I co-own a vending machine business with my 10-year-old. He’s learning tough lessons.

• Christina Nicolson is the mother of 11-year-old Landon Nicholson. They live in Wellington, Florida.

• Landon approached him about starting a vending machine business about a year ago.

• Christina, a business owner herself, shares what it’s been like so far.

This article as described is based on a conversation with him. Christina NicholsonLandon Nicholson’s mother. Edited for length and clarity.

My son Landon and I are a automat together. We started a year ago, when he was 10 years old. Landon got the idea for a vending machine business at one of his sister’s basketball games. He was helping out at the concession stand during the Wellington Wolves tournament and started noticing how many people were asking for snacks and drinks.

That’s when the light bulb went off. First he wanted to have one candy storeand I said, “Let’s start smaller.”

I’m a business owner so I was ready to do this

Landon has always wanted to make his own money. Maybe it’s because he saw me doing it; I started my own business media company right after birth. He always saw me as my own boss and saw the flexibility that came with it. To start, we bought a book and watched some YouTube videos to learn about it.

First we had to find a place for it. She was taking acting classes at our community center over the summer and went to the front desk and asked if there was a vending machine. They said they used to do it but not anymore. “Do you want to? It’s my job.” he said.

They gave him his contact person and we arranged a meeting with the village of Wellington. We prepared an offer including what we would put there and how much we would sell it for, and they accepted. There was a contract between them. The agreement was that 26% of the commission would go to them, and Landon and I would split the profits 50/50.

We purchased a vending machine in September 2024 for $1,500 and shipped it for $843. We also purchased a credit card reader for $385, we purchased a credit card reader for $265. Products from Costcoand put $17 into the machine to get started.

We’re still in the hole but we’ve learned some important lessons

The community center is not very busy. we are not split the profit yet, but I still think it’s valuable.

A big lesson for him was that just because you make money doesn’t mean it’s your money. For example, the first time we went to the vending machine to get money, she was so excited to get all the dollar bills. But I told him we had to pay for the machine, 26% went to the village of Wellington who let us put our machine there etc. I said. He soon learned difference between revenue and profit.

He was also initially very excited to go and check on it once a week. What needs to be filled, what people like, etc. He liked to see it. Not so excited to go anymore. He still enjoys doing it, but the initial excitement has worn off.

I’m being patient with him

Sometimes you just have to be patient. We’re almost there. I recommend reviewing the numbers every month; I’ll print out the profit and loss for him to see. He is very impatient, but I remind him that you have to work to make a business work.

It learns about different business models, how long they take, and how busy you will be. This was good because of his age; He goes to the community center once a week and checks in for 15 minutes. He also likes to see what works. He still asks me every once in a while if he’s making money.

I didn’t expect his trust. It really impressed me. He walked directly to the community center’s front desk, asked if they wanted a vending machine, and came home with a business card in hand. I love that he’s not afraid. I think this experience will give him the confidence to start more businesses.

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