The second day of the Coin Laundry Association’s educational program at Clean 2022 in Atlanta kicked off with a focus on prospective investors and aspiring laundromat owners.
The morning’s first session – “Everything You Need to Know About Your First Laundromat” – was a panel discussion moderated by multi-store owner Rob Maes of Express Laundry Texas. His panelists included Amy Doody, Amy’s Laundry; Stephen Gramaglia, Clean Fresh Laundromat; and Omer Khan, Bustinsuds Laundromat.
The experienced operators began by sharing their own unique paths for getting into the laundry business.
“I had no choice,” said Khan, a second-generation operator. “I was 3 when my dad bought his first store, so growing up I developed a love of the business. And I have no regrets.”
Gramaglia’s journey to store ownership wound its way through industry finance company Eastern Funding, where he worked for 21 years – helping others get into the business.
“I visited more than 1,000 stores,” explained Gramaglia, who recently bought his second laundromat. “I was ready for a change. I wanted to do something different, a new adventure. It’s been a great experience.”
As for Doody, she was a middle-school math teacher who wanted something different.
“I thought, ‘Oh I can do laundry!’” she laughed, adding that she was looking for a business where she could work with people and help the community as well.
Maes left corporate America after 20 years, knowing nothing about the laundry industry.
“I wanted to keep growing,” he said. “I wanted a change, and this was a way to extend my career.”
With regard to paying for that initial laundromat investment, Gramaglia stressed the need to be on solid financial footing.
“Without it, you’ll have trouble,” he said. “Beyond your initial cash investment, you need working capital, closing costs and so on. Excess funds will be needed, because you’re not going to break even on Day One.
Kahn suggested the option of leveraging any existing banking relationships. “You may not have cash on hand, but you can use other assets or properties,” he explained.
Much like financing a laundry venture, the panel pointed out that there are multiple paths to selecting a winning site.
“Explore them all – from brokers to local distributors,” Gramaglia said. “Canvas the area.”
Kahn suggest that attendees vet local distributors carefully.
“Who do you feel comfortable doing business with?” he asked. “How much are they willing to help you? Having that relationship is a key, because that will lead to your final store location and so on. It all goes hand in hand.”
Kahn added that newcomers might be best off getting into an existing laundry business, even if it’s a retool project, because at least it will have an existing customer base.
For Maes, proximity to home is the most important factor in laundromat site selection.
“I have four laundromats, and none of them are more than 15 miles apart,” he said. “Keep proximity in mind – it’s number one for me.”
Throughout the hour-long session, the four store owners shared the pros and cons of leasing a laundromat versus purchasing the business and its property, as well as the considerations of building a laundromat from the ground up, and some of the nuances of their own daily operations.
“Above all, you should have a personal reason for getting into this business, as well as a financial one,” Maes stated. “Why do you really want to do this? It has to be for something other than money. It’s a way of life and should be your passion.”
