Laundromat

The shortcut: Buy an existing laundromat with old equipment in a good neighborhood. Don't build from scratch. Re-tooling a tired store with new high-cap card-system machines is the cleanest path to a 30-50% revenue lift.

Industry: Cleaning & Maintenance Investment level: High — $50,000-$200,000 Time to launch: 3-6 months Best for: People with $50K+ in savings (or SBA-qualifying credit) who want a real-estate-anchored, semi-passive business and don't mind fixing a Speed Queen at 9pm. You're a fit if you can read a P&L, tour 10-15 stores before buying, and would rather inherit revenue than build it from zero. What you'll likely make: ~$3-$5K/month after debt service in year 1, climbing to $5-$8K/month by year 2 if you re-tool the equipment and add wash-and-fold. Full math is in Section 3.

Market Opportunity

About 87% of laundromat customers live within a mile of the store. That single number runs the whole business — pick the right mile, and the rest is operations. Pick the wrong mile, and no equipment upgrade or marketing spend will save you.

17,461 laundromats in the US in 2026, $7.2B industry — IBISWorld. The CLA's older "30,000 laundromats" figure predates 2020.
Average store revenue ~$150K/yr, range $30K to $1M+ — Martin Ray Laundry Systems. Location and equipment age explain almost all of the variance.
Typical net margin 20-35% — Martin Ray. Better than most retail. The business runs on quarters and rent, not labor.
Coin-to-card conversion raises revenue 17-22% on average — Turns App. Cards remove the quarter ceiling — customers wash a 50-lb load instead of stuffing two 25-lb machines.

Target customer: Apartment renters and college students in buildings without in-unit washers, plus families in lower-income or working-class neighborhoods. About 60-70% of laundromat patrons are renters without in-unit laundry per The Laundry Boss. Skip neighborhoods where 80%+ of households own washers — your customers literally don't exist there.

Why this is a good time to start: A wave of 1990s and 2000s laundromat owners is hitting retirement, and most listed stores have 15-25-year-old equipment bleeding utility cost. Buy a tired store at a fair multiple, swap the old top-loaders for high-extract front-loaders with a card system, and you've bought yourself a 30-50% revenue lift on equipment that pays itself back in 3-5 years.

Launch With AI

Pro section. Laundromat is a buy-old-store-and-re-tool business — AI doesn't fix a Speed Queen at 9pm, install a card system, or stand in your parking lot at midnight verifying the LED lighting. But the time you waste hand-typing the 24-month-utility verification spreadsheet for Phase I due diligence, drafting the wash-and-fold cold-pitch to Airbnb cleaners, and writing the Google review hustle script is exactly the time you should spend touring the next listed shop. AI does the writing tail. You touch every machine.

The trap most first-year laundromat owners fall into: they paste the seller's revenue claim into ChatGPT and ship "we'll re-tool everything." AI confidently writes "buy 25 new Speed Queens" — but most stores need only 5-10 oldest replaced + sellers under-report revenue 30-40% to the IRS for years then claim "real" revenue is much higher when listed. AI is for the writing tail (utility-verification math, wash-and-fold pitch, review hustle, lease-review questions, attendant W-2 setup). Every machine inspection, every utility-bill backsolve, every parking-lot-lighting decision is yours.

Important up-front: AI cannot inspect a 30-amp panel, judge whether a 25-year-old boiler has 5 years left, or have the conversation with the seller about why their stated revenue doesn't match utility consumption. It will also confidently miss the wastewater discharge permit trap (LA / NYC / Chicago / Houston require industrial-customer permits at 50K+ gal/month), the SB-270 25-cent-per-bag fee in CA, and the W-2-vs-1099 trap on attendants. You own every inspection, every lease-review call, every utility backsolve; AI scales the writing around them.

AI Tools You'll Use

Tool	Price	What it does
ChatGPT (free or Plus)	$0-$20/mo	Utility verification, wash-and-fold pitch, review hustle, lease questions, attendant W-2 setup
Canva (free)	$0	Bilingual signage, "$5 credit for review" sign, apartment flyer, in-store wash-and-fold menu
CCI LaundryCard or ESD CyberWash	$5-$10K install	Card system + price-adjust software (15-min vend price changes vs. coin re-pin)
Google Business Profile + ChatGPT	free	Review replies, "what's open today" post, Spanish bilingual responses
MileIQ	$5.99/mo	Mileage logging — pickup runs to Airbnb cleaners + B2B accounts

The Workflow

Pre-acquisition utility-verification spreadsheet (ChatGPT, ~30 min one-time setup). Sellers under-report. Backsolve from utility bills. Paste:

"I'm evaluating laundromats for purchase. The single biggest valuation trap is the seller's stated revenue vs actual — sellers under-report to the IRS for years then claim 30-40% higher 'real' revenue when listing. Build me the per-target utility-verification spreadsheet I run on every shop I tour: (a) the 24-month water + gas + electric history I pull directly from the city (not from the seller), (b) the cycle-count backsolve — gallons used / 25 gal per wash cycle = total cycles per month, total cycles × $4 avg vend = stated revenue, (c) the variance check — if seller-claimed revenue exceeds backsolved revenue by more than 15%, walk or re-price at backsolved revenue, (d) the per-tour checklist — every machine inspected (age, brand, working/broken), every lease term verified (5+ yrs remaining, assignability), every wastewater discharge permit confirmed (LA / NYC / Chicago / Houston require), every Phase I-equivalent panel + ventilation inspection, (e) the offer math — pay 3.0-4.0x verified SDE (seller's discretionary earnings = backsolved net), NOT 4.0-5.0x claimed SDE, (f) the absolute don'ts: NEVER pay seller's stated revenue (verify with utility bills), NEVER take possession with less than 5 years of lease left, NEVER skip the wastewater discharge permit verification (LA + NYC + Chicago + Houston shut you down without it), NEVER skip the Phase I-equivalent inspection of panel + boiler + ventilation. Tone: confident buyer + utility-disciplined. Output paste-ready spreadsheet template + per-tour checklist + walkaway triggers."

One utility-backsolve = saves $50K-$200K of overpayment + a non-cancellable lease.
Wash-and-fold B2B cold-pitch to Airbnb cleaners + barbershops (ChatGPT + Canva, ~30 min one-time setup). B2B = your real margin engine. Paste:

"I'm a laundromat owner with 4-6 dedicated wash-and-fold machines, $1.50-$2.50/lb pricing + $15-$25 minimum, monthly invoicing via Square. Build me the B2B cold-pitch: (a) the targeting — 5-10 active Airbnb co-hosts in my mile (5 turnovers/week × 50 lb = 250 lb/week each), 5-10 barbershops (towels), 5-10 small massage practices (sheets), 3-5 dog groomers (towels), 3-5 boutique gyms (towels), (b) the in-person walk-in pitch (drop in 11am-2pm Tue/Wed): 'hi, I'm [name] from [my brand] laundromat. Pickup + wash-and-fold + delivery for your business — $1.75-$2/lb with $30 weekly minimum, monthly invoice Net-15 via Square. Free 10-lb test bag on your first pickup, no commitment. Want me to swing by Friday?,' (c) the leave-behind 1-pager (Canva: pricing tier + minimum + pickup window + monthly billing terms + 50%-off-first-pickup offer + my Calendly), (d) the per-Friday pickup SMS ('hi [first name], your weekly pickup is 9am tomorrow — bag at the back door + I'll text on arrival'), (e) the per-month invoice cover ('here's [month]'s invoice for [business name] — [N] lbs serviced × $X/lb = $X total. Pay via Zelle or Square link'), (f) the absolute don'ts: NEVER undercut $1.50/lb on commercial (you bleed margin), NEVER let B2B eat self-service capacity Saturday afternoon (designate machines + 9am-1pm window), NEVER skip the monthly-invoice-Net-15 (cash-on-pickup is admin nightmare). Tone: warm pro + small-business-fluent. Output paste-ready cold-pitch + 1-pager + monthly invoice."

One Airbnb co-host doing 5 turnovers/week × 50 lb × $1.85 = $400/week × 4.3 = $1,720/month from one account at 35-40% margin.
30-Google-review hustle in month 1 (ChatGPT + Canva, ~15 min one-time setup). Most laundromats have 0-15 reviews. Get to 50. Paste:

"I'm a laundromat owner taking over [former shop]. Build me the 30-review hustle for month 1: (a) the in-store sign at the change machine (Canva, 8.5x11 laminated): 'Leave a Google review + show us at the counter for $5 wash credit. Takes 30 seconds, helps us serve you better,' (b) the per-customer ask script for the attendant: 'hi, I'm [name], one of the new owners. If you've had a good experience here, would you leave us a quick Google review? $5 wash credit for showing me the review. Here's the QR,' (c) the per-review reply template I run weekly via Google Business Profile ('thanks [first name], glad the [comment] worked for you. Wash-and-fold pickup if you ever need it, free first 10 lbs. Counter Tuesday-Saturday'), (d) the monthly review-recovery email I send to anyone who left less than 5 stars ('hi [first name], saw your [N]-star review — sorry the [issue] happened. Free $20 wash credit on your next visit if you'll let me make it right'), (e) the bilingual sign in Spanish (or Vietnamese / Polish / Tagalog if my mile is 30%+) ('Deja una reseña de Google + muéstrala al mostrador para $5 de crédito'), (f) the absolute don'ts: NEVER buy fake reviews (Google bans + your business is dead), NEVER skip the per-review reply (kills your local-pack ranking), NEVER ask within first 30 seconds of a customer's first visit (premature). Tone: warm + bilingual + neighborhood. Output paste-ready in-store sign + ask script + weekly reply template."

30 reviews in month 1 = #1 in your mile within 60 days = 20-30% more walk-in traffic with $0 ad spend.
Lease-review attorney questions + assignability check (ChatGPT, ~15 min one-time setup). Lease = your $150K equipment investment hostage. Paste:

"I'm buying a laundromat. The lease-review questions I run with my attorney before signing the asset purchase: (a) lease term remaining — minimum 5 years remaining or seller extends before close (no exceptions), (b) assignability — landlord written consent to assignment from seller LLC to my LLC, no consent fee or capped at $1K, (c) renewal options — 5-yr renewal options at fair-market rent (not landlord's choice), (d) right of first refusal on building purchase (if offered, ALWAYS take it — gentrifying neighborhoods make this priceless), (e) personal guarantee — limit my personal exposure to 6 months rent + landlord agrees to release after 24 months on-time payments, (f) percentage-rent or kick-out clause — none allowed (kills my equipment investment economics), (g) wastewater + utility responsibility — landlord pays for any landlord-side plumbing or panel upgrades, tenant pays only for tenant-side equipment service, (h) signage rights — exterior signage permitted in writing, (i) the absolute don'ts: NEVER sign with less than 5 years remaining, NEVER personal-guarantee 100% of remaining lease term (cap to 6 months), NEVER skip the assignability written consent (kills resale of the business), NEVER skip the building-purchase ROFR if offered. Tone: confident buyer + lease-disciplined. Output paste-ready attorney question list + walkaway triggers."

Lease-review attorney = $1.5-3K. Bad lease = $50-200K of unsold equipment in 3 years.
Apartment flyer + bilingual signage + B2B Friday pickup automation (Canva + ChatGPT, ~20 min one-time setup). Apartment renters are your in-mile customer base. Paste:

"I'm a laundromat owner with 100+ apartment buildings in my mile that lack in-unit laundry. Build me the apartment-targeting + bilingual signage + Friday B2B pickup automation: (a) the apartment flyer drop (500 flyers, $80 from GotPrint) — 'Free pickup-and-delivery wash-and-fold $1.75/lb, $30 weekly minimum. New customer 50% off first pickup. SMS [number] or scan QR. Sirve a [neighborhood],' (b) the per-leasing-office leave-behind ('hi [office manager], I'm [name] from [my brand] laundromat. Drop a stack of these flyers at your front desk + we'll pick up + drop off your residents' wash-and-fold every Friday. They tip you $5 per signed customer'), (c) the bilingual in-store signs (Canva, English + Spanish + 1 more language matching my mile demo) — pricing menu, wash-and-fold instructions, review-credit sign, pickup schedule, (d) the per-Friday B2B pickup SMS automation via SPOT or text-tool ('hi [first name], your Friday pickup at [building] is 8-10am tomorrow. Bag at the lobby front desk + I'll text on arrival'), (e) the per-month leasing-office check-in ('hi [office manager], 30 days of pickup at [building] — [N] residents on the program, $X total revenue, your $5/customer commission is in your inbox'), (f) the absolute don'ts: NEVER skip the bilingual signage (kills 20-40% of in-mile customers), NEVER undercut $1.75/lb residential pickup (route economics), NEVER skip the per-month leasing-office commission (kills the partnership). Tone: warm + bilingual + neighborhood. Output paste-ready apartment flyer + bilingual signage + Friday SMS automation."

One apartment building partnership with 15-25 weekly customers = $1.5-3K/month route revenue.

Time Saved Per Week

Roughly 3-4 hours/week once your utility-verification + B2B pitch + review hustle are built:

Pre-acquisition utility verification: 1-time setup → reused per acquisition target
Wash-and-fold B2B cold-pitch: 1-time setup → reused per cold-walk
30-Google-review hustle: 1-time setup → reused per launch
Lease-review attorney questions: 1-time setup → reused per acquisition
Apartment flyer + B2B Friday automation: 1-time setup → reused per zip-code expansion

Trade that time for: standing in the store learning every regular's name, the next 2 B2B cold-walks per week, and the next quarterly machine-replacement cycle plan.

Total AI Stack Cost

Budget tier ($35/mo): MileIQ ($6) + ChatGPT free + Canva free + Google Business Profile.
Full tier ($55/mo): Add ChatGPT Plus ($20). Worth it the day B2B account #5 signs — invoice quality + monthly check-in tone jump materially with GPT-4.
Compare: A part-time office manager for B2B pickup coordination + review hustle + apartment-leasing-office check-ins runs $400-$700/month. Full AI stack is one-tenth that cost.

Cancel anything you don't open in a 7-day window. Skip Yelp + Angi paid leads — laundromats don't need lead-gen, the corner mile gives you that for free.

Your First Win

30 minutes from now your utility-verification spreadsheet is built + your first acquisition target's 24-month utility bills are pulled from the city + your B2B cold-pitch is laminated. Open ChatGPT (free tier works). Paste:

"I'm evaluating laundromats for purchase in [my city] with $50K-$200K cash + SBA 7(a)-qualifying credit. The single biggest year-1 leverage is verifying seller's stated revenue against actual utility consumption — sellers under-report 30-40% to the IRS for years then claim higher 'real' revenue when listed, so backsolved utility-based revenue is the only number I trust for valuation. Build me the 1-page laminated pre-acquisition utility-verification + walkaway-trigger checklist: (a) the 24-month water + gas + electric history I pull directly from the city (not from seller), (b) the cycle-count backsolve formula — total gallons used / 25 gal per avg wash cycle = total cycles per month, total cycles × $4 avg vend = stated revenue range, (c) the variance check — if seller-claimed revenue exceeds backsolved revenue by more than 15%, walk or re-price at backsolved revenue x 3.0-4.0 SDE, (d) the per-tour walkaway triggers — less than 5 years lease remaining + seller won't extend / no wastewater discharge permit on file (LA + NYC + Chicago + Houston require industrial-customer permits at 50K+ gal/month) / boiler or panel needs immediate $20K+ replacement / Phase I-equivalent finds historical chemical-cleaning operation on the site (hydrocarbon vs perc residual), (e) the offer math — pay 3.0-4.0x verified backsolved SDE (NOT 4.0-5.0x claimed SDE), 20-25% down, SBA 7(a) for the rest, (f) the absolute don'ts: NEVER pay seller's stated revenue without utility-backsolve verification (overpay $50K-$200K), NEVER take possession with less than 5 years of lease left + landlord written consent to assignment, NEVER skip the wastewater discharge permit verification (city shuts you down without it), NEVER 1099 the attendant (CA AB5 + DOL economic-realities — they're a W-2 employee, you owe workers' comp at $400-$1,000/yr — cheaper than the lawsuit), NEVER buy GL without business-interruption coverage (a fire shuts you down 6 months — coverage replaces lost revenue), NEVER fake-review-buy (Google bans + business is dead). Tone: confident buyer + utility-disciplined + lease-disciplined + W-2-disciplined. Output paste-ready as a 1-page laminated utility-verification + walkaway checklist + per-tour spreadsheet template."

Print + laminate it Sunday. Pull 24-month utility bills on first acquisition target Monday. Verified backsolved revenue x 3.0-4.0 SDE = the ONLY price you should pay.

Product / Service Offering

You sell three things, in this order. Self-service wash and dry is the core. Wash-and-fold is the highest-margin add. Vending and ATM pay your utility bill.

Core offerings (typical 2026 ranges):

Self-service wash: $3-$8 per load, depending on machine size (20lb to 80lb) per Laundromat Near Me 2026 price survey.
Self-service dry: $0.25 per 6-8 minutes, typically $2-$5 per cycle.
Wash-and-fold (drop-off): $1.50-$2.50 per pound, $15-$25 minimum per Sage Cleaners. Gross margin 30-50% after labor.
Vending — soap, dryer sheets, snacks, drinks: $0.50-$3 per unit, ~50-65% margin. ATM placement: $200-$600/mo from the ATM service company.
Pickup & delivery (year 2): $1.75-$3 per pound. Run through a route partner like SudShare, but only after the store is steady.

Pricing model: Per-load for self-service, per-pound for wash-and-fold. Card-system stores adjust vend prices in software in 15 minutes. Coin stores have to physically re-pin every machine, which is why coin stores almost never raise prices. Use the card system to test a 25-cent bump every 6 months on machines with the longest queues.

Revenue Model

A typical 2,500 sq ft laundromat with 25 washers and 30 dryers generates $15K-$25K/mo gross. Utilities (water, gas, electric) are the dominant operating cost — usually 25-35% of revenue. Rent is the second biggest line. After that, the business mostly runs itself.

Unit economics example (steady-state month, year 1, after re-tooling, as of 2026):

Line item	Amount
Self-service wash + dry (~$15K vend revenue)	$15,000
Wash-and-fold (200 lbs/wk × 4.3 wk × $2.00)	$1,720
Vending (soap, snacks, drinks)	$700
ATM commission	$350
Gross revenue	$17,770
Utilities (water + gas + electric, ~30% of revenue)	-$5,330
Rent (2,500 sq ft, $20-$28/sq ft NNN typical)	-$4,500
Attendant wages (40 hrs/wk × $15/hr)	-$2,580
Wash-and-fold supplies (detergent, bags)	-$200
Insurance + repairs reserve	-$400
Card system processing (~3% of card revenue)	-$300
Net before debt service	~$4,460
SBA loan payment ($120K @ 10%, 10 yr)	-$1,585
Net after debt	~$2,875

Path to your first $5K month (after debt): Two levers. First, raise wash-and-fold from 200 lbs/wk to 500 lbs/wk by partnering with one local Airbnb cleaner or barbershop. Second, raise the vend price 25 cents on your busiest 30-lb machines after month 6. Those two moves usually clear another $2-$3K/mo without touching the self-service base.

Path to your first $10K month: Buy a second store in a different mile, centralize wash-and-fold at one site. Most multi-store owners hit $10K+/mo across two stores by year 2-3. Don't add store two until store one runs without you for 4+ weeks.

Startup Costs

Two paths at this capital range. Buying an existing operation is the realistic path at $50-200K — building a new laundromat from raw space runs $200-$500K minimum because of plumbing, gas, ventilation, and the full equipment package. Numbers below are for the buy-and-re-tool path.

Item	Low	Mid	High
Down payment on existing store (20-25% of $200-$400K purchase price; SBA 7(a) typical)	$40,000	$75,000	$100,000
Re-tooling: replace 5-10 worst washers ($4-$8K each per 123 Laundry Solutions Speed Queen pricing)	$20,000	$40,000	$60,000
Card payment system (CCI LaundryCard, ESD CyberWash, or Greenwald, $550-$2,100/machine per Turns App)	$5,000	$10,000	$15,000
LLC filing (state-dependent, $35-$500 per LLC University)	$35	$200	$500
General liability + property + business interruption insurance year 1 (Insureon laundromat coverage)	$1,200	$1,800	$2,500
Attorney + accountant for purchase due diligence (lease review, utility records, books)	$2,000	$3,500	$5,000
Cosmetic refresh (paint, lighting, signage, security cameras)	$2,000	$5,000	$10,000
Working capital reserve (3 months utilities + rent)	$3,000	$6,000	$10,000
Total cash out of pocket	~$73,235	~$141,500	~$203,000

Note on financing: Laundromats are SBA 7(a) and SBA 504 favorites because the equipment is collateral. A $300K store with $80K/yr SDE typically appraises at 3.0-4.5x SDE per BizBuySell laundromat valuation benchmarks. With 20-25% down and SBA at current rates, monthly debt service is usually $1,400-$2,200 on a $200-$300K loan.

Legal & Formation

Business entity. Form an LLC before signing the purchase contract — never sign personally. The risks are real: water damage to the building, a slip-and-fall on a wet floor, a customer dryer fire. Sole proprietorship gives zero personal-asset protection. California's $800 annual franchise tax applies but is waived year one for LLCs formed 2024 or later per LLC University.

Licenses & permits. Three things before opening. First, a city or county business license, $50-$200/yr. Second, a wastewater discharge permit — laundromats use 50K+ gallons/month, and most cities (LA, NYC, Chicago, Houston) require an industrial-customer permit. Third, annual Weights and Measures inspection on vending equipment.

EIN. Apply free at IRS EIN Online. Apply free at IRS — never pay a third party.

Lighting verification — the rule most buyers miss. Most city codes require 1-2 foot-candles in parking areas for businesses open after dark. Insurance carriers cut premium 5-15% for documented LED lighting. Get a written light-meter reading from your broker before closing — a tired store with bad lighting often has open insurance claims you'll inherit.

Labor & employment. If you hire an attendant, they're a W-2 employee (you withhold tax and carry workers' comp), not a 1099 contractor (independent contractor — you don't withhold tax or carry workers' comp). The federal DOL economic-realities 6-factor test treats them as employees because you control their schedule and the work is the core of your business. California's AB5 ABC test makes 1099 essentially impossible. Workers' comp is mandatory at the first W-2 employee in CA, NY, IL, PA, OH, and MI. Florida only triggers it at 4 non-construction employees. Texas is voluntary. Run the attendant W-2 from day one. The premium is cheap. The lawsuit is not.

Sales tax. Self-service laundry is generally exempt from sales tax in most states because customers run the machines themselves — you're renting equipment, not providing a service. Wash-and-fold is taxed differently. Texas taxes it at 6.25% + local. Florida exempts residential wash-and-fold but taxes commercial accounts. New York taxes drop-off cleaning. Check your state at ISSA's state sales tax reference.

Marketing & First Customers

You don't actually need to "find" customers — they walk in because you're on their corner. The job is to keep the customers your store already has, then steal a few from the tired competitor four blocks away. Skip the tactics that work for service businesses (Nextdoor, Thumbtack, Google LSA). Do these instead.

Channels that work for this idea:

Google Business Profile + 30 review hustle in month 1 — most laundromats have 0-15 reviews. Get to 50 with a "leave a Google review, get $5 wash credit" sign at the change machine. You'll show up #1 in your mile within 60 days.
Bilingual signage — if your mile is 30%+ Spanish-speaking, a sign in Spanish near the front door doubles wash-and-fold sign-ups. Same goes for Vietnamese, Polish, Tagalog. Walk your mile, look at the other storefronts.
Apartment-building flyers — 100 buildings in your mile that lack in-unit laundry. Drop a glossy flyer at each leasing office with a $5-off-first-wash-and-fold tear-off. Costs $80 at GotPrint or Vistaprint.
B2B wash-and-fold accounts — 1 Airbnb cleaner doing 5 turnovers a week is 100-150 lbs of wash a week, $200-$300/wk in revenue at 35-40% margin. Pitch local Airbnb co-hosts, barbershops, gyms, dog groomers, small massage practices. These are your real money-makers on the wash-and-fold side.
Keep the parking lot perfect — the single biggest visible signal of "is this place safe and clean." Bright LED lighting, no graffiti, a working trash can. Customers drive past 3 stores to use the well-lit one.

Your first 30 customers (for wash-and-fold). Self-service customers come in on day one — they don't need to be marketed to. Wash-and-fold is what you have to actively sell. Print 50 flyers, walk into 25 nearby small businesses (Airbnb cleaners, barbershops, gyms, salons), and offer a free 10-lb test bag plus 50% off their first paid pickup. About 5-8 will convert into weekly accounts.

First 90 Days

Week 1-4 — Tour 10-15 listed stores in a 30-mile radius. Filter by demographic match (renter-heavy, 80%+ rental occupancy). Use BizBuySell laundromat listings and LoopNet plus local CLA chapter contacts. Ignore stores priced above 4.0x SDE.
Week 4 — Make an offer on the best store, contingent on (a) 24 months of utility bills, (b) coin-collection or card-system reports, (c) lease assignability with 5+ years remaining. Verify revenue against utility consumption — a working store uses 50K-100K gallons/mo.
Week 5-8 — Due diligence. Hire a laundromat-specific broker or attorney. Walk every machine. Get a HVAC inspection. Pull utility history directly from the city.
Week 8 — Sign and close. Apply for the EIN. Open a business bank account at Mercury, Bluevine, or a local credit union — never a personal account.
Week 9 — Take possession. Deep-clean. Replace every bulb with LED. Order "Under New Ownership" signage.
Week 9-10 — Order replacement washers. Speed Queen has the longest life (~25 years). Dexter and Continental Girbau are 20-30% cheaper. Lead time is 4-8 weeks. Order before close if possible.
Week 10 — Install the card system. CCI LaundryCard is most common at 40+-machine stores; ESD is the multi-housing standard. Get 2 quotes, pick the better local service tech.
Week 12 — Launch wash-and-fold. Hire one part-time attendant (15-25 hrs/wk). Pitch 3 Airbnb cleaners on a weekly account. Target: $1-$2K/mo wash-and-fold by end of month 3.
Week 12 — Claim the Google Business Profile. Run the "$5 credit for a Google review" promo. Aim for 25-30 fresh reviews in 30 days.
Month 4-6 — Bump vend prices on the highest-utilization machines by 25 cents. If volume drops more than 10%, roll back. Most don't.

Common Pitfalls

Buying on the seller's revenue claim instead of utility records. Sellers under-report to the IRS for years, then claim "real" revenue is 30-40% higher when they list. Fix: Verify revenue against 24 months of water and gas bills — a working laundromat uses about 1 gallon per cycle and you can back-solve cycles from utility data. Pay 3.0-4.0x verified SDE, not claimed SDE.

Skipping the lease review. A 2-year remaining lease in a gentrifying neighborhood means your $150K equipment investment is held hostage. Fix: Walk away from any store with less than 5 years of lease left, or have the seller extend before close. Get right of first refusal on building purchase if offered.

Replacing all equipment at once. New 30lb Speed Queens at $4-$8K each times 25 machines is $100-$200K, and most stores don't need every machine replaced. Fix: Replace the 5-10 oldest washers in year 1, the next batch in year 2. Customers care if a machine is out of order, not if it's 5 years old.

1099-ing your attendant. Calling an attendant a 1099 contractor when they sit at your store on your schedule for $15/hr is the most-litigated employment issue in retail. Fix: Run them W-2 from day one. The workers' comp premium is $400-$1,000/yr — cheaper than the lawsuit.

Ignoring the parking-lot lighting. Bad lighting is the #1 reason customers drive past your store at night. It's also the cheapest insurance discount you can buy. Fix: Replace every fixture with LED before spending a dollar on marketing.

Letting wash-and-fold eat your self-service capacity. Drop-off jobs use the machines your paying self-service customers want at 5pm Saturday. Fix: Designate 4-6 machines for wash-and-fold only. Run drop-off in the 9am-1pm window. Never on Saturday afternoon.

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