Monday, April 20, 2009

Building a Laundromat Business instead of Buying one

You may have already been looking to buy an existing Laundromat, but you may also want to consider building one from the ground up. This is a great business to build, a laundromat is a good opportunity for anyone who wants to earn a great living. As with any new business, especially building one from scratch, you will want to know the aspect of that business up front. Building a laundromat is no different from any other new business, you will need to have a knowledge of the commercial construction process, or have someone you can use who is. Let me start by telling you that your initial costs for building a new building and business will be a lot higher up front, so your budget will need to be larger accordingly. some of the benefits of building a new building and business is that you can incorporate the most efficient services and building aspects, where you can't necessarily do that if you were to buy an existing laundromat business. The great thing about the laundromat service industry is that it can be very profitable is run correctly, so setting up an optimal business from the ground up may net you more profit in the long run that you could ever achieve with buying an existing one.

In your research you will want to evaluate the location of your new business more then anything. The right location will make or break you, so don't cut any corners here. As with finding an existing laundromat to buy, you will be making the same evaluations as to proximity to your home and your commute time, the location and neighborhood you wish to build, available commercial lots, parking, access by major roads and visibility.

You can partner with an existing laundry machine supplier who can help with the setup of a new business. By helping you and arranging lots of the little "hidden" items that may come up in this industry, they benefit by your using their equipment. You will need to have coin-operated and/or card reading technology washers and dryers. Most new machines today have both options. The card-reading machines allow the customers to fill up an electronic credit card to use in the machines. This ads to the convenience for your customers and saves them from carrying pocket fulls of coins. If you are looking to start the new business on a smaller budget, you can still go with the standard coin-operated equipment. They are usually cheaper and will have less features, but they will fit the bill in a pinch. It is my recommendation that you opt for the dual coin/card reader machines as well as machines that are medium to high end quality and durability. Having more efficient and longer lasting machines will save you in operating costs in the future. This is where the higher up front costs will apply too. Spend more money up front to save more in the future and increase your profit margin.

Once you have determined you machine and dealer you will use to help setup your business, you will still have to evaluate the final location for you business. Part of this evaluation will require you to investigate your customer base. You can use existing demographic services for any major city to find out what your customer base is. Use the industry experts to show you what demographic has the highest usage rate of laundromat services. You can use the pre-existing information available to you to help make your decision on the location. You can cater to nearly any market, but knowing the market ahead of time will make it easier to build for that market too. You should spend some serious time investigating your customers and the market you intend to setup in.

Once you have determined your market, location, equipment and amenities you plan to build into your laundromat business you need to start the process. Once you begin, the laundromat business will start to pay for itself in no time, and with proper management and maintenance you can make a great living for many years. Beginning the building process requires some expertise in the commercial building area, you should hire an experienced contractor or service that can do this for you. First time buyers or builders will usually fail without the proper knowledge or help. Use the manufacturers services and expertise in the industry to help you in the right direction. You can also find several equipment manufacturers that will actually arrange the commercial building process and setup for you. You just give them the money, they build and research everything for you and you just show up to pick up your keys when they are done to start running it.

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