Hey there, Vendpreneur!

Welcome to Becoming a Vendpreneur—where every week I help you navigate the challenges of running a vending machine business, whether you’re just starting out or looking to expand your operation.

This week, I’m revealing my actual numbers from my vending machines. I’m breaking it all down, including:

• Revenue

• Expenses

• Profit per machine

• How long it takes to make my money back

But before we jump into more details, I want to share a few quick updates on my two vending businesses, Pod Plug and Vending Machine LaunchPad (VMLP):

🚀 Business Updates

• 📞 Had an incredible meeting with my boy Ben Kaplan, founder of No Accent Callers. Exploring how his agency could help us become a cold calling machine and land new locations to help our future franchisees.

• 🍸 Spoke to a VC tech mogul named Bahram and got some great franchise strategy insights. He thinks our ICP (ideal customer profile) is an on-premise liquor rep and go all-in on direct sales.

• 📊 Item 19 for the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) is nearly complete!

• 📚 Met with Shaina, a franchisor in the pet industry, and got some golden advice: do all franchise sales calls myself instead of outsourcing.

• 📝 Deep-dived into newsletter strategy, deciding between Beehiiv and BrandWide as our ESP (email service provider). Which one would you recommend considering we’ll be franchising?

• 🏡 Connected and gave advice to my friend Danny, who’s leaving real estate and looking to get into vending, micro markets, or laundromats.

• 🎥 Had a solid meeting with Quani Bates from Rayzo Vending, a vending YouTuber and content creator (potential VMLP collab in the works!)

• 🎙️ Got interviewed for a vending podcast (more exposure coming soon!)

• 🎓 After completing a 5-hour assessment, I brought on two high school interns who start Monday. Excited to get them rolling!

• 🔥 Big hiring moves: We’re down to two final candidates for our COO role: Jeff and Brian. Final reviews happening VERY soon.

• 📈 Had 4 new members join VMLP in the past week and the community is firing on all cylinders. One new member is about to leave his 9-5 after securing 2 HOT locations! 👀

  

  Omar, one of our newest VMLP members locked in 2 vending locations on the same day by simply showing up to the business with a trifold brochure 👌

Feeling grateful for all the momentum. More updates next week! 🚀

Now, let’s dive into this week’s newsletter. 👇

🔗 Best Links

Curated picks for Vendpreneurs

📱 Top Reads

• 📈 This new program is helping entrepreneurs launch and scale profitable vending businesses (Vending Connection)

• 🍊 Juice vending machines like iJooz are taking over Singapore—here’s why (The Straits Times)

 😱 Trending Now

• 🍕 Another 24/7 pizza vending machine just appeared—would you try it? (TikTok)

• 🎌 This vending machine park in Japan might be the coolest place on Earth (TikTok)

Most people have no idea how much money a single vending machine can actually make.

Some think it’s just pocket change. Others assume it’s completely passive income. The truth? It’s way more profitable than you’d expect (but only if you run it right).

I’m pulling back the curtain on my real numbers: how much I make, spend, and keep from each machine.

Let’s break it all down. 👇

1. Revenue Breakdown (Where the Money Comes From)

My average vending machine pulls in $1,200 a month, with around 80 transactions.

Some products sell like crazy. Others just sit there. But even the slow movers still bring in money.

The best-sellers (Zyn, Mystery Bags, Geek Bars, emergency phone chargers, and disposable cameras) bring in most of the cash, but everything adds up. A sale is a sale!

2. Cost of Goods Sold/COGS (What It Costs to Stock the Machine)

My gross margin is 70%, which means I spend $360 per month to keep the machine stocked.

Some products have huge markups while others have lower margins but still make money. The mix matters.

Every dollar also counts. If costs get too high, profits drop (obviously). And if I cut too much, sales might slow down. It’s all about finding the right balance.

3. Expenses (What It Takes to Run the Business)

Every month, I spend $240 on expenses to keep things running smoothly.

The biggest cost? Location commissions. A percentage of my sales goes to the businesses or property owners who let me place my machines there.

Then there are the smaller but necessary expenses: payment processing fees, software costs, licensing, and connectivity fees (SIM cards for my smart machines).

It all adds up, but these expenses keep the business running and the money coming in.

4. Profit (What We Actually Keep)

After covering costs, each machine brings in $840 in gross profit per month.

Once all expenses are paid, I keep $480 per month in net profit.

That’s $5,760 per year… from just one machine! (Imagine having 10 machines 🤫)

5. ROI (How Fast I Make My Money Back)

Each machine costs $3,000 all-in (including install).

With a 40% net margin, I make my money back in just 6.25 months.

By the end of the year, my ROI hits 192% (almost doubling my investment in 12 months).

And That’s a Wrap!

If you’re not in the vending business yet, what are you waiting for?

Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter.

Hit reply and let me know what you found most helpful this week—I read every single reply and I’d love to hear from you!

See you next Saturday!

-Ethan

Before you go, here are 3 ways I can help you get started in vending:

1.) Vending Machine LaunchPad - Learn exactly how to start and grow your vending business step-by-step and get direct access to me with 3 live calls per week, downloadable resources, templates, and a lot more.

2.) Pod Plug Franchise - With a super low-cost entry franchise, you’ll get three smart machines, starting inventory, and hands-on training. Join the waitlist!

3.) Nayax - Add cashless payments to your machines with Nayax card readers. Use my promo code “ETHANPROMO” for a nice little discount.