How your laundry business can make extra money
Laundry and drying are your bread and butter as a laundromat owner, but that is no reason to ignore other sources of income. When customers are doing their laundry, they are a captive audience. According to The Chron, there are a number of goods and services you can offer customers while they wait that will not only make you extra money, but may also improve their enjoyment of your facilities as a whole.
Vending machines
Many people like to snack when they’re bored, and let’s face it – waiting for laundry is boring. Adding some vending machines that sell snacks and sodas is a great way to make additional money while providing hungry and thirsty customers with something to sate their appetites.
Detergent and fabric softener
You may be surprised that anyone would haul their dirty clothes to a laundromat without first ensuring that they have enough detergent and fabric softener to wash them, but it frequently happens. This is a great opportunity for savvy laundry business owners to capitalize on by selling these items for a modest markup.
ATM
Letting an ATM operator lease out a space in your laundromat to run a bank machine is also a good way to bring in extra money. Not only will you get a regular fee for subletting a small part of your space, but an ATM may provide customers who forgot to bring enough cash to stay and do all of their laundry. Consider placing a coin machine next to the ATM if your washers and dryers only take quarters.
Dry cleaning
You do not need to own a dry cleaning facility in order to offer dry cleaning. Instead, get in contact with a dry cleaning business and work together to find a mutually beneficial arrangement in which you bring your dry cleaning business to them. They will likely jump at the chance to do more business, and you can take a cut of the profits.
Wash and fold service
You have to pay employees to watch the store all day anyway, so it may be worthwhile to put them to work washing, drying and folding clothes for customers who don’t want to wait. This may make your laundry business more attractive to busy customers and you can charge a premium for the service.
Even with additional sources of income, oftentimes, a laundry business finds that it needs access to financing to deal with unexpected expenditures or expansion. Talk to an Eastern Funding representative today to learn more about your options.
