PlanetLaundry Podcast
America’s #1 Resource for Vended Laundry News & Info
PlanetLaundry is the official publication of CLA and is trusted by thousands of laundry professionals to deliver the latest news and industry-specific topics.
When Competition Moves In…
How to Respond When a New Laundry Business Enters Your Market Bill Gates has carved into his desk a quote by Andy Grove, one of the founders of Intel. It states: “Success breeds complacency… complacency breeds failure.” This may sound strange or surprising, but there...
The Local Laundry Hub
For Many of Today’s Vended Laundry Owners, It’s No Longer a ‘Cash-at-All-Cost’ Business An exciting movement is taking hold within the vended laundry industry. More and more laundries are serving as community hubs, where giving back is as important as receiving....
Please Advise…
Successful Laundry Owners Share the Best – And Worst – Business Advice They’ve Ever Received “In life, you need many more things besides talent. Things like good advice and common sense.” – Hack Wilson, Major League Baseball Player from 1923-1934 “No enemy is worse...
Headlines
A Change of Heart
The Laundry Doctor Reconsiders His Perspective on the Profitability of the Wash-Dry-Fold Business For 20 years, I’ve warned laundromat owners against letting their wash-dry-fold operations interfere with and encroach upon the self-service end of their businesses....
PlanetLaundry Podcast Episode 21: An Interview with Neal Shapiro
In this episode, you will hear PlanetLaundry Editor Bob Nieman interview Chicago laundromat owner Neal Shapiro. In 2014, Neal – and his wife, Kate – purchased their first laundromat in Chicago. Since then, the Shapiros have become fully immersed in the laundromat...
HappyNest Now Available Throughout New Jersey
Laundry pickup-and-delivery service HappyNest is now available in southern Ocean County, N.J., through the company’s new partnership with Main St. Laundry Tuckerton. As a result, HappyNest serves nearly 200 cities and towns throughout New Jersey, including Morristown,...
CLA Surveys Store Owners on Worker Shortage
As laundromats begin to return to pre-COVID operations and start to increase business, the Coin Laundry Association has been hearing from a number of store owners who are experiencing issues with finding and retaining employees to operate at maximum capacity. As a...
‘Like a Fine Gumbo’
A Literacy Theme Runs Throughout Famed New Orleans Laundromat/Restaurant Combo Jane and Scott Wolfe, who own Wash World laundromat in New Orleans, are not novices when it comes to incorporating a literacy theme into their business ventures. In fact, the Wolfes also...
LaundryCares to Host Free Laundry, Literacy Day in Indianapolis
On Thursday, June 10, the LaundryCares Foundation will host a Free Laundry and Literacy Day, in collaboration with Too Small to Fail and Big Heart World. This event will be held from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Indyland II Laundromat in Indianapolis. Free Laundry and...
HappyNest Adds Customer Service Manager
Laundry pickup-and-delivery service HappyNest has named Alexandria Messom as manager, customer success. Messom previously served as team lead, customer onboarding at custom sports apparel provider, SquadLocker. “Our customers’ happiness is of utmost importance, as...
The Future of Wash-Dry-Fold
A Look at the Evolving Full-Service Laundry Business Model Long before COVID-19 turned many – at least for a while – into semi-reclusive shut-ins venturing out only as far as the front porch to retrieve their latest Amazon packages, numerous companies offering...
Wash with Wally: Installing Automatic Doors
I’m in the process of building a new laundromat from the ground up. The question I have is about the front and side doors to my facility. I’ve already decided that I will put in automatic doors. However, do you think I should install sliding or swinging doors? In your...
Creating a ‘Warm, Fuzzy Feeling’
Multi-Store Owner Explains How Commitment to Early Childhood Literacy Has Boosted Customer Loyalty A laundromat isn’t the easiest type of business in which to create that “warm, fuzzy feeling” for customers. Just ask Daryl Johnson who owns 10 (soon to be 11) Giant...
Payment Systems: Are You Confused Yet?
How to Decide Which Options Are Right for You and Your Business When I entered the industry in 2010, two types of payment systems were being widely used – quarters and prepaid loyalty cards. And quarters were the overwhelming favorite among store owners. In fact,...
Starchup, Drop Locker to Merge, Forming SUD Systems
Starchup and Laundry Locker, Inc. (dba Drop Locker) have entered into an agreement to merge the two companies into a new single entity – SUD Systems, LLC. Effective immediately, the two companies will begin to operate as a unified team, sharing the best from each...
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This Month's Issue
- ‘I’d Like to Speak to the Manager’: On the Front Lines with Some of the Laundry Industry’s Leading Store Managers
- Business Management: Generate Additional Income Through Greater Market Penetration
- Company Close-Up: Western State Design Has Been Helping Laundry Owners Thrive for More Than 50 Years
- New Member Spotlight: How Laundry Labs Plans to Change the Industry
- And More…
THE LATEST ON LAUNDROMATS
Industry News
Don’t Overlook Supply Chain Delays When Considering Section 179 Deductions
To be eligible for a 2022 Section 179 deduction, the eligible equipment must be purchased and put into service by midnight December 31, 2022. It’s not enough to merely buy the equipment. Given that, laundromat owners are reminded to keep the current supply chain...
State Tax Changes Taking Effect Mid-Year
Although the majority of 2022 state tax changes take effect at the start of the calendar year, some are implemented at the beginning of the fiscal year. Individual and corporate income tax changes usually take effect at the beginning of the calendar year to maintain...
Oregon Laundromat, Rotary Club Help Fund Local Laundry Program
The Rotary Club of Crook County in Oregon recently presented the Family Access Network with a grant of $2,000 to support laundry services at Express Eco Laundromat in Prineville, Ore. The laundromat partially matched the grant funding to help support the purchase of...
Mr Jeff Expands Franchise Further into South Florida
Mr Jeff, a home-delivery laundry service franchise, has announced the signing of two new franchise agreements in South Florida. Franchisees Sam Boulet and Christian Santo will open new Mr Jeff locations in Ft. Lauderdale and Broward County, respectively, later this...
Recruiting Strategies for Tight Labor Markets
In today’s scramble to recruit the best employees, a new or growing business may need to devise creative recruitment strategies to keep pace with the competition. This is especially important in today’s labor market, where the unemployment rate is the lowest it’s been...
FROM YOUR FAVORITE INDUSTRY EXPERTS
Columns
The Laundry Doctor
The ‘Inn’ Crowd
Originally posted - Nov 16, 2012 One of the most profitable and high-volume commercial accounts a self-service laundry owner can acquire is a small hotel. Typically, such accounts are 20- to 45-room hotels that may or may not have their own laundry facilities – and...
The Business Mind
Hiring Good People
Here Are the Keys to Conducting an Effective Job Interview If you own or manage an attended laundry business, it's no secret that at some point in time you're definitely going to have to advertise for and interview prospective attendants. This task just comes with the...
Wash With Wally
Wash with Wally: Mat Rental, Marker Stains and More…
I have landed a commercial account with the local sewer and water department, washing their leather gloves. But I am having trouble getting the gloves soft and pliable. I also could use some tips on how to remove all of the dirt, grime and grease on them. I would...
Viewpoint
Vital Signs
Neglect Your Store's Signage at Your Own Risk Because a laundromat is a self-service business, there is the tendency among some owners to have a "build-it-and-they-will-wash" attitude toward their stores. In other words, the focus is primarily on the equipment offered...
Digital Marketing
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Strategic Corporate Allies Program
Our Strategic Corporate Allies support CLA’s mission through advocacy, education, and innovation to strengthen the industry, advance our members’ businesses, and prepare the next generation of laundry professionals for the future.
Interested in becoming a Strategic Corporate Ally of CLA? Contact President & CEO, Brian Wallace via email at [email protected] or call (630) 491-0499.
