Jordan Berry [00:00:00]:
You know the fantasy. You buy a laundromat, people show up with dirty clothes, they give you money, you, you do nothing. Passive income, easy cash, happy life. That is the dream that I was sold when I first bought my very first laundromat, that I ended up losing a whole bunch of money from owning. But here’s the dirty truth. Buying a laundromat can be a great move. But if you’re going blind, you’re not buying a business. You’re just buying a problem.

Jordan Berry [00:00:30]:
Today I’m pull back the curtain on the things nobody tells you about buying a laundromat. Some of this is going to come from my personal experience owning laundromats. And some of it is going to come from my years and well over a thousand consulting calls that I’ve done. Now in this industry, this isn’t what you’re going to find in a broker’s listing. This is what real owners learn after the check clears. So let’s get into it. Truth number one, most sellers are selling for a reason. And it’s not retirement or other business interests.

Jordan Berry [00:01:06]:
You’ll hear I’m just ready to retire or I’m focusing on another business. But let’s be honest, most people don’t retire from an easy cash cow. They retire from stress, from declining revenue, from broken machines, from drama with landlords, or they just squeeze every last drop out of the business and now they’re hoping you’ll pay for the cleanup. Ask yourself, if this business is so great, why are they walking away from it? Look for patterns, not promises. Truth number two, it runs itself. That’s code for nobody’s watching. If I had a quarter for every time I heard this place runs itself, I could probably do one load of laundry in San Francisco. But seriously, runs itself might mean machines are outdated, customers are frustrated, employees are doing their own thing, the place is dark and dirty, people come in and do whatever they want in there.

Jordan Berry [00:01:59]:
It’s not a self running business. Nine times out of 10, it’s a business that’s coasting towards trouble. And guess who’s trouble that’s going to be if you’re not careful. That’s right. It’s going to be your trouble. Passive income. Yeah, maybe. Actually, eventually.

Jordan Berry [00:02:13]:
But at first you’re the manager, you’re the janitor, you’re the tech support, and sometimes you’re even the marriage counselor. As I experience truth number three, though, the numbers are probably massaged or missing. A great laundromat owner tracks turns per day, revenues per machine, utilities. As a Percentage of gross customer churn, and some other key metrics. But a typical seller, I think we make about, I don’t know, seven grand a month. You’ll get a spreadsheet labeled laundroma mat version 2. Final underscore, real underscore this one.xlsx, maybe some bank statements that look like they went through the dryer. And literally, I have had a seller go into their car, grab a napkin, whip a pen out of their pocket protector, and write down a profit and loss statement on the hood of their car on that napkin and hand it to me.

Jordan Berry [00:03:14]:
So you never know what you’re going to get in this industry. But here’s a pro tip for you that I’ve learned along the way. If the numbers feel fuzzy, you better believe the risk is sharp. Don’t settle for vibes. Get receipts, get water bills, get help breaking them down. A lot of times sellers are not trying to deceive you by giving you incorrect numbers. A lot of times they just don’t know. And they don’t know what they’re doing.

Jordan Berry [00:03:38]:
One piece of advice I was given along the way somewhere is that while this might be your first time buying a laundromat, for most sellers it’s also their first time selling a laundromat. So don’t go it alone. Make sure that you get some help. And that’s, listen, that’s where we have a community, community here at Laundromat Resource Force. Check that out. Laundromatresource.com Truth number four, you’re buying a job before you buy a business. Now listen, the caveat to this is that if you’ve got money to drop on a laundromat, you can actually just buy the cash flow. Buy the systems, buy the people that are already put in place and keep that business running.

Jordan Berry [00:04:13]:
Maybe make minor improvements. But a lot of times, if you’re buying a laundromat that has some problems or that is on the lower tier of the price point, you are buying a job before you’re buying a business. Listen, you’ve heard it before. This is probably why you’re interested in this. Laundromats are passive income. And to be honest with you, they can be, or at least pretty passive. But unless you’re buying that perfect turnkey staffed up location, you’re not buying a cash machine at first. You’re buying a job that might become a business, or at least a side hustle that might become a business.

Jordan Berry [00:04:49]:
And that job or that side hustle includes fixing machines, hiring and firing refunds, customer complaints, chasing vendors who vanish with your quarters. It’s not forever, but listen, that’s the real truth a lot of times that you’re walking into. You’re the engine until you build the system. All right, listen, I am dropping it, the real stuff for you here. And let’s go in with truth number five. Everyone acts like it’s easy until you own one from the outside, maybe on TikTok or Instagram, laundromats looks simple. No inventory, no spoiled food, no espresso machine to explode. But here’s what you do need.

Jordan Berry [00:05:27]:
Technical skills, or at least a technician that you trust. Customer service instincts, local market savvy, landlord negotiation shops, and a stomach for midnight floods. It’s not rocket science, but it’s also not Legos either. The people who win in this business aren’t just investors, they’re operators, at least at first. Then they build their way to freedom by putting in the right systems in place, having the right tech stack in place, and most importantly, having the right people in place. And truth number six, the community you build is more valuable than the machines you buy. That is one of the biggest things that I miss going into it. When I went into this, I knew nobody else who owned a laundromat.

Jordan Berry [00:06:10]:
I had no community whatsoever. And now there’s a lot more opportunities to get to know other people in the community. You’ve got podcasts like the Laundromat Resource Podcast and some others where you can hear how other people are running their businesses. The best advice I got when I started, don’t do this alone. Listen, I’ve talked about being a natural sort of lone wolf before. That’s sort of my. My default. But I am grooming that out of me because I have seen how valuable having a knowledgeable and supportive community around you can be in.

Jordan Berry [00:06:43]:
Listen, I’ve shared how I spend multiple five figures every single year just to be in communities with the right people to help me grow. Because I’ve learned that not only can you find success faster, but you can find much bigger success when you’re around the right people. So don’t sleep on the community because, listen, the machines, they’re going to break. The seller is going to forget things or try to deceive you. The unexpected will show up. But if you’ve got the right people in your corner, people to answer questions, share referrals, spot red flags before you sign the dotted line, that’s when things shift. That’s when you stop surviving and start growing. And that’s exactly why we created the Laundromat resource community.

Jordan Berry [00:07:25]:
Listen, you can join up for free. It’s full of owners and buyers like you, and it’s loaded with real tools and real support. Checklists, guides, answers, people who have been there. Not just myself, but a lot of other people. So if you’re serious about buying a Laundromat and you don’t want to learn every lesson the hard way like I did, go to laundromatresource.com join. You don’t have to do this alone. We have got your back, and we’ve got the tools, resources, and people to help you find success. But listen, none of that is going to help you unless you take action.

Jordan Berry [00:08:02]:
So take some action. Head over to laundromatresource.com join. Get involved in the community over there. Learn all you can for free. And then when you’re ready for it, hit the gas and go achieve those goals.