This is a sponsored post by Cents. Find out what Cents can do for your laundry business here. All reviews and opinions expressed in this post are based on my personal view.
Every business owner wants to make more money. When business owners buy or build a business, our motivations can vary widely, but the one thing we all have in common is that we got into business to make money. Laundromat owners are no exception to this. And there are often things that laundromat owners can do to make more money with their laundromats.
Laundromat owners can do 3 main things to make more money with their laundromats. First, they can create more value for their customers and, consequently, raise prices. Second, they can increase the services and offerings available to customers. Third, laundromat owners can increase the efficiency of their business.
Steps to Make More Money
Before we get into the practical how-to, I want to briefly talk about why this is so important. Clearly, when you make more money with your business, it puts more money in your pocket. That’s the point of a business. And along with that money should come the freedom for you to do what you want to do with it.
However, I also wanted to highlight the other value that increased income in your laundromat creates. Because laundromats are valued based on their net income, when you increase that net income number, you also increase the value of your business, and, therefore, you increase the equity you have in your business and your net worth.
So, increasing the income of your laundromat creates value in more than one place at a time. It accelerates your wealth gain!
Now that you’re excited about increasing your income AND wealth, let’s talk about 3 ways you can increase your laundromat’s net income. I made a video outlining some practical ways that you can make more money with your laundromat. You can watch that video below, but I want to highlight 3 principles to think through to help you make more money with your laundromat.
1. Create More Value for Customers and Raise Your Prices Accordingly
The number one way to make more money with your laundromat is, ironically, to not focus on making more money. I’ve seen it time and again. The most successful people that I have interviewed on the Laundromat Resource Podcast come from the perspective of building a business that serves its customers and community well. Their focus is on creating value, not on making money. Once they are confident in the value they are providing, they are able to charge appropriately, which usually means being towards the top of market prices.
So, if you’re looking to make more money with your laundromat, look for ways to add more value to customers. Here are a few ideas to add value in your laundromat to get you started.
- Keep your laundromat clean, well-lit, fully operational, and safe for your customers. These are the basics to running the business, but if you neglect these, you run the risk of losing customers, and, as a result, losing money.
- Put yourself in the customers’ shoes. Is the flow of your laundromat convenient. Are there places to fold clothes? Do you have enough seating? Do you have the amenities (ie- wifi, vending, etc.) that people want? Can you make it easier for a mom with small kids to do her laundry?
- Use a business management system like Cents to help you run a tight ship. This business-in-a-box gives you systems and automations that take tasks off of your plate so you can focus on the things that only you and your staff can do: serve your customers.
2. Increase Services and Offerings
A laundromat’s primary income will almost always come from turning the washers and dryers. It follows, then, that the best way to make more money with your laundromat is to increase the number of times your washers “turn” (or the number of times your washers are used). You can do this by implementing an advertising and promotional plan, or you can do this by offering services that invite a new demographic to use your washers.
The two most common services that laundromat owners use that have the potential for greatly increasing the income of a laundromat are a Wash-Dry-Fold service and a Laundry Pick-up & Delivery service. Both services allow laundromat owners to reach new demographics, expand their radius of influence, and turn your machines more times every day!
One of the best ways to get started with a Wash-Dry-Fold laundry service or a Laundry Pick-up & Delivery service is to utilize the services of a company like Cents, which provides a business-in-a-box solution to help you start, grow, and manage your service business! Click here to get a free demo of how they can help you get started!
There are many other services and offerings you can add to your laundromat business to increase income. In fact, we have a free Value-Add Checklist that has a long list of ways you can increase the income of your laundromat. Just sign up for a free membership and check the Member Resources in the menu for access to the Value-Add Checklist and all the other free resources designed to help you buy, optimize, and scale your laundromat business!
3. Decrease Your Laundromat’s Expenses
Increasing revenue is one way to make more money with your laundromat, but you can also make more money by keeping more of the money that comes in. Saving on expenses is a great way to increase the bottom line, pocket more of your revenue, and increase the value of your laundromat.
There are many ways to decrease expenses in your laundromat, including upgrading to more efficient machines to save on utilities, negotiating lower rent amounts, shopping for lower-cost goods to sell in your vending machines or store, and more.
The main point is that increasing revenue can increase your income, but decreasing expenses can be just as valuable! And when you are able to find ways to do both, you’re on your way to optimizing your business!
