經營自助洗衣店不能像潛在的投資者可能認為的那樣“容易”

自助洗衣店業務已作為一項近乎ic的投資進行了銷售 - 機器從事工作，現金流動，所有者可以坐下來收取利潤，幾乎沒有參與。

Running a laundromat can’t be as “easy” as potential investors may believe it is.

經營自助洗衣店不能像潛在的投資者可能相信的那樣“容易”。

(Photo: © Mirrorimages/Depositphotos)

（照片：©MirrorImages/poadephotos）

The laundromat business has been marketed as a nearly passive investment—one where machines do the work, cash flows in, and owners can sit back and collect profits with minimal involvement.

自助洗衣店的業務已被作為一種幾乎被動的投資銷售 - 一種機器從事工作，現金流入的地方，所有者可以坐下來收集利潤，以最少的參與。

First-time investors can be drawn to the promise of being an “absentee owner,” envisioning a steady stream of income without the headaches of daily operations. However, reality often presents a different narrative.

可以將初次投資者吸引到成為“缺席所有者”的承諾，並設想穩定的收入流，而沒有日常運營的頭痛。但是，現實通常會呈現不同的敘述。

While laundromats are known for their potential profitability and relatively low-maintenance operation, they are far from being “set it and forget it.” There are machine breakdowns, maintenance issues, theft, vandalism and customer complaints to handle. It’s crucial to not underestimate the hands-on effort required of even the most basic, unattended self-service laundry.

儘管自助洗衣服以其潛在的盈利能力和相對較低的維護運營而聞名，但它們遠非“設定並忘記它”。有機器故障，維護問題，盜竊，故意破壞和客戶投訴。至關重要的是，即使是最基本的，無人看管的自助洗衣服也需要的動手努力。

American Coin-Op asked a small group of current and former store owners about their experiences and if absentee ownership was part of their plan at the outset.

美國的貨幣 - 詢問了一小部分現任和前商店所有者的經驗，以及一開始就沒有缺席的所有權。

Q: In all the time you’ve been a laundry owner, which aspects of your business turned out to be more time-consuming or to require greater resources than you originally thought?

問：您一直是您是洗衣房的所有者，事實證明，您的業務的哪個方面比您最初想像的要耗時更耗時或需要更多的資源？

“Nothing is really time-consuming if you find you love the laundromat business. It’s certainly not for everyone,” says Californian Larry Larsen, whose 50 years of experience includes owning and operating more than 50 laundromats. “Once the basics of laundromat operation are mastered, the additional time spent is usually in areas of personal choice. My preference was in conversations with customers, promotions, and keeping an eye out for areas that needed attention.

加利福尼亞州拉里·拉爾森（Larry Larsen）說：“如果您發現自己喜歡自助洗衣店的業務，那絕對不是每個人。” 50年的經驗包括擁有和經營50多個自助洗衣店。 ” “一旦掌握了自助洗滌劑操作的基礎知識，花費的額外時間通常就在個人選擇領域。我的偏愛是與客戶對話，促銷，並留意需要關注的領域。

“Once you’ve been operating for a while, it’s easy to overlook a few machines being out of order, a soap dish that hasn’t been properly cleaned, entry rugs that need to be washed, and those noisy bathroom fans. Familiarity can cause you to overlook the obvious. Keep in mind that although you have repeat customers, some customers are entering your facility for the first time and you need to make a great first impression.”

一旦您運行了一段時間，很容易忽略一些機器過時的機器，一種尚未正確清潔的肥皂菜，需要清洗的入口地毯，以及那些嘈雜的浴室粉絲。熟悉會使您忽略顯而易見的事物。請牢記，儘管如此，儘管您已經重複使用了一些客戶，但您需要第一次和第一次顧客來使您的設施成為一場偉大的第一名。 ”

“One item that cost a lot of time was equipment maintenance,” says James Radovic, who owns the Jupiter (Fla.) Laundry. “You have 100-plus pieces of equipment and something is always out of service. So you spend time figuring out the problem, then trying to fix what you can. Some issues are so difficult to fix, you need competent service techs to do the work.”

擁有木星（佛羅里達州）洗衣店的詹姆斯·拉迪維奇（James Radovic）說：“花費很多時間的一件是設備維護。” “您擁有100多件設備，並且總是無法使用。因此，您花時間弄清楚問題，然後嘗試解決您的能力。有些問題很難解決，您需要有能力的服務技術來完成這項工作。”

“My laundry manager went from doing everything at seven laundries to stocking vending machines, and keeping the locations attended,” says Joe Jepsen, who owns several O-Town Coin Laundries in and around Ogden and Salt Lake City, Utah. “Finding, keeping, and continually training laundry attendants is, by far, the biggest job.”

喬·傑普森（Joe Jepsen）說：“我的洗衣經理從做七個洗衣店的所有事情變成了庫存的自動售貨機，並保留了參加地點。” “迄今為止，發現，保留和不斷培訓洗衣服是最大的工作。”

Q: What adjustments did you make once you realized the business was different than what you expected?

問：一旦您意識到業務與您預期的不同，您進行了什麼調整？

“Eventually, we realized it was a mistake to not be attended stores. So, we attended them 8 to 12 hours a day,” Jepsen says.

傑普森說：“最終，我們意識到不參加商店是一個錯誤。因此，我們每天8至12個小時參加。”

“The first surprise I overcame is that repair folks were making much more on the parts they used in repairing machines if they came off their truck,” says Larsen. “Much better to shop for the half-dozen parts that are frequently replaced on your models and buy them online at the lowest possible prices. Have these in your stock so you’re not paying a premium.

“我克服的第一個驚喜是維修人員在卡車上使用的機器中使用的零件正在做更多的事情，”拉爾森說。 “更好地購買經常在模型上替換的六個零件並以最低的價格在線購買。

“Also, I realized the difference between your store being ‘super clean’ and ‘relatively clean’ depended on the marketplace of your customer base. You can chase away customers by your staff being too aggressive in their cleaning in certain neighborhoods. This was a surprise to me.

“此外，我意識到您的商店“超級清潔”和“相對乾淨”之間的區別取決於客戶群的市場。您可以通過員工在某些社區的清潔工作中過於侵略性來追逐客戶。這對我來說是一個驚喜。

“Finally, I marketed to the children of my customers by always having a basket of Tootsie Rolls and Tootsie Roll Pops available for them (and their moms).”

“最後，我總是為他們（及其媽媽）提供一籃子的Tootsie捲和Tootsie Rolls Pop，向客戶的孩子們銷售。”

Q: If you could give one piece of advice to a new laundromat investor who assumes the business is “easy” and “low-maintenance,” what would it be?

問：如果您可以向認為業務“容易”和“低維護”的新自助洗衣店投資者提供一條建議，那會是什麼？

“Laundromats are a wonderful business, but they are no different than tying an anchor to your leg,” Jepsen warns. “They are incredibly high-maintenance and highly involved. I have upper management who are quite capable, which allows me to not be as involved. But it took a while and a lot of stores to make that happen … and it’s still an anchor.”

傑普森警告說：“自洗衣服是一項很棒的生意，但它們與將錨定在腿上並沒有什麼不同。” “他們的維護高度高，高度參與。我擁有非常有能力的高層管理人員，這使我不參與其中。但是花了一段時間，而且很多商店才能實現這一目標……這仍然是一個錨點。”

“If you expect to have an easy job as owner, get the best people you can afford and make sure they have the training needed to operate your business the way you want,” Radovic says.

Radovic說：“如果您期望作為所有者有一份輕鬆的工作，請獲得您能負擔得起的最好的人，並確保他們接受按照自己想要的方式經營業務所需的培訓。”

“Always pay attention to the fact you are operating a business. If you are handling and making a lot of money running a successful laundromat, you need to be careful,” adds Larsen. “The mistake abut 10% of new owners make is not following the simple

Larsen補充說：“始終要注意您正在經營業務的事實。如果您正在處理並賺很多錢經營成功的自助洗衣店，則需要小心。” “符合10％的新所有者犯的錯誤並不遵循簡單