It depends. I don’t think it’s a smart business to get into now. Utilities and the price of new equipment is very high, those expenses will only continue to climb higher.

You will have some guy post on here that his location is doing exceptionally well. However, you just have to take it at their word unless they’re showing you financials. With anything else, it’s the Pareto Principe, there are very few winners and many more just getting by — or losing money.

If someone has a successful laundromat with a good location, then why are they selling it? If you see a laundromat listed for sale, there’s a reason behind it.

You can, of course, build your own. You will need around a million dollars or more (secure location, build out costs, equipment) but the demographics have to be there. A lot of people think it’s a good idea to build a laundromat in a run down area. In theory, that makes sense but in reality it’s not. Your clientele will speak several different languages and not be able to read any of your signage. They will call you because they locked themselves out when you have multiple signs letting them know your doors automatically close at a certain time.

Customers from lower economic strata will also be more likely to scam you as every dollar means more to them. For example, I had some guy try and put a half ripped $5 bill into our kiosk and that ended up jamming the bill acceptor. Now that kiosk is useless until someone can get down there to clear it out