How to Start a Laundromat Business: Part 3
Our How to Start a Laundromat Series is an introductory primer for entrepreneurs interested in opening a laundromat. This time we’re looking at the most common services offered by laundromat businesses and which types of customers they cater to.
In a hurry? Jump to our quick tips section.
Cater Your Services To Your Customers
In the last post of this series, we focused on neighborhood demographics, so by now you should know a little about your prospective customers — does your area have a high population of college students, young professionals, working parents, etc. Next, it’s time to think about the types of services your store will offer to attract the highest volume of customers.
The Basics: Self-Service Laundry
Self-service laundry is what most people think of when they think about a laundromat — customers pay (by coin, card, or smartphone) to clean their clothes in the store’s washers and dryers. This is likely to be the main service that your store provides, and if you plan to open an unattended store (see part one of this series), self-service laundry will likely be the only service you provide.
But to set yourself apart from the competition, you’re going to want to offer some more services than just a self-service laundromat.
Learn More: The Advantages of Opening A Laundromat Business
Extra Services Your Laundromat Can Provide
1. Wash & Fold
If customers are attracted to your store because of the time they can save, wouldn’t they save even more time if they could have your laundry business do their laundry for them? If your area has a lot of people who would value these time savings — and who wouldn’t? – you should consider offering a wash & fold service.
How Wash & Fold Service Can Be Profitable
Self-service customers come in mostly at night and on the weekends — so what about weekday afternoons? You can use these slower hours to launder your wash & fold customers’ items. This helps generate revenue for your laundromat business around the clock.
2. Commercial Laundry Service
Why stop at residential customers? Why not offer the same wash & fold service to local small businesses? Many restaurants, salons, gyms, and any business whose employees wear uniforms will appreciate this service.
To appeal to these businesses, you could choose to offer a lower rate to your commercial clients because they provide larger and more regular business than residential clients.
How A Commercial Laundry Service is Profitable
Commercial laundry services are profitable for the same reasons as wash & fold services — they give you more opportunity generate profit from your equipment. But commercial services have a couple of extra advantages.
Generally, with commercial laundry, you will be dealing with a large volume of one type of item — white towels, tablecloths, uniforms, etc. These items can be sorted, washed, and folded faster than a family’s laundry with lots of mixed items. Another advantage is the regularity that commercial services provided, allowing you to make smarter staffing choices.
3. Laundry Delivery Services
Service to your wash and fold and commercial clients, a delivery service offers the ultimate convenience to your customers. If you think that customers in your area wouldn’t mind paying a little extra for the convenience of a pickup and drop off service, this could really set you apart from the competition.
How A Delivery Service May Be Profitable
If your area has competing laundromat businesses, you can set yourself apart from the competition by offering this ultimate convenience.
More to Consider: Choosing the Right Mix of Equipment
So is it just as simple as equipping your store with washers and dryers? Well, yes and no. It is simple, but it’s also worth putting a little bit of thought into the mix of equipment that your store offers.
Commercial washers and dryers come in a wide range of sizes and the mix you choose may depend on the makeup of your area. Lots of college students in your area? — your store may require a higher proportion of smaller machines that cost less to use.
On the other hand, a constant trend in the laundromat business is the weekly family wash, leading to a customer using a large capacity machine to wash their family’s laundry in one go.
Customers – or your staff if you offer Wash and Fold – can get done in an hour that might take them all day with their home appliances. If there are lots of working parents in your area, a higher proportion of large capacity, high-spin washers may be a more profitable mix.
Want to know about the right mix of equipment for your area? Contact Laundrylux today.
Quick Tips for Entrepreneurs in a Hurry
- Wash & fold services allow you to offset fixed costs by using your equipment during off-peak hours.
- Commercial laundry services require less labor and provide regular reliable income for your store.
- Delivery services offer the ultimate in convenience to your customers and may even allow you to save on expensive rents.
- High capacity, high-speed equipment may be profitable for your store if there are a lot of working parents and other busy professionals in your area.
Maximize Profit With Laundrylux Commerical Laundry Services
- Financing
- Marketing
- Real Estate
- Equipment Rental
- Laundry Management
- Replacement Parts
- Repair and Maintenance
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Are you ready to start your laundromat business? Laundrylux has been helping people open and operate laundromats for over 60 years. We can help you achieve your business goals. Contact Laundrylux today!