Laundromat Newbie

[Sam]

Hello everyone,
I’ve been interested and researching laundromats for a number of years now as a robust source of income to generate wealth for my family. We’re moving from the PNW to Houston, TX this Spring and we are seriously looking into networking and potentially buying a laundromat.

When I had first looking into laundromats as a potential business I figured they could be automated but after reading loads of posts on various forums and watching the Laundromat Resource interviews, I’m realizing I was naive in my assumption. I realize that any business requires effort and input, formerly owning one myself, but how many hours does a laundromat truly require the owner to be onsite?

Before you answer, some things I have to consider and that take priority. I have a family; wife and two toddlers, and a full time job. I do not want to quit my job and want to spend time with the family. If a laundromat will require me to be onsite more than 20 hours per week, I don’t think that a laundromat is right for my family.

Any insight and words of wisdom are greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[Jordan Berry]

Hey Sam,
Just wanted to chime in to say that a laundromat doesn’t have to take 20 hours per week to run. Plenty of successful owners run them on less than 10 hours per week, and some much less than 10 hours. I will say that generally, you’ll spend more time, in the beginning, getting to know your business, making any changes and improvements, meeting and training your staff, etc. Hope that helps some!

[Juan Vazquez]

Hello Sam and welcome.

I would say that Jordan has captured most of the talking points correctly. I agree with Jordan’s input and can simply add that the success and your eventual in person requirement will be largely dependent on what you will do in the beginning and directly proportional to the time it will take to both reach that “minimal attention” status as well as recurring financial posture that you might be looking for.

I purchased my location close to 14 years ago. It took more time and attention back then average of ~ 20 hours per week. Sounds minimal but it’s not when you are working 40 hours per week or 70 a week when accounting for overtime plus being sent on work assignments. It is then when the true value of a good team or family engagement will come into play.

Today the time spent is ~ half but we’ve grown to enjoy the business that it is not uncommon for us to still spend ~ 20 hours a week taking care of the place and or taking care of other business related matters.

Regardless it’s been a great time and financial investment. Good luck.

[Author]

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