Jordan Berry [00:00:00]:
Hey, what’s up guys? It’s Jordan with the Laundromat resource podcast. This is show 222 and I’m pumped you’re here today because today we have on the show Stacy Drake, which is just an incredible story. So good. It’s so funny because Stacy was like, I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know. And then she just came out and delivered just a gem of an interview which you’re going to love and get a ton out of. So dude, I can’t wait for you to meet Stacy. This is listen, this is one you gotta listen to for sure. Just take my word for it, okay? You come, come find me at the end here in the outro and you know, tell me I was wrong.

Jordan Berry [00:00:43]:
You won’t because I’m right here. Definitely need to listen to it real quick before we jump into it with Stacy. I just again, I want to invite you guys, come out with Hawaii to Hawaii with me. We’re not quite sold out. I love to sell out. Mostly because I just think that anybody who comes here is going to, I mean they’re, their business is going to get better. Like I’m just, I just know what this event’s going to do for some of you guys businesses. So I love to sell it out.

Jordan Berry [00:01:12]:
I love to have you out here. We’re not, we’re like almost not quite there, but almost. So listen, lawnmowerresource.com Hawaii come out to laundromat accelerator Hawaii. We are going to be digging into your business. You’re going to walk away with practical tips, insights, a game plan for your specific Laundromat or Laundromat portfolio or laundry business. If you’re on the pickup and delivery side, we’re giving you practical stuff for your specific Laundromat I like, I’m just so excited about it. So anyways, come and join us. Not only that, we’re doing it in Hawaii.

Jordan Berry [00:01:52]:
Okay. Tax write, offable. It’s really, that’s like a, that’s like a 30% discount right off the top there because you’re going to write it off, right? So really it’s a no brainer in my book. So come hang out. We’re gonna be on Waikiki, doing it upright, getting in rooms full of people who are thinking deeply about their Laundromat businesses. When you get in rooms like that, something magical happens. I will tell you that from my personal experience of paying big, big money to be in rooms with people thinking deeply about Business. I think this is going to change the way you think about your business.

Jordan Berry [00:02:28]:
So come join us. Laundromatresource.com Hawaii book it. Just do it. And listen, if you’d come and you hate it and you feel like you got nothing out of it, come talk to me. I’ll just refund your money to you. I guarantee you that. I really, I genuinely will, because I’m that confident you’re going to get way more value out of this thing than it costs you to come out here and hang out with me, which already, in and of itself, sounds like a bargain, don’t you think? All right, anyways, let’s jump into it, Stacy, and hopefully I’ll see some of you guys out here in Hawaii. Laudermatterresource.com Hawaii all right, Stacy, let’s do it.

Jordan Berry [00:03:06]:
Stacy, thank you for coming on the show. How are you doing today?

Stacey Drake [00:03:09]:
I’m well. Thanks for asking. Thanks for having me.

Jordan Berry [00:03:13]:
It is my pleasure. I’m super excited about it. We were chatting before we hit record, and I am, like, ecstatic about this. Super excited to dig into your experience in this industry. Real quick. Can you give us a rundown? Who are you, and how did you get into this weird business of Laundromats?

Stacey Drake [00:03:34]:
Okay, well, I’m Stacy Drake, owner of Bubbly Mat Laundry, and I still work full time. So this was initially more of an investment. So my husband and I were looking for smart investments. And like most people, we kind of settled on real estate. It was like, okay, la, real estate’s great, but let’s look into some other cities, some other states where we could kind of stretch the money that we were making and then invest it elsewhere to, you know, just benefit from it. But the pandemic hit 2020 and we could not travel. So all the tickets we had to kind of leave the state and venture off and look at real estate elsewhere. Wasn’t able to happen.

Stacey Drake [00:04:23]:
And we end up going to a seminar and they talked about the laundry industry, and we’re kind of looking at each other like, hey, is this something we could do? Like, yeah, let’s try it. So from there, we started kind of looking around at different laundromats, and to be completely honest, very hard to just, like, go on a site and see which laundromats are available for sale. So I love researching, and I literally just start going to different laundromats and talking to the owners there and see whether or not the facility was available, while my husband on the other end kept, like, looking just like I was, but he was, like, going and seeing if any brokers had anything to offer at that time.

Jordan Berry [00:05:11]:
When. When was that? When were you looking for this first one?

Stacey Drake [00:05:16]:
So around. So that was the end of 2019, and then by January 2020, we were looking.

Jordan Berry [00:05:25]:
Okay.

Stacey Drake [00:05:25]:
By January 2020.

Jordan Berry [00:05:27]:
Do you remember? I mean, listen, the. The world has changed since then, and the industry has changed a lot since then, but do you remember how long it took you to. From, like, when you started looking to actually find that first one?

Stacey Drake [00:05:39]:
When we finally found it and made the purchase, it was now June. So six months. It took about.

Jordan Berry [00:05:48]:
Too bad, actually.

Stacey Drake [00:05:49]:
Yeah. Yeah, it took about six months. Yeah.

Jordan Berry [00:05:52]:
That June of 2020 is when you bought it. You are straight into the fire. That’s, like, not even that long after the pandemic hit, right? We hit in, like, April or something.

Stacey Drake [00:06:08]:
Yep.

Jordan Berry [00:06:10]:
You were right there, man.

Stacey Drake [00:06:11]:
Okay. The minute we knew we couldn’t travel, the minute we knew we couldn’t travel, it’s like we couldn’t just hold on to the money, you know, we had to invest it, and we didn’t want it to just sit in the bank. So, yeah, we’re. You know, I said, I’m a researcher. I’m a go getter, you know, can’t. Can’t sit by and wait for anybody, you know, or let something just fall in my lap. We had to go out and. And kind of look for it.

Jordan Berry [00:06:34]:
Yeah, well, there’s. There’s researchers, and then there’s researchers and doers, and it sounds like you’re the latter. I talk with a lot of people who are researchers who get stuck in that research loop. They just love researching. And, you know, that fear is kind of hard to overcome, to actually take the action and actually pull the trigger and buy that business. So how did you get over that. That hump and actually say, okay, well, we’ve done the work. How, first of all, how did you decide the one that you were going to buy was the one that you were going to buy? And then second of all, how did you kind of get over that fear to actually go for it?

Stacey Drake [00:07:15]:
Okay, so our first location, the one we initially purchased, is in Norwalk. And when I went, I actually met with the owner, and he was actually in real estate as well, but the laundromat was too far from his house. And so he’s like, you know, when things break, he had to come back. But just, like, walking around the Laundromat, I started identifying like, this is ours, and this is what I would like to see. And I was like, okay, there’s a lot of technological advances that could happen here that’ll make this a great place. It was centrally local located. It is near the 605, 105 Freeway, a block from Costco. And then just where it was.

Stacey Drake [00:08:02]:
A lot of renters, a lot of apartments. And so I was like, this is a good spot. And so I just. I really started talking to the owner. I built a relationship with him. I kept in constant contact with him, even, like, just trying to tell him, like, hey, this is what I see. I think I can make this a great place. And I started sharing my vision with him.

Stacey Drake [00:08:29]:
And on Mother’s Day, on Mother’s Day, he called me and he said, you know what? I had more cash offers and even offers better than yours, but I’m going to choose you for the laundromat. And I was like, oh, my God. And I’m. I mean, I had my mouth wide open. I was ecstatic. I was grateful. And I’m like, oh, my gosh. And he was just like, you know, I saw your vision.

Stacey Drake [00:08:58]:
I saw your passion, and I want to give it to you. I want you to have it, because I think that you’re going to be successful. And. Well, I am, but I was just really, really grateful. So I think that that piece, like, establishing that relationship. And I did. I wrote an interest letter as well. So even after I had met him, I wrote a letter saying, you know, so, so glad to meet you, and I really like this place and I’d really like for you to consider me.

Stacey Drake [00:09:30]:
And he did. And I actually, you know, still talk to him afterwards. So. Yeah.

Jordan Berry [00:09:36]:
Okay, well, listen, I have it on good authority that is impossible to buy a laundromat because unless you have all cash to give, all cash offer. So are you lying to us, or. No, I’m just kidding.

Stacey Drake [00:09:49]:
I think you could call him. I told you I still have his number. Didn’t. I did not have all cash to purchase the laundromat. I really do believe. And I mean, I hear the same thing, like, you need all cash to do it, and people will sell that, but I am proof that I didn’t have all cash. And I believe that building that relationship is what carried me over and really showing the passion. I mean, a lot of times with anything, if you tell, oh, do this, do that, but you’re not passionate about it.

Stacey Drake [00:10:26]:
It’s hard for people to believe. So. And I. And I was. And I am still passionate, still very passionate about it. Just because I grew up in the inner city. And this is something that my husband and I talked about at length, that you go into a lot of laundromats. They are in an inner city because most people don’t have in home laundry.

Stacey Drake [00:10:50]:
And we’ve actually talked to other laundromat owners who have told us, like, why are you putting so much money into this? Doesn’t make sense. You’re wasting your money, you’re decreasing your profit margins for what? And we’re just like he said, One owner told us, they live across the street, they don’t have a car, so they’re going to come here. And I just don’t think that is right to just give people anything. So when we decided what we wanted our laundromats to look like, what we wanted to include, we were considering the communities that we once lived in and that we constantly serve today. And so it’s like, you don’t just get people what. You give people what you think they deserve, but you give them the finer things. They should be able to experience the finer things in life. Just because their geographical area doesn’t promote that doesn’t mean that we can’t bring it to them.

Stacey Drake [00:11:45]:
And so we think that it’s very important for. I mean, laundry is a necessity. It’s something that we have to have clean clothes. And so I think that everybody deserves the chance to wash in a clean laundromat where there aren’t rats and roaches and dirty machines. I mean, it’s. It’s important. It’s. It’s humanity.

Stacey Drake [00:12:08]:
And we should care about, you know, people’s dignity and. And making sure that they have nice things as well.

Jordan Berry [00:12:14]:
So, yeah, I. Yeah, I. I love, love, love that. And I mean, that’s something that we’ve talked about a lot on the podcast, too, is like, we have, especially if you’re, you know, an urban or inner city laundromat, you have the opportunity to bring dignity to people, to. To. To demonstrate, you know, to. To people that they do have value in community, where that’s not always given to them. Right.

Jordan Berry [00:12:41]:
Whether that’s in the businesses in the area or the way they’re treated by, you know, police or whether the way that they’re treated by the school systems or, you know, whatever. But we have an ability to, you know, our. Our business is unique in the sense that it’s one of the few places that communities still come together in a lot of places, and they meet each other in person. And so we have this ability to say, hey, you matter.

Stacey Drake [00:13:07]:
We.

Jordan Berry [00:13:07]:
We Value you as a community and as a person. And that’s huge. Like, I. So I love that. I love that making that decision. And it is very counter where our industry has come from. Right. I think that set it and forget it that they have to come to our business has been the mindset in our industry for a long time.

Jordan Berry [00:13:28]:
And I think people like, you know, you and your husband and other people we’ve had on this podcast are starting to say, hey, you know what? Not only do we have an ability to do something good in this community, but we can. We can make money doing it. And I think is what it’s. I think is what it’s about, right? Like, that’s a win. Win for everybody. My book. So I love that. Okay, so you buy this thing from this guy.

Stacey Drake [00:13:56]:
And.

Jordan Berry [00:13:56]:
And I appreciate you sharing that there was all cash offers, because I do hear a lot, you know, when people are like, I’m so frustrated. I can’t compete with the cash offers and stuff. And, you know, while it’s not true that you can’t buy a laundromat unless you have cash, that’s not true. It might be true that you can’t buy lazy if you don’t have cash. You’re gonna have to get out there and get your hands dirty a little. Right? Like build some relationships, which is, you know, I think a great way to go anyways. But you might have to build some relationships. You might have to keep calling people, keep sending out mailers, keep doing all the things that you got to do to find the deal, because there are people that will do business with you, that will sell you their business, especially if they get to know you and they catch that vision and they see that passion that you talked about.

Jordan Berry [00:14:47]:
Okay, I’ve been talking way too much here. I just got super excited about what you got going on and how you guys are doing business. I want to hear about what was the experience like? Like, okay, you. You bought this from this owner. You got the keys for the first. I don’t know what it was like for you. I got like a little cookie dough bucket of keys. Yeah, that’s what I got.

Jordan Berry [00:15:11]:
But you got your bucket of keys. So what was it like? How was it feeling? Were you guys like, yes. Excited? Were you nervous? Was it a little bit of both? What was that like?

Stacey Drake [00:15:21]:
It was all that, I’m excited, I’m nervous. And then it’s like, oh, my God, what did we just do?

Jordan Berry [00:15:27]:
Yeah, I still work.

Stacey Drake [00:15:29]:
Wait a minute. Wait, wait, wait. Are we sure about this? So we did not have any employees in my family. I love them, my family will attest to this, that I utilized every cousin and aunt and my parents and friends and just everybody to kind of make sure that things kind of got off the ground. So he gave it to me with no real instructions on how to run it because it was more like, oh, it’s a laundromat. It runs itself. You know, people come in, they put the quarters in and then everything goes. But for us, again, some of the things that were missing were the attendants.

Stacey Drake [00:16:13]:
And yeah, we could make more money by not having an attendant. But the issue for us was that service. We want to provide exceptional service. I’m a service oriented person, so I go places. If the service is not good, I’m going to let you know. And I think that customer service is paramount. Without customers, we don’t have a business. And so I’m always preaching like, we need good customer service.

Stacey Drake [00:16:41]:
Customer service is essential. Like when people come in here the same way I treat my employees, which is like family, I’m expecting them to treat the customers the same way. So at the very beginning, I had to take time off work to work the laundromat. So it was me in there washing. It was me in there answering questions. I knew customers who came in. We, we. I talk, you know, I don’t have a problem talking to people.

Stacey Drake [00:17:10]:
So establishing that connection with the customers who came in, I wanted to know their names, I wanted to. About their kids, if they had them, about their pets, how often. I knew how often they came to wash. So I know, oh, you’re here on Thursday. Oh, number six is your, your washer. Don’t worry, I saved it for you. So things like that. And, and people started coming in and saying, oh, we love what you’ve done.

Stacey Drake [00:17:34]:
You know, we made a lot of upgrades. We had to lease the equipment because it’s expensive. You know, they don’t tell the things they don’t tell you. But yeah, it’s a lot of hands on at the beginning. It’s not like I got the keys and I open the door and then like all the money’s coming in. I don’t have to do anything else. It definitely takes work.

Jordan Berry [00:17:59]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And well, and that’s, I think the, the money and the work is the things they don’t tell you, right? They tell you the, the money comes in and you don’t have to do any work. That’s the message, right?

Stacey Drake [00:18:13]:
That’s terrible, terrible advice.

Jordan Berry [00:18:16]:
Y. And yeah, it just doesn’t work that way for anything, really. Not laundromats or anything else that I found. If somebody knows, let me know. I’m open to that. Yeah, so that’s. I get that. But I love that you just kind of tapped into your network, right? Your family, your friends, your cousins, your aunts, whoever, neighbor, kid, whatever you running by.

Jordan Berry [00:18:40]:
Here, come help me with this. You know, I. I love that. And that is how, you know, I think a lot of people get into this business, right? Is like, you get in and you. There’s not a lot of direction because either you want to do something different than the previous owner was doing, or the other owner is just like, I’m done. Like, I’m out. I don’t want to. Like, I know I’m supposed to train you for two weeks, but I’m just not gonna put in that effort because I’m done.

Jordan Berry [00:19:10]:
And so, you know, and that. That’s. That’s great. Like, I. I think getting in the business, that’s. What better way to learn the business than to get your hands dirty. Get in there, meet the customers, figure out who it is that you are serving and what best serves them as well, right? What needs they have. Can you talk about.

Jordan Berry [00:19:32]:
I mean, you mentioned now a couple times that you guys did some upgrades and stuff like that. Can you talk about what you guys did to that business?

Stacey Drake [00:19:38]:
Okay. Okay. Everything. So the business.

Jordan Berry [00:19:45]:
No, I’m just kidding.

Stacey Drake [00:19:46]:
Yeah. No, number one, the machines. So there were older machines. There were a lot of machines that were. Have the little sign out of order, and we don’t like that. You know, you want to be able to utilize all of the equipment as much as possible, because that’s one of the things that frustrates customers as they go in there. And there’s a lot of things working, so, you know, they would have to wait for someone else to finish. And so the equipment, the floors, again, it was more of how we wanted to come off as a business, how we wanted to present ourselves.

Stacey Drake [00:20:24]:
So we wanted to add some color because it was all white walls. And. Yeah, we. We don’t like, sterile. Yeah, yeah. And we love art. We love, love art. There’s a lot of art in my house.

Stacey Drake [00:20:38]:
As you start seeing the podcast or the videos that I’m starting to do, you see art in the background, because we love art. So we got an artist to come out. We did a mural on our outside. We did one on the inside. We have our, you know, bubbly mat logo and our little washer machine, everything. We added some Color, more direction. Like, okay, this is where the wash and fold is going to go. This is where.

Stacey Drake [00:21:09]:
This is some sign as far as on the outside, so people know, like, what time we open. Because when I purchased it, it was just on the door in white, like stencil. And it’s very small. Nobody could see that. And we’re getting a little bit older. You know, our eyes don’t work like they used to. So we started signage in, outside and inside. We changed the flooring just because, you know it’s going to get dirty and you know how you want the dirt to show how much of it and what was easier to clean.

Stacey Drake [00:21:50]:
What else did we change? So those were, like, the initial things, and then there was the. The soap vending machine, but it was one of the old school ones that go on the wall, and then you have to put the quarters in and push it and push the thing in. Yeah, no, we don’t want to do that. So again, more just kind of like a facelift. Modernizing the laundromat, like I told him I would do. And that’s kind of where we started. So that was expensive, all those upgrades. And again, not something that they discuss, but something you definitely need to know.

Stacey Drake [00:22:28]:
And on top of that cost is, you know, the cost for the business license or having the health department come in. Like, they didn’t tell me the health department. I said, we’re not serving any food here. But they come and they check the water temperature. All these things that they don’t tell you. Get in our fire extinguisher, extinguishers checked. Like, all these things are things that I had to learn. So I had to go back and do some more research and say, what else do we have to do? What else do we have to pay for? But it was difficult at the beginning.

Jordan Berry [00:23:00]:
Yeah, well. And you have the. You have the privilege of owning businesses in California who notoriously does not make it easy for us to run businesses because there are a lot of regulations. Yeah. So, yeah, you pay for that privilege.

Stacey Drake [00:23:19]:
This is true. This is very true. But it didn’t stop us from purchasing another laundromat.

Jordan Berry [00:23:25]:
Yeah. So, okay. So, well, first of all, before we jump into that, when you took over the laundromat, was it as expected? Like, was the business performing the way the previous owner told you it was performing? Were there any big surprises for you?

Stacey Drake [00:23:43]:
So I think. I think he was pretty honest about the numbers, but because it was a pandemic, business had slowed, which is not something that we took into account. And that’s another reason why I haven’t quit my job. You know, you have to be stable. Because the one thing I did tell my husband was that if this is not working out, we have to let it go, you know, because we’re never going to take from our personal funds to try to fund this laundromat. You know, if it’s getting to the point where, you know, we have to decide, okay, are we going to pay mortgage or we’re going to pay rent here. No, it’s always going to be our household first. So we had to try to figure out what else we could do to make it profitable for us and make it worth keeping.

Stacey Drake [00:24:40]:
And. Yeah, then I got pregnant, so.

Jordan Berry [00:24:47]:
Okay. Okay. So, I mean, there was nothing else really going on, so why not just bring a baby into this?

Stacey Drake [00:24:55]:
What are we supposed to do?

Jordan Berry [00:24:57]:
Hey, good for you, though. You know what I mean? Good for you. The pandemic babies. There had to have been a boom around that era.

Stacey Drake [00:25:03]:
Oh, man. I’m pretty sure. But, I mean, that’s when our wash and fold service really picked up because I was high risk and I couldn’t do the laundry. I couldn’t lift as much as I would have liked to, and. But we need clean clothes and we have in home laundry, so. And he’s like, just take it to the laundromat. I said, no, I’m not. I don’t want anybody else to do my laundry.

Stacey Drake [00:25:33]:
I could do it by myself. And he was like, but you can’t. And I’m like, okay, well, you have two hands. You do it.

Jordan Berry [00:25:39]:
You can do it.

Stacey Drake [00:25:40]:
And it was just like, yeah, no, you know, you normally do the laundry. And. And I’m very particular. I’m like, you got to separate this. You can’t put the kids clothes with the adult clothes. And if I did let him do it, everything was going to go in. Everything was going to go in there. Didn’t matter what color come out.

Stacey Drake [00:25:58]:
Pink, you know, and it wouldn’t matter.

Jordan Berry [00:26:01]:
Everything’s gonna be the same color. When I’m done with it, it.

Stacey Drake [00:26:03]:
Yeah, it’ll look like your shirt.

Jordan Berry [00:26:06]:
Yeah, that’s right. That’s. This used to be white. I don’t know.

Stacey Drake [00:26:10]:
Right. So that happened. And he was like, just take it. And. And it really was out of a need. And so finally said. I said, okay, you know what? Fine, I’ll take it. Don’t take my underwear.

Stacey Drake [00:26:28]:
I’mma keep those at home. And I’ll wash it. It’s not too heavy. I can do it. But when they did it and it came back and all I had to do was put it away, I was like, oh, my gosh, do you know how long I spend doing the laundry for my girls, for myself, for my husband? And now I was in a position where I couldn’t do it. And so I was like, oh, my gosh, people need this. Not because they’re being lazy, but because, like, me, I’m on bed rest, I’m high risk. I can’t do it.

Stacey Drake [00:27:03]:
Then I’m like, oh, my gosh, what about elderly? What about people who just had surgery? This would be a great resource for them. So, like, okay, let’s do it. And so then, of course, start researching again, how do we make this part of it work? And that actually is going to build the revenue for us because, again, it’s the pandemic. Although the laundromats were open because they’re essential, you still had to have the little signs, six feet, and then have the machine set to, you know, how many people could be in the area at a time. We still had, you know, all the hand sanitizer, all the things. But this way, now we can just deliver it to their doors, drop it off, and it’s ready for them. And that’s how the wash and fold part of it really started is out of a need for myself and my family and then identifying other people who could use it. The working professionals, you know, those traveling nurses who were here who just needed to get their stuff done and get back to work.

Stacey Drake [00:28:08]:
And that’s how that part happened.

Jordan Berry [00:28:11]:
Let’s not rule out us lazy people who also just need it done, too, because we’re lazy. So we’re also in there.

Stacey Drake [00:28:19]:
Yeah, I’m not going to call you lazy. I’m just going to say that you pay for convenience.

Jordan Berry [00:28:26]:
Yes, I like that. That’s what I’m gonna tell my wife, too.

Stacey Drake [00:28:31]:
Don’t involve me in that.

Jordan Berry [00:28:34]:
I’ll leave your name out. Was this out of your Norwalk location still? Yeah, you started this. Okay, so this started before that second location came about.

Stacey Drake [00:28:46]:
So we were in the process of.

Jordan Berry [00:28:48]:
Okay. Oh, so you’re doing both at the same time while pregnant and. And all that. Is that okay?

Stacey Drake [00:28:54]:
Yeah. So 21. So literally, I purchased the second location one year after the first.

Jordan Berry [00:29:01]:
Okay.

Stacey Drake [00:29:02]:
Yeah.

Jordan Berry [00:29:03]:
Awesome. So, okay, you’re. You’ve got a business, you’re working full time. Well, were you. Were you off during the pregnancy?

Stacey Drake [00:29:13]:
Yes.

Jordan Berry [00:29:14]:
Okay, so you’re off during the pregnancy, which is good, but you’re working full time. Still, like, as a job, you’ve got a business, you’re starting a wash and fold or pick up a delivery and you’re buying a second location kind of all, all at the same time, which is like, that’s whatever, that’s like a Tuesday or whatever. Normal. Why, why, why buy a second location when you’re trying to build this other business?

Stacey Drake [00:29:47]:
Well, the price was right for the second deals there.

Jordan Berry [00:29:51]:
The deal’s there.

Stacey Drake [00:29:52]:
Yeah.

Jordan Berry [00:29:53]:
Okay.

Stacey Drake [00:29:53]:
How did you find it there? Actually, my husband found this one and it’s, it’s one of the ones that we had already looked at. So when, when we initially started looking at locations, but the owner wasn’t sailing at the time. But a year later, it’s like, oh, he’s selling it it. Let’s check it out. And I’m like, well, you go. Cause my feet hurt. But he went, but same thing. Conversations with the owners and, you know, but this owner, the second owner wasn’t really trying to hear us anyway.

Stacey Drake [00:30:29]:
They’re like, how much you gonna, are you gonna buy it or not? It’s like, okay, it’s available. And we kind of had, you know, we were in a good spot because we already had the other one. So it’s like, oh, we’ve been running this for a year. We, we, we know what we’re doing.

Jordan Berry [00:30:45]:
Absolutely, absolutely.

Stacey Drake [00:30:47]:
And it’s profitable. But yeah, I would say 20, like 21 going into 22 was when the washing folk really kind of picked up more. I mean, we. Yeah, yeah, it probably picked up more then because now we, we kind of are in the groove of things. We kind of know what to do. And the Laundromats itself, themselves are kind of not running themselves. But, you know, people come in and watch. They don’t need too much help, especially because we do have newer machines.

Stacey Drake [00:31:26]:
So it’s not like, oh, things are breaking down. Yeah. Questions that people ask. We had someone available on site, which is really important, you know, that they don’t have to wait to call somebod because a quarter got stuck in the machine or the app or something is not working. You know, there’s somebody physically there to assist. So that’s why we, we do have attendance on duty.

Jordan Berry [00:31:53]:
Yeah, well, and that, I mean, that is one of the beauties of the business. Right. Like, I don’t think anybody should go into it thinking it’s not going to be any work. However, once you kind of get things set up and you kind of get your systems in place and you get the right people in place to help You. It can start to get more and more hands off. Now, I would never go, like, totally hands off with the businesses, but. But you can make it, but you can lean it heavily towards that passive side of the spectrum once you kind of get your feet under you and get things rolling. One thing you said, like, I love, like, this is these are conversations I have with people all the time.

Jordan Berry [00:32:34]:
So I’m just going to point her to this podcast episode from now on, who are struggling to find deals. Right. The two things you’ve done really well that I keep trying to drive into people’s skulls is, number one, you built those relationships, and that’s how you found that first deal. And number two is all the effort that you put in for that first deal ended up also paying dividends by bringing you that second deal.

Stacey Drake [00:33:00]:
Yes.

Jordan Berry [00:33:01]:
Down the line. Right. And that’s a lot of times where, you know, it’s. When you’re looking for that first one, you’re not really as concerned about. Like, hey, maybe some of these deals have come back around two years later.

Stacey Drake [00:33:12]:
Oh, no.

Jordan Berry [00:33:13]:
Right. But it is one of the benefits of doing all that work and getting out there and building relationships and reaching out and let people know what you’re looking for is that, you know, hopefully you’ll find the one, the right one for now. But also, it gives you opportunities down the line to have more things kind of fall into your lap or look like they fall into your lap. But really, you went out and made it happen because you’re a researcher and a doer. Get it done person. I love it. So, okay, so talk to me about this transition. I mean, you’re, like, trying to ramp up this pickup and delivery business, and you’re buying the second store and you’re having a baby.

Jordan Berry [00:33:54]:
And, like, what was that time? Was it as chaotic as it sounds or did it go smoothly?

Stacey Drake [00:34:01]:
Smooth? No, I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t characterize it as smooth.

Jordan Berry [00:34:03]:
If you’re listening to the audio right now, the face she just gave me was, you should. It’s worth going to watch the video for it. Okay, keep going. I didn’t mean to cut you off.

Stacey Drake [00:34:16]:
No, no, no, not smoothly. It was. It was rough. And I think that. And I should have my husband here to tell his side of it. I think I was a little bit more demanding and a little bit more frustrated because I couldn’t do everything that I wanted to do, how I wanted to do it, because there were limitations. But my mouth still works, so I was still able to have those conversations. Like, we’ve been talking, but it wasn’t smooth.

Stacey Drake [00:34:53]:
I wasn’t due. I didn’t have my daughter until December, December of 21. So.

Jordan Berry [00:35:01]:
So right before that, delivery was picking up. Yeah.

Stacey Drake [00:35:04]:
So it was picking up. And great time.

Jordan Berry [00:35:07]:
Yeah.

Stacey Drake [00:35:08]:
I literally. I start again to depend on my family. You know, I have some older girls. They’re older, but not adults who were helping. And then I have my nephews who. I have one who’s just. He loves. He.

Stacey Drake [00:35:26]:
He’s a little businessman. So he was like, tt, do you need help today? I can come help you at the laundromat. Which was very helpful for me. But like I said, it wasn’t smooth, but it was doable because I had a support system. So I don’t ever want people to think, like, oh, I did this all by myself. And there are no people behind me helping me out. I have a very good support system. And so my sister, my kids, my husband, my nephews, my friends all come out and say, how can we help? And so sometimes my cousins were my delivery drivers because we couldn’t, you know, get it off the ground or I couldn’t.

Stacey Drake [00:36:10]:
I drive and they’ll pick the stuff up because I couldn’t carry the things. But. And my husband really handled the. The purchase part of it. So, you know, he has all the information and anything that comes, like tech, where you have to type anything. I was doing that part because that’s not his job. I think we created a system where we have very distinct roles and we know what we’re good at and we kind of stay in our lane and that helps. So.

Jordan Berry [00:36:41]:
Yeah. Yeah. Well, that’s awesome. And you know what?

Stacey Drake [00:36:44]:
I.

Jordan Berry [00:36:44]:
Where I think this is going to really pay dividends for you is that you’ve now, like, you. You bought a laundromat, you’ve started a pickup and delivery from scratch. Right. There was no pickup and delivery when you bought it, right?

Stacey Drake [00:36:58]:
No.

Jordan Berry [00:36:58]:
Yeah. Not easy to do. And maybe we can talk about that actually, too. And then you bought a second one. You know, we’ll talk about the next one here in a second.

Stacey Drake [00:37:07]:
But.

Jordan Berry [00:37:10]:
You had some, like, limitations right behind you to where you had to figure out ways to get it done, where it didn’t. Just couldn’t DIY it. Right?

Stacey Drake [00:37:22]:
Correct.

Jordan Berry [00:37:22]:
Or I think that’s really going to pay dividends for you is that as you continue to grow, if you can kind of keep that mindset of, okay, let’s not grow by adding more to my plate, but let’s grow by adding systems and the right People in places.

Stacey Drake [00:37:38]:
Right.

Jordan Berry [00:37:38]:
Like, so I think it’s actually. I know it was, like, rough going through it, which it always is. There’s like, no getting around that, especially when you’re trying to grow. Like, if it’s not rough, then you’re not growing really. But I think it’s really going to pay dividends for you as you continue to scale, which is kind of exciting now that you’ve kind of gone through that. So. Yeah. And for your.

Jordan Berry [00:38:05]:
For your husband’s safety, we’re not going to let him come on and share his perspective of how it was during. During that process. We’ll just assume it was great and he handled it well and was happy with everything.

Stacey Drake [00:38:18]:
Yes. He’s still around, so I think. I think all is survived.

Jordan Berry [00:38:22]:
Yeah, he survived and the marriage survived, which is good.

Stacey Drake [00:38:25]:
Yes.

Jordan Berry [00:38:27]:
Okay. So you bought that second one. What. I mean, how did that deal turn out? Was it as expected? Was as good of a deal as you guys anticipated, or any surprises on that one?

Stacey Drake [00:38:38]:
One? No, it was a larger space. And this owner, I mean, he had, I want to say, five Laundromats, plus some other businesses like a restaurant or whatever. So he was downsizing and really just trying to get out of the business. So it was, I would say, was easier only because we had already done it. So all the paperwork that I know we needed, all of the permits, all that stuff, a lot easier. And once the deal was made, same thing. Here are the keys. And goodbye.

Stacey Drake [00:39:13]:
But for us, we already kind of knew what steps to take as far as the renovations. And like I was saying, the permits and the certifications that we needed. And I think that it moved. No, not. I think. I know it moved a lot more smoothly than the first one. The first one. Things would happen and we’re like, oh, well, what are we supposed to do? Well, who do we call for that? That.

Stacey Drake [00:39:36]:
And. But now, like you said, we put systems in place, and I had like a. An accordion folder with different sections. And so I’m like, okay, we need to do this, this, and this. And I’m a. I’m a posted checklist girl. So sometimes I put stuff on the checklist that I’ve already done, but I need to put it on there because I need to see what was on the list just to check it out. Yeah.

Stacey Drake [00:40:01]:
So I had a lot of. To do items, and we got it done. And the only thing is that, you know, when you do those large remodels, you have to close, you know, so when we wanted to get the floors Done. So the first time we learned our lesson, you know, because it’s like, oh, we forgot to tell people we’re going to close and people are showing up. But this time we knew, okay, during this week we’re going to, you know, make it better for you. We’re trying to create a space where you feel comfortable, where you feel safe and the place is clean. And in order for us to do that, we need this amount of time. So please bear with us.

Stacey Drake [00:40:41]:
And we’re going to come back and it’s going to be great. And it was, you know, people were just amazed at the changes that were made, how clean it was, what options they had. It wasn’t just quarters anymore. Now we have an app based system where you can check from home which machines are available or you can put your items in and then go do whatever you want to do and say, hey, I got 30 minutes before I need to be back. And people love that.

Jordan Berry [00:41:11]:
So, yeah, yeah. In terms of, and I mean you don’t necessarily have to get specific, but in terms of funding, this. Was this just from money that you saved and then getting loans or how did, how did the funding the second business come about?

Stacey Drake [00:41:28]:
So funding the second one was money that we saved and then we financed, we finance all of our equipment. So we, we had money saved and then we financed the equip because the equipment is expensive. I don’t know if anybody’s out there talking about that right now, but we’re talking like 30, $40,000 for machines and then for, for machines that have the capability of whether it’s card or the app where you can use your phone, things like that. They don’t, you know, card readers and all the stuff that you need again, that people don’t talk about initially they’re like, oh yeah, just get these machines. And then you get the machines and they’re like, well, is that compatible with the card system I just purchased? Oh, it’s not. You know, but luckily that didn’t happen to us because our first location is coins only. So the second location, I mean that was something that, during the first location I, I said, oh, it be nice if we had another option. You know, everybody’s doing contactless this again from the pandemic things that you learn.

Stacey Drake [00:42:35]:
So can we get this? So, so there comes the research with, do you do card? Do you do the app? Like which one is better?

Jordan Berry [00:42:44]:
So okay, so on that location, the one where you have the app, are you doing both app and coin?

Stacey Drake [00:42:49]:
Yes.

Jordan Berry [00:42:50]:
Like a hybrid kind of model.

Stacey Drake [00:42:51]:
Yeah. We’re not going to get, ever get rid of coin because we have a population that does not believe in technology and I don’t want to remove that from them. So they come in and they’re like, no, I’m not using my credit card. No, I can’t use my phone. They still have flip phones. So, um, yeah, no, we’ll, we’re, we’ll always have coins and then just offer other options, whether it’s card, cash or the app based option. Yeah.

Jordan Berry [00:43:20]:
Do you have a. Do you have any sense, I’m just curious, and you may not know this, but do you have any sense of like, how, like what percentage uses coin versus your app system?

Stacey Drake [00:43:32]:
So it depends on the location. Obviously for Norwalk it’s 100% coins. We do have a POS machine, so if they want to purchase detergent and things like that, they do, but they can also use cash. But Norwalk, it’s 100%, I would say. Linwood, we still have quite a few people who use coins, but we, we are trying to convert them to using the app. So I would probably say my husband’s probably better at this, but I would say like 60, 40. Yeah. And then in Long beach we have a lot of app users, so probably the same, but switch more app than coins.

Jordan Berry [00:44:16]:
Wow. Okay. Yeah, that’s, that’s more than I was expecting actually. So that’s pretty good.

Stacey Drake [00:44:22]:
Yeah.

Jordan Berry [00:44:23]:
Yeah. Okay, well, speaking of third locations, when did, when did you know child number five, six.

Stacey Drake [00:44:35]:
Stop.

Jordan Berry [00:44:36]:
Laundromat number three?

Stacey Drake [00:44:37]:
I know my Laundromat babies.

Jordan Berry [00:44:40]:
Yeah, yeah. When, when did the laundromat number three come into, into the scene?

Stacey Drake [00:44:46]:
20, 21, 22. It’s one, one location a year. So. Okay, 22.

Jordan Berry [00:44:58]:
Yeah, that one that you guys were like on the prowl for. We need a third location. Let’s go. Or. Okay, so, so what was the process of finding that one?

Stacey Drake [00:45:09]:
Like, so we, we had a broker who again, relationship from our first Laundromat and our first financing of machines. We met that person and he’s been very instrumental in like throwing things our way. Like, oh, you’re looking for another one? Here’s a list of stuff. Go call, call around, see what they’re doing. Because again, very essential for us to meet the people who are there and try to negotiate the best price and the best deal for us. And the, the whole transition portion of it. This one, the owners were leaving the country, so lucky for us we were able to kind of get in there.

Jordan Berry [00:45:57]:
And in the country.

Stacey Drake [00:45:59]:
Yeah, we’ll be here.

Jordan Berry [00:46:01]:
Y.

Stacey Drake [00:46:03]:
And now we have two laundromats. And we could say we know how to run this, we know how to make it better here. Check out our other locations. Like, we’re not going to let you down. Because also it’s kind of like their legacy too, you know, although we’re changing it, it’s new ownership, new management and the look of it has changed. It’s like, well, this used to be you. And if you want it to continue and to kind of support this neighborhood, we’re the people to do it for you. You know, once they sell it, they probably don’t care, but at least they know that the people that they’re selling to are good people and it’s going to be beneficial for the community.

Stacey Drake [00:46:43]:
And that’s something that I always, always preach because it’s, it’s the truth. But we want to create this presence in the community and be a community support no matter what city we’re going to be in next because we’re going to get another one. So not next year, not this year, not this year. But we’re not actually looking right now. It’s more of like the building out of all of our systems, making sure, you know, all the managers are in place. And because again, I still work full time. I still work full time. So it’s kind of difficult, you know, to put in the hours that are needed for the laundromat to continue to be successful.

Stacey Drake [00:47:32]:
So. But we’re, we’re. I think we’re doing a good job.

Jordan Berry [00:47:36]:
Yeah, well, I wanted to ask you about that because, I mean, that’s a question I get a lot. And you know, I know there’s a lot of laundromat owners who, who do work full time and run their businesses. I mean, I guess I’ll say on the side, but a lot of times it’s not like an on side thing. It’s like real, real effort here. But how have you managed while you’re working? You have a family, you’ve got multiple businesses, self serve laundromats, but also pick up a delivery. Like, this is a lot of stuff going on. How are you managing all of this?

Stacey Drake [00:48:11]:
I try and I don’t want people to think that it’s easy. I recently had a family member tell me, oh my gosh, you just have it all together. Everything’s so great. I’m so proud of you. You’re doing this, you’re doing that. And I’m like. And honestly, sometimes I don’t know know how it just Happens. And I tell people it’s, it’s definitely my personality.

Stacey Drake [00:48:34]:
I, I am a go getter. Anytime I make a promise, I’m going to keep that promise. And the promise that I made to the people who work for us is that we’re not just in this business for us. You know, we’ve given a lot of people in this community a job and a way to take care of their families. And we’ve accepted you now as part of our bubbly mat family. So. So when we succeed, you succeed. And if we fail, there are a lot of people who aren’t going to be, who are going to be without a job.

Stacey Drake [00:49:06]:
Obviously they can go find another one. But I still work. My husband and I, we still work, so we have something to fall back on. So it is my goal to make sure that this doesn’t fail because there are a lot of people depending on us. There are people in the community that depend on us to make sure that our business is, you know, still clean and it’s available to them, you know, that somebody’s not going come in and tear this laundromat down and make, you know, a Walmart. I don’t know, it’s not that big.

Jordan Berry [00:49:35]:
How big is your, how big is your laundry mat?

Stacey Drake [00:49:37]:
It’s not that big. But, you know, tear it down and put something, a liquor store, let’s just say make a liquor store out of it, but put something there that doesn’t benefit the community and we don’t want that. We really want to be a resource in a place where, you know, people have to go. We want them to be able to choose us and just have a great experience there. So we do our best to make sure that it happens. And like I said, it’s not easy. I, I, I take notes, copious notes. I have to do lists.

Stacey Drake [00:50:13]:
I have calendars, several calendars, shared calendars with my husband for things for the girls. You know, any date nights planned, they’re in the calendar and I have to send it to him so that you get that reminder for, like, going on a date tonight. You know that, right? We have other systems in place for, for meetings. And then my job, I have a separate work phone for that. So everything, they’re silos, you know, everything’s happening. But then I have to make sure that I give that time and attention to all those things so that I keep all the balls in the air. And sometimes, like I said, I don’t know how I do it. I do pray.

Stacey Drake [00:50:56]:
I believer in perseverance and a Lot of prayer. A whole lot of prayer. Like, God, I need you. I need you to help me through this and to just, you know, I think when you do right by people, it comes back to you. So it’s just very important to make sure you’re being honest and fair when we do this business.

Jordan Berry [00:51:18]:
So, Yeah, I, I love that, and I agree wholeheartedly. And, you know, I, I, I just feel like, I want to say, because I feel like you’re at risk of downplaying all that you’ve got going on and that you’re accomplishing, but, like, it’s pretty incredible. And, you know, anybody who’s run a business knows how hard that is. Anybody who’s run a business and worked knows how hard that is. Anybody who runs a business and worked and has a family knows how hard that is. And anybody who’s run multiple businesses with all the other stuff going on is. Knows how impossible that is. It is impressive that you’ve done that and, and very cool.

Jordan Berry [00:52:01]:
Not only that you did all that, but then you decided to give up a little bit of your time to come on here and, and share with us, which is awesome. And I think just a reflection of you and who you are and, and, you know, the heart you have for, for what it is you’re doing, that passion, too. So I appreciate that. That sounded like I was wrapping this up, but I’m not wrapping this up because I got a couple more questions for you. I just, I got inspired by, like, oh, man, I just really appreciate you and how you’re running your businesses and in your heart for the community there. But. Okay, one question I have for you. I’m curious if you thought about this or if you have something in mind for this.

Jordan Berry [00:52:44]:
Is there a point? And if so, at what point do you say, okay, I don’t need the job to fall back on. On. We’ve got the laundromat businesses in there enough. Is there a point for that?

Stacey Drake [00:52:59]:
And that that is the goal. That’s, I mean, and the only reason that we both still work, my number one is the insurance. Yeah, I’ve had a job without insurance before, and by myself. You know, it’s like, oh, that’s kind of pricey. When I actually did need to go to the doctor, I was like, oh, that’s pricey. I had the money, but. But it was just an overwhelming cost. And with my job now, the benefits are the number one reason why I’m still here.

Stacey Drake [00:53:34]:
And then also, you know, the laundromats. Yes. They are bringing in revenue, but it gives us breathing room. And I’ve shared this a lot, and my family knows I love a good vacation. And I’m not talking about, like, a staycation. Like, oh, we’re going to go to Santa Monica. We’re going to go to San Diego. Like, I’m like, nope, I want to get on the plane.

Stacey Drake [00:53:57]:
I want to be on the plane for hours, and I want to get off, and I want to have a good time. So we’re going to another country. We’re experiencing great food and history and things like that, and that costs money. So to be able to give our kids, too, the opportunity to have some great experiences, things that I didn’t get to do growing up. And that’s one thing. Like, we are building a legacy. And once. Once we’re at that point where we’re like, okay, this is.

Stacey Drake [00:54:27]:
I believe that we’ll know because we can take care of our household expenses as well as everything at the laundromat, because like I said earlier, these machines are not cheap. So if it breaks or we need to replace one, we need to have the money available to do that. So I think we will know. My husband, he probably won’t have a number. He’s like, just as many as we can afford, you know, keep going. Yeah, but I. I think, like, a good number, maybe 10 laundromats. I don’t know, though, just depending on the economy.

Stacey Drake [00:55:08]:
But the way things are, you know, they are getting more popular. So, you know, you have a lot of investors who are purchasing them and then reselling them at a higher prices. So I don’t know, we’ll see. See. We’ll see what God has for us. But I know we’re meant to be here, you know, kind of like an Esther for such a time as this. This is our moment, and we’re here just trying to do the best that we can with what we have, but making sure people get their clothes washed and coming for a great experience and. And leaving happy, you know, So I think we are accomplishing those things.

Stacey Drake [00:55:42]:
And I. I do look forward to having more, and I do look forward to retiring. This is not something I want to continue coming on here, getting more comfortable with being on camera, because I’m not right. I am outgoing and I’m okay with talking to people. That’s how I build the relationships. But to be on camera, I don’t really. This is not something I enjoy.

Jordan Berry [00:56:08]:
But I’ll just tell you right now, you should just get over that, because you’re great on Camera, you’re really great communicating and you got really great things to say. So I don’t really even know what there is to worry about. So just, you know, stop being uncomfortable. You know, just stop. Just. Just stop.

Stacey Drake [00:56:26]:
Right. Just now. Like right now stop.

Jordan Berry [00:56:28]:
Okay. Right now. Then happen. We just fixed it. I got a question for you. I actually have. I think I have two more questions for you.

Stacey Drake [00:56:39]:
Okay.

Jordan Berry [00:56:40]:
Number one, go back to Covid area era, or maybe like just before COVID hit hit, you know, and you’re starting this journey of trying to find a laundromat. Put yourself back in those shoes. If you were to give yourself advice or somebody else who’s searching now, advice, maybe just one piece of advice on how to get that first laundromat and make sure it’s the right one for you. You got like a go to piece of advice for that?

Stacey Drake [00:57:11]:
Is it? If it’s just one thing. Okay. Maybe it’s like a combination.

Jordan Berry [00:57:15]:
Give more than. Okay, yeah, combine them. I’ll allow it. I’ll allow it. Since you’re so well spoken and great on camera. I’ll allow it. So that’s my goal now. My goal is to hype you up on camera.

Jordan Berry [00:57:29]:
That’s my goal.

Stacey Drake [00:57:30]:
Okay. Okay. All seriousness, it’s the connection. It’s the connect. I know people say money talks and it does, it really does. But if you can come with that connection and to be able to show how you’re going to do it, not just talk about it, but be about what you’re talking about, I think that comes across well. And then also like some things to kind of look at, you know, you’re going to have to go back to this laundromat if anything happens. So don’t pick a place that’s far from your house because it’s going to get exhausting very quickly because your time is going to be required up front, you know, at the beginning, you’re going to have to spend time time doing it.

Stacey Drake [00:58:15]:
So I don’t want people to get into it saying, oh, it’s passive income. I’m gonna get the keys and I’m gonna sit back and I’m gonna collect the money. That’s not how it is. Not at the beginning. So that would be my advice that, you know, you keep in mind that yes, it’s passive. Only a lot of active after some active. So. And you don’t want.

Stacey Drake [00:58:35]:
I don’t like driving. So 15, maybe 20 minutes away. That’s my top. But I wouldn’t pick a place that’s Too far from where you live. Because you’re gonna have to be very active at the beginning.

Jordan Berry [00:58:51]:
Yeah, yeah. Well, in la that’s like, I don’t know, like a eight block radius. Yeah, yeah. Fifteen minutes. You can, I don’t know. Just kidding. Yeah, Love that advice. And I love that you said it’s not like you’re just gonna get the keys and, and just start collecting money.

Jordan Berry [00:59:11]:
Mostly because you’re probably not gon half the keys even go to. So it’s going to take you time to even just figure that out.

Stacey Drake [00:59:17]:
They don’t all work anyway.

Jordan Berry [00:59:20]:
I know, I know, I know. I really love it when all the coin boxes are like, there’s like eight different keys for all the different coin boxes.

Stacey Drake [00:59:28]:
Terrible. Label them, label them, label.

Jordan Berry [00:59:31]:
Or just get them all the same, man. Or not. I don’t know. Everybody do your own thing. It’s all good. Okay, I think the last like question question, I got one more after this, but it’s not like a question question. My last question question is what about now? Like, if you’re going to talk to other owners, which you are talking to other owners right now, do you feel like there’s a key thing or maybe a combination of key things that have maybe had an outsized effect on success in your business? Like, hey, if you’re going to focus on something, something, this is the thing.

Stacey Drake [01:00:11]:
Focus on your customers, focus on customer service. I honestly, I still again, money talk. So people are like, oh, they’re going to come anyway. If you build it, they will come. But also it’s about getting them to stay. So I would take from like my management experience and a lot of people are looking at how you retain employees, you know, but how do you retain customers? So I think that a big part of that is the way that they, that you treat them. You know, people come and wash all the time, but when you acknowledge them, when you recognize, oh, hey Jordan, how you doing? How’s your wife? How are your kids? Oh, are they still in sports and this and that. And they, they feel that connection.

Stacey Drake [01:00:58]:
They want to come back. They feel like family. And I think that is so very important, which is why we do a lot of things in the community. We have, have back to school backpack giveaways or when we do our back to school events, all of our washers are $2. It doesn’t matter if it’s a 10 pounds, 8 pounds, 6 pounds, you know, I’m saying eight, eight loads.

Jordan Berry [01:01:21]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, got you.

Stacey Drake [01:01:23]:
But everything is $2. And then sometimes it just Depends on, you know, what year we’ve had a taco guy out there, and everything’s free where there’s on us. You know, you come, you eat and think about it. When you’re with family or you’re celebrating anything, there’s always food. I don’t care if it’s a birthday, if it’s a. A marriage, a death in the family. We come together around food. So we feed people and then we give them discounts.

Stacey Drake [01:01:53]:
We have promotions during Christmas, you know, where money is kind of tight. And so we’re giving you double your money. You know, you spend 20, we’ll give you 20. So now you have $40 to. Instead of only the 20. So we try to do as much as we can. We partner with other people in the community to offer free laundry days. But I think for.

Stacey Drake [01:02:17]:
For me and as a business owner, and now I’m going and, you know, it’s been five years now we’ve been doing this. It’s the service and making people feel that connection. I mean, we’re kind of like, if I would have to say, like, we had had some core values or whatever, it will definitely be the exceptional service, community and connection. I think that’s what I would say.

Jordan Berry [01:02:47]:
Yeah, it’s huge. You know what’s funny is, I mean, we’re a couple hundred episodes in and not across the board, but a huge majority of people that are doing well in this business and that are finding success have given an answer similar to that. Like, customer service. Customer service. And in fact, I was actually going to do just a solo episode on this, and maybe I still will because I got into a little bit of a debate with somebody about customer service where they were like, customer service in a laundromat, like, what if it’s unattended? You know, whatever. And I was trying to make the point of, like, even if you’re an unattended laundromat, there are customers. There are ways to serve your customers in an unattended laundromat. And I think that it’s critical, and I think that it’s a common theme that runs throughout successful owners, that that’s important to them.

Jordan Berry [01:03:40]:
And it’s a common missing theme of laundromats that are struggling that I see across the board. So, yes, I think you are very wise and are running your business the right way. And I think sky’s the limit for you guys. So maybe I’m with your husband in the. Let’s not put a number on on it and don’t cap it just keep it running. Just kidding. I know there’s a lot of nuances to scaling, so we’ll see.

Stacey Drake [01:04:09]:
We’ll see.

Jordan Berry [01:04:10]:
Yeah. Well, this has been not only very informative and just a lot of like, really good information there, but a lot of fun. So I appreciate you coming on and sharing that. The last thing that I wanted to ask you, the question that I’ve been reserving is if people want to check out more of what you got going on online, I know you’re, you’re starting to put some stuff out there. What’s the best way for them to connect with you as somebody who values connection?

Stacey Drake [01:04:42]:
So now, yes, I am doing more on social media. I told you I’m not very comfortable with being on camera, but obviously we do.

Jordan Berry [01:04:50]:
That was an old story you were telling yourself because the new story is you’re great on camera because we have irrefutable proof, proof right here, right now that you are great on camera and that you love it.

Stacey Drake [01:05:03]:
I’m great on camera.

Jordan Berry [01:05:04]:
That’s right.

Stacey Drake [01:05:05]:
That’s right. So, yeah, all social media, you can just look up Bubbly Mat laundry. So Instagram, Facebook, Tick Tock if they want to send an email [email protected] but yeah, if you look up Bubbly Mat, we should pop up whether it’s on Google or Yelp and then any of the social media platforms and then our stores are in. Come visit us if you’re in Southern California, Linwood, Long beach and Norwalk. But everything’s there. If you want to call, drop us down now. 562-231-7262. Sometimes I actually answer the phone, so you actually say, hey, it’s Stacy from Bubbly Man.

Stacey Drake [01:05:56]:
And half the time people don’t think that I’m the owner. So they just chat and say all the things and I’m like, oh, that’s me. And they’re like, oh my gosh. So, but yeah, all the social Media, we tried LinkedIn, I am on there, but again, I’m still figuring all that out. I’m trying to put more stuff on social media, but Bubbly Mat Laundry and you’ll be able to find us.

Jordan Berry [01:06:21]:
I love it. We’ll go out and make sure, sure that we find you. And if you’re out there listening to this, get out there, give her, give her a follow.

Stacey Drake [01:06:32]:
Engage.

Jordan Berry [01:06:32]:
Who likes that? Community connection. So connect and listen. Stacy, this has been awesome. Thank you so much for taking time out of your incredibly busy day. I actually don’t even know how you did it. But I appreciate you taking the time to come on here and to share your story and to share your hard earned wisdom. And listen, we’re gonna have to do a future episode here to see things are progressing and, you know, see if you have another kid along the way or buy some more laundromats or, you know, who knows, shaking her head, no to the kid and yes, no to the kids. All right, awesome.

Jordan Berry [01:07:12]:
Well, thank you so much again for coming on and look forward to being in touch again and doing this again sometime soon where you’re going to be a whole new person, where you’re going to have actually internalized this, that you love being on camera.

Stacey Drake [01:07:24]:
Camera.

Jordan Berry [01:07:24]:
And I’m looking forward to that for sure. I gotta tell you, incredible episode, like I said. I mean, tell me I’m wrong. You’re here. Tell me I’m wrong. I’m not wrong. I’m not. Incredible episode.

Jordan Berry [01:07:38]:
Listen, all of it, though, will have been a waste if you do not take action on something that you learned or came across or an idea that was sparked from this episode. So pick something, take action on it. I love, loved, loved, loved how she landed a deal. Because I hear this all the time. I probably hear it at least once a week from somebody. I can’t get a deal because there’s all cash offers everywhere. Stacy gave you the blueprint on how to beat all cash offers. So get out there, don’t say no.

Jordan Berry [01:08:10]:
Don’t be afraid to ask. Get out there and do it. All right? Do it. You can do it. I believe in you. And we’re here if you need some help along the way, obviously, tons of free resources, but, but, you know, check out learesource.com join. Come be a part of the community and, you know, even, even better, come hang out with us in Hawaii. LearMyResource.com Hawaii.

Jordan Berry [01:08:34]:
All right, see you next time.

Stacey Drake [01:08:36]:
Peace.