Any other laundromat owners/investors out there?

Question

My wife (@Elizabeth Wilson) and I bought and remodeled a laundromat in Memphis last September.  I was just wondering if there were other laundromat investors also on BP to connect with and share ideas on how to grow and improve.  If so, we'd love to connect!

Kay Kay Singh · Answer

@Sam Wilson @Yonah Weiss Thanks so much for the shout out . Yes, I have in the Laundromat business for the last 7 yrs and I built a laundromat from the ground up as well. I did one-year research before getting into the Laundromat business so please reach out to me for any help and questions you may have.

Sam Wilson · Answer

Yes. We have 3 full time employees and one part time employee. No to anything related to good business practice. We did not research anything. Just did a walk through, knew the area and said "yeah we can make this work". I assumed it was just another RE flip. It's plumbing, electrical and presentation, 10x.  If you translate this into hieroglyphics it would be a pictograph of a dumbass. We are idiots. They were losing their shirt on the NOI. But like any good RE deal it was largely because their space had not been updated in 25 years and most of the machines did not work. The lighting was shot, flooring was nasty and it was a mess overall. In that regard it was a flip. We turned it around. But then we found latent plumbing problems, water heater problems, HVAC problems, electrical problems etc that just kicked us while we were down. I "think" we are through the worst of it. It's a good space. I can see the upside. And to boot it is a very fragmented industry with loads of opportunity to institutionalize. Tide is on tear to do just that. Which only confirms I am doing the right thing. We just launched our own app based delivery platform, along with online pickup and delivery and that is growing week over week. I think that's the real future of it. My goal may just to be the B between A and C in future rollouts. I don't know.  We may own too. Who knows! Love to talk laundry anytime. Also a great resource is the Laundromat owners group on FB. SUPER ENGAGED.

Tee Thomas · Answer

@Matt Humps

Hey Matt I am a previous Laundromat owner. We were in a competitive space, make sure the location you choose is the only one within a 1/2 mile radius or competition will erode your profits.

If you are fortunate to purchase an ideal location keep in mind the revenues have plateaued by time you've purchase the business (if the business is more than 5yrs. old). Don't expect further revenue growth unless

you have an ambitious plan to do pick up and delivery outside your service area.

Matt Humps · Answer

Hi-

I've seen a lot of what you mentioned pervasive in the Coin Laundry / Laundromat biz.  Additionally, there appears to me so many retiring owners that the opportunity to roll up the space looks appealing, albeit with risk.  I like your idea of a laundry empire - I have the same vision as most of these businesses appear to be run in a lackluster manner or in a less than optimal way.

I've been in due diligence for the better part of a year now and have looked at a ton of businesses and frankly the business is in dire need of a refresh and rebrand.  I like it as the returns are potentially strong, the business model is simple, and the ability to source cheap funding these days is high.  We'll see how it goes but would love to discuss further on your experiences and what you think you could have done better from the outset.

Matt

Sam Wilson · Answer

@Jordan Berry It's going great. Rough start as we got into a business we literally had read nothing about, knew nothing about, but understood its mechanics, or so we thought. Then it all hit the fan. We had budgeted 40k in capital improvements, which turned into 100k in less than 3 months... :-) None of it could have been predicted really. We had the cash on hand to stomach the capex, but it was not fun. Even with new equipment expense and unforeseen capex, it will return north of 20%. Not what most LM's do but we won't be mad. Just need to have a good 6 month stretch so we can get our $ back out of the business. We'd like to create a laundromat empire to be honest. I have some nutty ideas on how to do it. Let's chat sometime. I see you are in  the LA area. We should have connected as we were just there yesterday. I'll be back out there in Jan for a RE conference. Would love to meet up and chat. Also, you should see what Ross Dodds is doing with Wash on Western in LA. He's rockin' it.

Julian Hendrix · Answer

@Jordan Berry what is your website?

Tee Thomas · Answer

@Sam Wilson

Word to the wise if you are in high rental market focus on your pick-up and delivery service, this will add a minimum of an additional 20% to your revenues.

Jordan Berry · Answer

@Sam Wilson I own a couple and would love to connect. I run a website with some info and resources for free (no email required). DM me if you're interested in checking it out. But otherwise I would love to connect either way.

How is the laundromat business treating you so far?

Yonah Weiss · Answer

@Sam Wilson I know @Kay Kay Singh owns some, and I think he is part of a group of other owners, that meets to discuss and learn from one another.

Jordan Berry · Answer

@Julian Hendrix I sent you a message with the website :)

Any other laundromat owners/investors out there?

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