Anthony Kolodziej Profile picture
Mar 26 13 tweets 3 min read Read on X
I'm 41 & make $120k/month in revenue…

But 2 years ago, I:

• Got laid off from my job
• Was drowning in bills
• Had 2 kids under 5

Here are the 9 steps I took to reinvent myself (so you can too):
Step 1: Choose time over money.

When I got laid off, I faced 2 paths:

1. Accept a $200k-250k corporate role, but be on the road constantly
2. Build something myself and stay present for my family

Most people grab the "secure" paycheck.

I picked freedom over security.
Step 2: Find your opportunity in chaos.

Labor Day weekend 2023, I discovered an account talking about vending.

That same weekend at the grocery store, my kids were handing me products from the cart.

It clicked…

Low barrier to entry, teachable moment for my kids, real business potential.
Step 3: Take action before you're ready.

I had about $15k available (some in a SEP IRA, some on a business credit card).

Joined the vending community at the end of September 2023.

Did my due diligence, got references, and then jumped in.

You'll never feel 100% ready. Move anyway.
Step 4: Expect mistakes and learn fast.

My first location was a disaster.

Bought a lead for a facility with "75 employees per shift."

Reality: 73 on first shift, 3 on second shift.

I tried forcing bad locations to work because I was desperate.

The lesson?

Foot traffic, foot traffic, foot traffic.
Step 5: Build systems, not just a job.

I got called out during a community call:

"How are you going to scale if you're doing $25/hour tasks?"

That hit hard.

So I hired help, bought a van ($525/month), and injected $20k to float operations.

If you're the bottleneck, you don't have a business.
Step 6: Focus on high-leverage activities.

Once I hired someone to stock machines…

I went from:

90% business development → 10% operations

Nobody else could close deals like me, but anyone could restock inventory.

That's when revenue exploded.
Step 7: Turn 1 win into 3.

My goal with every property manager meeting:

Close the location AND get 3 referrals before I leave.

"Do you know any other managers or business owners who might benefit from this?"

(That's what helped me scale so fast)
Step 8: Move at their speed, not yours.

When someone responds to my outreach, I don't reschedule around my convenience.

If they say 3 PM Tuesday…
→ I'm there at 3 PM Tuesday.

If they say 9:30 AM Friday…
→ I'm there at 9:30 AM Friday.

Speed wins deals.
Step 9: Stay relentless every single day.

In the first six months, I only had 3 locations.

Revenue was slow.

I was doing real estate deals on the side and questioning everything.

But I kept making calls. Kept showing up. Because consistency compounds.
The results 2 years later:

• Work 10 hours/week
• $120k revenue last month
• 80+ machines across 40+ locations

But the real win?

My kids get to learn about entrepreneurship by watching me build.

& that's worth more than any revenue number.
Reinventing myself was one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done in life.

If you want to take the first step toward building real passive income…

DM me “Passive” and I’ll show you how.
19 months ago I left my real estate job to start a vending machine business...

Now it makes $1,000,000/year.

Interested in doing the same?

DM me "Ready" & let's chat Image

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Anthony Kolodziej

Anthony Kolodziej Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @anthonyvending

Apr 29
If I had $1,000 & wanted to make $10k/month in passive income this summer, here's exactly what I'd do:

1. Open ChatGPT and ask for the top 10 places in your city with the highest foot traffic. Screenshot the results. That's your starting point.
2. Filter that list down immediately. You're looking for apartment complexes with 100+ units, office buildings with 150+ employees, and manufacturing facilities with shift workers. These are the locations that print consistent, predictable revenue every single month.
3. Cold call or walk into those locations this week. Not next month. This week. Ask to speak with the property manager or operations manager.
Read 15 tweets
Apr 15
How much vending machines pay you:

1 machine = ~$800/month
5 machines = ~$4,000/month
10 machines = ~$8,000/month
20 machines = ~$16,000/month

I own 85 machines that generated $124,364 in revenue last month.

Here's exactly how:
Most people think vending is just about placing machines and collecting cash.

It’s not.

What really makes you successful is solving a problem businesses already have.

AKA, employees getting hungry during shifts with nowhere convenient to buy food.
But here's the part nobody talks about:

Once you nail the first few machines?

Scaling is just copy-paste.

• Same pitch
• Same systems
• Same installation
Read 7 tweets
Apr 3
I thought my life was perfect:

• 2 kids
• Happily married
• 6-figure corporate job

But then I got laid off…

Here’s exactly what I did to save my career (& what to do if it happens to you):
I never thought it would happen to me.

But honestly? Nobody does.

& with AI eliminating entire departments overnight, the reality is…

No seat is safe right now.
So instead of updating my resume and begging to get back into the same system that just cut me loose…

I found a vending community and went all in.

The first 6 months were slow.

Bad locations, making every mistake in the book, typical beginner stuff.
Read 13 tweets
Mar 25
Harvard researchers spent the last 75 years studying:

• Does money make you happy?
• What’s the secret to a longer life?
• Is life better if you’re married or single?

Their findings might change your life…

Here’s the full breakdown: Image
1. Strong relationships predict a longer, healthier life.

In the Harvard Study of Adult Development (1938–present), the biggest predictor of well-being wasn’t money, career success, or even fitness.

It was the strength of your relationships.

“Good relationships don’t just protect our bodies; they protect our brains.” — Dr. Robert Waldinger
2. Quality > Quantity

A few deep, loving relationships beat hundreds of shallow ones.

Superficial friendships don’t protect you from stress, illness, or emotional decline.

“High-conflict marriages, without much affection, are very bad for our health.” — Dr. Marc Schulz

Build 3–5 close relationships you can truly count on.
Read 10 tweets
Mar 24
• Amazon cut 30,000 jobs since October
• Meta now plans to fire 15,000 people
• Block reduced headcount by 40%

As someone who also got laid off...

Here's my best advice:

1. Start building a second income ASAP.
Why?

Because the market has shown us over and over again that no job is guaranteed. Not at Amazon, not at Meta, not anywhere. The best thing you can do right now is start building something on the side while you still have a paycheck coming in.
2. Don't update your resume. Build something instead.

When most people get laid off, the first thing they do is polish their resume and start applying for the same type of job they just lost. But that just puts you right back in the same position. Working for someone who can cut you again the second things change. Use the urgency to build something you actually own.
Read 13 tweets
Mar 12
If you and your spouse make $150,000 a year from your W-2s, you lose roughly $27,000 in taxes.

But there's a loophole 99% of people don't know about.

Here's how to reduce your tax bill by thousands (legally): Image
The problem with W-2 income?

You get taxed before you can do anything about it.

No deductions. No write-offs. No options.

Your employer takes it out, sends it to the IRS, and you hope for a refund.

That's not how wealthy people do it.
Business owners play a different game.

The tax code rewards people who own assets.

You can deduct business expenses before you calculate what you owe.

Lower taxable income = Lower tax bill.
Read 11 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(