My son, 12 years old, bought a vending machine and started his own business

He is a mini-tycoon who makes money.

An intrepid South Florida man with a brain job found himself a pretty sophisticated side hustle this summer by owning and operating his own vending machine.

Adrian Pea, 12, decided to take a bite out of the snack rocket after a TikTok video sparked his entrepreneurial spirit.

The middle-school-aged munchie looked into his savings, figured out his budget, and began scouring eBay and Facebook for a used machine that he ended up buying for $1,500.

“I did my research,” Pea proudly told The Post of his new venture.

The pint-sized vendor knew just the place to put his dispenser, also the waiting area of ​​one of the places where his father, a pediatric dentist, sees patients.

Peas then stocked his investment with chips, drinks and candy bought in bulk, then sat back and waited for the dough to roll.

However, the profit didn’t start piling up overnight.

“That office wasn’t that busy,” he said. “My father was only seeing five or six patients [there] one day.”

So the savvy salesman asked his people to help him move the car to a more trafficked location, resulting in an immediate increase in sales.

“Business is a lot of trial and error,” Pea explained. “When you see something go wrong, you have to turn around and try something else.”

The prosperous baron also carefully observed which products were popular with customers, for example, he quickly noticed that plantain chips were selling quickly.

So he adjusted his inventory accordingly further increasing profits.

Pea’s mother, Richelle, confessed to The Post that she was initially anxious to let her son loose on TikTok, but was surprised by how great an educational resource the social media site turned out to be when used as must.

“He saw a video [about vending machines] and started searching more, and then the algorithm started serving him information about the business,” she said, calling her “curious” son a “mini Google.”

And while some may balk at such a young child being so ambitious, the proud mum is all for Adrian grabbing the learning experience.

“It’s not so much about the money,” Richelle said, explaining that her son is learning important life lessons about the value of hard work, perseverance and creativity.

Fortunately for Adrian, he already has his entrepreneurial parents as living role models.

Richelle and her husband, Dr. William Pea, recently sold their business, American Pediatric Dental Group, for a whopping eight figures.

Now, they are preparing to launch their next company, HealthBiz Mastery, which will teach medical professionals how to start their own small businesses.

As for the tycoon-in-training, he’s already made hundreds of dollars thanks to his vending machine that allows him to buy clothes, video games and a 3D printer.

But while the confectioner is finding satisfaction in his success, he is also busy setting up his machinery and thinking about his next business move.

“Maybe I can buy a second one soon,” he said.