That is exactly what I thought Vending Machines would be. Let's discuss options for starting.
Do you rent them?
Out right buy them?
Aquire it by a barn find posted free pick up if you haul on Craigslist?
None of those are bad options if youre ready to make your money make you money. What kind of machine? Location?
Lets look over some brief lessons to be learned.
*Don't use snack machines unless you get a spot at a business with over 100+ employees
*Always negotiate price with owner of location you set up shop. Hard to make profit when you're paying it out. Negotiate around 10% no higher. Or you'll end up losing money.
*Don't weed out costs, how much to move from a bad location? How much are you paying shop location's owner? How much are you spending in gas for your route? How much are you paying to rent machines {If renting}? How much to restock? All critical questions to calculate for most income.
*Keep record of profit/loss ratio, you can make a mock calculation report without ever actually investing to see a rough profit/loss income, but nothing is more accurate than real life experience.
*If doing drinks, remember some are seasonal, some chips/snacks are seasonal as well. Be aware of your product, and whats popular in the location you picked.
One great vending machine service I saw was actually at a coca-cola factory, and assuming they actually own it as well. They take extra drinks or whatever causes them to be put out, and labels each drink as a mystery for $0.25 a drink. Cheap, fun, and very profitable not just for coca-cola. An older man comes through every Friday and loads up a fairly large laundry basket paying a quarter a can. Im assuming he brings these to his business and in turn sells them for $.50-$1 a can, easily doubling to quadrupling his initial investment.
So looking at all costs, and hours required to maintain the machines. Out of Passive or Hassle, I rate the machines a HASSLE. To many big businesses out there already have prime locations, if you can capitalize a location, take it, but don't spend an arm and a leg trying to start up a risky business.
Overall you are the one to choose what you do, choice is yours, weigh your profit/loss and make sure you market your business if you take that road.
Thank you for reading my first @DailyBusinessIdea post. I hope you enjoyed and if you shoot me a follow on Instagram tk stay updated in all new posts, leave a comment on my Instagram that you found me here and I will give you a shoutout on the next post!