how much money can you expect to make in this industry? Is it realistic to assume that a startup vending machine operator will generate profits

• Assume the average new vending machine lasts five years and is treated with straight-line depreciation.
• Assume each machine is refilled twice per month and that it takes roughly two hours of direct labor each time.
• Most operating expenses are included in the article but you may want to add any important costs that are neglected.
• Ignore the following statement that appears in the article, which may be misleading: "All costs considered, an operator who makes $5k per month in revenue might take home something like $2k in profit." Your task is to independently figure out how much money can be made.

• General liability insurance (~$500/yr for <$100k in annual sales)
• Commissions paid to locations (5-25% of revenue)
• Transaction fees for card purchases (~5-6%)
• Card reader analytics fees ($10/mo)
• Storage space for unused machines (~$100/mo)
• Gas and transportation ($50-$100/mo)
• Taxes (10-37% of adjusted gross income)
• Routine maintenance and vandalism repairs ($50-$250/yr)

provide a quantitative analysis of the profit potential for a vending machine operator based on the information given above.