Existing v. Build out v. Franchise

[Christopher Thomas]

Looking to purchase my first laundromat and would love some advice from those with experience.

If possible, I’d love to purchase an existing setup. I worry about machine breakdowns, old buildings with old wiring and plumbing, just basically one headache after the next.

Next thought was to build from scratch. Seems feasable, but I’m not sure the money saved is worth the support lost from a franchise.

Thank y’all for any experiences / advice!

[Trenton Adams]

I can’t speak for a retool of existing store so I won’t weight in on that subject.
Our first was a ground up build. Don’t want to sugar coat it had it’s fair share of challenges. I personally enjoy the build and setup part as much or maybe even more than the day to day operation. There may be things that a franchise possibly could have helped us with possibly. Although with a quality dealer and a fair amount of research I feel like we pulled off a winner. the biggest things that I would see as a Pro to a franchise is most likely they will have a strong grasp on marketing/ interior signage. I’m not in a super dense market as far as competitors go so a build it and they will show up approach worked for start up. That has given us the ability to try various market methods to see what is working the best in our area. Marketing has been a constant evolving changing solution for our store. As far as floor plans and such the few franchise stores I’ve been in haven’t impressed me with the layout. The con I don’t get is as much control on how I would want my store to look and also the royalty payment system. They are not supplying the day in day out ingredients to the operation such as franchise models in the food industry.

Trent

[Christopher Thomas]

Thanks for the wisdom! If you don’t mind me asking, which dealer did you go with?

[Trenton Adams]

we used huebsch equipment. the decision of dealer/equipment supplier may vary from area to area as they each have territories and you may have a stronger dealer in a different brand that I have.

Trent

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