5 Things You MUST Know Before Starting A Vending Machine Business

What happens when two college students buy a used vending machine to start a passive income business? In this video, you'll learn the good, the bad, and the ugly of starting a vending machine business as well as important tips for profitability.

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In the summer of 2019, my college roommate and I started a vending machine business. Our goal was to acquire 10 locations by 2020, yet owning this kind of business comes with many obstacles that we did not see coming.. In this video, I tell you steps to open your vending machine business, I give you advice on starting vending machine business, I tell you the best vending machines, and what you shouldn't do when starting a vending machine business. THIS IS EVERY QUESTION BEGINNERS HAVE!

The 5 Things You MUST Know Before Starting A Vending Machine Business

1. Have a location before buying your machine
2. Analyze your target market and don’t buy a snack machine for a place a drink machine would be better
3. Realize you’ll need $500 - $1000 in startup capital
4. Don’t expect passive income, this is active work
5. Scaling is harder than expected, a lot of labor is involved

We made about $90 in total sales, but that was over 9 months of our machine being operational. This was NOT profitable, and we actually ended up losing a lot of money when our snacks expired.

After we realized that this business was NOT passive, we had to come to a tough choice. As students, it was just not the best use of our time and it required a large amount of capital to scale this business. So what did our business do?

Luckily vending machines hold their value really well! So a year later from our initial investment, we sold our machine. The great thing is we recouped all our costs and even sold the machine for a slight profit of $75.

Most of the unsold and expired snacks were able to be eaten by us and did not go to waste. So, all in all, we were slightly cash flow positive, with our machine still holding its value at the time of selling.

If you're interested in starting this business, be sure to do your due diligence before buying a machine! This can be a fun and lucrative business if done correctly! Personally, I would rather spend my free time working on side hustles that can be done online and that lean more towards passive income.

Thanks for watching!

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[ChrisDAndrealifestyledesign]

New vending machine order just came:
1. please scroll back up
2. and smash the like button

[mr.kurtezfx]

I own 3 vending machines and they bring in total of 3K-4K a month. It’s all about location the maintenance is easy. I knew off the rip location was important so luckily I got friends that own their own barbershops so I placed my machines there. 😎👌🏿

[williamjames]

I started a vending machine business last year as a side job while I am employed to a corporate world. Now I rely more on my earnings in my vending machine business. Such a good idea to start one.

[omarijones]

Guys if you came to watch this video for encouragement on vending machines don’t let this video discourage you just go out and do it !

[chassiddywilliams]

Definitely had the wrong location. Need a blue collar working location with men who work 24 hours a day.

[jennicaharris]

I never knew running a vending machine business was so much work. Sounds easy before you really think about it and experience it.

[cynthiaaideevelazquez]

Just remember that everything you wanna do in this world takes hard work. Do what you want and have faith it will work but don’t have the easy money mentality .. money is energy !!!

[jasonmaes]

It seems like a perfect business for a young person who could devote a lot more time into it. Great video guys.

[vladbrad]

I started a Vending Machine business, i have a drink and snack machine at a private school, i make around $400 or so every 2 weeks I'm loving it great video 💯💯💯

[steverossiter]

I did this from 2006-2010 to show my 15yr old how to be a business owner and made a KILLING but I did it differently and 90% of mine where Quarter machines. The Quarter machine had better margins. Great video

[kmold]

Thank you for making an honest and realistic video about the efforts these “side hustles” take !

[domwings]

I would absolutely have a credit card reader. Studies show people spend more often and more money with a card so it’s so worth it. Secondly I would stop by weekly and buy every item to make sure it’s working properly. I plan on buying some and capital is not an issue.

[MoniqueShai]

This was extremely informative, thank you for including the pros and cons so that we could all make well informed decisions about placement, costs and profit

[falco]

This seems like the best place to start as far as owning and managing a small business, the potential loss is small and easiest way to practice running a business without having to deal with tough issues.

[UlyssesConcept]

Not gonna lie, i thought this is another one of those bragging videos where they list how much they make not talking about costs, like labor etc. but i was positively mistaken! Big up for making this!

[incredibleico]

As an avid vending machine client, I appreciate this wise video.

[NG]

Thanks for being honest and sharing your tips. It’s great to try new things. And it’s cool to see that you shared even though it didn’t go how you expected. All the best!

[Sonnaatta]

This is passive income I don’t know what kind of job you work but if I had a few machines that’s a hell of a lot easier than working construction and that’s what I do now

[UnprofessionalProfessor]

5:36
I feel the slight pain in that smile. That feeling of "Whoa! That was close to a disaster, " and having learned from mistakes.

[brettmoney]

ok, seriously, this is one of the most interesting videos on youtube i've ever watched. you always see those vending machines and think "yeah whatever gimme chips" but as someone focused on business, it's so fascinating to hear the struggles and experiences you had with this business. thank you so much for making this and sharing it. so interesting to hear what you struggled with and learned. i feel like 20 years ago no one would have had the chance to learn this, but now we can see.

good luck with your next ventures!! you guys deserve to make bank. subscribed for sure.