SUN CITY WEST, Ariz. — Making upgrades to your laundromat can be simultaneously exciting and scary.
Not as scary as buying or building a new mat, mind you, because you’re simply upgrading your existing business, but there’s still an element of risk. Naturally, you want everything to go smoothly from start to finish.
Some of my mat friends are extremely skilled. They know how to do upgrades themselves very well, and often have their own construction crews. This column is for mat owners who are semi-handy but may lack the special tools, manpower, experience and expertise to do the job right.
You must upgrade your store from time to time or it will eventually go downhill and you’ll lose it. It’s that simple.
So, resign yourself to the fact that you must reinvest money and labor to keep your mat at or near the top of your market. How much money? That’s up to you, but it should be enough to make a difference!
Small improvements are always good but if you can dazzle them, your business is sure to grow. It’s true that in most cases, you’ll get your money back and then some. Plus, you’ll make your mat more attractive to buyers when it comes time to sell.
WITH VALUE IN MIND
Maybe your equipment is getting old, or your utility costs are getting higher.
Maybe your customers are complaining more about your equipment or the appearance of your store.
Or maybe you just want to impress your customers and attract more.
Whatever the reasons, after an upgrade, people just start coming out of the woodwork to try your mat.
If you program your new equipment to give them a great experience, they’ll be back … unless you go too cheap with water levels, water temperatures, or dryer temperatures.
Give them a good value and charge for it in your vend prices. Immediately after upgrading is the best time to raise your prices, but don’t gouge. People will be expecting to pay a little more, but they can only afford so much, even if they love your store!
Remember, you want them to love everything that you’ve done. You can always make more increases if your traffic starts getting out of control, and that, my friend, is a wonderful feeling!
PLAN CAREFULLY
Now that you want to implement your dream, good planning and due diligence are in order.
Educate yourself on what’s out there that you can do. This means visiting as many mats as you can to determine what works and what doesn’t.
Visit your local distributors as well, to get pricing, availability, choices, and help with installations. Most distributors I know have experienced construction crews on tap.
And I highly recommend joining the Laundromat Professionals Network on Facebook. There, you’ll find a lot of industry veterans with a lot of beautiful mats that might present you ideas. Many will gladly answer your questions and offer advice.
Are you planning just a few machines, or something bigger? Small upgrades, such as simply installing a group of washers with only non-structural changes, are the easiest.
Many times, a good distributor will swap out your old equipment for new in just one day. Even just a partial upgrade can boost your numbers.
When planning an upgrade, this is the time to think about any other changes. Look at all the weak points of your mat. You may already know most of them but consider surveying customers (written, online or even face to face) to ask what changes they would like to see.
In a way, you are brainstorming with them to make “their” laundromat as nice as it can be. You can bet that as soon as they get home, they’ll be saying, “Guess what? Our laundromat is going to make some improvements and they asked me my opinion!” The news will spread like wildfire. That’s a winner for you.
There is nothing quite like doing a nice, well-thought-out upgrade. It’s such a great feeling when customers shower you with accolades and start packing your mat.
What’s more, your numbers start to rise. This double whammy feels so good, you’ll want to do it again.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST
If you’re looking to acquire equipment, it’s natural for equipment sales reps to play up their brand’s “good” features while playing down or not mentioning “bad” features. After all, they don’t want to lose a potential sale.
Nearly all sales reps will be happy to point out another brand’s weak points and how their brand is better. So, visit a couple of distributors, if you can, and ask lots of questions about how their brand is better than their competitor’s brand. Then, visit the other brands and see what they have to say.
Where will you get the money for your project?
You certainly don’t want to go cheap if you’re not well-financed. Cutting corners on upgrades will diminish your chances of success. You want to invest enough to make a difference in your customer’s eyes. One of the most common causes of business failure is not enough capital, and mats are very capital-intensive!
You can use your own money, if you have enough. You can borrow against your house, and you may get the best rates, but do you really want to risk that? You can borrow from a lender who specializes in financing laundromats.
A creative choice may be to have a private investor. To protect both parties, a contract should be drawn up by an attorney spelling out the parameters, such as loan amount; the amount and number of promissory notes; when the notes are due; and what happens if you miss a payment.
Check back Tuesday for Paul's conclusion
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Bruce Beggs at [email protected].
