Surprise way to make $100k from a vending machine
Is a vending machine a profitable business?
Former Wall Street investment banker and financial expert Codie Sanchez put the question to the test, investing just over $8000 in three different vending machines to find out how much money she could make in just two weeks.
It’s fair to say, the experiment – which was posted to Ms Sanchez’s YouTube channel – could spark a new wave of investors looking for minimal work but maximum gain.
After refurbishing three machines and stocking them with varied items that catered to three different user groups – the health-food gym junkie, the vending machine food lover, and plush toy living kids – Ms Sanchez recorded different results, based on location and demand.
After just two short weeks – and a few hiccups in between – vending machine number one, which was filled with basic snack items at a jiu jitsu gym, made $136.
Can a vending machine make you money? Former Wall Street investment banker and financial expert Codie Sanchez put the question to the test: Source: YouTube
Machine two, which was filled with healthy snacks and located at a gym, made $488 over the two weeks, while machine three – the plush bus – made $460 over the fortnight.
In total, Ms Sanchez combined profit was $1084 over the two weeks.
An impressive result, considering the average vending machine pulls around $117 to $468 in profit per month in the US.
“It’s actually kind of crazy because that’s $2169.52 a month with three machines, which means I earn 26015.55 per year with these things,” Ms Sanchez told viewers.
“If I replicate this amount with just these three, I would need 16 of these (machines to make) US$100,000 (AU$155,968) a year and that would have me working 32 hours a month if we’re being loosey-goosey here.”
So are vending machines a good investment?
Based on a $9358 upfront cost – which includes the machines and fillings – Ms Sanchez estimates it would take about five months to see a return of her investment.
However, thereafter, the business venture could turn a profit from the get go.
“I am actually pretty thrilled with our little money making robots….and I think we could build a real business out of this,” she said.
“Placing vending machines isn’t just about convenience, it’s about smart asset placement and is a lot like real estate, actually,” Sanchez told viewers.
“But successful operators, kind of like savvy real estate investors, they understand that calculated risks can lead to big rewards.”
Ms Sanchez selling a prospective clint on her vending machine poducts.
Vending machines as a commercial business opportunity
Ms Sanchez isn’t the first to consider the business viability of vending machines.
Earlier this year, a 26-year-old woman revealed how she quit her job to buy a vending machine which now earns her around $15,000 a month.
Megan Healey walked out on her job in finance and inspired by her schoolyard hobby of selling snacks, bought a vending machine from eBay for $1400 to kickstart her own business.
She started off slowly, after she bought her first machine three years ago, she was making just $61 a month, however things have taken off massively since then.
Megan Healey and her vending business. Picture: Instagram
The youngster now lords over a business empire of 27 vending machines across 18 sites and pulls in around $180,000 a year – and she only works two to three days a week.
It’s a far cry from Healey’s time in finance when she was on a salary of $55,000.
“I really hated it though,” Megan told Yahoo.
“My manager there was awful, and I think I’ve always wanted to make my own money.
“Then I broke up with an ex and I think that’s what drove me to change my life and buy a vending machine.”
