Four Stores, One Operator: Running a Remote Commercial Laundromat Business

Steven Nunez was more than a decade into a corporate career in Manhattan and itching to run something of his own. After six months of research, Steven built his first store. Then a second. Then a third. He acquired a fourth and layered wash-dry-fold, laundry pickup and delivery and dry cleaning on top of self-service.  

Today, The Laundry Room has three stores in Orlando and one in Miami, and through all of it, Steven never moved to Florida. In the latest episode of the Laundry Nerd podcast, host Randy Radtke sits down with Steven to talk about running a commercial laundromat business from afar.  

Why Distance Changed How Steven Runs the Business

Early on, Steven did what most new commercial laundromat operators do: checked reports every day, watched deposits and stayed on the phone. Not being able to walk into his own stores forced him toward a very different way of running them. 

He now says that distance and remote laundromat management are some of the reasons the business has grown so successfully. Find out more about how laundromat technology plays a big role in his day-to-day and why that's helped him grow his business as fast as it has. 

"I do think there are so many advantages to being further away from your business than being close to it." 

Steven Nunez, Operator, The Laundry Room 

Lessons From The Laundry Room

Steven still talks with prospective laundromat investors almost daily, and the same two questions keep coming up: How to run a laundromat business from a distance? And should I do it the way you do?  

His first store was the largest investment he had ever made, even bigger than his first home, so his answer carries some weight. It's also not the one you might expect from someone running four stores from another state. 

Listen Now

Listen to Laundry Nerd Episode 62, "Remote Control: Running 4 Laundromats From Another State," on Podbean, or find the Laundry Nerd podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.