Can you make money with an ice vending machine

This as-told-to with.
essay is based on a an.
conversation with Steve Slagle, a ice.
42-year-old entrepreneur from Panama City vending.
Beach, Florida, about ice vending machine.
machines. It has been edited ice.
for length and clarity. Insider machine.
has verified revenue. I bought two vending.
ice vending machines and started machine.
selling ice and water in ice.
February 2022 as a second vending.
income stream. By October, the equipment.
vending machines had brought in ice.
$33,000 in revenue. I saw the vending.
demand for ice after working machine.
in hospitality and restaurants for near.
almost a decade. In 2016, me.
I bought a small restaurant ice.
and bar on the beach vending.
in Panama City Beach, Florida. Beachgoers near.
would often stop and ask me.
if we sold ice. We ice.
started packaging ice and selling vending.
it. After selling ice.
the restaurant, I started a vending.
small construction company. The company machine.
was successful, but I couldn't price.
shake the idea of selling ice.
ice. I no longer had a vending.
storefront in Panama Beach City, business.
Florida, where I live, so for.
I started researching ice vending sale.
machines. I looked into the companies kooler.
making these machines, the products ice.
that existed, where ice-machine entrepreneurs vending.
put their machines, and how machine.
people were servicing them. I noticed cost.
a gap in serving what used.
I call the vacation market ice.
in my area. Outside of vending.
the big-box grocery stores or machines.
convenience stores, there wasn't a for.
lot of ice vending going sale.
on in Panama City Beach. everest.
Noticing that gap convinced me ice.
to pursue the side hustle. After and.
four months of researching ice water.
vending on Google, I found vending.
an ice machine I wanted machine.
to buy in October 2021. I had six calls with water.
the ice-vending-machine company before making vending.
the purchase deal. I knew machine.
from my experience with ice near.
machines at my old restaurant me.
that they could have maintenance self.
issues. Three weeks after contacting Everest, serve.
the ice-machine company, I bought ice.
two vending machines in November vending.
2021. First you sign an "intent machines.
to purchase" contract. The two near.
ice machines I purchased cost me.
$50,000 each because they're Everest's vending.
largest ice-production models. You then pay ice.
50% of the machine cost machine.
as a down payment. The near.
company then starts production of me.
the machine. You can finance kooler.
the other 50% through a ice.
company called Leaf Financial that vending.
Everest works with; the terms machine.
vary based on the individual's for.
creditworthiness and risk. In total, I sale.
paid $50,000 from savings I bagged.
had from my construction business ice.
up front as a down vending.
payment for two machines. So machines.
far I've been able to for.
pay back 50% of my sale.
loan. The machines should be ice.
fully paid off by August. The vending.
machines were ready by February machine.
2022, and we arranged shipping for.
dates and locations. By early sale.
March they were installed in near.
two large condominium complexes in me.
Panama City Beach. I'd built a everest.
relationship with the management of ice.
the complexes, as I had vending.
done some construction work for machine.
them. We put our machines in cost.
these complexes because they're booked ice.
on Airbnb and Vrbo. The house.
complexes offer a captive customer vending.
base of thousands of people machine.
each week who are often ice.
on vacation and heading to dispenser.
the beach. The machine.
machines vend precisely the amount mobile.
of ice or water a ice.
customer purchases. Customers can collect vending.
it with our bags or machine.
their cooler. I saw a return chuck.
on my investment quickly. After e.
about two months, the ice cheese.
machines generated enough revenue to ice.
cover the expenses and show cream.
a bottom-line profit. At first the vending.
profit was a couple hundred machine.
dollars, but it increased as buy.
the business became more popular. ice.
Now the machines generate a vending.
monthly profit of $2,000 to machine.
$3,000. Most people pay with cash How.
instead of a credit card. profitable.
Summertime is our peak season are.
as a seaside business in ice.
Florida. The machines brought in vending.
between $3,000 and $5,000 a machines.
month in revenue during these How.
months. We collect money three much.
times a week. The machines have is.
technology that allows me to ice.
manage them remotely. I can vending.
see how much cash is machine.
in each device and whether How.
I need to come and does.
collect it. Thankfully, there have ice.
been no unforeseen costs as vending.
of yet. I can log into work.
my computer and see the What.
sales for the day, whether is.
there are any maintenance issues, the.
and whether I need to most.
add bags. One of our machines profitable.
performs a little better than vending.
the other because it's in business.
a larger condominium complex. When I machines.
create my weekly schedule, I earn.
plan time for managing the money.
ice machines. I spend two Can.
hours a week maintaining and you.
cleaning the machines. I live 15 make.
minutes from the machines, but money.
I could have a friend with.
check on them if I'm an.
on vacation and see something ice.
remotely that needs to be vending.
addressed. I still have my construction machine.
company, and it's my primary ice.
income, but the ice machines machine.
are a recession-proof side hustle. vending.
People will travel to the machine.
beaches in Florida, and they'll ice.
always want ice. I'm considering buying vending.
two or even four more equipment.
machines, as I've gotten calls ice.
from more condominium complexes asking vending.
me to place our machines machine.
there.I made $33,000 last year Can.
from my ice vending machines. you.
Here's how I started this make.
almost passive income that only money.
takes 2 hours week.
I sold the restaurant in for.
2019, but the demand for sale.
ice stuck with me
I cost.
requested a sales call with ice.
the company to discuss my and.
investment
Almost all my vending-machine vending.
management can be done remotely
The ice Do.
machines are a side hustle vending.
I comfortably manage myself