u/Miller-Guy

I wanted to share a side hustle that's been working for me. Nothing flashy, but it's consistent.

The setup:
I place coffee machines in small offices (10–30 people). The office pays a flat monthly fee. I stop by once a week to restock beans and cups. The machine does everything else.

The numbers after 6 months:

• 3 machines placed
• $510 total monthly revenue
• $150 monthly cost (beans, cups, cleaning supplies)
• $360 monthly profit
• About 3 hours of work per week total

How I started with almost nothing:

• Bought my first machine used for $700
• Made a simple flyer on Canva
• Walked into 20 small offices near my house
• Got 18 no's, 1 maybe, and 1 yes

Why this works for me:

• No employees or storefront
• No perishable inventory (unlike snack vending)
• Recurring revenue every month
• Can do it after my regular job

Biggest lessons:

• The first location is the hardest. After that, referrals help.
• Most offices have awful coffee and don't realize it until you offer something better.
• You don't need to be a repair person. The machines rarely break.

What I'm still figuring out:

• How to find locations faster
• Whether to reinvest profit into more machines or save
• At what point I'd need to quit my day job

Anyone else doing office coffee? Would love to hear what's working for others.

For like 2-3 months I was in full grind mode. Wake up, job boards, apply to everything remotely close, repeat. Probably sending 25+ applications a day. It felt productive but looking back it was just… noise

I wasn’t really thinking about whether I actually fit the job. Just close enough, send it

At some point I got tired and slowed down. Not intentionally, I just burned out and couldn’t keep that pace.

So I started doing like… 5 applications a day max. But I’d actually read the posting, tweak my resume a bit, sometimes rewrite the top section so it didn’t feel completely generic.

Weirdly, that’s when I started getting replies.

Nothing crazy, but suddenly recruiters were actually referencing stuff from my resume instead of sending generic rejection emails.

I also stopped rewriting everything from scratch because that was too much. I’d paste the job description + my resume into chatgpt or sometimes aiapply (someone mentioned it here before I think) just to get a rough version, then fix it so it didn’t sound robotic.

I think before that I was just another easy apply blob in a pile of 500 people.

Now it at least looks like I read the job.

Anyway yeah. Doing less but actually matching the role worked better than spamming everything.

I have my B-1/B-2 visa interview at the Delhi consulate next week and I am trying to figure out which documents to prioritize. I have seen long checklists online and I am worried about carrying too much paper or not having the right thing if they ask.

Here is what I currently plan to bring:
Passport
DS-160 confirmation page
Appointment confirmation letter
Employment verification letter from my company
Last 3 months bank statements
ITR filings for last 2 years
Invitation letter from my US contact
Hotel booking confirmations
Return flight itinerary
Travel insurance
I have read online that the officer often does not ask for any documents at all . But I have also seen posts where people were asked for specific things like proof of employment or bank statements.

My questions for anyone who has done the interview at Delhi recently:

1. Which documents did the officer actually ask you to show?
2. Did they ask for anything unexpected that I should add to my list?
3. Is it better to organize documents in a folder with tabs or just have them ready in order?

I am traveling for a mix of business meetings and personal sightseeing. My company is covering some expenses but I am also using personal savings.

Any recent experiences would be really helpful. I want to be prepared but not carry an entire filing cabinet with me.

B-2 visa refused at Hyderabad, married couple approved but friend was rejected. What made the difference?

Body:
I went to the US consulate in Hyderabad last month for my B-2 visa interview. I was traveling with my spouse. We were both approved. But our friend who came with us and has a similar profile was rejected. None of us understand why.
Our profiles are very similar:
My spouse and I:
Both in our early 30s
Working professionals with stable jobs
No international travel history before this
No property ownership
Married for 5 years
Our friend:
Same age range
Same profession
Same income level
Same travel history (none)
Same property situation (none)
Single, not married
During the interview, my spouse and I were asked:
Purpose of travel
How long we have been married
What we do for work
We were approved in about 4 minutes. No documents asked.
Our friend was asked similar questions but was rejected. The officer did not give a specific reason other than 214(b) weak ties.
I am trying to figure out what the difference was. Is being married really that important for a tourist visa? Does marriage alone count as a stronger tie to your home country?
I have read online that single applicants get rejected more often. But is that really fair? My friend has a stable job, good income, and his whole family lives in India. He is not planning to immigrate. He just wanted to take a vacation.

Has any single person here been approved for a B-2 visa recently? What do you think helped your case?

We own a small summer place in the Hamptons, Southampton area and a condo in Miami Beach. Trying to renovate both kitchens this year while living mostly in NYC.

The Hamptons project was slow because of the seasonal contractor rush, everyone’s booked. Miami Beach was faster but I worried about hurricane impact on materials.

Has anyone done remote reno in both? Which one was harder to manage? Also curious if you found contractors who actually communicate via text/photo updates instead of I’ll call you next week.

I’ve been burned twice trying to get a deck and outdoor kitchen done in Marina del Rey. One guy ghosted, another didn’t account for seismic + salt air corrosion.

Just finished a project with a smaller outfit that actually listened. They walked me through material choices, stainless hardware, composite-friendly framing and handled all the permitting for the coastal zone. No upselling, just solid work.

If you’re in the LA area and dealing with beach-adjacent renovations, don’t settle for the first bid. Has anyone else had luck with local specialists?

I came to the US for my masters in 2018. Got a job at a tech company. I went through the H-1B lottery and got picked in my third attempt in 2022. Now I am waiting on my PERM to be approved so I can eventually file for I-140.

But lately I have been feeling exhausted and empty.
I work long hours. My social life is limited. I see my parents once every two years because taking time off is hard and flights are expensive. My friends back home are buying houses and starting families while I am still stressing about visa status and whether I can change jobs.
I have been reading posts from people in similar situations and a lot of them say the same thing. Some people get happier after moving back home. Priorities change as you get older. Many people realize they are here for money but their heart is somewhere else.
I am 31 now. I have saved decent money. But I do not feel settled. I am always one layoff away from having 60 days to leave the country.
For those who have been in the US for 5-10 years on H-1B or green card - was it worth it? Would you do it again? Or would you have stayed home if you could go back?

I am genuinely asking because I am at a crossroads and do not know which direction to go.

I own a small architecture firm. We have 18 employees total. We're moving to a new space next month and I'm in charge of designing the break room / kitchenette area.

Current office has a mess of random coffee stuff: two Keurigs, a French press someone brought in, mismatched mugs, coffee grounds all over the counter. It looks bad and honestly feels like no one takes pride in it.

For the new space, I want a clean, intentional coffee setup. Something that looks professional but still feels approachable. Budget is around 3k–4k for everything.

What I'm thinking:

• A single high-quality automatic machine (bean-to-cup, not pods)
• Small sink or at least easy water access
• Cabinet below for beans, cups, syrups, stir sticks
• Quartz countertop section just for coffee
• Maybe a small fridge underneath for milk

Questions for anyone who has built something similar:

1. What machine actually looks good? Everything I see is plastic and ugly. Are there brands that make machines that don't look like they belong in a gas station?
2. How much daily maintenance is realistic for employees? I don't want anyone to have to deep-clean a machine. That will fail immediately.
3. Any mistakes you made with power or water that I can avoid?
4. Is it crazy to skip a service contract and just buy the machine outright?

I've looked at a few higher-end consumer machines (Jura, Miele) but they feel like overkill and also break often from what I read. Commercial ones look industrial and cold.

Would love photos if anyone has done something similar in a small creative office.

I just got my H-1B approved and have my visa interview scheduled for next month. I'm an accountant at a mid-size firm, and my lawyer said H-1B interviews are usually straightforward, but I'm still nervous.

From what I've read, the officer mainly wants to confirm:

• That I actually work for the sponsoring company
• That my job matches the specialty occupation listed
• That I have the right degree and experience

But I've also seen a few posts where people got asked more detailed questions like:

• What's your day-to-day job responsibilities?
• How did your company find you?
• Do you have a copy of your resume and offer letter?
• What's your salary and is it consistent with what was on the LCA?

I'm bringing my offer letter, resume, degree certificate, pay stubs (only have two so far), and the I-797 approval notice.

Has anyone here been asked something unexpected during an H-1B interview? Also, do they ever call your employer during the interview? That would stress me out.

Thanks in advance.

I've been reading a lot about vending as a first business. It seems straightforward, buy a machine, find a location, restock it, collect cash.

But every guide I find says a decent used snack machine costs $3,000–$5,000. A new one is way more. I don't have that kind of money right now. My budget is more like $1,000–$1,500 to test the idea.

Are there smaller formats I'm missing? I've seen gumball machines and sticker machines for cheap, but those seem like very low revenue. What about drink-only machines? Or coffee?

I'm open to weird or non-standard vending if it means I can get started with less cash. I just want to prove the concept before I invest more.