Your Laundromat Business Can Help Local Community
One topic that is seldom discussed is how easy it is for an owner of a laundromat business to help those in need within the local community. In some cases, these community support efforts do not even have to cost the owner a single penny.
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.
Copyright protected by Digiprove Laundromat Equipment – Interview with Brian Brunckhorst
The Coin Laundry Association just released their August issue of “The Journal”. If you look carefully, the cover photograph is a picture of my coin laundromat in Hayward, California.
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.
————————————————–
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.
