Oct 13, 2026 · 33 min · 11 segments
Mike Hoffman went from a W-2 job to building a portfolio of more than 300 smart vending machines - and buying back his time. Hannah Kesler talks with Mike about starting a vending machine side hustle…
Mike HoffmanGuest
Hannah KeslerHost
So, Money Multipliers, y'all just heard Russ Morgan on the show about a few weeks ago, and he was explaining to us how his daughter is starting up her vending machine business.
And what's funny is Mike is the guy who's helping her and Russ and Joey's family really implement this business within their lives.
But now, Mike, I know you have really built a business on over 300 modern vending machines, and really, I mean, y'all are producing about 100,000 a month just in cash flow.
But more specifically, what really interested me to just have this conversation with you, was you wanted to buy back your time.
So my question is, take me back to the beginning when you were working your W2 job.
Did you hate it because you were sp- you were trading your time for the money, or did you just wanna be more present?
I was doing a connection from DC for my day job, but I was living in Oregon and doing a lot of consulting with the military, so I was in DC right at, um, I think the start of COVID or maybe right before COVID.
Uh, flight's delayed, pilot goes over his hours, so they can't get us out that night, and we have to go out first thing the next morning in the airport.
Oh yeah, we've all been there, and 10:30, I was like, "Man, there's no restaurants open anymore." So of course, I go to a vending machine.
My background is in human performance, so I'm always cognizant of nutrition, what do I put in my body, all of that.
And I still, to this day, I buy a bottle of water for four bucks, and I know that bottle of water, the weekend before, I saw that bottle of water, a 30-pack at Costco for less than 20 cents a bottle of water.
So, Money Multipliers, y'all just heard Russ Morgan on the show about a few weeks ago, and he was explaining to us how his daughter is starting up her vending machine business.
And what's funny is Mike is the guy who's helping her and Russ and Joey's family really implement this business within their lives.
But now, Mike, I know you have really built a business on over 300 modern vending machines, and really, I mean, y'all are producing about 100,000 a month just in cash flow.
But more specifically, what really interested me to just have this conversation with you, was you wanted to buy back your time.
So my question is, take me back to the beginning when you were working your W2 job.
Did you hate it because you were sp- you were trading your time for the money, or did you just wanna be more present?
I was doing a connection from DC for my day job, but I was living in Oregon and doing a lot of consulting with the military, so I was in DC right at, um, I think the start of COVID or maybe right before COVID.
Uh, flight's delayed, pilot goes over his hours, so they can't get us out that night, and we have to go out first thing the next morning in the airport.
Oh yeah, we've all been there, and 10:30, I was like, "Man, there's no restaurants open anymore." So of course, I go to a vending machine.
My background is in human performance, so I'm always cognizant of nutrition, what do I put in my body, all of that.
And I still, to this day, I buy a bottle of water for four bucks, and I know that bottle of water, the weekend before, I saw that bottle of water, a 30-pack at Costco for less than 20 cents a bottle of water.
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