A fat man and his money are soon parted. I have probably dropped hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars into gumball, candy, and soda machines over the years. If you are like me, you probably have dropped lots of money into vending machines too. Well, why be the poor sucker spending the money when you could be the guy making it?

Vending machines are great. It is like hiring an employee who doesn’t complain, who is never late, and who works for free. Most of the machines work perfectly well with little maintenance needed. Think of it as your own mechanical slave, but without the worry about a rebellion. Go ahead and write your complaint letters about that comment now. It won’t do any good. I’ll be busy making money.

You’ll need to use some of that money you made and hopefully saved up from selling water, dog treats, and hotdogs, or a credit card to get started. Vending machines are not free(unless you steal them, which I strongly suggest you don’t do), but you can often find good deals on them on Craig’s List or Ebay.

But before you get too far ahead, you need to ask yourself some basic questions. What do you plan to sell? Where do you plan to place your machines? The last thing you want is a big expensive soda machine sitting around your basement without a place to go.

I recommend that you start small. Buy a basic gumball machine or a candy machine. Leave it at your personal office at work, if you have one or near your workspace. Don’t make a big deal out of it. Don’t run around and brag about how you are going to make money from it. Just leave it there. People will use it. If your boss, or anyone, asks about it, point out that it is a decorative piece meant to remind you and others of their childhood. Or say you found it in your basement and thought it would be cool to put out. Laugh off any notion that you are making money off the thing by citing the high cost of gumballs, caused by inflation.

After you have developed some experience working the machine, talk to people you do business with to see if they want to partner with you. Do you have a dry cleaner that you use? Do you visit bars or restaurants frequently? Do you shop at any small stores where you talk with the owner on a regular basis? Look around at these places and see if they have gumball or other vending machines. If not, offer to install a machine for them, for free. Off to share a percentage of the sales. Start at 15%. Don’t go higher than 35%, because no one else will. You also need to look into whether or not you need a license from your state or local government. A vending license is required in Maryland, but right now is only $2.50 per machine per year. You can get the licenses from your local Circuit Courthouse and put the appropriate stickers on your machines. That is a small enough price to pay to keep the State from stealing your machines.

Now that you have established a relationship with a local business owner, purchased your machine, and got your license, you next need to get some gumballs. You might be able to get some great deals. At the time of writing this, I found a deal online for 850 1” gumballs for a total price of $43.05, shipping included. If you sold each gumball for 25 cents each, you would make $212.5 (note, prices will change). Take out 35% for the store owner and an estimated 6% for sales tax, and you walk away with $125.3. That is an excellent return.

In order for this business to become worth it, you have to expand. Seek out newer opportunities to place your machines. Upgrade to better machines too.

Make sure that you check on your machines on a regular basis and that they are properly stocked.

As your business grows, you may want to look into buying insurance and forming a LLC to protect yourself from liability and for the other advantages they offer.