Always Need A Parking Lot?

 

When looking at a store to buy I’m often asked about parking lots.

Do you need a parking lot to have  successful laundromat.
The answer is NO.
Laundromats come in all shapes and sizes and are located in all different areas.

Each one is unique because of store size, neighborhood, equipment mix, zoning, street traffic flow, street patterns, building shape, lot size, etc.

The above store is 1,000 sq ft with 4 big washers, 20 small chassis washers, and 19 dryers.
The owner tells me his average customer uses at least three-four small washers and maybe a big washer. If you do the math this owner maxes out at 5-6 people in his laundromat at any given time.
He has an entrance in the front and street parking for three cars and an entrance in the back with street parking for six cars.
He also has a sizeable population that walks to the laundromat in all weather.
With the limited amount of customers that can wash or dry in his store, he only needs space for 4-5 cars before his store is maxed out.
A lot of people leave between cycles so there are always parking spaces available.
This location has been a laundromat since 1979 so it must not need a parking lot to survive and thrive.

The above laundromat is smaller than the first example.
It is on the corner of a busy street, yet the majority of the customers are people who walk there from the apartments above the laundromat or around it.
It also has almost all small chassis machines so it caters to the neighbors and customers who usually carry their 1-2 loads of laundry from their apartments to the store. There is a bar on one side of the laundromat and an auto repair shop on the other, plus being on a corner the city has blocked off some of the street parking as a fire lane. It maybe has space for two cars on either side of the entrance and there is a space or two across the street from the entrance, although that is a large apartment block so those spaces are often taken up by tenants.
This location has been around since the 1980s so it is another that didn’t need  a parking lot to survive and thrive.

Here is an example of a laundromat that is also on a corner of two busy streets but is a little more landlocked because it has to share street parking with other neighborhood store fronts and businesses in its own building. It is a larger store than the other two examples as it is about 1,500 sq/ft.
Like the other two examples, this building relies on walk up traffic from the area houses and apartments, It also has some street parking in front and on the side that people can come and drop off customers or park and do their laundry. Roughly 6-8 cars combined can park on both sides of the building.
This location has been around since roughly 2010 so it is a newer location than the other two and didn’t need  a parking lot to survive and thrive.

All laundromats are unique to their neighborhoods, buildings, owners, and customers. Even chain and franchise laundromats have small differences from each other. Parking areas for these laundromats are also unique. Having a parking lot with 5-10 spaces right in front of the laundromat entrance doors is great. What happens if those same 5-10 spaces are set further back from the store entrance by lets say a fire lane, loading zone, or the parking lot driving lane. Is that any different than having street parking that is not close to the entrance door? Not really. In the future we'll take a look at different parking lot situations. 

Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy

Scraping Noise in Dryer?

 

If you hear a scraping noise in your dryers, check for coins an screws stuck in the basket holes or between the front of the basket and the front panel like in this video below:

Ev

A Heck of A Nice Guy

442nd Regimental Combat Team Song

 

The company song for the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. My father was a part of this unit from inception till it was decommissioned. 
Ev

Clearing MFR Washer Errors

 

Maytag MFR washers are still out in force at many laundromats.
If you get an error message on the screen, no matter what it is, here is how you can clear the error to see if it is a real mechanical error or something that was caused by random circumstances or customer error.

Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy

Enter & Advance Rapid Mode Huebsch Washers

 

If you ever need to start a free cycle or go to a spin out cycle for a Huebsch front load washer here is how to do it. This procedure is similar for all the Alliance Laundry brands like Speed Queen and Primus.
Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy 

Getting into Huebsch Speed Queen Programming Mode Older Push Button Front Panels

 

This is how you get into programming mode for Alliance brand washers like Huebsch and Speed Queen that have a push button that gets released when you open the front panel.

Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy

Get Into Program Mode Pre 2021 Huebsch Speed Queen Washers

Competition: What does it mean for Small Store?

 

So a new 3,000 sq ft laundromat is moving into an already crowded area of town and near your small 1,000 sq ft store. What does that mean for you? 

-Less marketshare and less revenue are two outcomes

-Less problems with machines because they aren't being used as much and fewer problem customers because they are trying another location are two others. However if you are following the four rules of laundromat ownership correctly, there is another possible outcome and one that I've seen happen time and again:
You'll get more business!  

I think ultimately new stores will bring MORE customers to the area. A new store will no doubt do their usual grand openings and there will be the usual press and buzz about it. After the first month I think it is interesting but ultimately the affect on your store should be minimal if everything else is the same. My experience has been in most circumstances 80% of a laundromat's customers will try a new mat, however if the four rules of running a laundromat are being obeyed then the original mat will get 80% of those customers back.
4-rules-of-laundromat-ownership-success.html

Here is why:
-the new mat probably doesn't doesn't use small chassis washers and the size of your store probably dictates you have small chassis washers so most of your customers are small chassis customers

-small chassis customers are not going to pay $4-$5 per load when the same size is $3 or less at your mat. This was proven when I had a new mat open 10 blocks from my location. At first they had a few small chassis machines, but they moved to all large chassis machines. Originally I got the extra customers who came to the new store for small washers but couldn't get one because there wasn't enough around. Then I got them all the customers when they got rid of their small machines.
This competitor and I have co-existed for 13 years in a healthy symbiotic relationship 

-the sizzle of a new mat is off set by the higher prices. A competitor might be $9 on 60lb washers. Your side of town might be more price sensitive compared to other parts of town. Your 60lb washers are $7.50. Once again people are not going to pay lots more when they don't have to. When a big new mat opened eight blocks from my second store my customers tried the new place but came back because I kept my prices lower. It was only 50 cents lower but that was enough for most customers

-pretend the new laundromat spent $2M to build with the land. That usually means they have a large monthly payment. If you bought your mat for $300K and financed 100% over a 20 year mortgage it is a much less monthly payment that is needed to be made back before profit each month than a $2M build

-the map in this article represents almost all of the laundromats in a 3 mile radius of my first store, there are lots of them, but there is also a huge population density. Remember, you don’t need to attract everybody to come to the mat. You only need enough to have the machines spin an average of 2 1/2 to 3 times a day. With a small mat that is a lot easier to do than a large mat. Remember it only takes 3-5 customers at one time to completely fill up all the washers and dryers at a small mat. Larger stores will need more than that

-some customers like a smaller store because it is usually quieter. They might not like the music or sounds of video games 

-smaller stores make it easier for people to see who is inside or who is coming in for those worried about being bothered by panhandlers and others not doing wash

-a new competitor will bring in more customers from a different side of town. While most will stay at the new store, all mats in the area will benefit when customers want to try other stores nearby for any of the previously mentioned reasons

-some neighborhood residents don't drive and they walk to their neighborhood mat 

-sometimes in cities people will drive 20-30 minutes and go miles out of their way for stores as long as there is a fast street or expressway to get there but they won't drive a mile on city streets to get somewhere. If you are on a "fast street" people will come to you

-similar to above reason is the street patterns of the neighborhoodsaround your mat. Diagonal streets, multiple corners, highways, parkways, can all be barriers to keep customers of different mats from trying other stores and act like natural barriers like rivers or lakes

-many new stores tend to be card only or mostly cards. People that want to spend coins are going to want to go somewhere

-is the new store open 24 hours? Police or city officials might see an uptick in crime or perceived crime and they are not  going to want that and will be watching that closely because they are not going to want more crime so if there is trouble the new mat might have to cut back hours and or get some bad press

-You can use the excuse to do a facelift of your store or change equipment

-Find something unique to your store. My first store was the only one to offer top load washers. There wasn't many but for those who wanted them the nearest ones were 3 miles away

-your mat might have been there for years. That doesn't mean it still will be if you don't follow the laundromat rules of success, but peoples habits are hard to break and they will come to your mat

-I bet there are still people in your area that don't know you are there. That means there are new audiences to find you. New people move into the apartments and houses all the time so why would  they go a few miles out of their way when they can go a few blocks to you so spend some advertising money!

-build on your stores existing strengths and uniqueness, or find something quick and advertise it. Maybe it is a card payment system, a particular brand or type of machine, some customer amenities, or whatever your customers say make your store a good place for them to go to

To sum up, the new store is always something to keep an eye on, but advertise my last point above, and keep following the four rules of successful laundromat ownership and ultimately I think your laundromat will thrive rather than just survive a new competitor. I've made it happen.

Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy

Get A Laundromat That Fits You

 

If you are serious about getting a laundromat or a second laundromat (or third or tenth or whatever number) get one that fits your lifestyle and business plan. Don’t be dazzled by only new large stores. A small neighborhood store might be what you are looking for.

I’ve directly sold, or connected the seller and buyer, for 19 laundromat sales.
In one recent transaction there were some new potential owners looking at a property. They had visited and even were customers of the mat before looking to buy it. Unlike a lot of people that “kick the tires” of getting into the laundromat business they had started to talk to distributors and even researched other stores in the area, and studied resources like the CLA website. I happened to be there with the owner when these new potential owners came in for another visit. They had told him it was to make him an offer on the business. The owner had worked with these people on previous visits and was fully expecting to negotiate a deal with them that visit. Since the equipment was a brand I sold, the owner thought it would be nice if I was there to answer specific questions on the equipment.  Instead of an offer, the potential new owners told the current owner that the store was too small and they were advised by a distributor they contacted that they should get a 3,000 sq ft store rather than a 1,400 sq ft store and they were no longer interested. The owner was very disappointed as he had spent a lot of time working with these prospective owners and educating them on the laundromat business and his store in particular.

Since there was no longer a chance for a sale, I asked them some questions just out of curiosity.
Their answers were interesting:
-they had about 35K to invest in a store
-both never ran, owned, or worked in a laundromat
-wanted a business they could work themselves or maybe with one employee
-had several small kids and hoping to work a business flexible around their schedules and school time
-wanted reliable equipment they wouldn’t have to fix as much in the beginning until they were used to it
-make somewhere between $20K-$50K

I listened and asked if they had found a 3,000 sq ft laundromat to buy, property to build one, or made contact with an owner who was selling or even researched what a larger mat might entail.
They said no.
The salesman for the distributor they were working with convinced them that scale of business was the same for a large store as it was for a small store so why not take the bigger store and work for higher returns.

I asked if they were prepared to spend $1M-$2M on a new mat, or spend $750K on an existing mat if they found one for sale, have employees, or are willing to wait for a year before they open when you take into planning and financing if they built new. They said no.
I then asked what makes them think they will even like the laundromat business to begin with.
They said being customers of this location they enjoyed doing their laundry there and thought it would be a fun business to try.
I asked if they had fun being customers then wouldn’t it be better to start in the industry by owning something that was familiar and fit into their present life style and the goals they wanted rather than take a chance on something bigger that they might not find,
have to spend a lot more time and money to build,
and with no guarantee they would like the business or even be good at running a store?
They agreed my logic was sound but they had made up their mind about this store already. 

I asked them if it was okay if I kept in touch as I found stores for sale.
They said they would appreciate that and I did exactly that.
Each time I found a 3,000 sq ft store it was too expensive. They couldn’t get funding for building.
They passed up all smaller stores.
Eventually they told me they had given up on the laundromat idea and were no longer interested.
A lost opportunity.
They had a chance to get a store and learn the ropes, have fun, make some money, and set themselves up for future growth but never pursued it.
They were so  excited to get into the business and have nothing to show for it.
It is true that a larger store does give you the potential for more money, but it also gives you the potential for more headaches and responsibilities.
Look at the numbers of the existing store your are considering purchasing. Do the math.
What is the 15%, 20%, 25% 35% profit margin of that store.
Is that amount of money worth it to you for a part-time job or income?
If it is, grab that store!

Remember when you get into the laundromat business, get the store that fits you and your family and your goals, and not the goals of the distributor or the equipment salesperson. You and your family will have a happier ownership experience for it.
Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy

You Have to Work with What You Have

 

Its easy to walk into a newly built or remodeled laundromat and find your mat very lacking in looks, equipment, or modern conveniences. It’s natural.

Look around and take notes and explore and educate yourself, but remember…you can only work with what you have!
If you have 36 inch doors and the 100lb washer a competitor has is 41.5 inches wide, if you or your landlord isn’t willing or able to make a bigger door opening or take a window out you aren’t getting that 100lb washer into your store!
Don’t fret what you can’t have but concentrate on making the most of what you DO HAVE.
In one of my stores I remodeled and took out three 35lb Milnor washers and replaced them with one 60lb Maytag washer and three 40lb Maytag washers. I only had room for four large chassis washers.
That combination worked great for many years.
Over time customers started asking for more 60lb washers because the one I had was always filled.

I explored adding more reinforcement to the floors and creating another large chassis area but the cost was around $40K which was half of the revenue the store made for a year and wasn’t practical. This wasn’t even taking into account the changes in power, drainage, and water I would need to bring to the store additional large chassis machines.
To give the customers what they wanted I took out the 40s and replaced all three with 60s.
I had the room and was able to charge a higher vend. All four machines are busy.
I also raised the prices on my small chassis washers so there wasn’t so much of a price discrepancy and over time have replaced some of the smaller washers with larger capacity small chassis washers like Huebsch or LG that have allowed me to charge a higher vend, give customers a larger machine, and create a price tier between my small chassis and large chassis washers that is comfortable for a group of customers.

In any store you will only have a certain amount of space, specific way the bulkheads or walls were constructed, or a certain way the utilities were put in. More importantly YOU PROBABLY HAVE A FINITE AMOUNT OF MONEY that a complete gutting and rebuilding of your mat isn’t in the cards. Make use of what you have and keep notes for if you ever do a remodel or new build of a different store.

When you can’t do something a new store can do, Remember to follow the four rules of owning a laundromat and you’ll have a successful store no matter the size or age:
Keep it Clean
Keep it well lit
Keep it safe
Keep machines running

Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy

4 Rules of Laundromat Ownership Success

 I've managed 51 laundromats for two companies and owned four of my own as well as advised hundreds of other laundromat owners.

The successful stores and owners follow the same four rules.

I call them the four “K’s” of successful laundromat ownership:

Keep it Clean

Keep it well lit

Keep it safe

Keep machines running

Anything you do for the laundry should fit in these four rules.
If it does fit, then do it. If it doesn't fit then don't do it.

As told by a 5^th “K” as in me,
Ev Kamikawa

A Heck of A Nice Guy