Make Money Starting A Laundromat | Starting Your Own Small Business
Make Money Starting A Laundromat | Starting Your Own Small Business
If you’ve always wanted to start your own small business to generate wealth, but never could quite make up your mind as to what type of business you could efficiently run, then you might want to look into starting a laundromat (or laundrymat, as some people call them). Right off the bat, let’s make one thing clear though: the biggest drawback to opening a laundromat is that the initial investment is substantial. Of course, the flip side of the coin is that this is one of those rare business opportunities that doesn’t require a lot of maintenance and ongoing expenses to keep running smoothly and making you money.
In order to put the odds in your favor, it’s recommended that you write a business plan for your laundromat. You’ll need to have all the aspects of opening and running the business worked out for the long and short term. The process of writing the business plan will not only be your road map for a successful small business, but it will also be a required document for financing. It says to investors “I’ve thought this through and you will get your money back and I can prove it.”
What do you need to start your laundromat?
You’ll need to secure the right location. Ideally, the competition is minimal, the location is a spot on a busy street with good visibility, is spacious with plenty of floor space (we’ll see why that’s important in a while), has adequate utility hookups, and offers plenty of parking space. Some of those points can be worked around, like the competition and the parking space, but as a rule, that’s what you’re looking for. Should you locate an area with a couple of already established laundromats, you can visit them to spot their weaknesses and take advantage of that in your operation. As for parking space, if you’re opening in a densely populated area with lots of apartment buildings, this might not be much of a concern.
Required equipment
All a laundromat needs is washers, dryers, and washer-extractors (washer extractors are washing machines that spin at a very high speed, using centrifugal force to extract stains and soil in fabric). At this point you’re going to have to make a business decision when it comes to what type of machine you’re going to use, either coin-operated machines or smart card operated models. They each have their pros and cons, which will also factor in the operation of your business.
Coin-operated laundromat equipment vs. smart card operated equipment
If you decide to use coin-operated washers and dryers for your laundromat, the biggest advantage you’ll get out of it is that they will be cheaper to purchase, thus lowering your upfront investment. They do require work though, namely the emptying of the coins from the machines and refilling the change dispensing machines. The smart card operated washers and dryers don’t need maintenance at all from that angle, since the customer only has to purchase a card with an embedded chip; credits are purchased from a smart card center machine that stores the balance on the card. No emptying nor refilling. But they’re subject to hacking (as a person equipped with a smart card reader could add to the balance on their card) and are more expensive than their coin-operated siblings.
Making your laundromat successful
Aside from the indispensable equipment, there are also other things that you need to take care of in order to make your laundromat one that caters to the needs of its clientele. There has to be a change dispensing machine or smart card filling machine (depending on what type of equipment you decided on), as well as tables and areas for customers to fold their clean laundry. Since people will be spending at least an hour cleaning their clothes, you need to provide public restrooms for their convenience. If your laundromat is located in a suburban area, provide activities that will keep the children busy while their parents are doing their laundry, such as video game arcade machines or a play area. If your location is more urban, or is near densely populated areas, consider placing it within walking distance to where your target market lives, and offer additional services like drop-off, ironing and folding, and/or partner with a dry cleaning service.
As mentioned earlier, the laundromat business is one where besides the initial investment, you don’t have to keep putting money in to keep making money. You will have to do some local marketing to get the word out, and maybe run a promotion every now and then to keep your business’ name in your customers’ minds. But once you’ve established a solid customer base, you can pretty much put the business on auto-pilot. If you can be there to operate it, there’s almost no need for employees. Starting a laundromat is a great way to create a steady source of income. After initial fees for equipment, installation, etc., your only expenses are basically for power, water and sewer, and the occasional repair to your equipment.
Essentially the only physical work required is day-to-day upkeep. Most of these tasks are simple in nature: cleaning lint screens, cleaning the restrooms, and refilling the change machine (if you use one). These tasks can be completed quickly and most don’t even have to be done every day, making a laundromat business one of the best ideas to make money for anyone looking to start a business that doesn’t require a lot of attention. If you have the money to invest, you can be guaranteed that, if properly placed, priced, and maintained, a laundromat business will pay for itself, and then consistently generate profits and put money in your pocket.
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