How To Start A Laundromat
Laundry One has over 200 years in the commercial laundry business, and one of the most common questions we get asked is simply “How do I start a laundromat?”
It’s one thing to have all the commercial laundry equipment on hand, but another entirely to put your property, equipment, and ideas all together into a viable business. We have consulted with many start-up laundromats to create detailed plans to start a commercial laundry business, but there are some basics to keep in mind.
So here are a few important things to keep in mind if you’re looking to start your own laundromat business.
Create Your Laundromat’s Business Plan
It may sound like the most obvious thing – creating a business plan is the first thing that needs to happen for any sort of business, not just a commercial laundry business. But there are a number of questions you should have answered before you get started.
Before you start gearing up, you should know:
- Where is your laundromat going to be?
- Who is your target market, and how big is it?
- How many competitors are in the area, and what are their prices?
- How big do you want your space to be/how many machines will you have?
- What is your budget for starting a laundromat?
That last question is a big one – how you start a laundromat will likely change drastically based on what kind of money you have available on startup.
File Your Paperwork to Start a Laundromat
This is somewhat general, but there’s a lot of ground to cover here. Once you have a business plan in place, you’ll want to form your business entity, register for taxes, open your business bank and credit accounts, and obtain business insurance.
The insurance will be especially important to cover your valuable commercial laundry equipment in the case of a loss. Remember that Laundry One offers commercial laundry equipment service and parts for any repair needs you may have.
Again, those are all things that follow with setting up most businesses, but one thing you may not expect is that you need a license. If your new laundromat is going to offer a dry cleaning service, as many do, most states require you to carry a dry cleaning license. There are also specific OSHA requirements to make sure you comply with in relation to the operation of laundry machines.
For more help with requirements and guidelines for opening a laundromat in your local area, check out the Small Business Administration’s website to see what may be required.
Find The Perfect Location to Start a Laundromat
As with most businesses, location is paramount to starting a laundromat and making it successful. Ideally, you want to be in a well-populated area with a large concentration of people who don’t have laundry machines in their homes.
So for example, a place with a large number of apartments, or around a college or university could be a prime location to start a laundromat.
Those obviously aren’t the only places you can think about starting a laundromat, but you want to have the same basic idea in mind for any location: are there enough people here with a demand for commercial laundry services?
Purchase Your Commercial Laundry Equipment
This is where we come in. Once you have a space figured out, you can start filling it with high-quality machines.
Obviously, the type of space you’ve acquired will determine the number, size, and type of machines you’ll be able to fill it with, and we can help determine a sensible layout for your new laundromat, and stay with you through sales and into service and maintenance.
Laundry One helps you maximize your return on investment with durable, high-efficiency coin-op machines to fit any space. We boast some of the longest-lasting machines in the commercial laundry business, so your initial investment goes further with us than with our competitors.If you’re ready to start a laundromat and make it a success, contact us today and start taking your first steps with the best team you could possibly have in your corner at Laundry One.