Entrepreneur Press - Start Your Own Coin-Operated Laundry: Your Step-By-Step Guide to Success

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Table of Contents

Additional titles in Entrepreneurs Startup Series

Start Your Own

Bar and Tavern

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Business on eBay

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Car Wash

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Clothing Store

Consulting

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Freight Brokerage Business

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Growing and Selling Herbs and Herbal Products

Home Inspection Service

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Information Consultant Business

Law Practice

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Mail Order Business

Medical Claims Billing Service

Personal Concierge Service

Personal Training Business

Pet-Sitting Business

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Wedding Consultant Business

Wholesale Distribution Business

Preface

When I was working on this book, several people told me that they had considered opening a self-service laundry. It seems like such an easy business, they said. You just set out the machines and people drop money into them.

If you open a laundry with that attitude, I chided them, you can be sure your business will fail.

Running a laundry is like owning a cafcustomers will spend a good chunk of their days in your store, and they want to feel comfortable. If you or your staff welcome them, answer their questions cheerfully, listen to their life stories, theyll come back. When you decorate the store, keep it clean and the machines in working order, so that customers will bring their clothes to your laundry rather than the dingy place around the corner.

In short, the more effort you put into your laundry business, the more youll get out of it, financially and personally. And thats where this book comes in: Itll help you get the most from your venture.

Perhaps most importantly, youll learn how to research a location to see whether your business will sink or swim. Youll need to know, for example, whether the people who live near the store are likely to use laundries, or if most of them have washers in their homes. Youll discover when its best to buy an existing laundry and when it makes more sense to build a new one. And youll learn how to determine the value of a laundry for sale.

When youve found a location, this book will help you find the right equipment. Youll learn what the correct ratio of washers to dryers is and how to configure the machines so your customers can clean their clothes quickly and easily. This book will also give you some pointers for decorating your store in a way that draws customers. It includes ideas for extra services, such as a snack bar, Internet access, or a play area for kids.

In addition, youll discover the pros and cons of staffing a laundry. While attendants keep the store clean and help customers, their salaries add more costs, and supervising adds headaches. Should you decide to hire attendants, this book will give you pointers on finding employees and keeping them motivated.

This book will also help you attract new customers to your store through advertisements and promotions. Youll hear from seasoned laundry owners about the marketing tactics that worked for themand youll save money by avoiding those that didnt.

Finally, youll learn how to keep track of your finances so you can squeeze as much profit as possible out of your business. Youll know how to price your machines so youre competitive but still earning a buck, and youll find out whether your employees justify their cost. Youll also get some tips on tax deductions specific to laundries.

As comprehensive as this book is, it cant tell you everything you need to know to start up a self-service laundry. A lot depends on your finances, your city and state, the competition in your area, the clientele, and your equipment. So Ive included an appendix full of resourcesincluding consultants, suppliers, associations, magazines, and manualsto help you find answers to your questions.

Starting up a laundry business is a big commitment, emotionally and financially. You want to weigh your decisions as carefully as possible, consider all the options and be aware of potential downfalls. This book will help you do that.

The NewLaundromat

The coin-operated laundry industry has undergone a revolution. No longer dingy, unsafe, boring places that customers must endure on a weekly basis, laundromats are becoming fun and attractive multiservice centers that customers enjoy visiting. The industry is now getting a facelift, says Brian Wallace, president and CEO of the Coin Laundry Association, a national association for self-service laundry owners. Theres a trend toward coin laundries being more comfortable for the customer.

The newer laundries have snack bars, a place to drop off and pick up dry cleaning, and video games. Some of them dont even use coins. Instead, customers use swipe cards that subtract the cost of the wash or dry, much like a phone card or debit card. Many laundry owners also employ attendants to keep an eye on the store and help customers use the equipment.

If youre thinking about getting into the self-service laundry business, the first thing you need to have is a clear picture of the industrywhere it has been and where its likely to go. In this chapter, well take a look back at the history of laundromats, and well discuss current industry trends as well as the market outlook. In short, well give you the skinny on what you need to know before launching your own laundry business.

Laundromat Renaissance

The coin-operated laundry industry is changing in response to several trends currently impacting the business. The first is that, for most of us, meeting the demands of work and our personal lives leads to a time crunchthere just arent enough hours in the day to accomplish everything we would like to. Laundry owners are capitalizing on this reality by offering their customers time-saving convenience in the form of wash-and-fold (drop-off service) and dry-cleaning service. Some are even picking up laundry from customers homes and delivering it back to them clean and folded.

In addition, owners have realized that they can maximize their profits by providing customers with access to multiple services. Since theyre paying a set amount of rent on their commercial spaces, they might as well use those spaces to its fullest potential. Many owners around the country are serving food, renting mailboxes, and offering free internet access. Because the new laundries are bigger than in the pastoften 3,000 or 4,000 square feetoverhead is higher, and owners are looking for ways to cover the cost. These additional services demand little increase in overhead because the rent is already paid. Customers benefit by being able to use several services all in one convenient location.

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