An Interview with CLA Member of the Year Tom Rhodes
At Clean 2015 in Atlanta this past spring, second-generation, multi-store owner Tom Rhodes was presented with the Coin Laundry Association’s Member of the Year award. As a member of the CLA Board of the Directors, as well as the current vice president of the Florida Coin Laundry Association, Tom has given selflessly of his time and effort over the years on behalf of the association and the laundry industry in general. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, when compared to the many charitable initiatives he has spearheaded at his own laundries.
This month, we caught up with Mr. Rhodes to get his thoughts on the self-service laundry industry, his evolution as a person and a business owner, and why service to others is at the heart of everything he does.
What does being named the CLA’s Member of the Year mean to you?
It’s confirmation that I’m making a positive difference in our industry. My father would be proud.
However, I don’t want this award to be about Tom Rhodes. I want to uphold service to others as the transcendent virtue. The heroes of our industry are the affiliate volunteers and the CLA Board of Directors, who toil in the trenches, volunteering their time and expecting nothing in return. They volunteer because they love the industry and love others and want them to succeed.
I think of Duane King in Ohio, Daryl Johnson in Iowa and Greg Tompkins in Washington – who, with a small band of brothers, fought the sales tax fight in their states. These people are the rock stars of our industry and should have statues outside the CLA headquarters, just like Michael Jordon has outside the United Center, where the Chicago Bulls play.
I have a shelf at home where I keep awards I’ve won throughout the years. The second-most-cherished award is the CLA Member of the Year award, because of the strong emphasis on service. However, the most cherished one is a cheap dime-store trophy I won for leading a group of kids to a first-place finish three years in a row at our church’s Bible Olympics. That group of elementary-aged kids I led as their coach won because they loved to learn and they loved to give to the various groups that we supported in the community. It reminds me that, at the end of the day, it’s not about you, Tom.
How did you first get involved with the Coin Laundry Association?
As a second-generation laundry owner, I grew up hearing my mom and dad talk about the business around the dinner table. They became members in 1977 when they first entered the business, and never let their membership lapse. When I entered the business in 1996, Reynolds Smith was president of the Florida CLA affiliate, and my dad was the vice president. They ended up serving 11 consecutive years as president and vice president before I threw my name into the hat to start serving the affiliate.
Specifically, how has the association helped you along your journey as a laundry owner?
I have always considered the CLA to be my mentor, coach and motivator; a mentor when I was a rookie in the business, a coach to help me navigate business situations and a motivator, because there’s a tendency for us laundromat owners to get stuck in a rut, due largely to the predictability of our income stream.
I’m scared to death that, if I don’t keep pushing our business forward, we’ll end up getting left behind in the marketplace and lose customers – not just to other laundromat owners but also to apartment complexes, family and friends with washers and dryers, and the big-box stores offering washers and dryers at discount prices.
What first attracted you to the self-service laundry business?
I was the general manager of a 900-booth flea market when I was 27. However, after four years, the ownership group still only owned one flea market, and I wanted a new professional challenge. I love running a business and managing all the different facets, from accounting to marketing to management.
My parents had six laundromats at the time and were starting to think of divesting themselves of a few stores. I believe my 10 years of experience working in other industries gave them more confidence to turn over the management of the stores to me. They already owned two other businesses, so they welcomed the idea of having their son step in to work the sideline business. And because they had their primary businesses, we didn’t step on each other’s feet too much.
What are the keys to a successful self-service laundry business today?
The keys are location and good management, which includes cleanliness, friendly attendants, working machines and a friendly refund policy.
How many stores do you currently own?
We owned eight stores six months ago, but closed two underperforming stores and bought a new one in Okeechobee, bringing our present total to seven laundries.
How has the business changed since you first got involved?
These days I see more professionally run stores, more multi-store owners and greater competition in the marketplace.
What other business ventures are you also currently involved in?
None, this is my full-time gig.
How much time per week is spent on your laundry business – both in and out of the stores?
I devote between 40 to 55 hours per week on this business.
You’ve certainly given freely of your time and advice to help other laundry owners and potential investors – through volunteering with the CLA and its Florida affiliate. Why is that so important to you?
There are a few reasons. First of all, my parents both modeled this behavior for me. So, to a large extent, I don’t know any differently, and I am forever thankful for their support of me.
Secondly, I believe I’m a steward of the resources God has given me. One of those resources is time. I find that, if all I do is focus on me and my own business, I actually become grouchier and greedier. But, when I share my time and ideas, I have a greater sense of freedom and less fear. I know that sounds counter-intuitive, but it’s one of those paradoxes of life.
Lastly, I freely share the recipe for our company’s secret sauce, because I know that nine out of 10 people aren’t going to act on the information, so why not share? I’ve done my part; the rest is up to them.
What major trends are you noticing in the industry?
I see a continued trend toward multi-store ownership and more professionally run laundromats.
Do you have a business philosophy that guides your business and life decisions?
I try to adopt a stewardship mentality, rather than an ownership mentality. God really owns it all, and I’m simply a manager of what He has entrusted to me.
I’ve had two epiphanies in my professional life. The first was reading, of all things, the Book of Ruth in the Old Testament. God provided for Ruth, a poor widow, through the Old Testament law of landowners, leaving some of the harvest on the ground for the poor to collect for their food source. At the time, I thought that I should leave some washers and dryers in the laundromat either free or at a greatly reduced price. My pastor actually talked me out of that approach and challenged me to rethink how I could do that differently – due to the potential for customer abuse.
So, we decided to target our giving to the community. As an aside, I choose not to use the term “give back to the community,” because that expression assumes that I “took from the community.”
Here’s where we have chosen to give to the community over the last three years. And I share this not to brag in any way at all or to toot my own horn, but to show other laundry owners simple ways that we, as an industry, can contribute in simple but meaningful ways to our communities:
• We give $10 laundry vouchers to a ministry that clothes the poor.
• We host a Loads of Love event several times a year.
• We helped set up a laundry room for The Source, a ministry that feeds the homeless, and provide free service and parts to maintain the equipment.
• We sponsor a Blessed Washer campaign every year between Thanksgiving and New Year, where 25 percent of that group of washers’ revenue is donated to a local charity. Last year’s charities were the Boys & Girls Club and Habitat for Humanity, which provided a house for one of our attendants.
• We hire from a local jobs training program and donate to them.
• We give free wash cards to moms’ groups, flood victims and overnight homeless shelters.
• We donated 18 $75 laundry cards to a neighboring Haitian church that lost 10 family members in a fatal bus crash.
• We built an eight-foot-tall washing machine for kids to play in for community events.
• We process loose change for a local pregnancy center’s annual baby bottle campaign.
• Our company provided $500 to sponsor a food truck to feed people in a local “food desert.” Six of our attendants came out on a Saturday morning to help distribute food.
The second epiphany was that I control very little in life. The recession of 2008 taught me that. This period was the only time that I have had sleepless nights in my life. Habakkuk 3:17 in the Old Testament says that “I will rejoice in the Lord even when the fig tree doesn’t bud and there are no grapes on the vine.” Or, in laundry parlance, I will trust in the Lord even when there are no quarters in the coin box.
In your experience, when a self-service laundry business fails, what is the most common reason for that failure?
Primarily, it’s due to poor site selection, followed by owners who don’t care about their customers.
Personally, what’s the biggest mistake you’ve ever made in this business?
We bought a store in May 2008 right across the street from one of our busier stores as a defensive move. Then the recession hit in the summer of 2008. That store, which was grossing $120,000 annually, ended up grossing $55,000 during the depths of the recession. We lost $125,000 over the six years of the lease. Ouch!
Our company could have purchased a lot of equipment for that $125,000. The sting from this loss was the impetus for starting the CLA’s “Make Your Move” Committee. I heard economist Alan Beaulieu speak at the Excellence in Laundry Conference in 2012, and I realized this mistake could have been avoided had our industry had someone to help us read the tea leaves. My motivation was to provide a forecasting tool for laundry owners/distributors/manufacturers to use so that we can make smart, informed business decisions.
What one piece of technology could you not live without?
Sirius XM radio for all of the driving I do in my car.
What do you like to do for fun?
Play tennis, windsurf and golf with my FCLA buddies. But, most of all, I enjoy going to the beach on Sunday afternoons with my family to surf, throw the Frisbee, swim and just to be with the people I love most in the world.
What might others be surprised to learn about you?
I’m vainer than people think, and I care far more about what others think of me than I should.
If you could magically sit down with the 18-year-old version of yourself, what life and/or business lessons would you bestow upon “young Tom?”
I love the movie “Family Man,” with Nicholas Cage. There’s a great scene in this movie, where an angel tells Cage’s character, “You just don’t get it, Jack.” That resonates with me, because the 18-year-old Tom didn’t get it either. I was selfish and wanted the things of the world – a pretty girlfriend, a nice car, a nice bank account. Today, I realize that those things won’t bring lasting joy. Follow God and love others, and He’ll take care of the rest; He knows what’s best for me and gives me joy that lasts longer than a nice collection at the laundries.
What are your business goals for 2016?
I want to extend two of our seven leases, and rehab those stores.
What advice would you give to a new laundry owner just getting into the business?
First, join the CLA; it’s the best $270 investment you’ll ever make. Second, ask lots and lots of questions to industry veterans, and then act on their advice.
Who do you turn to for advice – on business and life?
In business, I have colleagues and mentors like Jim Whitmore, Jeff Gardner, and the entire CLA and FCLA Boards of Directors. In life, I turn to my wife, who knows me better than I know myself – as well as my pastor, the deceased Zig Ziglar and, of course, the Bible.
What’s been the most gratifying aspect of your life in the laundry business?
I enjoy business, and running a chain of seven laundromats gives me a lot of variety in my professional life, from marketing to human resources to accounting to legal work on our leases. I get to stretch myself in many different disciplines. And, finally, I love the opportunities to meet great people in our industry. I’m energized when I go to any laundromat function, whether it’s a CLA conference or an FCLA meeting.
What’s the future of the self-service laundry business?
The future is in stores that are pleasant to visit. In other words, they offer amenities such as free WiFi, adequate seating, good lighting and trained attendants; it’s more of an “experience,” rather than just simply washing your clothes.
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