Can You Make Money Selling Bottled Water?

As I was researching online if you really can make money selling bottled water as a solo individual I came upon this YouTube video by the Epic America Channel. The video is titled Water Boys of Atlanta | How these kids make thousands selling water. This video convinced me that you could do it even as a small child.

A Teacher Sells Bottled Water on the Streets

Incidentally if you check online even in just YouTube you would see a lot of people doing this in America and not only in Atlanta. Young and grown up Americans do it. Even a teacher from Texas sells water in the streets as his summer job to support his family. This story is reported by KSWO and is titled A teacher’s summer job: Selling water on the street.

The Child with a Business Mindset

Now back to the story of the water boys from Atlanta. According to the video there are hundreds of children selling bottled water along the streets and highways of Atlanta but there are a few of them who managed to earn big bucks literally thousands of dollars from selling bottled water. The author of the video followed one of these successful children.

One of these children had a good upbringing with a businessman father who had 3 businesses. He had a beautiful home but despite this he is not spoiled but is rather hardworking like his father whom he idolised. This is very evident if you watch the video where you can see his father discussing how he raises his son amid the background of his beautiful home.

This child was so successful in selling bottled water that he was able to buy a “video game truck”. It is a custom built truck whose inside has been converted to a video game setup. This money saving success is according to the child just the beginning of his goals as he discusses his other plans for himself and to those around him.

What I believe led to his success was his business acumen and hardworking attitude which he learned from his businessman father. This might just be a story about successfully selling bottled water in the streets as a child but this is also a story of how even as a young person one can succeed in any kind of business even though how humble and simple your business is.

Can their success be duplicated elsewhere? According to the video Atlanta can be very warm especially during summer and people would rather drink bottled water than other sugary beverages especially if it is cold. They also sell at high traffic areas. These two factors can be found in many places around the world so duplication is possible.

The previously mentioned successful child also looks pleasant and dresses well for his age. He has learned at a young age that products alone do not sell themselves but the person selling them must be able to sell themselves as well. I believe that child has the makings of a successful businessman just like his father.

I have also personally seen people from other countries like the Philippines selling water in the streets though only once. The persons selling these were poorly dressed and not to be insulting look unhygienic which may cause finicky travellers and buyers of bottled water a bit concerned when buying from them. They also tend not to be pleasing when they make their sales pitch.

This is a shame considering many people not only from the Philippines but throughout the world need to periodically drink water and there is definitely a demand for it especially in warm weather. There could even be convenience stores and individual bottled water sellers who could form an arrangement where both try to get more business from travelling motorists.

Other Opportunities

The individual bottled water seller can sell small items besides bottled water like candies and other items in front of a convenience store and act as an advertiser for the convenience store during off peak hours. This could result in extra income for both convenience store owner and the bottled water seller.

Bottled water companies can even sponsor these bottled water sellers or hire them as product endorsers. Bottled water sellers can make good product endorsers especially if they have advertising materials from the company like promotional t-shirts and caps that can be worn.

Imagine if bottled water companies make selling bottled water cool by for example hiring a celebrity to sell bottled water in the streets for a day or for a charity cause. Just like any business it can be scaled up and from what I have seen online where people do it as a real business it can be a good source of income.

The Bad News

Do take note that selling bottled water and for the matter any kind of street work can be controversial. There are for example stories going around that bottled water being sold in the streets are taken out from unsafe tap water and is being done by criminal syndicates. There are also stories where you have to pay gangs just to be able to sell anything in the streets these gangs consider as their territories.

Then there is the bad news where the Atlanta police and police from other states have been going after bottled water sellers after a few threatened travellers to buy bottled water from them by pointing a gun at them. There is even a report of a motorist that was shot to death after he declined to buy bottled water from a vendor with a gun.

The Good News

Water takes a very long time to spoil especially if it is sealed in bottled form. Water is also periodically needed by everyone to quench their thirst. This two combined means that if you sell other things besides water you could just also add water for extra income. You could sell it from your store, car and you can even sell them by just carrying them around.

Another good news is that it is a repeat business. Many people do not use reusable water bottles because they are inconvenient to bring and are difficult to clean. Even the people who reuse single use water bottles have to change their bottles after a while. You could even expand your business by selling to convenience stores, restaurants and other companies especially if they have not stocked on their bottled water or no one does it for them.

Conclusion

Although you are selling a very basic product like water you still have to have a business mindset to succeed. You need to sell yourself besides selling water. This is especially true since you are selling a sensitive product which is water. Just like any business you need to look beyond your current customers to other markets and products.