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/ https://everesticeandwater.com/ Connect with Joan: https://www.instagram.com/joanposivy/ https://www.facebook.com/posivy/ https://www.sidehustlehero.com/about/ Be on the show! https://www.sidehustlehero.com/guests/intake/