Metrics That Matter

Profit, Performance, and Planning in Vended Laundry The laundromat business is like most businesses in that you need to do a lot of things right to be successful. But how do you know if it’s working? According to successful owners, you just need to look at the...

Startup to Scale

How Western State Design Has Been Helping Laundry Businesses Thrive for More Than 50 Years For more than five decades, Western State Design has been a leading provider of turnkey laundry solutions across the vended, on-premises, and commercial/industrial markets....

Member Spotlight: Lab-Tested, Laundry-Approved

How Laundry Labs Plans to Change the Industry In today’s business world, efficiency and quality are paramount – and the commercial laundry industry is no exception. Recognizing the need for superior cleaning solutions specifically tailored to laundromat operators,...

Wash-Dry-Fold POS Launches New Feature

Wash-Dry-Fold POS® has announced its new Attendant Checklist Feature. According to Managing Partner Ian Gollahon, it is a simple but integrated tool that is so powerful, it’ll make you wonder how you ever ran your business without it. "You can monitor the checklist...

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Lesson Learned

Jan 23, 2015

Originally posted - Aug 26, 2013 Before her retirement this past January, Colleen Unema had spent decades as a nationally certified high school science teacher in Bellingham, Wash. However, it was a self-imposed break from teaching that actually prepared Unema for her...

How Much is My Rent?

Jan 22, 2015

Your coin laundry's lease states, under a paragraph called "rent," that you are to pay a sum of money to the lessor once a month, on the first day of each month during the term of the lease. Is that all it costs you to "rent" your store from your lessor?| Look further...

‘The Landlord Didn’t Repair the Roof! Can I Withhold the Rent?’

Jan 22, 2015

Withhold rent and you can count on a visit by a process server with an unlawful detainer complaint identifying you as the defendant. Like night follows day… like the sun rises in the east. But, you argue, the landlord, in breach of his obligation under the lease, has...

Headlines

Aiming High

Originally posted - Feb issue/2012 Corporate Pilot Opens New Laundry in College Town Ross Razak's work hours are hardly 9 to 5. So, he was looking to start a small business with just as much flexibility. Not surprisingly, he found exactly what he was looking for in...

‘Time’ Is On His Side

Originally posted - Nov issue/2012 New Entrepreneur Opens His First Self-Service Laundry in Upstate New York At only 27, Scott Carey can already see his future – and it involves dirty laundry. Hopefully, lots and lots of dirty laundry. After all, Carey is the owner of...

Bank on It!

Originally posted - June issue/2012 Former Banking Executive Cashes in with Eco-Friendly Coin Laundry After more than 30 years in the financial industry, Connie Ihrke finally knows what she wants to be when she grows up. A coin laundry owner. "In the banking business,...

Controlling His Own Destiny

Originally posted - May issue/2012 Memphis Laundry Owner Builds Strong Following, Plans Two More Locations Phil Arvin's self-service laundry business is nothing like his "day job." And that's one of the aspects he really enjoys about his year-old entrepreneurial...

From Pets to Professionals…..

Originally posted - Sept issue/2012 Montana Laundromat/Dog Wash Has Become the Area's ‘One-Stop Solution' Those looking for a quick and efficient self-service wash and dry or even more personalized laundry services – or just a convenient place to wash the family dog –...

The Fruits of his Labor

Originally posted - Jan issue/2012 Southern California Laundry Owner Opens Fourth Store Joe Thompson wasn't looking to expand his three-store laundromat chain in southern California when he came across a store for sale in Tustin. He was just helping out a friend who...

Gaining a Competitive Advantage

Originally posted - Jan 24, 2014 Dr. Chuck Bamford is the founder of Bamford Associates, LLC. He has worked with thousands of managers over the last 20 years in the development of implementable strategic plans and an entrepreneurial orientation to growth. He worked in...

Teamwork

Originally posted - Jun 25, 2014 [This is the first of a two-part series on ways to build a successful team of laundry attendants.] Perhaps it's easy for the uninitiated to underestimate the job that self-service laundry attendants perform. However, their duties...

Get in the Game

Originally posted - Aug 26, 2014 For many self-service laundry owners, the coin-operated amusement industry may be an untapped business opportunity. Games and other arcade-style machines offer outstanding profit potential for store operators who are willing to pursue...

2013: The Year in Review

Originally posted - Dec 09, 2013 In odd-numbered years, nothing that happens in the self-service laundry business can top the spectacle of The Clean Show. And 2013 – with the industry's trade show and convention in New Orleans – was no exception. "One of the major...

Turning Point

Originally posted - Jun 17, 2014 Erik Sparks has been a professional pilot for more than 20 years, having spent the last 18 of those years flying for a charter airline – Ryan International Airlines. Over the years, Sparks has flown a diverse list of operations. Those...

Upwardly Mobile

Originally posted - Oct 02, 2013 On average, adults spend more than two hours every day on their smartphones or using their tablets, according to research by Advertising Age. What's more, nine out of 10 mobile searches lead to an action, and more than 50 percent lead...

This Month's Issue

Metrics That Matter: Profit, Performance, and Planning in Vended Laundry
Women In Laundry: Haley Gould Finds Perfect Fit
Company Close-Up: Company Founded to Help Small Businesses Shines
New Member Spotlight: How Robotics Could Change Laundromat Industry
And More…

THE LATEST ON LAUNDROMATS

Industry News

Setomatic/SpyderWash Names Director of Sales, Announces Promotions

Setomatic Systems/SpyderWash has named John Kelly its new director of sales. Kelly – who has worked in the commercial laundry industry since graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2011 – most recently served as a regional sales manager for Speed...

LG Breaks Ground On Home Washer Plant in U.S.

LG Electronics recently took a ceremonial step closer to domestic manufacturing when dignitaries, including U.S. Commerce Department Secretary Wilbur Ross and Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, joined management in breaking ground on the company's first U.S. appliance plant....

Western State Design to Host Training Seminars

Western State Design, headquartered in Hayward, Calif., will sponsor four free Dexter Laundry service training seminars this fall – one in Seattle and three in California. These events will provide vended laundry owners and operators an opportunity to learn "expert...

Overbuilding Slows Multi-Family Housing Market

Over the last year, the multi-family housing market has been lukewarm, to say the least. In fact, ITR Economics - which produces quarterly economic reports for Coin Laundry Association members - recently noted that the single-family market currently outnumbers the...

Florida Laundry Owner Donates Swimming Lessons to Local Youth

Florida multi-store owner Tom Rhodes has always given back to his community through a variety of programs, such as washing blankets for a local faith-based outreach center or donating a percentage of his laundries' profits to charitable organizations.However, Rhodes...