1. Rethink Expansion: The Power of Pickup and Delivery vs. Traditional Brick-and-Mortar Growth
Key Insights:
Rick Rome began his laundry journey frustrated with dry cleaners, spotting an opportunity to serve his community—first with self-service and drop-off, then rapidly realizing the transformative impact of pickup and delivery. He advocates that expanding a business’s reach through pickup and delivery is far more cost-effective than investing in new storefronts, “extending your storefront 20 miles in every direction” without heavy capital risk.
Implications for Laundry Professionals:
Rather than looking immediately to open new physical locations (with the associated costs in leases, equipment, and staffing), business owners can maximize the output of their existing assets—machines, labor, and brand—by serving a wider geographical area.
Action Steps:
If not already offering pickup and delivery, investigate local demand. Start small, serving a few neighborhoods, and scale up as demand increases.
Consider using third-party delivery services (like Uber, DoorDash, Instacart) as Rick has, to further reduce fleet costs and increase operational flexibility.
Regularly review and optimize your delivery operations for efficiency, aiming to reinvest any savings into marketing or improved customer experience.
2. Embrace Product Innovation: Detergent as a Strategic Asset
Key Insights:
Detergent has long been an afterthought for owners, but in this episode, it’s positioned as a cornerstone of both operations and profitability. Rick shares how he created Laundry Labs out of necessity, introducing two main products—a concentrate (Power Mix) and high-efficiency capsules (Power Packs). These products can significantly lower cost, boost quality, and even open up new retail sales streams for owners.
Implications for Laundry Professionals:
Why settle for the status quo when detergent directly impacts your operational cost and customer satisfaction? Moreover, by selling innovative detergent packs to customers—rather than supporting big brands that are now entering the laundromat space with their own franchises—you’re protecting your turf and supporting the independent ecosystem.
Action Steps:
Audit your current detergent solutions—cost, waste, labor involved, and customer satisfaction.
Test alternatives like concentrates or advanced pods/capsules to reduce shipping/storage costs and simplify staff workflows.
If margins allow, retail these detergents to customers. As Rick’s example illustrates, single capsules sold via vending can generate impressive margins.
Educate staff and customers about the benefits of switching and ensure clear directions (e.g., where the capsules go in the machines).
3. Operational Efficiency: Streamline for Staff Happiness and Savings
Key Insights:
Much of the hidden cost in laundry operations lies in inefficiency: overpouring detergent, spillage, poor equipment maintenance, and labor spent on avoidable tasks (like cleaning up those messes). Capsules/pods address these issues—minimizing waste, preventing overuse, and simplifying the workflow for attendants.
Implications for Laundry Professionals:
Happy, efficient staff makes for a happy and loyal customer base. Reducing friction points—like dealing with messy drums or malfunctioning injectors—not only saves money but decreases turnover and fosters a culture of professionalism.
Action Steps:
Move from bulk drums (with high waste/spillage) or complex injection systems (which are hard to maintain) to simpler, more consistent dosing solutions like capsules.
Use saved labor time to train staff on customer service, upselling, or maintaining cleanliness and safety.
Track product consumption and labor output for a few months after switching to measure the real-world impact, then iterate as needed.
4. Strategic Supply Choices: Don’t Fund Your Future Competitors
Key Insights:
As Rick and Jordan discussed, major consumer brands like Tide are aggressively franchising laundromats, meaning every dollar spent on their products in your store indirectly funds your competition. This is a wake-up call for independents to scrutinize every supplier relationship and ensure their choices support rather than undermine their business.
Implications for Laundry Professionals:
Now more than ever, indie owners need to be strategic, banding together to support industry suppliers who don’t have a competing retail footprint. This isn’t just about detergent—it’s applicable to distributors, equipment providers, and technology partners.
Action Steps:
Audit the supply chain: Are there alternatives that don’t fund competing business models?
Join or create co-ops, bulk-buying alliances, or preferred-vendor arrangements that support industry-focused partners.
Educate yourself and your peers about the risks of unintentionally strengthening larger competitors.
5. Continual Optimization and Iteration
Key Insights:
A recurring theme in Rick’s story is relentless optimization: build, review, optimize, reinvest, and repeat. He urges owners not to rest on initial setups but to constantly revisit processes, products, and customer offerings based on real-world feedback and data.
Implications for Laundry Professionals:
Those who treat their business as a living system—always evolving with the market and technology—will be more resilient against threats, more attractive to customers, and ultimately more profitable.
Action Steps:
Schedule regular reviews of every major process: supplies, labor allocation, customer experience, marketing.
Foster a culture of testing—trial new products, promotions, and operational tweaks regularly.
Act on feedback quickly, whether it comes from staff, customers, or your own data analysis.
Conclusion
This episode demonstrates that even the “boring” fundamentals—like detergent—hold massive upside for those willing to innovate. For laundry business professionals, the key takeaways are: think outside the storefront, treat supplies as both expense and opportunity, put staff efficiency front-and-center, choose allies wisely, and make continual improvement your default. By acting on these lessons, you’ll not only defend your turf against encroaching giants, but position your business for sustainable growth in an evolving industry.
