The vending business can be a great way to make extra money in an all cash business. Many people make beginner mistakes and loose money in the business. One common mistake that many people make is buying brand new machines. New machines are great for very large, established vending companies that have huge locations. For the average small vendors new machines don't make any sense based on what they cost. What many of our successful small vendors do is to buy quality refurbished machines at a fraction of the cost of new. There is much more profit in vending 12 oz cans than vending 20 oz bottles.
Most small vendors start with can drink machines. These units produce the highest return on investment. Locations with over 40 to 50 full time employees could warrant a refurbished snack machine as well as a can drink machine.
Depending on the amount of employees in the location you could consider a multi price can/bottle machine. These machines are higher priced but can vend the highly profitable energy drinks as well as cans. For more information on starting a vending business try this link; http://information.vendingworld.com/newusers.php
Over the years many people have gone into the vending business and had great success. Many have made it into a family run business and have done it part time or full time and have been able to quit full time jobs in many cases. The vending business is unique in that it alows you to start out with a small investment and let you grow at the pace you can afford. Every time you add another machine to your vending route it is like adding another store location to your business.