How A 28 Year Old Built a Side Hustle That Brings in $30,000 a Month

Before the pandemic, I worked at an ad-tech startup in California and made $240,000 a year, including sales commission.

But as the country went into lockdown in March 2020, so did many of my retail, restaurant and entertainment clients. Even after putting in long hours, I struggled to meet my sales quota.

That spring, I read on Twitter about someone making passive income by placing vending machines in office buildings. It immediately piqued my interest.

So in June and July, I purchased two machines for $5,000 to get a side hustle going. Things were slow at first, but I was hopeful that I could scale the business. I quit my day job that summer to focus all my time and energy into it.

I'm glad I took the risk: Today, I have 57 vending machines scattered across my hometown and bring in an average of $30,000 in monthly revenue.

Over the last two years, I've spent about $160,000 on machines, but I have a positive cash flow and no debt. I only have to work six hours a week on vending machine operations. I can spend the rest of my time on other projects, like my online coaching business and trying to land new machine locations.

Here's my five-step process on how to get started in the vending machine business:

1. Land a busy location.

For my first location, I called up a friend whose dad owns a mechanic shop. The shop had 10 employees and only sold $181 worth of products during the first three months, but it got my foot in the door

My second location was in an apartment building, and sold $1,200 worth of products in the first month.

The best way to land a location is by cold-calling. I target buildings that have a lot of employees or foot traffic. I recommend using D7 Lead Finder, which helps you find different types of businesses in a specific area and the contact information.

Ask to speak to the business owner or manager and tell them that you'd like to place a machine in their location. Explain the benefits (e.g., convenience of snacks and drinks for employees or customers) and lay out how you'd be handling all of the responsibilities.

Many venues just want the vending machine services without having to pay a premium for installation and upkeep. One vending machine business owner, for example, has 21 locations but only pays one venue 15% of his monthly profits.

2. Buy a quality machine.

I bought my first vending machine on Craiglist for $1,000. I also got some deals on OfferUp and Facebook Marketplace.

But looking back, it was a waste of time and money. I've found that it's more worth it to buy new machines through a local supplier, even though it could cost up to $4,000. They are more reliable and require less maintenance.

I frequently purchase from Ross Vending, which has an entire warehouse of new and refurbished machines.

For first-time vendors, I suggest getting a stacker drink machine. It holds six to 10 types of products, which means you don't have to buy as many variations and can experiment with what sells.

3. Buy a credit card reader.

Not all machines come with credit card readers, so I bought one from Nayax for my first machine. They can cost up to $399, but are well worth the price.

Nayax card readers show you sales on a live basis through their website and app, meaning you don't have to physically go to the machine to see what needs to be restocked.

Credit card readers give customers an alternative payment option. Losing a sale because someone doesn't have cash on them isn't good for business.

Plus, it's the customer who takes on the credit card processing fees, not the seller.

4. Pay someone to move the machine to your location.

Vending machines are heavy and dangerous to move, so it's hard to fit them into tight spaces.

It costs about $100 to $150 to pay for a professional mover, but it's worth it. Your machine distributor can connect you with a local and experienced mover.

5. Buy products from wholesale stores.

I have a 2,000-square-foot warehouse where Pepsi and wholesale suppliers deliver products that my two part-time employees use to stock our machines.

But I still buy products from bulk stores because the deals are great. When it comes to stocking, Sam's Club takes the crown.

Depending on your product mix, it costs anywhere from $250 to $1,000 to fill a machine. My first machine cost $250 to stock.

When deciding what to sell, start with popular, recognizable brands. Test what sells and what doesn't. Aim for items will give you a profit margin of between 50% and 75%.

I love being a vending machine business owner. My biggest problem is when coin slots getting jammed, but I wouldn't trade that in for the stresses that came with my previous 9-to-5 job.

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/ .. rs-a-week.html

“Before the pandemic, I worked at an ad-tech startup in California and made $240,000 a year, including sales commission.”

Cap, hes not making that much a month. Iveresearched this before and know people who own machines. This person is lying!

im sure these vending machines hustle videos are being promoted and paid for the vending machine companies

ie the "d7 lead finder" is probably the sponsor(only company mentioned) , call them , sign up for paid info

nobody buys sh*t out of a vending machine, no fu*king body

the avg corner store makes about 30k , and thats gross , probably nets 25 - 45% of that.

getting rich off vending machines or even 30k a mo in gross, is like believing you'll get your d*ck sucked by just walking outside

whats even worse , I thought "I bet you could rent a vending machine to start a business"

and you can, sad ( because if vending machines we're heavy income producers , you wouldn't be able to just rent them, because everybody has bought them to make money)

because nobody buys from vending machines the next logical thought moves from getting rich from selling items in vending machines , to the selling of vending machines cause you got all this sh*tty a*s equipment from thinking you'd get rich from the previous dumb idea

next thing you'll know , once you've convinced someone to buy all those dumb a*s vending machines

you'll graduate from selling vending machine to selling info to help others sell vending machines (ie: d7 lead finder)

and thats how we get this topic.

Bx entrepreneurship in a nutshell

Crypto
Vending machines
Door dash

In that order

OG T Gutta N said

im sure these vending machines hustle videos are being promoted and paid for the vending machine companies

ie the "d7 lead finder" is probably the sponsor(only company mentioned) , call them , sign up for paid info

nobody buys sh*t out of a vending machine, no fu*king body

the avg corner store makes about 30k , and thats gross , probably nets 25 - 45% of that.

getting rich off vending machines or even 30k a mo in gross, is like believing you'll get your d*ck sucked by just walking outside

whats even worse , I thought "I bet you could rent a vending machine to start a business"

and you can, sad ( because if vending machines we're heavy income producers , you wouldn't be able to just rent them, because everybody has bought them to make money)

because nobody buys from vending machines the next logical thought moves from getting rich from selling items in vending machines , to the selling of vending machines cause you got all this sh*tty a*s equipment from thinking you'd get rich from the previous dumb idea

next thing you'll know , once you've convinced someone to buy all those dumb a*s vending machines

you'll graduate from selling vending machine to selling info to help others sell vending machines (ie: d7 lead finder)

and thats how we get this topic.

like I said on here before…in a gold rush the only people that get rich are the ones selling you the shovel

6. Don't put vending machines on college campuses.
When I went to college, there was this one building that had its machines broken into every week. This was decades ago, but they were after the cigarettes. With the broken glass, others just looted whatever was left. There was a point in time when they put fortified glass on it. That was the end of the stealing. But, you could see the cracks on the fortified glass of someone trying to smash it.

It’s quite possible when you do the math on it, but my real question is how do you get 57 locations? Most places have vending machines already so…

Been looking at vending machines. But not sure I want to deal with the maintenance and overhead.

Also looked at ATMs but finding the locations was the big thing that held me back.

Bruh you gotta have 57 booming locations.. not saying its not possible but 57 booming locations means you're constantly hustling between filling these machines at each location and going to get your stock.. then you throw in maintenance

Mans said he works 6 hours a week..

He lying his a*s off
He just tryna sell his course

just breaking down his figures it would still take work to get to his level

he had a great job prior so startup capitol was easy

using his numbers, gotta drop 4.5k to start with just 1 machine and he's saying his first wasnt even profitable

he says he gets 30k from 57 machines thats only like 500 a machine

and he saying it cost anywhere from $250-1k to fill a machine with product so best case you double up worst case you are in the hole

only way this looks lucrative to me with just vending machines is to have a bunch of them but like is managing 60 machines really as less stressful as his 9-5 as he is trying to portray? All this to make less profit than when he was working

Don't pay attention to people who selling you how to make money for the most part.

They're not really making money off what they say their hustle is. They're making money off you

06:13 PM

OG T Gutta N said

im sure these vending machines hustle videos are being promoted and paid for the vending machine companies

ie the "d7 lead finder" is probably the sponsor(only company mentioned) , call them , sign up for paid info

nobody buys sh*t out of a vending machine, no fu*king body

the avg corner store makes about 30k , and thats gross , probably nets 25 - 45% of that.

getting rich off vending machines or even 30k a mo in gross, is like believing you'll get your d*ck sucked by just walking outside

whats even worse , I thought "I bet you could rent a vending machine to start a business"

and you can, sad ( because if vending machines we're heavy income producers , you wouldn't be able to just rent them, because everybody has bought them to make money)

because nobody buys from vending machines the next logical thought moves from getting rich from selling items in vending machines , to the selling of vending machines cause you got all this sh*tty a*s equipment from thinking you'd get rich from the previous dumb idea

next thing you'll know , once you've convinced someone to buy all those dumb a*s vending machines

you'll graduate from selling vending machine to selling info to help others sell vending machines (ie: d7 lead finder)

and thats how we get this topic.

Nuh uhh bro.. You can get rich beyond your wildest dreams with little to no experience, effort, or investment cash.

You just have to believe.. My mentor sold so many widgets that he needed to recruit people to sell widgets because there were too many for him to handle.

My business plan for my first million is sell 1,000 items for $1,000 or 10,000 items for $100. It’s simple math no need to complicate it with silly stuff like EBIDTA.

Don’t hate when I’m rich in 90 days or less!

*My experiences are not representative of the average experience, my explicit guarantees for quick success are in fact not a guarantee.

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Google, wtf is ad tech

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And how can I sell some

Before YouTube these scammers existed at 2am on sh*tty local affiliates and we knew not to listen.

Somehow YouTube legitimized these grifters to people

Are these as lucrative as people claim?

Fellow bxers what are the best passive incomes yll have experience with?
(No money from interest)

Hustle culture got y’all chasing y’all tail. Lol

Like anything, I think it's possible if you're willing to do the work.

The number of skeptics and inconsistent entrepreneurs tells me this is possible.

The deciding factor is location and how long you're willing to engage in the success of this sort of business.

AfroBucks888 said

cnbc millennial money series had a brother on talking bout his vending machine business he said he put his machines in college campuses but in places with cameras, i guess in general it depends on the institution

Oh yeah, these vending machines were located in the lobby of the first floor of a dorm. No cameras. No people. It always happened late at night. Some time between 1 AM and 5 AM, someone was breaking into them.

OG T Gutta N said

im sure these vending machines hustle videos are being promoted and paid for the vending machine companies

ie the "d7 lead finder" is probably the sponsor(only company mentioned) , call them , sign up for paid info

nobody buys sh*t out of a vending machine, no fu*king body

the avg corner store makes about 30k , and thats gross , probably nets 25 - 45% of that.

getting rich off vending machines or even 30k a mo in gross, is like believing you'll get your d*ck sucked by just walking outside

whats even worse , I thought "I bet you could rent a vending machine to start a business"

and you can, sad ( because if vending machines we're heavy income producers , you wouldn't be able to just rent them, because everybody has bought them to make money)

because nobody buys from vending machines the next logical thought moves from getting rich from selling items in vending machines , to the selling of vending machines cause you got all this sh*tty a*s equipment from thinking you'd get rich from the previous dumb idea

next thing you'll know , once you've convinced someone to buy all those dumb a*s vending machines

you'll graduate from selling vending machine to selling info to help others sell vending machines (ie: d7 lead finder)

and thats how we get this topic.

Lol 30k a month

n*ggas lie so much

Lite said

Bruh you gotta have 57 booming locations.. not saying its not possible but 57 booming locations means you're constantly hustling between filling these machines at each location and going to get your stock.. then you throw in maintenance

Mans said he works 6 hours a week..

He lying his a*s off
He just tryna sell his course

Unless they are at Zoos, huge factories, high schools and sh*t I don’t see it. He def lying his a*s off

TheLuminousOne said

Are these as lucrative as people claim?

Fellow bxers what are the best passive incomes yll have experience with?
(No money from interest)

If you get lucky

I had a small one before and it made money for sure but still

You gotta find a good location, possibly pay to keep it there, keep the goods stocked, deal with any maintenance issues, and hope no one tries to steal from it or take it

It can work though but if you dont plan on treating it like a real business don't bother.

Someone took my machine and I didn't have the time to re-up and expand like i had originally planned, but i was never in the negative... sold candy by the way.

again with this bullsh*t....