Green is Good Business

Green Operations Increasingly Important to Feed Consumer Demand When Green Laundry Lounge co-owners Pulin and Krishna Dasai got into the vended laundry industry, they wanted to change a narrative: laundromats are water and energy-intensive businesses. “The...

Leveling the Playing Field

John Um wanted to make sure small business owners could get fair pricing and access to reliable suppliers without needing to have significant buying power. As a leader whose career spanned several major retail and e-commerce companies, he had seen firsthand how hard...

Staying Fierce: Haley Gould Finds Perfect Fit in Vended Laundry

Haley Gould is the Director of Partner Success for HappyNest. She manages an internal team while leading more than 100 partners across the United States building a successful pickup and delivery operation in addition to running their laundromat business. A consummate...

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...

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You Need to Get Your Hands Dirty

Jan 23, 2015

Originally posted - Feb 21, 2013 The first thing most people notice when walking into Pokomoke Laundry are the dryers - or, more specifically, the area around and above the dryers. Instead of the usual painted drywall littered with the typical laundromat signage, this...

‘From Wall Street to Main Street’

Jan 23, 2015

Originally posted - Aug 06, 2013 At first glance, Bronxville, N.Y., is perhaps one of the last places one would even consider opening a coin laundry. According to the most recent U.S. Census figures, the median household income in Bronxville is $144,940, and the...

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...

Headlines

‘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...

Not the Retiring Sort

Originally posted - Oct issue/2012 New Hampshire Couple Builds New Self-Service Laundry, Buys Existing Store Scott and Penny Williams first broke ground on Speedy Wash n' Go in Alton, N.H., last November. However, the couple's self-service laundry didn't open until...

Diversifying His Portfolio

Originally posted - April issue/2012 Entrepreneur Adds Two Self-Service Laundries to a Mix of Business Ventures Clearly, Kwah Wai Pang likes to stay busy. With a background that includes general management, administration, computing operations, programming, and system...

Jack of All Trades

Originally posted - July issue/2012 Illinois Entrepreneur Adds 24-Hour Laundromat to a Varied Business Mix For many, the career path to coin laundry ownership is a long and winding one, with several detours along the way - but perhaps none more so than the road Kevin...

What’s Next for Utilities?

Originally posted - Dec 09, 2014 The Energy Information Administration, which is part of the U.S. Department of Energy, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System responsible for collecting, analyzing and disseminating energy information to promote...

Designing Woman

Originally posted - Oct 24, 2014 Deborah Burnett is an award-winning, internationally recognized registered interior designer, lighting practitioner, keynote presenter and author. Over her 30-year professional career, Burnett – a principal and partner in the Benya...

Coin Laundries: ‘One of Those Businesses You Look for If You Own a Neighborhood Center’

Originally posted - Nov issue/2012 An Interview with International Council of Shopping Centers Vice President Michael Niemira Michael P. Niemira is the staff vice president, chief economist and director of research for the International Council of Shopping Centers. As...

It’s the Economy, Stupid!

Originally posted - Sept issue/2012 An Interview with Leading Economic Forecaster Alan Beaulieu One of the country's most informed economists, Alan Beaulieu is a principal at ITR Economics, where he serves as president. Since 1990, he has been consulting with...

This Month's Issue

Get Clear to Keep it Clean: Find Focus to Maximize Your Marketing Efforts
Women In Laundry: From the Washroom to the Boardroom
Store Profile: Southern Suds Changing the Game
Member Spotlight: Hutchinson Belt Drive Systems
And More…

THE LATEST ON LAUNDROMATS

Industry News

Continental Launches Hurricane Harvey Disaster Relief Program

Continental Girbau Inc. and its Houston distributor, Skyline Equipment Inc., have initiated disaster assistance for Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma business victims. This includes companies in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. The disaster...

CLA ‘Meet-Up’ Brings Industry Together in Atlanta, Follow-Up Event Announced

On August 30, after a several-year hiatus, the Coin Laundry Association hosted a "meet-up" in Atlanta for the Georgia vended laundry industry. Nearly 60 attendees gathered for a networking lunch, educational sessions and fellowship with their peers. The program was...

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...

PayRange Helps Raise Funds for Victims of Hurricane Harvey

With the devastating impact of Hurricane Harvey, PayRange - headquartered in Portland, Ore. - has launched a fundraising campaign within its app across all PayRange-enabled machines in the U.S. to benefit victims of the storm. Users will be able to add $1 to their...

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....