Making $100 as a Sandwich Lady

*Note: This was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Do you have a personal finance story that you’d like to share? Sign up with the Yahoo! Contributor Network to start publishing your own finance articles.

In the movie, Love Actually, a funky looking sandwich boy delivers lunch to everyone’s office desk. That gave me an idea. Why not sell sandwiches to my office co-workers and make a little extra cash? To my amazement, in my first week I made $100.

How I launched my idea

I started by making a little menu flyer with four sandwich options. I distributed the menu among co-workers I was friends with. Typically we would go out to buy a sandwich together. I offered tastier sandwiches for less money. My friends loved the idea, and I got five sandwich orders for the next day.

Buying groceries

That evening I shopped for groceries at a wholesale club, to save money on ingredients. By mixing and matching two types of cheese and cold cuts I could fashion four different sandwiches. I also bought fresh mini-baguettes, which I froze when I got home to keep them perfectly fresh.

Preparing the sandwiches

I got up one hour earlier than usual to prepare the sandwiches. I heated the frozen bread in the microwave for 20 seconds, then I toasted the loaves in a toaster oven for 8 minutes. When the bread came out of the oven it was crispy and fresh. I prepared the sandwiches based on the orders I received, plus I made a few extras.

Color coding the sandwiches

I wrapped each finished sandwich in parchment paper, then I tied a ribbon around the middle. I used four colors of ribbons to help me tell the sandwiches apart. In future, my friends could order their sandwiches by the ribbon color.

Delivering the sandwiches

I delivered the sandwiches in the morning, before work started. Other co-workers who saw the beautiful sandwich grew curious and asked if I had extras. I sold whatever I had and got more orders for the next day.

Long-term storage

The next day I switched to storing undelivered sandwiches in an ice box. At times, the same people would buy a sandwich for breakfast and another late in the afternoon. With the ice box, I could be sure the sandwiches remained fresh.

Keeping it small

Making a sandwich or two for my friends and co-workers was fun to do. But I kept the circle of people I sold to small. This was not an official business, just a fun way to make a little money and spend more time having lunch with co-workers instead of battling traffic on the way to a nearby deli.

More from this contributor:

When Bulk Buying Doesn’t Save Me Money

Dialing for Discounts

Cutting Our Expenses, But Not Our Lifestyle

This site is hosted by (click on the graphic for more information)

Return from sandwich to Home Page