Four Laundromat Business Plan Lessons from a Vending Route Operator Turned First-time Buyer

Many of the guests we’ve had on the Laundry Nerd Podcast have already been running a laundromat for a few years, working through the wins and lessons learned that only show up after opening day. This episode is different. Susan Wang hasn’t signed a lease yet, and that’s exactly what makes her journey worth a closer look. 

 

Susan’s path to running her own laundromat started with vending machines, not washers. Prior to exploring laundromat ownership, Susan explored a few different paths including getting her real estate license and serving as a vending route operator in Orange County. She was restocking snack machines in office buildings when a move into a self-serve car wash location got her thinking differently about the business model. If one self-serve space could support vending, she reasoned, what else could it support? That question pointed her toward laundromat ownership, and eventually to a name for her first store: Sunshine Laundry Lounge. 

 

Building the Plan Around More Than One Revenue Stream 

 

Susan didn’t want to open with just self-serve washers and figure out the rest later. Her plan bundles self-serve, wash dry fold and eventually pickup and delivery, an approach she credits to seeing how much a single laundromat location could support once the machines were already running. 

 

“I want to build how I want to run my business first, then find the best support systems and services for it, not the other way around.” — Susan Wang, Founder, Sunshine Laundry Lounge 

 

Four Takeaways for First-time Laundromat Owners  

 

  • Design the revenue mix before you sign. Self-serve, wash dry fold and pickup and delivery work best when they’re planned together, not bolted on after opening. 
  • Weigh equipment financing and resale value, not just price. Susan started toward the most economical laundromat machines available, then reconsidered after researching installation, efficiency, and equipment financing options built for the long term. 
  • Lean on your distributor relationships early. A distributor’s advice on lease terms and financing brought her back to a location she’d almost passed on. 
  • Plan to be hands-on at the start. Susan is preparing to run Sunshine Laundry Lounge as employee one, and she’s shaping her floor plan and service mix around that.
     

Hear the Full Story 

This is just a preview of Susan’s journey, but you can catch the full conversation on Laundry Nerd Episode 60, “From Vending to Washers: Susan’s Journey to Sunshine Laundry Lounge,” here, or find the Laundry Nerd Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.