I quit my job to run a laundromat full-time — it brings in $475K a year
A laundromat owner describes how they transformed their self-serve laundromat business by adding a pick-up and delivery service in April 2021. The business has grown to $475K annually, with wedding season being their peak period. They are also modernizing payment systems to move away from quarters entirely.
Summary
The speaker owns a laundromat that originally operated as a traditional self-serve facility where customers would come in, pay, and do their own laundry. About six months into ownership, they discovered the concept of pick-up and delivery laundry service, which involves collecting customers' laundry from their homes, processing it at the laundromat, and returning it within a few days.
The pick-up and delivery service was officially launched in April 2021 and is described as one of the best business decisions the owner has made. A key growth driver has been the addition of an iron, which enabled them to serve commercial clients such as wedding venues by handling table linens and napkins. Wedding season is identified as their peak business period.
The transcript also briefly covers the laundromat's revenue collection and payment modernization. The owner collects cash from behind the kiosk area roughly every two days, but also accepts credit cards, debit cards, and an app-based payment system. An older soap vending machine still requires quarters, but the owner plans to replace it soon, at which point the business will be entirely quarter-free.
Key Insights
- The owner discovered the pick-up and delivery model approximately six months after purchasing the laundromat, suggesting the original business plan did not include this service, which became a major revenue driver.
- The owner credits the addition of an iron as 'probably one of the best decisions' made in owning the business, as it enabled exponential growth in processing table linens and napkins for commercial clients.
- Wedding season is identified as the laundromat's peak business period, indicating that commercial and event-based linen services have become a significant portion of the business model.
- The owner collects cash from the kiosk approximately every two days, reflecting ongoing cash-based revenue from the traditional self-serve side of the laundromat.
- The owner is actively transitioning away from coin-based payments, with only the old soap vending machine still requiring quarters, and plans to replace it to become fully quarter-free.
Topics
Transcript
[0:00] When I bought my laundromat, it was a regular self-serve laundromat where customers walk in, pay to use the machines, and then walk out to do their laundry. About 6 months after owning my laundromat, I had learned about this thing called pick [music] up and delivery, and that is where we go out into the city, pick up their laundry, bring it back to the laundromat, process their orders, and then return it back to them just a few days later. [music] I added the pick up and delivery service in April of 2021. This iron is probably one of the best decisions I've made in owning my business. And the reason for that is because we've been…
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