There is a way for businesses and organizations to make money with minimal effort. This method also leaves customers, clients, and visitors very happy. It can even please employees, who will actually put some of the money they’re paid back into your business. What is this magical secret, you may ask?
It’s none other than the humble vending machine, of course. Through our daily lives, many of us don’t stop to think about vending machines. We grab a snack in our office breakroom or buy a soda while we’re at a car dealership, but the idea of a vending machine as a business proposition might not enter our minds. If you run a business, though, you should start thinking hard about vending machines, as there are a lot of powerful reasons to invest in one.
Passive Profits
Vending machines are quiet earners. They don’t light up like slots machines and give you jackpot profits. Rather, they take a dollar or two at a time and reliably dispense a small purchase with each transaction. There’s nothing flashy about them.
But those little purchases add up. A few dollars here, a few dollars there, and suddenly your vending machine is making some serious cash.
And that’s not just a nice gross — it’s going to give you a nice profit, too, because vending machines are practically “set it and forget it” income solutions. A vending machine requires minimal maintenance and occasional restocking, plus a modest amount of electricity. That’s it; the rest is taken care of by the machine itself. You don’t need to hire an employee to make change, and you don’t need to monitor your vending machine too closely (though repositioning and relocating it to see where it gets the most business might help you earn even more). Just let those profits pile up while you focus on other areas of your business. Not a bad deal, right?
Pleasing people
Vending machines make money for a simple reason: they fill a need. When people want a soda, or a snack, or ice, or whatever else you may be selling, they’ll take a few steps in the machine’s direction and get their fix. It’s a pleasant and simple transaction, and it makes people happy.
If an auto shop has a vending machine in its waiting room, it makes money while actually making its customers happier at the same time. If an office adds a vending machine to its breakroom, it can gain income from its own employees while boosting office morale at the same time. A school adding a vending machine near the gym can help raise money for its valuable work while making students happy and helping them get hydrated after a workout. It’s a win-win situation and requires minimal action on the part of the business owner or organization leader.
Plenty of options
Of course, not every business is the perfect fit for every type of vending machine. If you’re running a convenience store selling lots of individual drinks and small snack bags, a drink or snack vending machine is superfluous. But here’s the thing: there are different types of vending machines. Modern options include everything from ice vending machines to vending machines that dispense cell phone chargers. It’s an adaptable solution: some institutions have found that vending machines can even help them bring about larger changes, such as changing student eating habits by swapping vending machine options out for healthier alternatives.
So think and experiment: what type of vending machine might be right for your business or organization? If you can find the right fit, you just might find some new profits while you’re at it.
