How Much Will A Service Technicoan Charge To Install A Coin Opetated Huebosch Dryer

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Editor'due south note: This article was originally published on February 1, 2008, and has been updated. It was excerpted from our Coin-Operated Laundry start-upwardly guide, available from Entrepreneur Bookstore.

The coin-operated laundry manufacture has undergone a revolution. No longer muddy, unsafe, boring places that customers must endure on a weekly ground, laundromats are becoming fun and bonny multiservice centers that customers may fifty-fifty enjoy visiting. "The industry is now getting a facelift," said Brian Wallace, president and CEO of the Coin Laundry Association, a national association for self-service laundry owners. "There's a tendency toward coin laundries beingness more comfy for the customer."

Newer laundries have snack confined, a place to get out off and choice up dry cleaning and video games. Some of them don't even apply coins. Instead, customers utilise swipe cards that subtract the price of the wash or dry, much similar a telephone carte du jour or debit card. Many laundry owners also apply attendants to keep an eye on the store and help customers apply the equipment.

Laundromat Renaissance

The money-operated laundry industry has changed in response to several trends. The showtime is that, for most of united states of america, coming together the demands of work and our personal lives leads to a time crunch -- at that place just aren't enough hours in the 24-hour interval to accomplish everything we would like to. Laundry owners are capitalizing on this reality by offering their customers fourth dimension-saving convenience in the form of wash-and-fold (drop-off service) and dry-cleaning service. Some are even picking up laundry from customers' homes and delivering information technology dorsum to them clean and folded.

In add-on, owners take realized that they can maximize their profits by providing customers with access to multiple services. Since they're paying a fix corporeality of rent on their commercial infinite, they might equally well use that space to its fullest potential. Many owners around the country are serving food, renting mailboxes and offer free cyberspace admission. Because newer laundries are bigger than in the by -- often 3,000 or 4,000 square anxiety -- overhead is higher, and owners are looking for means to cover the toll. These additional services need little increase in overhead considering the rent is already paid for. Customers benefit by being able to use several services all in i convenient location.

Cindy Patel, owner of Mountain Launder Laundry in Shelby, North Carolina, at time of interviewing, said that she planned opening a snack bar and a minimart in her laundry. "I have a large space, six,000 foursquare feet," she said, "and this will assistance pay for information technology."

Paul Partyka, who edited American Coin-Op, a magazine devoted to cocky-service laundries, said Patel's arroyo is the norm. "Trying to generate additional acquirement per foursquare foot has ever been an outcome," he said. "But it'south even more and then now with tighter contest and utility bills growing. Everybody wants to squeeze as much money every bit possible out of their infinite. Looking for an actress service that volition piece of work is always on their mind."

Another trend laundry owners have recognized is that customers prefer to visit laundromats with a more pleasant temper. Many laundry owners are building kids' centers, holding music concerts, giving abroad coffee and hiring attendants who are friendly and helpful. "I don't think we'll ever cross that threshold into making laundry fun," Wallace said, "simply nosotros're making it more than comfortable."

Tom Leavitt, possessor of Darcies Laundry in the Seattle area at time of interviewing, opened 3 new stores, all of them near older, smaller laundries, nigh of which accept since closed. Darcies offers customers a better bargain: bigger stores with play areas for children and attendants on duty at all times. "Our stores are very convenient," Leavitt said. "They're clean, they accept a friendly environment, and they take a lot of machines, then you tin get in and out of there as fast as possible."

The Good News

Equally the population of the Us grows, the number of renters -- your main market place -- is likely to grow, likewise. Other social phenomena, like the prevalence of two-income families, suggest that convenient services such equally launder-and-fold will keep to grow in popularity as working parents have less time to attend to household chores like laundry.

According to a survey from the Money Laundry Association, more than than half of coin laundries offering wash-and-fold. "It's by far the number-ane extra service for laundries," said Partyka. "It'due south doing well." Partyka as well notes that even people with washers and dryers at dwelling house are using self-service laundries for the sake of convenience. With the regular capacity machines used in homes, information technology can take quite a lot of time to exercise load after load -- and that's where laundromats come up in. "They just run over to the coin laundry, use a couple of the large machines and knock it off," he said. In other words, although the majority of laundromat customers are low- to middle-income renters, some laundries are tapping into higher-income markets past offering convenience: wash-and-fold service and big machines.

In addition, office wearing apparel codes are growing increasingly less formal. And as more people wear casual clothing (which doesn't require dry cleaning) to work and leave the nicer duds for special occasions, yous may detect that consumers will be making more than trips to the laundromat.

The Bad News

While the trends we've mentioned are favorable for entrepreneurs entering the laundry business, they don't suggest that business concern is booming. The industry is what experts describe equally a "mature marketplace." Save for areas that are seeing high population growth, pretty much every neighborhood that needs a laundry has one -- or two or 3 -- that are competing vigorously. In some areas of the land, there are too many laundromats already.

Yet, there is room for new laundry owners. Many go into the business by purchasing an existing laundry and renovating information technology. Some besides observe that they tin can build a new laundry in an area with competing laundries and thrive by offering a bigger shop, more than services and better customer relations. Another style to get into the business is to locate your store where there is the all-time potential demand for a new laundry: in an area that's experiencing population growth.

Every bit you consider getting into the laundry business, keep the words "mature market" in mind. Don't buy a store only because information technology's for sale or build a store just because you have a nifty idea for a new gimmick. Y'all'll need to be very careful to make sure there's enough of a client base to make your business thrive. Y'all may be able to draw a little extra business concern from people who similar using your store improve because of its cleanliness or from people who apply your wash-and-fold service, merely the cadre of your business will exist people who just want to go their laundry done quickly and conveniently. If at that place are already plenty laundromats in the neighborhood to serve their needs, they're not as probable to patronize your store.

Finally, you likewise demand to consider that getting into the laundry business organisation requires a large initial investment. The average-size laundromat could cost yous in the neighborhood of $200,000 to $500,000 -- whether you cull to purchase an existing laundry or build 1 in a retail space.

How to Start a Coin-Operated Laundry

The Laundromat Life

If y'all're planning on operating just ane or two stores, you'll be in adept company. Iii-quarters of laundry owners own only 1 shop, and very few take more than than two. While at that place are no national laundry chains, a few local chains are starting to grow in various parts of the country. These chains are even so quite localized, though, and merely a few consist of more a few dozen.

For a little more than than half of laundry owners, operating the store(s) is their full-time job. Others accept the moonlighting approach-they manage other businesses or piece of work a day task. But more than laundry owners are starting to own larger stores and more than one shop. These people are able to survive on the income larger stores or multiple stores generate.

The amount of money you tin brand from a laundry varies tremendously. According to the Coin Laundry Association'due south Brian Wallace, the annual gross income from one shop can range from $30,000 to $1 million. The expenses incurred while running a store range between 65 and 115 percent of the gross income. That means that for a shop grossing $30,000 per year, at best it nets $10,500 and at worst it loses $4,500. For a store grossing $1 meg per year, the turn a profit could be as high as $350,000, or in that location could be a loss of upwards to $150,000, depending on expenses.

Wallace says these profit margins take less to do with the size of the store than with its owner. An owner who runs his or her store well-who keeps it make clean, repairs its equipment quickly, uses energy-efficient systems and offers good customer service-will see profit margins of most 35 percent.

The steady income that a laundry generates is a plus for many people. If you're looking for a business that will keep the cash flowing no matter what the rest of the economy is doing, you've establish it in laundries. Make clean dress are a necessity, non a luxury, so people are going to use laundromats no matter how the stock marketplace is performing. The business is also adequately steady month in, month out. So unless you depict on vacationers' dollars in a identify with seasonal tourism, you'll find that yous can count on a adequately steady income throughout the year.

No Experience Necessary

None of the entrepreneurs interviewed for the Money-Operated Laundry start-upward guide had experience in the laundry business when they start started out. 1 had a resume that included milking cows, another was a contractor, however another ran a rental equipment business. Nigh but decided that starting a laundry was a proficient business organisation opportunity. However, they all recommend that new entrepreneurs research the business by talking to laundry owners, joining associations and reading the trade literature.

Tom Leavitt put some time into planning the three laundries he opened in Seattle. "We traveled around the country, looked at a lot of other operations, and designed our prototype," he says. "We took care to figure out what would work the best." He and his partner likewise attended a Money Laundry Association convention in Chicago and took a bout of laundries in the area.

Collette Clarkson knew zip about the business organisation before she started a laundromat in Evans, Colorado, with Kim Clarkson, her business partner. Simply the 2 got to work when Collette's uncle, who was building a strip mall, asked if she'd be interested in operating a laundromat. "Nosotros did a lot of enquiry," Collette says. They spoke to a number of laundry owners about the business and read as many bug of trade magazines as they could find.

While no particular feel is necessary, a business organisation background is always of import. In addition, a background in machine repair or a knack for fixing machines helps. Owners who take experience with laundry equipment are able to cutting downwardly on the price of repairs. But others accept institute that they can learn about the machines and make some repairs themselves, or hire a repairperson and avert the headache birthday. The self-service laundry business is an open club. With enough enthusiasm, involvement and business-savvy, you can join the club and succeed in the industry.

The Laundromat Personality

Y'all may think that the laundry business organisation is most clothes, but what it's really virtually is people. It's a service business, and like whatsoever service business, y'all need to treat your customers well if you want them to return to your shop.

If you're friendly, your customers volition want to use your store. By taking the time to talk to them, yous will also be able to learn almost their laundry needs and their preferences for services. Ultimately, this kind of information will aid y'all improve the quality of your business so that you lot tin concenter even more customers.

Even if yous decide to hire employees and leave the client relations to them, y'all however need good people skills to hire and supervise employees. The more than closely you work with them and the better they know and like you, the better chore they'll do.

If you accept an unattended laundry that you visit twice a mean solar day to clean and collect quarters, yous still need to greet your customers with a smile on your face and an attitude that's ready to help. Then if small talk with strangers leaves y'all common cold, and you tin't stand up the thought of answering customers' questions (often the same ones over and over), the laundry business concern may not be the ane for you lot.

However, if y'all recollect yous'll like meeting new people, helping them work the machines, and listening to them talk while they wait for the dryers to finish, yous'll find this business rewarding. "Interacting with customers-that's the all-time part," says Collette Clarkson. "I tin't even imagine how many regulars nosotros have who we know past name."

How to Start a Coin-Operated Laundry

The Daily Routine

So what'southward it really like to own a laundry business? Whether you practice all the work yourself or rent an bellboy or a janitor, at that place are tasks you volition need to take care of on a daily footing. You will need to open and close your shop promptly each twenty-four hour period, clean it, collect money, and fill vending and change machines. Yous will as well need to keep track of which machines are beingness used and how ofttimes.

Those laundry owners who have employees will accept other duties, too. They'll exist hiring and supervising those employees and overseeing additional services such equally launder-and-fold.

The Hours You lot Shall Proceed

Laundries are more often than not open between 6 a.m. and x p.m. seven days per week. Because weekends are usually the busiest days for laundries, you lot should definitely go along your doors open up on Saturdays and Sundays. In some instances, yous may desire to adopt alternate hours, especially if the market you lot serve or the location of your store lends itself to having open doors at other times of the day.

Brian De Coster, who owns several unattended laundries in and around Iowa City, Iowa, keeps his stores open 24 hours per day. Three of his four laundromats are in a higher town, and students are notorious for keeping odd hours. "You've got the machines; you've already paid the money for the machines and the rent and everything else," he reasons. Because his laundry is unattended, he doesn't have to pay employees to stay upward all night with his shop.

Tim O'Connell, who owns 24 Colonial Laundromat stores in the Syracuse, New York, area, keeps most of his stores open 24 hours as well. "The biggest problem we had was turning customers abroad," he says. "Customers would come in tardily and employees would want to be leaving, so information technology was easier just to stay open."

Other laundry owners we interviewed base of operations their hours on surrounding businesses. Dave and Kris Anderson, who ain an unattended laundry in New Glarus, Wisconsin, continue their store open up daily from 5:30 a.m. to 10:thirty p.1000. They chose those hours because they're the same hours the nearby gas station is open. "We feel it'southward working out perfectly," Dave says. "If we had kept it open later on, nosotros might have had more vandalism."

Your commencement duty of the day is to open your store, and y'all must be on time because your customers may plan their day around getting their laundry done at a certain fourth dimension. Y'all tin can avoid having to be at your shop early in the forenoon and late at night past installing an automatic lock system on a timer. A typical organisation similar this will cost you between $1,000 and $1,500.

At night, of grade, you lot must close down and lock up. If you desire all the customers to be gone by 10 p.m., y'all should consider locking the door at 8:30 p.m., leaving enough fourth dimension for the terminal loads of laundry to exist finished. You tin can either let customers out yourself or install a lock system that allows them to get out but prevents others from coming inside.

Scrub-a-Dub-Dub

The showtime order of concern for y'all or an employee you rent is to clean your store thoroughly, at to the lowest degree once a day. This will accept almost two to three hours. You or your employee will need to exercise the following:

Mop the floors
Wipe downwardly the machines
Make clean the soap dispensers in your front-load washers
Launder off the folding tables
Make clean the bathroom
Empty the trash
Wash the windows
Clean the vending machines, change machines and video game screens

The best time to clean is later on customers have gone-that way you lot or your employees can make clean more efficiently. You lot'll likewise avoid the risk of customers slipping on wet floors or tripping over cleaning equipment. If you have a large or busy store, however, y'all may find that information technology requires cleaning twice a mean solar day. Y'all can wipe down the machines and folding tables hands while customers are in the store, but relieve the floor for afterward they've left or for a slow period of the day.

Collecting Coins

One job you're not likely to delegate to an employee is collecting money from the machines. If you have a menu system, your job is much easier. All yous'll take to do is empty the card machine of the bills, count them and deposit them in the bank.

But if you have a coin laundry, you'll demand to empty each automobile, preferably daily. Yous'll want to pull (take out the coins) from one blazon of automobile at a time and so you tin determine how often your customers are using each type of auto. Put a bag in 1 of your laundry baskets and roll it from motorcar to machine, starting with the top-loaders. Count these coins and record how much money y'all made on this type of machine, and so follow the aforementioned procedure with the front-loaders and the dryers.

For recording purposes, you lot should draw up a chart with seven rows, one for each day of the calendar week, and columns for each type and size of equipment: summit-loaders, front-loaders, dryers and vending machines. And so record in your chart how much money yous withdraw every day.

You should refill the change machine in your store on a daily footing, besides. When it'southward empty, your customers can't exercise their laundry, and they'll become elsewhere. If it's empty more than than a few times, they may never return. No one wants to lug several loads of laundry to a laundromat, only to notice they tin't go change. De Coster says if his change machine runs out, "that's like shooting myself in the human foot. I check the change machine at least once a day."

Let The states Vend

The final bit of daily business in your store is restocking the vending machines. If you own your own soda and snack machines, yous will need to make sure they're full every day. If you contract with a vending company, they'll worry about filling them.

The virtually important vending auto in your store will likely be the lather vending machine, and since these machines are relatively inexpensive and rarely break, you should buy your ain. Make sure it is properly stocked every twenty-four hours. Many customers will bring their own soap, but those who don't volition expect to observe soap bachelor. An empty soap machine is virtually as bad as an empty alter auto-it will cause you to lose business.

Keeping Runway

When you're done with the daily in-shop duties, you'll demand to take care of some additional function work. Many laundry owners practice this at abode, though some may find information technology easier to piece of work in a rented office or at the laundromat if they have space. Owners with other businesses, such every bit De Coster who has both laundries and an equipment rental business organisation, can take care of everything in one office.

At your office, you'll need to have care of your bookkeeping and track equipment usage past customers in your store. It's important to record how often each blazon of machine is used and so that y'all can determine if you've got the right mix of equipment. For example, if you find that your forepart-loaders are getting six turns per mean solar day (the number of times a auto is used each solar day) and your peak-loaders only ii, you lot may need to add front-loaders and remove some top-loaders. Your customers are likely waiting for the forepart-loaders and mayhap going elsewhere, then yous could be losing money.

How to Start a Coin-Operated Laundry

Startup Costs

You tin can expect to run across a number of basic startup costs to get into the laundry business. Depending on whether y'all build a new laundry in a leased space or buy an existing one, your costs may include:

Market enquiry (literature/subscriptions/clan fees)

The toll of an existing laundry business

Construction or remodeling (if you are building a new laundromat)
Washer hook-upwards fees (sewer connectedness)
Licenses/permits
Equipment

Continue in heed that if you buy a laundry, you don't pay for licenses or sewer connexion fees (unless you decide to have additional washers installed). Merely you will have to pay for renovation and whatsoever new equipment you decide to install if you want to update the laundry.

In improver to these basic startup costs, you may also have a number of ongoing expenses. These include:

Lease/rental costs
Utilities (gas, sewer, h2o and electric)
Insurance (fire, theft and liability)
Employee payroll/benefits
Miscellaneous supplies (cleaning supplies, soap, invoices for launder-and-fold, bathroom supplies, etc.)

Research and Development

Once yous've completed your initial research on the laundry business organisation, you will need to effigy out how much information technology will toll to build your shop-to remodel a space and fill it with laundry equipment-or to buy an existing laundry. Whether you decide to buy or build, you can expect to pay between $200,000 and $500,000 for an average-size laundromat (about 2,000 square anxiety).

If y'all're buying an existing laundry, figuring out your major startup costs is simple-just make up one's mind the value of the business. If y'all programme to renovate the existing store by painting the interior or putting in new flooring, be sure to add these costs to your startup expenses.

Figuring out your startup costs involves a little more work if you determine to build. Since you'll exist leasing a space that was something other than a laundry in a previous life, the cost of the construction is going to depend on how much remodeling you have to exercise. If the space you've chosen was formerly a beauty salon, for example, you lot're going to take to add enough water, sewer and gas pipes for the conversion to a laundry. Yous'll also take to provide enough electric outlets, perchance motion a few walls, and completely redecorate earlier information technology will look like a laundromat. You lot should hire a contractor to help you do all this remodeling.

In general, you can expect to pay about $200,000 for the construction costs to remodel an average-size infinite (two,000 square feet). This includes the cost of installing your equipment and putting in folding tables and seating. The remainder of your major startup costs will exist buying the equipment itself.

Licenses and Hidden Fees

The licenses and permits you will demand depend entirely on your location. Cheque with your municipality regarding:

Business license
Health department license (if you are serving nutrient)
Burn department permit
Air and water pollution control allow
Sign permit
Public improvement fees
Impact fees

You should also be enlightened of a few bottom-known fees that will touch on y'all every bit a laundry owner. In many areas effectually the state, municipal water districts charge sewer connection fees. These can cost you lot anywhere from $200 to $8,000 per washer. If the fees are $viii,000 per washer, the owner of a laundry with 30 washers must pay $240,000 in hook-upward fees-nearly what he'll pay for construction! Brian Wallace of the Money Laundry Association tells usa that high hook-upwardly fees are one of the biggest issues facing the money laundry industry today. "Before you become besides far down the road, make sure you understand what if whatever affect fees, tap-on fees, wastewater fees-they call them lots of things-there are," says Wallace. These fees are a major claiming to laundry developers. And in areas where operators are forced to pay these fees, the price of laundromats has as well risen dramatically. If the fees are high in your called area, you may demand to reconsider your entire plan.

In addition to sewer connectedness fees, you may notice that you take to pay sewer and waste water fees, too-check with the local municipality. Don't neglect to check on these charges when you're researching a laundry business. Afterwards all, you will be using these utilities heavily, so you'll want to know if the monthly charges will be manageable from the kickoff.

The Appurtenances

If yous determine to purchase a laundry, you will already take a full complement of equipment-unless you desire to replace a few of the older machines or add a few more than machines to run across customer need. However, if you lot decide to build a laundry, buying equipment will eat upwards virtually all the residual of your startup costs. You can look to pay between $150,000 and $300,000 to fill an average-size laundromat with washers and dryers.

Height-load washers price between $500 and $700 each, and front-load washers cost between $3,500 and $20,000 each, depending on their size. One stacked dryer (which means two dryers arranged one on tiptop of the other in a joined cabinet casing) costs betwixt $5,000 and $half-dozen,000.

If you desire to add a bill of fare organisation, it will cost you in the neighborhood of $40,000 to $fourscore,000, including readers on the machines, a bill of fare dispenser and cards, and the software to compute equipment usage and let y'all change prices. It'south pricey, just take centre: With a menu organization, you lot don't have to purchase a alter machine, which runs in the ballpark of $ane,000 to $three,000.

A water heating system will run you between $15,000 and $40,000, and a lather vending machine will toll between $500 and $i,500. Those laundry carts that permit customers transport their clothes from washer to dryer toll $fifty to $75 each. Supplies such every bit soap, cleaning equipment, signs, clocks, and trash cans should run some other $750 to $ane,000.

How to Start a Coin-Operated Laundry

Setting Yourself Apart

Consider giving your shop a theme or a gimmick. For example, one store in San Francisco plays classic black-and-white movies on their Television receiver, and the walls are covered with photographs of motion-picture show stars from the 1920s and 1930s. Another store in Texas displays the possessor's collection of antiquarian laundry equipment. Iowa City, Iowa, laundry possessor Brian De Coster chose humor: He plays comedy channels on his TVs and places signs with clever puns, such every bit "We have a dryer sense of sense of humour" and "We never clothes." (His shop is open 24 hours.)

A theme gives your store more than personality; customers will recollect it, and they'll notice your laundry a more than interesting identify to come to. A clever gimmick may also go you some costless publicity from the local press. If y'all want to create a gimmick for your laundromat, think about who your customers are and what sort of theme they will appreciate. One owner in Southern California, with customers from all over Latin America, hung his laundry with flags from several of his customers' native homelands and started serving traditional Latin American nutrient.

For the Lilliputian Kids

Many laundry owners are realizing that they can increase business by providing a play area for children. Oftentimes, customers need to bring their children to the laundromat, so giving little ones something to do makes the laundry task much easier on parents. Having an surface area set aside for children tin can too aid keep them from running around and possibly getting injure or damaging equipment.

Collette Clarkson and her partner have a play area for children. They have a Television set with a VCR, children's videos and toys. "We wind upwards picking up a lot of toys," she says, "but they love information technology."

If you want to put in an area specifically for children, cheque with your insurance agent and your city or canton officials regarding liability bug. These professionals should be able to tell you how to design the area to maximize prophylactic and brand sure you won't be responsible in example a child gets hurt. In fact, yous may need to place signs saying you're not responsible for children's safety.

For the Large Kids

Fifty-fifty adults will get bored at a laundromat. Subsequently all, mostly what they are doing is waiting effectually for wearing apparel to wash and dry out. Many laundries these days accept one or more TVs mounted to the wall. Some laundries keep the TVs tuned to 1 channel, some play videos, and others let customers change the channels themselves.

If your laundry is unattended and you desire to let customers change the aqueduct, mountain the TV low enough on the wall so they tin attain the aqueduct and book buttons. Customers are likely to walk off with a remote control, fifty-fifty if it'south tacked to a tabular array.

Many laundry owners besides have pinball and video games for their customers. Clarkson says a video game vendor approached her nearly having a videogame panel in her store. He put a machine in at no cost to her, and they separate the profits fifty-50. "We've seen every bit much equally $300 a month off the video game," Clarkson says. They alter the game every so often to keep customers from getting bored.

Snack Time

It'southward likely that your customers will go hungry and thirsty while they're waiting for their laundry to finish. Even if your store is near a shopping area, many customers wisely don't desire to leave their clothes. So vending machines with sodas, chips and candy fit the pecker. You can buy a vending machine, fill up it yourself and take all the profits. Or you tin can contract with a vendor who volition provide the motorcar and snacks and split the profits with you. Ask your distributor near vending companies in your area.

Clarkson and her partner decided to put in a snack counter rather than vending machines. They offer their customers-and anyone else who comes in-a soda in a glass with ice, along with candy confined and chips. The partners chose to go that road after talking with other laundry owners. "In interviewing other people, we institute that [they] didn't like cans, they liked a fountain drinkable," Clarkson says.

They sell the snacks at a low toll because their store is next to a mini-mart. "If we had the same prices or higher, everyone would just go next door," Clarkson says. Still, their snack business organisation is brisk plenty that it brings in $30 to $threescore a solar day. "Our Pepsi distributor says we practise more [concern] than some of his restaurants." Having the snack counter besides improves customer relations, she says. "Our customers actually appreciate the cheap prices."

Coin-Operated Laundry Resource

Associations

Coin Laundry Clan

International Fabricare Institute

Magazines and Newsletters

American Coin-Op
The Journal
Money Laundry News

Manuals

California Coin Laundry Association Possessor's Manual
California Coin Laundry Association Reference Manual

Websites

Money Laundry Association bulletin board
Coinwash.com (a bulletin board for laundry owners and marketplace of laundries for sale)

How to Start a Coin-Operated Laundry