The vending machine business goes farther back in history than one might guess. In the late 1800′s, a banker in London set up a vending machine for selling books, and other machines in London at the same time displayed postcards. Soon, vending machines started popping up in the tunnels of the New York subways dispensing gum, which probably led to the invention of the gumball machine later on.
Vending seems like an ideal business to get into. We have all pumped coins and dollar bills into vending machines with little concern for cost when we really needed a drink, or had to have a snack to get through to lunch. Even though the office is a great place for a vending machine, the owners of those cafeteria lunch room machines in high schools, colleges, and hospitals are probably doing even better.
The vending business is simple; buy a good machine, or finance one, fill it up, and a week later come back to refill it and collect your cash. Because it is an all cash business, it can be difficult for the IRS to track profits, and the convenience of having cash on hand makes life a little easier as well.
Of course, if it were as easy as plugging in a machine filled with Cokes and candy bars, everyone would be doing it, and of course it isn’t that easy. Or is it? There is one major obstacle that can prevent this business from being perfect, and that is the location. Once you have found the perfect machine, the only way it becomes useful is with a decent flow of traffic. Without a good location, you’ll need a lot of vending machines. Of course, as the business grows it can develop management issues like any company can, but if the business grows that much, that would be a good thing.