Have you ever wondered how you can start your own business? Especially with a small amount of your own money invested in it and only a small amount of time required? I know a lot of us are looking to make some extra money and maybe you can use this idea as a side hustle because you can make your vending machine business as big or as little as you want. It is truly up to you because you are your own boss.
So what is a vending machine business? Have you ever seen those machines in schools or car dealerships where you can buy chips or soda when you put in a dollar? That’s a vending machine business! Someone is keeping that machine stocked and maintaining the repairs. In this article we will be talking about the initial cost of the business and how you can scale this business to $100,000 a year.
A vending machine can cost you anywhere between $1,500-$3,000 dollars and the product inside the machine to keep it stocked will cost about $150-$200 dollars. Let me give you an example, your initial cost to buy a vending machine is $2,000 and you buy the product for $150 making a total of $2,150 to start your business. Once you have invested your $2,150 you are ready. The last and most important step in this process is to find a location to place your vending machine. This is the most important step because it will determine how much money you can make.
The average location should bring in about $200 dollars a month. So lets say you put your vending machine in a call center, this type of location should easily bring in $200 a month of passive income. Now lets say you get a better location like a motel, the motel could potentially bring in $500 a month. You could also get a bad location for example, a dental office where you may make less than the average amount of $200 a month. It is all about location… so pick wisely. Even if you get a bad location it’s not the end of the world. All you need to do to start making a better profit is moving it to a place that has more traffic. The only downside is that you will most likely miss out on selling your product (candy/chips) because it may expire and you can no longer sell it.
Lets stick to the average numbers, your one vending machine is making $200 a month after you have spent $2,150. This means that your investment will pay itself off in eleven months ($200 a month x 11 months = $2,200). Making the rest of the time making you profit, whether you have the machine two years, four years or ten years. When you think about it, the only work you had to put in for the $200 a month is going to the grocery store to pick up snacks and reloading your vending machine every two to three weeks.
If one machine costs $2,150 and makes $2,400 a year now imagine what will happen if you expand your vending machines business? Now let’s scale up your business:
10 vending machines costing you: $21,500 and making you $24,000 a year
20 vending machines costing you: $43,000 and making you $48,000 a year
42 vending machines costing you: $90,300 and making you $100,800 a year
In these examples notice how your investment gets paid off in about a year or two. Of course everyone runs there own business differently but if you chose to just have the profit all go towards paying off your investment the first year and taking no profit for your self for a while… the rest of the years you are in the clear! How many business can say that they are in the clear and in the making profit after one year? or even two years? Many businesses take many years before they payoff their initial investment.
In the vending machine business remember that you can grow as slow or as fast as you want. If you only want five mending machines and your happy with that number then fantastic! However, if you want to make more money or even less money you can sell the machines or buy the machines. This business is very flexible. Keep in mind that at 42 vending machines it will most likely turn into a full time job because now you have to keep 42 separate machines in separate locations stocked at all times. If your machine has no product then you aren’t making money, which is never good. On that note, you have to keep a good system to track your expiration dates and keep the right amount of snacks stocked to make your business easier.
Now that you know about this new idea of business, (disclaimer keep in mind that it’s still a business) it’s going to be hard work and the business may not be for you and there is always a potential risk that it will not bring in $200 a month. The $200 a month is just the national average, definitely do your research and start slow because investing is always risky no matter what you are doing. I will be writing more articles about the vending machine world. If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer any and all questions.
Happy vending!
