Note: In the past, I talked briefly about this subject. However, for the benefit of those who have not heard me speak on this subject, there are two primary ways for a laundromat business to give back.

Donate Unclaimed Clothing
The first method is to donate all of the lost or unclaimed clothing that gets left in the laundromat to a local charity or non-profit organization. This could be a homeless shelter, neighborhood church, or numerous organizations that could put the clothing to good use.

Before you do this, I recommend waiting for a moth or so to see if the customers at your laundromat return to claim their lost items.  If they do not return, then take the items down to a charity that can help get the clothes to people who could really use them.  Not only will you be helping your community, but you’ll also get the extra benefit of charitable contribution when preparing your taxes for the year.

Donating Profits to a Local Charity
Another way a laundromat business can directly aid local charities or non-profit organizations is to actually donate a part of the profits of the business.  If you were looking purely at the dollars and cents, this may not make sense.  However, in my experience, I have received far more than I have ever given away.

We all know that one way of donating is to take a certain percentage of your business’ income; I do this regularly on a monthly basis.  Another viable alternative is to get your customers involved in supporting a local cause. This form of donation is typically known as a benefit fundraiser. There are a couple of reasons why a benefit makes sense in the coin laundry business.

First of all, you are able to raise awareness about the charity you are promoting, while at the same time informing your customers know that their money is also supporting a good cause. It is your chance to personally engage your customers and build relationships.  This, in turn, increases your customer loyalty and the chance they will continue to support your business in the future.

Let’s face it, customers talk, and business charity events are good publicity!  If you promote the event well, you even have a good chance of having some new faces show up to do their wash just to support the charity.

Most laundromat owners tend to forget is that a new customer is worth upwards of $600 a year in revenue. Gaining just a handful of new customers from a benefit event for your charity, could more than pay for cost to support a fundraising event.

Here’s a real example of an event we did in one of our stores. We called it, “Wash for Children’s Hospital”.  It was a benefit event where we donated the entire wash revenue on the last Saturday of July to the Intensive Care Unit at Oakland Children’s Hospital in celebration of our one-year anniversary in Oakland.

The event was a great success. In addition to donating the wash revenue, we also had a bucket available for customers to make an extra contribution to the charity. The hospital provided banners, brochures, and DVD’s which we handed out to customers as they washed their clothes.

Furthermore, every customer was given a postcard sized thank-you letter from us, thanking them for their support of the event. Not only were we able to raise awareness for the Oakland Children’s Hospital, but we were able to donate $1,500 for the charity. Not bad for our first attempt.

Besides being able to help your local community, there are real tangible benefits to your laundromat business. If you’re not doing one or both of these suggestions, then you’re missing out on an opportunity to make a difference and differentiate your business in your community!

About Brian Brunckhorst

Brian Brunckhorst is a leading authority on the laundromat business. He is dedicated to teaching entrepreneurs how to find, evaluate, analyze, and buy a coin laundromat. Brian is also the author of the best-selling eBook, “Secrets of Buying and Owning Laundromats”, and the Laundromat Teleseminar System.

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Despite what others may say, a laundromat business really does make sense in this economy–not cents.  If run properly, a laundromat business can either supplement your income or even replace it.  That’s the primary reason why I decided to look into buying a laundromat.  That’s also the reason why I am so passionate about teaching others and helping them succeed in this industry.

In fact, I would like to take the opportunity to highlight one of my star students, Deborah.  Deborah Dower was profiled in the “Sacramento Bee” newspaper article, “Entrepreneurs Forge Ahead”.  Her story may sound familiar to many of you.  When she was forced into “early retirement”, she realized she would need to make some changes in her life including exploring the possibility of running her own business.

Deborah was browsing the Internet when she found my website.  She fell in love with the idea of becoming a laundromat business owner and purchased my Laundromat Teleseminar System.  After reviewing my course material, she immediately began to put the education into practice.

Within a few months, she found two laundromats that fit her investment criteria and made offers on both!  After purchasing two laundromat businesses, she decided to remodel one of the laundromats.  I’m happy to say Deborah is enjoying spending more time with her husband, Jim, while running these laundromats part-time.

About Brian Brunckhorst

Brian Brunckhorst is one of the top experts on laundromats. He is dedicated to teaching entrepreneurs how to find, evaluate, analyze, and buy a coin laundromat. Brian is also the author of the best-selling eBook, “Secrets of Buying and Owning Laundromats”, and the Laundromat Teleseminar System.

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Even though the laundromat business is self-service, it doesn’t run by itself.  There are several things a laundromat owner will need to take into consideration in order to ensure the business is operating efficiently and effectively.  Below are a few factors as it pertains to operating a laundromat business.

Employees

Consider whether or not the laundromat will be attended or not attended.  Some laundromats do not have an attendant present.  Others have someone on-site to clean the store, assist the customer if she or he has a problem, or manage a fluff and fold service.  If the laundromat will have an attendant, then you’ll want to consider whether or not the business operations can support an employee (part-time or full-time).  After all, the goal of owning a business is not to buy yourself another job.

Laundromat Marketing Plan

This is one of the most important areas for a laundromat owner.  Why?  Marketing is one of the most important activities that can not only bring in new customers, it can also increase existing laundromat customer loyalty.  Typical marketing activities could include special coupons to residents in the area, promotional contests in the store for prizes, incentives for customer referrals, co-operative advertising with other nearby retail businesses, and just about anything else you can imagine.

Security and Surveillance

The safety of your business and your customers is of paramount importance.  It is for this reason, I equip all my laundromats with a surveillance equipment.  I want to make sure I record whatever happens inside my stores.  A surveillance system will help you monitor any potential criminal activities such as someone who is looking to steal the money out of your change machine.  In addition, you want to make sure your customers feel safe and comfortable in your store.  A surveillance system is one way to provide the customer with peace of mind.

Laundromat Equipment

A critical part of business operations is making sure your laundromat equipment is operating at peak performance.  The commercial washing machines and dryers need to work.  On this note, here’s a tip.  Most people new to the laundromat business think they need to service the machines themselves.  Sure, you could learn how to do this and save some money.  However, I like to ask myself, “How much is my time worth?”  Once I go through this exercise, I know it is actually cheaper for me to hire a professional to service the laundromat equipment because they can complete the work order in less time than it would take me (and cost less when factoring how much my time is worth).

Bookkeeping

This is another area where most laundromat owners fall short.  They fail to keep an accurate set of financial records since this business is an all cash business.  As a business owner, you must keep good records so you know if your business is profitable or not.  If you’re not comfortable maintaining this kind of information, get help from a professional bookkeeper.  This will also help you when it comes time to prepare your business tax returns too!

Amenities

This is one area where you can differentiate yourself from other laundromats in the area.  Personally, I like to offer my customers free wireless Internet service.  Other amenities include ATM service, a fluff and fold service, and vending machines, which also offer ancillary income for a laundromat business.

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About Brian Brunckhorst

Brian Brunckhorst is one of the top experts on laundromats. He is dedicated to teaching entrepreneurs how to find, evaluate, analyze, and buy a coin laundromat. Brian is also the author of the best-selling eBook, “Secrets of Buying and Owning Laundromats”, and the Laundromat Teleseminar System.

I’m frequently asked why a laundromat is a good business.  Well, in one of my other articles, I cover the advantages of a coin laundromat business over other traditional businesses.  If you have not read this article, it covers the key advantages of owning this type of business.

In this article, I’d like to expand on why a coin laundromat is a stable, profitable business.  Below are several additional points to consider.

Fact #1:  This industry is stable.

The coin laundromat business is a $5 billion a year industry in the United States.   Most people would not know this though.  Instead, the popular misperception of laundromats is that they are poorly run and do not provide an attractive return for potential investors.  If you were going to start a business, would you invest in a brand new market that is not proven or a mature industry with a solid track record?

Fact #2: Customers will always need a laundromat.

The reason why coin laundromats thrive is because customers will always need the service.  The commercial washers and dryers allow customers to clean more clothes in less time.  Some laundromats also provide a fluff and fold service which provides added convenience.

Fact #3: Buying an existing Laundromat makes sense.

If you purchase a laundromat for sale and perform the proper due diligence, you are buying an existing business that will make you money on the very first day you take over the business.  In addition, you don’t have to deal with franchise fees, lots of employees, and other headaches typically associated with other businesses.

Fact #4: Favorable trends make this a great business.

The renter population in the United States is expected to grow by 2015.  This is a good thing because the typical customers of a laundromat business are renters.  This trend is a Laundromat business owner’s friend!

These are just a few reasons why a coin laundromat is a good business.  This is not just my opinion either.  Check the facts for yourself and you’ll see why I chose to become a laundromat business owner myself.

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About Brian Brunckhorst

Brian Brunckhorst is one of the top experts on laundromats. He is dedicated to teaching entrepreneurs how to find, evaluate, analyze, and buy a coin laundromat. Brian is also the author of the best-selling eBook, “Secrets of Buying and Owning Laundromats”, and the Laundromat Teleseminar System.

Marketing works! If you as a coin laundromat owner market your business and most of your competitors do not – you’re going to be miles ahead of them.

Like any business, you don’t want to forget about promotional marketing. I think that’s a common mistake between most people that own laundromats where they don’t budget much of their allotted income towards marketing expenses.

For most laundromat owners primary marketing is by word-of-mouth and that’s it. Sometimes they’ll do something like give away a free box of soap or leave soap out on the counter and let people just have free soap or something like that. It’s pretty rare that in laundromats they have real marketing campaigns. I think that’s a mistake.

I would recommend, probably, having somewhere between 3 and 5% but probably no more than 10% of the gross income to go to the marketing expense. The amount that you use would really depend upon what kind of net income you have and whether or not it makes sense to spend more than your allotted budget for it. With laundromats, you can do some relatively inexpensive marketing.

One thing to do is you can print up flyers on neon paper just talking about the laundromat and distribute them. Another popular form of advertising is postcards – direct mail.

From time to time we send emails to customers. I love emails because it doesn’t cost you anything for the marketing as opposed to a postcard. The savings you get by using emails allows you to pass some of that savings on to the customers by giving them coupons even if they are existing customers.

The other thing I like to get customers to do is refer other customers. I normally only do this with online marketing where I will send out an email and I’ll say, “Refer 5 people and you win a prize.”

The other type of marketing, which also really works well, is there are some online services that review different companies. Customers come in, they will wash with you then they will go online and they will rate your business from 1 to 5 stars. They get to write it up and it’s in their own opinion. Basically, it’s a testimonial of your business.

It is important to track everything otherwise you don’t know what is effective and what is not. Every marketing promotion that we do has a different give away or a different promotion.  We advertise in one of those “Penny Saver” magazines and on that we have a different ad with a different coupon. We even advertised on shopping carts in supermarkets and that worked pretty well.

Advertising is one of those things that is always evolving. If you find one that works, keep doing that. If you find stuff that doesn’t work, stop doing that and go on and try a different type of advertising.

The experts say in marketing for ads to be effective, you want to touch your customer at least 6 times with some sort of marketing plan. It could be 6 different types of marketing, such as postcards, flyers, and the name of the business as they are driving down the street. Whatever that happens to be. I think it’s important to have some sort of consistent regular marketing approach.

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About Brian Brunckhorst

Brian Brunckhorst is one of the top experts on laundromats. He is dedicated to teaching entrepreneurs how to find, evaluate, analyze, and buy a coin laundromat. Brian is also the author of the best-selling eBook, “Secrets of Buying and Owning Laundromats”, and the Laundromat Teleseminar System.

By Brian Brunckhorst

According to The Wall Street Journal article, “Even Laundries Tumble in This Economy”, coin laundromats are closing while others are suffering with a decline in sales.  While the article is an interesting read and provides exposure to the coin laundry industry, it does not accurately represent what’s really going on with coin laundromats.

I do not dispute the fact that there are coin laundromats suffering a downturn, there are others that are thriving and growing in this economy.  The article does not mention this at all.  Instead, it just portrays our industry in one light, leading one to believe the coin laundromat business is not a good business to consider in these times.

Real insiders know there is a reason why some stores succeed in a tough economy and others do not.  Do you want to know the reason?

Coin laundromat businesses experience a decline primarily due to a change in the demographics in the surrounding area rather than the fundamentals of the business.  In other words, if people leave the area due to a loss of jobs or other reasons, local businesses naturally suffers–not just coin laundromats.  However, in major metropolitan areas with a stable population, there have not been a change in the customer base for coin laundromats.

So what can you learn from this?

The key take away point is that location matters especially for coin laundromats.  It’s all about location, location, location.  This point is so important that it is one of the key criteria I look for when I consider buying a coin laundromat.

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About Brian Brunckhorst

I’m going to let you in on a few insider secrets that determine the value of a coin laundromat business.  These few tips can dramatically increase the your wealth and income whether you own an existing coin laundromat or interested in owning one.

Tip #1 – Store Multiplier

A coin laundromat business is valued based on a multiple of the net income.  If you can find a way to increase the income and/or reduce expenses, the value of the store goes up.  So, what are some ways you can increase the income?  Some ancillary income ideas include vending machines or adding a fluff and fold service if one is not offered yet.

If you’re looking at the expense side of the equation, take a close look at the rent you’re paying if the space is leased.  Even if you’ve already signed a lease agreement, there is nothing to prevent you from approaching the landlord or property owner to renegotiate the lease or request a reduction.

As you can see, these few ideas will not only add immediate income to your bottom line, they will also increase the value of your coin laundromat if you ever decide to sell your laundromat business.

Tip #2 – Financing

The caveat here is this tip must make sense for your individual situation.  In other words, you’ll have to compare the financials yourself to determine if financing will give you a better return on your investment.  After all, the store must generate sufficient profits to cover all expenses including the loan and have some extra to add to your bank account.

I can only speak for myself, but financing the purchase of our coin laundromats allowed me to improve my cash on cash return, pay down the note over time, and increase our equity in the business.  This strategy also allowed us to eventually expand our laundromat business from one store to multiple stores.

Tip #3 – Buy a Laundromat

It is much cheaper to buy an existing laundromat for sale than building one from scratch.  Think about the capital investment required to build a store from scratch.  You’ll have the cost of new equipment, construction, permit fees, sewage hook up fees, and operating capital once the business opens.

To this day, I have not built one store from scratch.  Instead, I look for underperforming coin laundromats for sale and look for ways I can increase the value.  In fact, one of my favorite strategies is to install new laundromat equipment.  Why?

1. The income generated from the new equipment will far exceed the cost of debt on the equipment.  Yes, I don’t purchase new laundromat equipment in full cash either.
2. I can usually pay off the loan on the new equipment in seven years.  The useful life of the laundromat equipment if maintained will be 15 – 20 years.
3. New equipment will help you market your laundromat business.  Not only with your existing customers be happy, the new laundromat equipment will attract new customers.  Keep in mind the top two things that keep customers coming back to your coin laundromat is a clean, well lit store and newer equipment.

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About Brian Brunckhorst

Brian Brunckhorst is one of the top experts on laundromats. He is dedicated to teaching entrepreneurs how to find, evaluate, analyze, and buy a coin laundromat. Brian is also the author of the best-selling eBook, “Secrets of Buying and Owning Laundromats”, and the Laundromat Teleseminar System.

Are you tired of working a job?  Are you looking to make a career change?  Are you looking for a part-time business to supplement your salary?  Or, are you looking to invest in a business that makes sense?  It doesn’t matter which situation you’re in because the coin laundromat business is the answer for you.  Coin laundromats have several advantages over other types of small businesses.

Advantage #1

If managed and operated properly, a coin laundromat should not become a full-time job.  With the proper systems and procedures, a coin laundry should not require more than 15 – 20 hours per week.  Yes, you heard me correctly.  This is a part-time business that works for you instead of the other way around!

Advantage #2

This business is not labor intensive where you will have to manage numerous employees.  At most, a fully attended laundromat should only require one employee at all times to oversee operations.

Advantage #3

You do not have to sell anything.  A coin laundromat is a self-service business that provides a basic necessity.  Customers need this kind of service and are willing to pay for this service.  This means you do not have to hire a staff of sales people to promote your service and attract customers.

Advantage #4

This business is recession resistant.  During a tough economy, we have not seen a drop off in business.  In fact, most coin laundromats are seeing even more business during a challenging economic cycle.

Advantage #5

This is a self-service industry; customers provide their own labor for free.  They load the machines themselves.  They fold their own clothes after the clothes are dried.  That’s good news for business owners like us because we do not have to provide the labor.

Advantage #6

This business is an all cash business.  You don’t have to deal with credit card transaction fees, bounced checks, or accounts receivables.  Plus, customers pay you upfront.  You get paid in full before customers can use the laundromat equipment.

Advantage #7

Coin laundromats are a real, proven business.  This is not a start up business or one that is unproven.  The risk of owning a laundromat is less than other types of businesses.

Advantage #8

This business is simple and does not require a ton of experience.  That said, I encourage you to take the time to educate yourself before jumping in head first.  The proper education will save you time and money.

There you have it.  I covered at least eight reasons why the coin laundromat business is the perfect business.  You are also starting to see why I made the switch to becoming a laundromat business owner rather than spending the rest of my life working in a corporate job.

Here’s to your coin laundry success!

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About Brian Brunckhorst

Brian Brunckhorst is one of the top experts on laundromats. He is dedicated to teaching entrepreneurs how to find, evaluate, analyze, and buy a coin laundromat. Brian is also the author of the best-selling eBook, “Secrets of Buying and Owning Laundromats”, and the Laundromat Teleseminar System.

Also on the cover, the association features an article is called, “It’s a Remote Possibility”.  The article discusses how laundromat owners with multiple stores use high-tech laundromat equipment to manage store operations remotely (also referred to as absentee ownership).

I was one of the contributors to this article.  In the article, I discuss different aspects of remote management such as:

• Working on my laundromat part-time from my home office.
• Connecting coin laundromats to high-tech remote video surveillance camera systems.
• Using attendants so you don’t have to manage the store full-time.

Read the rest of the article to get the full details.  I bet it will change the way you think about the traditional laundromat business.

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About Brian Brunckhorst

Brian Brunckhorst is one of the top experts on laundromats. He is dedicated to teaching entrepreneurs how to find, evaluate, analyze, and buy a coin laundromat. Brian is also the author of the best-selling eBook, “Secrets of Buying and Owning Laundromats”, and the Laundromat Teleseminar System.

Recently, my friends at Speed Queen invited me to tape a customer testimonial for their laundromat equipment.  The video below shows how I use their Quantum Gold remote management capabilities to increase productivity and profitability in my stores.

Some of the cool features I like the most about the Quantum Gold solution include the ability to manage vending prices and water settings remotely.  In addition, I receive email alerts whenever my laundromat equipment require servicing.  All of the these features help me increase customer loyalty at my stores.

Click the graphic below to play the movie.