How much profit can you make from a laundromat

It possible to earn passive income from a laundromat business so long as you break even and appoint the right people to run your business. You will need a reliable cleaning and security company, and a trusty on-call mechanic.

Your business should also be as automated as possible with coin or card-operated machines. If you offer extra services that require someone to carry them out, you will need trusted employees to do the work.

The amount of money you can make from a laundromat varies significantly. You should expect to incur expenses that range between 65 and percent of your gross income source. However, you can hire employees to run it for you and make your business more passive.

Although the business may require frequent supervision, you can do remotely using a remote security system and cloud-based software. But if you hire the right employees, they can make crucial decisions on your behalf thereby making the business even more passive. A laundromat is scalable by location and customer base. If you find an ideal location where your clients can access your services easily, you can cash in on loyal customers.

Your loyal customers are the main promoters of your business and can help you grow your customer base fast. With proceeds from your laundromat, you can open another one and multiply your passive income sources. Starting a laundromat can be expensive. Other costs like equipment, supplies, utilities, and fees run into thousands of dollars. However, if run efficiently and in the right area, you can recoup these costs within several months or years of starting your business.

You will experience a few difficulties at the beginning of your venture. To minimize these challenges, you need to do prior research about the idea, identify a niche and the best business model, choose the ideal location for your business, hire the right employees, work closely with the right qualified professionals such as lawyers, contractors, and accountants.

However, you would experience similar difficulties with other brick and mortar business ideas as well. They can be overcome with the right counsel, so be sure to work with qualified and competent professionals in your area.

Your laundromat business might take a couple of months to a few years before it is popular and profitable. It may never make any money! However, if you establish a reliable customer base, you can continue to grow your sales steadily until you break even and start earning passive income.

To start and run a successful laundromat, you need a large financial investment so take note of this large financial risk. If it does not work out, you could lose all the money you invested. The risk is heightened by the fact that you have to hire someone or fully automate your business to make it passive. Be sure to hire qualified staff that relates to your business vision. Also, ensure you buy high-quality equipment and take a comprehensive insurance policy to prevent damage and unforeseen costs.

All businesses carry some risk. In case of any challenges or mishaps, make sure your insurance can take care of them during the course of business, including flooding, theft and so on.

There is always risk of substantial time and money loss in any business. One of the best aspects of a laundromat business is that it is not affected by seasons or poor economic performance. People will always need clean clothes regardless of the season. As the world population grows, the demand for clothes and laundry services will rise. This makes a laundromat a viable idea for a person looking to earn a passive income well into the future. A well run, popular, successful laundromat can be profitable and offer a great ROI.

How can I make my laundromat business more passive? A laundromat business can be made more passive by employing the right people to run it on your behalf. You can hire a cleaning company to clean the premises. You can hire a security company to keep an eye on the place. An on-call mechanic is essential for any breakdowns. You and your accountant can also keep an eye on your books remotely with cloud SAAS software. How can I increase my income with a laundromat? You can earn extra revenue from your laundromat by offering multi-services like vending machines that serve laundry-related necessities like detergent and softners, an ATM, selling coffee and other beverages within your premises.

Any idea that can fit in your business and earn you extra income can be offered alongside laundry services to boost your income. How much does it cost to start a laundromat? Purchasing a location, equipment, fees, employing people, maintenance costs and so on, vary per location. To build an average laundromat business sq. You will also need to consider ongoing monthly fees in the future. More Passive Income Ideas. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.

Consider the demographics of the area as well. A neighborhood of wealthy families is less likely to need a laundromat than an area with many apartments and young people.

Your profits will heavily depend on your expenses. For example, how much will you be paying for electricity and water? If you use energy-efficient machines, you might have a high initial cost but lower bills thereafter. Will you need to hire part-time workers to keep the store clean and handle other basic duties? Will you need to employ a security service? Will you stick with the basics, simply providing a space for customers to do their laundry with coin-operated machines, or will you offer additional services?

Does that sound pricey? Also, people at the beach have big towels and many sheets to wash. Does it make sense to locate near a pub or restaurant?

The other place has nothing near by. Hello, I love your blog. I find myself in a different situation but i think you may be able to advise me also. My brother is renovating a small 8 unit apartment complex and he is having me help him do some research on setting up a small Coin operated laundry mat for the tenants. Would you have any advice for this situation? Hello Laura… Its seems like I just started reading this and just cant stop… I am looking to purchasing a laundry mat that has been closed down for years in my hometown… Hopefully less than 5k for existing building and land..

The only competition is 40miles away.. But trying to factor the cost of machines, where to purchase machines from, coin machine.. Any ideas? Hi Laura, I wanted to thank you for sharing your story.

In one of the buildings is a laundromat. Never really thought about owning one but when I found out that it was for sale my brain turning. Would you mind giving me your thoughts? If you need more info please let me konw. Says one week of the month is profit and the other weeks are paying the overhead. Basically if he is truly making that kind of money then that would pay the mortgage for all three buildings. I would use the laundromat not to support my living but to pay off the buildings.

The builds are located in a up and coming part of downtown and should be worth some money in the near future. Do you know anything about these machines? If they have been taken care of well should I be able to get another 15 years out of them? So the only problem you run into with a low entry cost if your worst case scenario is realized and customer ramp up goes extremely slow on a new location the amount of money you could have to feed the store monthly to keep the bills current could break your household,.

Store 1 October right before the economy collapsed was a operating location and a cosmetic disaster needed retooling and remodeling, Re-tooled at beginning but took 2 years to remodel one item at a time, Slow revenue growth and no cash in my pocket to do cosmetic remodel all at once.

My first location cost me 16K out of pocket up front but then I fed it 44K the fist year. It broke even the 3rd year.

Closed for 2 years, Owner died, Got space and the infrastructure for the cost of the lease, also needed to be retooled and light remodel. My second location cost me 25K out of pocket going in but I had to feed it 74K the first year and 34K the second year, we are a little over 4 months into our 3rd year and we are predicting break even this year. I guess my confusion is how do I actually look at this.

Lets say year 3 is break even. Does that mean I am making There are so many ways to look at this. Then there is this way to look at it.

Not only did I spend K in the first two years but since I have gotten my K back in years and now I am making 60K off a Store that has a value of K. How is one suppose to calculate that. I turned K into a K asset and that K asset now has given me back my K it is debt free and makes me 60K a year in profit I can go invest in another store. This can be Oh so confusing, and this is why my GF hates to discuss money and my business, She cant wrap her head around this.

I am interested in buying a Laundromat, I live in a small town in Northern Ca. The nearest Laundromat is 30 minutes away and there is only one. Is it a good idea to have one if the 3 surrounding cities only total 20, people? It is a rural community. Its just a universal story about doing your due diligence….. When buying a small business, do your due diligence. When I read that you suggest checking bank deposits, it reminds me of how I began losing two million dollars…. Going from zero to a couple million took 20 years.

Real estate, Multi-family, the most sure way to wealth. My problem is that after doing larger deals, and flipping houses that I could buy by writing a check for it, I did not do my due diligence on the two hair cutting franchises I bought. The broker on one of them lied for the seller as well, employees were steeling cash, while others took customers phone numbers and opened up a business two block away.

Yes, I was completely stupid here. I let my guard down. We let the big house go, and moved into one of the rentals we still had The one multi-family property that I held onto is now worth more than , and I am just about to begin flipping houses again. Older, and smarter, I will go way beyond where I was before. I am lucky. The best part is always somewhere in the middle when your plan is starting to look like it will work.

I get to do that a second time in life!!! I usually end up comparing the numbers to rental property. That bulk sum at the end is zero compared to continuing wealth accumulation. And yet,….. I still daydream about a Laundromat ………. And, this can be doubled, since we now own two locations.

We had a very hard time finding a property where we could make the numbers work, and after finding a few, none of them ever went through. Larger, cash-ready investors always won the war.

They need something accessible that gets them in the game for less upfront cash. So for our goals, laundromats made sense for us. But I understand your affinity for real estate as it certainly has its own unique advantages, and I also understand your intrigue with laundromats, for what they bring.

Maybe you can invest in a laundromat, and consider it to be diversifying your portfolio? Wishing you the best, and keep in touch!

I have been thinking about a Laundromat. I think the hardest thing about it, is learning to spell the word laundrymat er…. LOL I have to ask you about your numbers. That seems crazy high to me. I remember talking to a laundry owner over 20 years ago. He said that if one is good at it, and during good times, you could double the number of stores every seven years.

That is about the same timeline for an active person in multi-family real estate. I need the cash flow now. Laundromats might work for me. One other thing……. That seems to be an issue with many owners. If you own a lot of stores, you have an employee that works for you. We found a solid location with a seller who wanted out, negotiated the price down to rock-bottom, and then increased business with basic improvements, amenities, advertising and creating an online presence.

I need to correct my earlier statement though. Just like the mortgages on your rental properties, our customers are paying off our purchase loan for us. And we do fix most of our own machines now.

It was a learning curve at first, while we gained valuable information from the repair technicians that came during the first few months. After looking at the numbers, and internet researching…. I did some calculations, and now I remember why in the last 25 years I stuck with real estate in the past. First, there are some structurally basic numbers, then numerous variables including the buyers ability, and market forces.

Right now is a goldilocks economy for apartments. Prices are at a premium, so investors look for appreciation. Most on the market today have virtually zero cash return. And there is no end of lease for you. Real estate in California has doubled prices on average every ten years since I thought it would never do that again after ….. Now, I see the only way that can happen again is through high inflation. That IS coming, but a different subject. From my amateur understanding right now…… If there ever was a very strong reason to buy a Laundromat over apartments, this is one of those times.

During an average market, the returns on apartments are great. When prices are down, buying right, can make some giant returns. For those that might not be aware, prices in many areas are higher than Someone buying now, might be entering a market top. When interest rates go up to normal, apartment values take a direct hit. Someone might buy now with zero cash return, and a market that stops rising, or declines. I looked through listings of Laundromats, and it looks like you made one heck of a great deal.

Thus, if we are near a market top for apartments, could continue higher Laundromats will outshine them as an investment by a margin as wide as the Grand Canyon. While I have over a million in equity, my credit is still recovering from disaster. I would have zero out of pocket.

The major drawback is the loan would be backed by my real estate. If I only have one location, and God forbid…fire…earthquake……. I am still liable for the full amount of that loan. Two Laundromats, one loan. Save the cash returns to pay off the interest only loan. Still a bit risky. In one month I will know much more.

This is phase one. Sorry if I am running long on your blog. You are smart, and an inspiration. Have to take the humor opportunities when they come. We even have a provision in our insurance contract that if the laundry is essentially destroyed, we can decide if we want to rebuild the laundry or to take the cash value and walk.

In other words, I sleep pretty well at night. But the reality is that so many folks including us struggle to get our foot in the door, so to speak. The number of investors looking to buy investment property is far higher than the number looking to buy a laundromat.

Laura, Looks like I made a major mistake on my rough calculations. I looked at Laundry listings that had the asking prices, and the net profit.

Thus the profit minus loan interest against the down payment. I guess each listing will have its own story. But still……it looks to easy for the money. Otherwise, someone on a mission could double there Laundromats every three years, using all the proceeds to buy more.

Damn……I should have started this when I first thought of it 25 years ago. I will update when I reach the next phase. If this is close to as good a thing as I see now, after the first one, then its Laundromats instead of flipping houses!!

You really have to run the numbers on a case-by-case basis. And whether the numbers include paying someone to clean, fix, etc, is another variable.

In reality, the numbers provided by a seller should always reflect the cost of cleaning as an expense, whether it is performed by the owner or by an outside service. Not accurate. When we bought our second store which I fully intend to write about soon! So we had to confirm that he was in fact cleaning it himself, and we let them know that the net income would be adjusted downward by what it cost to hire a cleaning service which we already know because our first store has a cleaning service.

They do like you describe; roll their current profits into purchasing the next store, and the cycle continues, much like the real estate world. But many do. I have read your blog and it is very insightful. Great work here. Thanks for your time and keep up the good work! Coin pickups? If you are away for a few weeks on vacation or simply out of town, what is the best way to make collections?

If a machine needs servicing who do you contact? Is it a national company? How do you go about counting coins for deposit into a bank account? Is this something your bank handles? If so, are there any fees associated? Collections were my biggest concern when we began the process of buying the store. Right now I collect twice a week. I usually vary the days and times.

I find it safest to collect during the day when customers are present. Nobody is going to mess with me with all those witnesses. Now, I always carry when collecting. Nothing bad happened. Just some sketchy looking charters came through and were watching me little too close. When we have gone on vacations, I have used someone trustworthy to collect for me. Of course, my change machines keep track of the cash coming in, but there is no way of tracking the coins on my older equipment. Find someone you can trust.

Just this week, I have started using dollar coins in our bigger store. I am converting the coin drops over myself. As I convert more machines I should be able to go longer between collections. For machine issues, I try to fix everything myself first. Ask other mat owners in the area. They will have a list of people they use. Equipment distributors also have free training classes covering maintenance issues.

Most offer classes twice a year. I weigh the coins I collect on a coin scale. That gives me an accurate count of what my machines are bringing in. I separate my collections by machine size. This way I can track machine usage turns per day. I use this information in deciding pricing and which size machines are due for a price increase. Buying a laundromat may be one of the best small-business investments a new business owner can make, for many reasons.

Laundromats tend to be profitable even in an economic downturn. During a recession, more people will turn to self-service laundry rather than outsourced laundry or dry cleaning. At the same time, people may not be willing to invest in purchasing or repairing home laundry machines when money is tight, relying instead on local laundromats.