giants Minute Solutions.

02:58 – 03:25
Gresham Harkless: Nice, I truly appreciate that and hearing how it came about from COVID. And I think so many times that, you know, during, and I've heard even people call the time, you know, the great pause because he literally couldn't do anything else but pause. Really? Really. Sometimes when there's those disruptive, you know, moments in life or even in, you know, industries, there's always that opportunity where there's things that come about that are really wouldn't come about if that didn't happen. So I love kind of hearing about how you've been able to kind of build in and grow

03:25 – 03:26
Gresham Harkless: everything.

03:26 – 03:55
Monica Johnson: And that's so true because I sit and I wonder and I'm just like if I hadn't had that pause, like would I even had the time or like the patience or the drive to, you know, want to start a business, you know, being an entrepreneur, I was just like, wow, like I'm 1, you know, I didn't think that that was something that was in the cards for me. But, you know, again, the pandemic, I mean, it just allows you to focus and really 0 in on what's important and what you're trying to do, I guess, moving

03:55 – 04:11
Monica Johnson: forward. So I'm very, I don't know, it's hard to say, like I want to say I'm very thankful for the pandemic, not very thankful for the pandemic, but I do think that it allowed me to kind of challenge myself more. So I'm very happy that at least the pandemic brought me Giants.

04:11 – 04:29
Gresham Harkless: Yeah, absolutely. And definitely during those challenging times, sometimes you don't want the challenging times, but sometimes without them, you wouldn't have had really great things and great to hear how Giants came out of that. So I wanted to drill down a little bit more and hear a little bit more about Giants and everything you're doing. Can you take us through how you serve your clients and what exactly you're doing?

04:30 – 05:00
Monica Johnson: Yeah, so as you said earlier, Giants is a full service vending machine company. We serve at the DMV area. We provide all different types of things. We can do customized vending machines. We can do tailored products. You know, so if you're in a place where you need to focus more so on healthier items, like a gym or school, we can provide you with healthy items. If you're in a more traditional type of setting, we can provide you with, you know, your Doritos and your honey buns and you know, whatever else, those type of things that you

05:00 – 05:38
Monica Johnson: like. So for me, I've been just kind of just expanding my business and looking for a different type of locations that fit giants, making sure that I'm in good locations and locations are going to be profitable and building relationships with my locations and my content set those locations to basically kind of build like my net worth, but also let them know that we are a credible business And we are for sure gonna take care of you guys. So I've been really focused on just doing those 2 things. And I think another avenue also is I've been

05:38 – 05:54
Monica Johnson: really into trying to teach people about passive income, creating generational wealth and learning about the industry. Like I really want people to join it, or people to, you know, at least explore it as an option and to see like, okay, I did it so you can do it too.

05:55 – 06:19
Gresham Harkless: Yeah, absolutely. That's why I appreciate you, you know, telling your story and how everything came about because I think, like I talked about the first time I had heard about, you know, entrepreneurship and business, I think those were some of the ideas that I heard about, like vending machines. So when I connected with you, I was like, I definitely love to have you on the show because I think what you're able to do and build and create that passive income, that generational wealth that you talked about is knowledge that everybody should at least know about whether

06:19 – 06:23
Gresham Harkless: they pursued or not that's their decision, but at least should be something that people are aware about.

06:23 – 06:48
Monica Johnson: Absolutely. And I think a lot of times, you know, with social media, people kind of leave things over the head in terms of like, oh, generational wealth and passive income and do this and do this. And I know that people don't, you don't have to do what you don't wanna do. But I think at least having the knowledge and knowing that these are options and these are possibilities, I think that's powerful, you know what I mean? Just being able to keep it in your pocket. So for me, I'm always just like, learn as much as you

06:48 – 07:05
Monica Johnson: can. Learn as much as you can because you never know when you may want to use it. Look at me, I was sitting in a pandemic, like literally at home binging something and just decided like, you know what, I want to start a vending machine business. And I did it. So you never know when that knowledge comes in hand.

07:05 – 07:26
Gresham Harkless: Yeah, absolutely. And I think I had somebody on the show before and he said always, you know, you dig the wells before you need them. You dig the wells before they're ready and a lot of time by getting that knowledge and information. You don't know necessarily when you might eat it, but if you continue to get better, continue to learn more, then sometimes when those opportunities and the stars align, you can kind of jump on it. So

07:27 – 07:34
Monica Johnson: yeah, no, and that's beautifully said. Like, Yeah, I agree with that. That's a good, I'm gonna have to put that in my back pocket and use

07:34 – 07:36
Gresham Harkless: that. There you go.

07:36 – 07:39
Monica Johnson: Before you need them, cause that's so true, yeah.

07:40 – 07:50
Gresham Harkless: Absolutely. And so you're basically reaching out to different places that needed these vending machines and then you're connecting with them and figuring out what works best for them in those specific areas. Is that correct?

07:51 – 08:19
Monica Johnson: Absolutely. So I do like a little bit of just like, well, I'm always on the prowl for new locations. So if ever I see anything just, you know, driving the streets or any type of things happening in the news. I'm always looking for ways to connect with people. So it is a lot of me reaching out to people and saying like, hey, would you be interested in a free vending machine? Here's what I can do for you. Here's whatever, whatever, and kind of taking it from there. And in my eyes is, you always won't, you won't

08:19 – 08:50
Monica Johnson: get yeses all the time, and I think anybody can say that in just being a business owner, like you won't get yeses, but I do think that at least now they know I exist. At least now they know that if they ever wanted a vending machine, I would be an option for them. So yeah, like I said, I'm always looking to expand. So I'm always trying to connect with people. And usually I have a good idea of like what area makes a good location or what would be where a vending machine would be beneficial to people

08:50 – 08:53
Monica Johnson: there. So I'm always, always on the prowl.

08:53 – 09:16
Gresham Harkless: Yeah. Well, I appreciate you sharing that. And yeah, you're absolutely right. Where, you know, a lot of times, you know, through that journey, you get, you hear a lot of nos, but at the same time, I think a lot of people realize that no's are not necessarily no forever, it's no maybe not yet, but at least as you said, you get your name out there, people know that, okay, when that opportunity comes, they know who to call and who to reach out to, so I love that you've been able to build that in. And so what

09:16 – 09:25
Gresham Harkless: would you consider to be what I like to call your secret sauce? And this could be for yourself individually or your business or a combination of both, but what do you feel kind of sets you apart and makes you unique?

09:25 – 09:56
Monica Johnson: Ooh, so I think for 1, I think that it's being able to kind of like tailor our vending machines to the environment. I think a lot of times when people think of vending machines, they kind of think of just your standard snack and beverage, but it doesn't always have to be that, you know? Like I could literally put a vending machine inside of a club and put, I don't know, whatever they do inside the club, like put the club stuff in there, you know? Like I could literally put that type of thing there. So, so Vinnum

09:56 – 10:36
Monica Johnson: machines are very like versatile. You can kind of tailor them to any type of environment you want to be to. And I think another thing that kind of makes Giants as unique is that we have a philanthropic arm to us. So we have our Giants Giveback, which is basically our initiative, our community initiative where we support local communities and nonprofit organizations. So for whenever anybody is doing business with Giants, anytime you purchase anything from Giants, you know, you know, like, I want you to know that this is all going to a big cause. We have every

10:36 – 11:08
Monica Johnson: month or so we work with a local organization or nonprofit on whatever initiative that it is they're working on. We've done events where We've sponsored toy drives. We've gotten soap for the homeless. I think we have coming up in August where we'll be working with the organization on providing school supplies for a high school student. So it's just a bigger, It's just a bigger, it's just a bigger, you know, it's just bigger than us, I feel like. It's a way for us to kind of give back. And I think that's a really unique thing that I

11:08 – 11:16
Monica Johnson: was able to create with Giants because I'm really into, you know, community and giving back and serving those who serve me. So, yeah.

11:17 – 11:27
Gresham Harkless: Appreciate that. And I wanted to switch gears a little bit. And I want to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an Apple book or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

11:29 – 11:57
Monica Johnson: So I feel like I have 2. Okay, I feel like 1 is YouTube. Usually I feel like for me, if I need to know something, I mean, it could just be as simple as filling out a particular form. I don't know, it could be anything. I go to YouTube University. Like that is my life hack because I know somebody has made a video on it. Literally when I first started and I was just trying to get in, you know, thinking about different ways to pitch the companies, somebody had made a whole video like on pitching the

11:57 – 12:14
Monica Johnson: companies. And I'm like, this is amazing. You know, like, so I love, I love being able to just have that information at my hands. So for me, I'm a YouTube university person. That is my CEO hack of figuring things out.

12:15 – 12:33
Gresham Harkless: Yeah, I absolutely love that. Yeah, I always say, like, I wish I could put it on my LinkedIn that I went to YouTube University or Google College because there's so much knowledge and information. As you say, like, right at our fingertips, we just got to be able to search for it and have that desire to listen to it or read it or whatever it is. But There's so much at our fingertips that we can kind of learn just from doing that.

12:34 – 12:46
Monica Johnson: Yes, you have to use your resources. And I tell that people, I tell people all the time, like use your resources or ask, I don't know, ask 3 people before you ask me, but like use your resources and you will get what you need to get. I promise you. So

12:46 – 12:59
Gresham Harkless: yeah, absolutely. I love that, that hack. And so I want to ask you now for what I call CEO nugget. So this could be a word of wisdom or piece of advice. It could be something you would tell a client or if you hopped into a time machine, you might tell your younger business self.

13:00 – 13:31
Monica Johnson: Oh, so my CEO nugget, mine was to never stop investing in yourself. I think sometimes when you get to a certain point, even as a CEO, you may feel like you kind of know it all or you're learning all your way, you've learned it on the way. But I think that if you know somebody who has what you desire or what you know you dream of and they do consultations, they sell ebooks, whatever it is, buy it. Buy it and invest in yourself because you always want to be learning and bettering yourself. You don't want to

13:31 – 13:57
Monica Johnson: reach a point where you feel like you know everything because I don't think that's just real. I don't think it's real where we can never reach a point of knowing anything. So my idea really is to just be continuously investing yourself. And if you see somebody who kind of has the, not the lifestyle, but just some piece of knowledge that you would be interested in or something that you wanna learn, invest in it, reach out, contact, pay for it, you know? All of that, so.

13:58 – 14:10
Gresham Harkless: Absolutely, well, Truly appreciate that. And now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different quote unquote CEOs on the show. So Monica, what does being a CEO mean

14:10 – 14:46
Monica Johnson: to you? Well, being a CEO to me means creating like a path for people to follow. I'm very big on just everybody having a seat at the table and believing you can have a seat at the table, you know, if you are invited somewhere, you belong there. So I'm all about just reaching back, pulling people up, paying it forward. That to me is what a CEO is. It's kind of setting the tone and setting the way so that people can follow and see that there's a space for us, R.C. For us at any table we want

14:46 – 14:47
Monica Johnson: to be at.

14:47 – 15:15
Gresham Harkless: Yeah, absolutely. I love that definition and that perspective and I love it how everything that you do and being able to empower, you know, so many people and show them, you know, whether it be from a community standpoint and giving back or also just letting people know about, you know, everything they do. And I think we don't realize that sometimes it's creating that seat at the table. Sometimes it's creating your own table as well too. So I love that you embody that as well too. So truly appreciate that, Monica. And I appreciate your time even more.

15:15 – 15:24
Gresham Harkless: What I wanted to do is just pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional that you can let our readers and listeners know and of course how best they can get a hold of you and find about all the awesome things you're working on.

15:25 – 16:02
Monica Johnson: Yeah, so just any additional information, I do offer consultations. So you guys can find me on Giants Vending at Giants Vending on IG and on Facebook. And the link is in my bio for consultations. I have an e-book that I'm working on about how to launch your Vending Machine business. It's called The G-Code. So that will be dropping soon. And again, I'm on Instagram, I'm on Facebook, and I'm also on LinkedIn. So if you guys need to contact me, you can contact me at hello at giantsfinancesolutions.com. And yeah.

16:03 – 16:20
Gresham Harkless: Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. We'll definitely have the links and information in the show notes and for the Instagram for your website and all the awesome things that you're doing. Of course, you're everywhere across the DMV as well too, because you see your vending machines everywhere. So Appreciate you for doing so many awesome things, of course, taking some time out today, and I hope you have a great rest of the

16:20 – Outro