Jordan Berry [00:00:00]:
Let’s play a little game. Imagine someone took every dollar you’ve ever made except for $50,000. You got 50 grand left to your name. And your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to buy a laundromat and make it work. Listen, that’s the thought experiment we’re going to go through right now. And I’m going to tell you exactly what I would do, how would I stretch every dollar, and what mistakes I would absolutely avoid. Today, I’m walking you through the exact step by step plan I’d follow. Start over from scratch with just $50,000.

Jordan Berry [00:00:35]:
Let’s go. Now, to be clear, $50,000 isn’t a ton of money for a laundromat, but it’s not nothing either. With $50,000, you can’t just walk into a shiny, fully automated 5,000 square foot store and expect to buy it. But you can buy an older store, improve it, and turn it into a serious cash flow machine if you know how to play it smart. Step one, get educated. And before you spend a dime, you need to learn how to buy laundromats the right way. You can’t afford to make rookie mistakes when you only have $50,000 to play with. Watch my free playlist on how to buy your first laundromat.

Jordan Berry [00:01:17]:
Shameless plug. But it’s free. It’s on YouTube. It’s a playlist, makes it easy to watch. And it’s packed with legit tangible value. Get familiar with deal analysis, leases, utilities and equipment. Skip this step and you’ll be donating your 50k to the local broken dryer charity fund. Step two, target older underperforming stores.

Jordan Berry [00:01:42]:
You’re not competing with the big investors here. You’re looking for the stores that they ignore. Think dated signs, flickering lights, and an owner who hasn’t smiled since 2003. The uglier the store, the bigger the opportunity. What you want is a solid location and solid bones. Good parking, solid demographics, stable utilities, and you can fix everything else. And I want to take a second to be clear here. You can be wealthy and buy passive income or you can have $50,000 and earn that income.

Jordan Berry [00:02:16]:
And that’s what we’re going to have to do here. Step three, we need to stretch that $50,000. So we’re going to try to use some creative financing here. This is where the magic can happen. You’re going to combine your 50k with leverage. SBA loans will typically finance up to 85 to 90% of a laundromat purchase. If the deal cash flows and the right circumstances present themselves. That means 50k could buy you a 350 to $400,000 store with a little bit of money left over for an emergency fund.

Jordan Berry [00:02:51]:
And here’s a bonus for you. Sometimes the seller will carry a small note to fill the gap. That’s called seller financing. Now notice I’m not saying go out and expect to get 100% seller finance deal. There was a time where those types of deals were a little more common. Now, I’m not saying you can’t find them. However, they’re more difficult to find than they’ve been since I’ve been in the industry. Translation, you don’t need to be rich, but you do need to be resourceful and maybe even a little bit scrappy.

Jordan Berry [00:03:22]:
Step four Again, we’re looking to buy a store with good bones and bad management. This is the sweet spot. You want a store that has reliable equipment even if it’s older, clean utilities and low rent. A poor customer experience, zero marketing presence, or even online presence. Basically, a store that’s limping along making 3 to 4k a month that you can turn into 7 to 10k a month with some simple fixes, a little elbow grease and a winning smile for that customer experience. Step 5 Renovate strategically, not emotionally. You’ve only got $50,000 total. Don’t blow 40k of it on new tile Floo.

Jordan Berry [00:04:06]:
Focus your upgrades on things that make money and move the needle. Fix those broken machines. Add a card system if possible, deep clean and paint. Replace signage and maybe look to add some value by offering wash and fold or pick up and delivery. Remember, profit before pretty pretty can come later when you’re rolling in the dough. Step 6 Market like you mean it. Most laundromats still don’t market, which is crazy. Google business profiles, local SEO, SEO flyers at apartments, Facebook ads targeting renters within three miles.

Jordan Berry [00:04:43]:
All cheap, all effective. There’s lots of scrappy guerilla marketing tactics you can use for cheap or free as well. Your job is to be the most convenient option. Don’t just be open, be found. STEP 7 Systematize early if you’re working with tight cash, your time is your biggest asset. Set up basic systems right away. Standard operating procedures for staff, remote cameras and payment tracking. An attendant who can handle issues when you’re not there.

Jordan Berry [00:05:17]:
The goal? Your Laundromat runs smoothly without you having to live there. Ask Michael Jones. In his first interview on the podcast. He actually moved into his Laundromat to make it happen, systematized it and went from struggling to making $40,000 a month. Go check out that episode if you want to get inspired. Okay, let’s make this real. Say you find a $350,000 laundromat doing 15k a month in gross revenue. You put down your 50k and you finance 300k.

Jordan Berry [00:05:49]:
Maybe between an SBA loan and or some seller financing, you’ve got a loan payment of about $2,100 a month. Your expenses would be about 10k a month and your net profit somewhere between 2 and $3,000 a month. It’s about, you know, somewhere around 30, $35,000 a year on 50k down. This is 70% cash on cash return. Is it going to be passive? No, you’re not rich enough for that yet. But it could be life changing for most of you, at least initially. That’s not going to be enough money to leave your 9 to 5 job. So you might have to hustle a little bit.

Jordan Berry [00:06:26]:
Again, you can be rich and have passive income, or you can have $50,000 and work your little tail off for a small amount of time to get rich so that you could have that passive. Here’s what not to do, though. Don’t buy a store without verifying the income, the expenses, the utilities. I did that on my first one and it was a disaster. I lost a ton of money for a long time until I figured it out. Don’t max out your credit cards for renovations. Don’t skip the lease review. The lease can make or break you.

Jordan Berry [00:06:58]:
I’ve seen more Laundromat owners get broken by a bad lease and just about anything else. And don’t assume passive income means no work. Again, this is not going to be passive. But so many of us got into this business business because that’s the goal. We want money coming in without a whole lot of work going out, but it doesn’t mean no work. It’s called cash flow, not couch flow. That was that funny. Okay, no, but listen.

Jordan Berry [00:07:26]:
If you do this right, you’re not buying yourself a job. You’re buying freedom disguised as laundry. That is the goal. So if you’ve got 50k and you’ve been wondering if a Laundromat is out of reach, it’s not. You just have to play it smart. Start small, start ugly, and start now. If you want to see what to look for in your first deal, check out my free YouTube course on how to buy your first laundromat. It’s literally designed for people in your exact shoes.

Jordan Berry [00:07:56]:
And then check out laundromatresource.com we’ve got tons of free tools and resources to help you out. Go play around with our Laundromat analysis calculator over there on the website and be sure to subscribe to us on YouTube @laundromatresource, because we are coming out every single week with videos packed with information that will put money in your pocket, helping you achieve that goal of financial freedom faster than ever before. And my last request from you Is there an amount of money? You want to see me do a video on how I would buy a Laundromat? Put it in the comments down below and I’ll get a video out for you on that. And exactly what I would do to find success in this industry with that amount of money. All right, so again, check out this playlist right here on the screen if you want to learn how to buy your very first laundromat from A to Z.