Columns
The Laundry Doctor
A New ‘Spin’ on a Familiar Brand
Tide Tests the Waters of Chicago’s Wash-Dry-Fold Market A few months ago, Proctor & Gamble decided to expand its Tide brand to include a retail, wash-dry-fold model. Using the successful Tide Dry Cleaners franchises as an example of what to expect from this new...
Maximizing Your Wash Dry Fold Labor
How to Build Key Efficiencies into Your Full-Service Laundry Business In last month’s column, I wrote about the keys to partnering with your local drycleaner, which will be one of the educational topics discussed at Clean 2017 in Las Vegas. This month, I’d like to...
A Profitable Partnership
Teaming Up with Your Local Drycleaner May Be the Ideal Way to Grow Your Laundry Business. Find Out How at Clean 2017! The Clean Show is just around the corner. And the 2017 event – which will be held June 5-8 at the Las Vegas Convention Center – marks the first time...
Wash With Wally
Wash with Wally: Selecting the Perfect Laundry Site
I’m interested in building a new laundromat. I have two locations, but I feel that I have time to handle a third store as well. My first two laundries were built by the previous owners, so I’m not very familiar with the due diligence process of knowing how to properly...
Wash with Wally: Battling Bleach Stains
A few of my drop-off laundry customers have complained about small bleach spots on their clothes. However, we don’t use bleach on their clothes, nor do we place the garments where bleach could be splashed on them. The only thing I can think of is that maybe the bleach...
Wash with Wally: Cleaning in Cold Water
I’m considering switching to a cold-water detergent for my wash-dry-fold business in order to save some money on my natural gas bill. Does this make sense? I don’t want to sacrifice the quality of the wash I offer my full-service customers. No, that does not make...
The Business Mind
What, Me Worry?
You’ll Never Eliminate Anxiety from Your Business Life, But Here’s How to Control It “Stop worrying about what can go wrong, and get excited about what can go right.” I’m confident you’ll agree that owning a business such as (but not limited to) a laundromat can be,...
Are You a Procrastinator?
The Time You’re Wasting is Costing You Money, Customers and the Opportunity to Reach Your Full Potential While attending Michigan State University as an undergraduate, I served as the student manager of the varsity tennis team. One particularly freezing January...
Coming to Their Senses
Leverage the Five Senses to Impact Consumer Behavior As members of the human race, we all experience the world largely through our senses. And, by the way, so does the animal kingdom. However, unlike animals, we also boast well-developed intellectual skills that can...
Viewpoint
Building Strong Connections
More meetings in more places for more people. This is the goal of the reinvented affiliate program and the new meeting concept that the Coin Laundry Association is excited to launch. In the May 2018 issue of PlanetLaundry, CLA President and CEO Brian Wallace wrote the...
Partners in Laundry
To say the least, business partnerships of any kind are always going to be challenging. In fact, the majority of partnerships I've ever seen have failed, rather than succeeded. What's the problem? I believe the issue is that a business partnership is much like a...
A New Beginning
When my husband and I bought our first laundromat in June of 2016, I had been employed by Corporate America for more than 30 years. However, I was laid off just 21 days after that laundromat purchase.I had begun my professional career in 1983 as a designer for Bell...
Digital Marketing
Building a New Relationship with Consumers
Customer Service in Today's Turbulent, Information-Driven World Let’s talk about where businesses are in the world right now. 2020 has been quite a year. And we’re only six months in, which makes everything that’s already happened seem just that much more dramatic....
Marketing During Times of Crisis
Some Promotional Do’s, Don’ts and Considerations as We All Try to Navigate the COVID-19 Crisis It’s easy to get downhearted about the state of the world in the middle of COVID-19’s madness. With social distancing measures, self-quarantines in place and a heightened...
Traditional vs. Digital
What Marketing Methods are Right for Your Laundromat in 2020 and Beyond? Digital marketing is the future, right? As someone on the frontlines of digital marketing for the laundry industry, I certainly believe that to be true – but that doesn’t mean you should change...