Delegating for a Better Work-Life Balance (Part 1)

CHICAGO — Running a laundromat can be equal parts independence and intensity. Owners can enjoy the freedom of being their own boss but may find themselves tethered to their stores — working long shifts, answering after-hours calls, and worrying about everything from cash collections to clogged drains. Finding a true work-life balance often requires an intentional shift: learning to delegate.

Two veteran laundry operators — Sharon Brinks of Kansas’ The Laundry Station and Andy Merendino of New Jersey’s Suds Yer Duds — have discovered that effective delegation doesn’t just lighten the load. It safeguards their businesses, strengthens their staffs, and restores quality of life.

THE BALANCING ACT BEGINS

Brinks remembers the days when she and her husband were running on fumes. They opened their first new-build store in 2018 after cutting their teeth on a smaller, outdated “zombiemat.” Determined to succeed, they handled every hour themselves — she opened each morning, and he closed at night.

“We were in the black in six weeks,” she recalls. “But we had zero payroll. It was exhausting.”

She had always planned to build a team, but the reality of round-the-clock work made that mission urgent. Slowly, she began turning over weekend shifts, then entire days, then whole categories of responsibility. Today, she has two fully attended stores, one full-time manager, and a developing team lead.

“I haven’t worked a shift in I don’t know how long,” she says. “My goal was always to work on the business, not in it.”

Merendino’s journey followed a different path. His three laundromats are all self-service, but that hasn’t made them hands-off. Since buying his first store in 2006, he’s handled almost everything himself — from repairs to daily rounds to answering customer calls on his personal cell phone.

“It’s a good and flexible job,” he admits. “But going on vacation adds a lot of planning and extra expense paying others to fill in for me.”

Both owners came to realize that if they were ever to reclaim personal time, they had to start trusting others.

FINDING — AND TRAINING — THE RIGHT PEOPLE

“Finding good people is excruciating,” Brinks says with a laugh, but it’s the key.

Her approach is both deliberate and hands-on. She and her manager often hire from among their customer base — people who already understand the store’s cleanliness and service standards.

Once hired, new attendants go through a checklist-based onboarding system. The manager handles payroll setup and training, while Brinks stays involved in interviewing and long-term development. She’s guided by lessons from books such as “The Ideal Team Player” and “The E-Myth Revisited,” emphasizing that the right person must also be in the right seat.

“Some people might have the capacity but they don’t want the responsibility,” she says. “Maybe you delegate one little task to them and see how they do with it, something that if they screw it up royally, it really doesn't matter.” If they do it well, you give them more.

Merendino, too, has learned that reliability often outweighs technical skill. Over time, he added part-time attendants for evening cleaning and lockup duties. Each of his stores now has someone for a few hours nightly, while automation opens doors by timer each morning.

He also relies on family. “I have trained my nephew, who works elsewhere, to help us when we need time off,” he says. “He does collections, manages employees, handles minor repairs, and generally keeps things going in our absence.”

In addition, Merendino’s wife now handles banking, bill paying, and bookkeeping from a small home office — a move he calls “a big load off.”

TRUST BUT VERIFY

For many laundromat owners, money management is the hardest task to let go.

“The money stuff’s going to be the hardest thing for anybody to turn loose of,” Brinks admits. “You want to trust them — but, like Reagan said, ‘Trust but verify.’”

To protect both her employees and her business, she’s built layers of accountability, including point-of-sale shift-end reports, a daily reconciliation sheet, required personal codes for each POS transaction, and alarm and clock-in records that log who opens or closes the store each day.

These systems allow her to delegate with confidence. Cameras and reports give her real-time visibility, even when she’s out of town.

Merendino likewise understands the anxiety that comes with handing over collections. “Trusting someone to do collections is probably the hardest task to delegate for small operators like us,” he says.

Check back Thursday for Part 2: Systems over stress