59: Making Money With Water Vending Machines, with Dan Doromal

The product dispensed out of these vending machines is something we all need – water!

Today’s guest is Dan Doromal, co-founder of Everest Ice & Water.

He goes beyond the rosy TikTok narrative of the vending machine business to discuss the reality, including;

when you can expect sales to really ramp up, and it’s not necessarily in the first year.
what to look for when choosing a location,
how to gain market penetration,
who pays for what expenses,
the cost of the vending machines,
your capital recovery time, and
what you need to do to get any vending machine business off to a great start.

Be sure to check out my Pro Tip at the end which you can apply to fast track your success in any new side hustle you decide to dive into.

What You’ll Hear:

05:21 The reality of running a vending machine business

05:58 Working the side hustle business with dad

07:46 The importance of location

09:30 Components of an Everest Ice & Water machine

10:50 Much improved from bags of ice sitting in a merchandiser

12:43 Ways to place a machine, the profit margins, choosing to split profits or monthly fee

14:29 Tracking sales

15:57 Sitting back and waiting for the money to roll in, isn’t a recipe for success

17:10 Is vandalism an issue?

17:46 Provide education to deal with objections from property owners

18:30 Looking at a 3–5-year lease with repeat customers in year 2

19:50 To gain market penetration as fast as possible, consider giving the product away as a promotion

21:45 Initial costs of vending machine

23:07 Check out local laws, need concrete foundation, water, drain line and possibly heat depending on the location’s climate

25:33 Capital recovery time 1 - 3 years, small towns can do really well

29:22 If the location doesn’t work out, it’s small enough you can move it to a new location

30:30 Identify your “why!”

31:20 Mistakes made by newcomers to the business

32:10 “Plug and play” doesn’t tell the whole story, there’s work to be done

33:44 “The Art of The Start” book - how you pre-plan and setup is key

35:20 Dan bases his success on the number of his repeat buyers

36:38 Dan’s best tip for success

Pro Tip

37:56 Find out who the top earners are, and interview them

39:25 Don’t just ask anyone, “What do you think?”

Connect with Dan:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dandoromal/

Connect with Joan:

https://www.instagram.com/joanposivy/

Be on the show!

https://www.sidehustlehero.com/guests/intake/