No not me, I wish, but here's some holiday reading:


I barely work and make a fortune
By Kate Jones
Canberra Times

Every entrepreneur dreams of running a low-maintenance business that reaps a healthy profit. Little effort for big reward.

It may sound like the stuff of fiction, but savvy Australian business owners are making it a reality. These clever entrepreneurs barely lift a finger to keep the wheels turning and still manage to make a profit.

"I looked at buying a cafe, but with all the risks involved I decided to go for something low-maintenance instead," he said.

"With vending machines my theory was the technology would advance, which it has, I could work from home and I wouldn't have to chase debtors."

The Melbourne businessman bought his first vending machined, stocking a combination of food and drinks, 10 years ago. The trial was successful and Apostolides bought another five and not long afterwards, 10 more.

Today he owns 200 vending machines around the country and oversees 10 staff, including speciality technicians, through his company Ausbox Vending Group.

"I tried to accumulate as many vending machines as I could and then I found other people wanted to get into the business," he says.

"We sign up businesses that require vending machines and we sell the vending machines to investors."

Vending machines cost between $6000 and $9000 to buy and offer returns of $100 to $400 per week, says Apostolides. All with just an hour's work in stocking the machine each week.

The key to a profitable machine, Apostolides says, is location.

"Most people think of vending machines at train stations or shopping centres, but 95 per cent are at offices," he says.

"A busy office tower where people don't want to go downstairs to get a snack is perfect.

"Alternatively, if it's a manufacturing location, it's ideal if it's somewhere that's slightly isolated."

Coin jams were once the bane of vending machine owners' lives. But today most machines are fitted with note readers, PayPass technology and even near field communication, which allows users to spend with smart phones.

Vending machines can also be fitted with real-time remote monitoring technology so owners can easily check a vending machine's sales, inventory and cash data.

Operating remotely is a common perk in the low-maintenance business industry.

Diane Ross bought a Melbourne car wash business 14 years ago with the aim of operating it as a retirement business.

Ross, who is now the chief executive of the Australian Car Wash Association, says there are many advantages to owning a car wash.

"Suburban car washes are cash or credit card businesses, so there are no debtors to invoice or chase," she says.

"It has been proved that having an attendant on site brings in more custom as they make the customer welcome, ensure the bays are clean and identify equipment problems quickly.

"But should an attendant be suddenly ill or for any other reason not turn up for the shift, the business can still run effectively – as it does outside of normal nine to five business hours. So labour problems are minimal."

Buying into the industry is not cheap. A six-bay car wash with vacuums costs approximately $1.5 million, Ross estimates. While returns are enormously variable - depending on the amount and state of equipment on site - she says the average car wash would not survive on less than $200,000 turnover per year.

High set-up costs are a similar barrier to the coin laundry industry.

Ben Shaw owns two Soap Bar laundrettes in Melbourne with business partner Constance Bernard. Shaw and Bernard, both former IT workers, forked out almost $100,000 to buy a dilapidated coin laundry and equip it with new machinery.

"The initial set-up is hard work, it took me about six to eight weeks," Shaw says.

"Having said that, we did a lot of the fit-out ourselves and that's where we saved a lot."

The industry offers estimated returns of between 25 to 30 per cent, Shaw says. The basic upkeep requires a weekly visit to clean the machines and empty coin collections. Most laundrettes are opened and closed via automatic locking systems and don't need an on-site attendant.

However, Shaw and Bernard decided to optimise their first coin laundrette in Carlton by adding a cafe, games table and Wi-Fi. They have similar plans for the Brunswick laundrette.

"We always wanted to make it more than just a laundrette and create a community hub," Shaw says.

"So we thought it would be great to get an espresso machine and we're actually enjoying the hospitality side."


Read more: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/sma...l#ixzz3MyzELe00

Very Inspiring article.
Thanks