Owning a small business of laundromats for a passive income sounds appealing at first, but then the complications kick in, and one thing leads to another, and you’re left wondering if this was even a good idea.
Like all other side hustles, owning and operating a laundromat requires attention and doing the dirty work, as well. You could earn big bucks if you put your heart and soul into it, but a little negligence can also lead to serious consequences. So, you must put in the hard work to reap the fruits of your labor.
Your main focus should be making profitable amounts of revenue to continue moving forward and, with that, handling other external factors as well.
So, if you’re lost on whether or not laundromats are good business, you’ve come to the right place.
Let me take you on a breakdown of laundromats and how much work it requires to keep them running.
Is Owning a Laundromat a Full-Time Job?
Laundromat owners claim the best thing about running laundromats is that they do not have to work 40 hours a week. It is in no case a full-time job; some people open this as a passive income stream on the side. Many laundromat owners take it as a part-time gig.
You do need to put in some of your time and effort for your laundromat to be a success, but let me tell you, in no case is it a full-time job.
Is Owning a Laundromat Easy?
Believe it or not, owning a laundromat is easier than most businesses and side hustle endeavors. This is partly because they require less attention, and as they are operated on cash, coins, or credit cards, customers pay upfront and do most of the work themselves.
Most of the laundromats run on a cash-based system, which means the owners don’t need technical accounting skills or an accountant overall. It’s a great way to make money easily and quickly.
There are tons of benefits that make laundromats easy and do not require extensive working hours.
Continue reading as I explain the factors that I feel make operating laundromats an easy side hustle.
#1 Work-Life Balance
One of the major benefits of owning a laundromat as a business option is a work-life balance.
As an owner, you have more control over your work hours and how much effort you want to put into running it.
As you progress in becoming a laundromat owner, you can strike a perfect balance between your private and professional life.
Many people consider owning laundromats as a side hustle rather than a full-time job, so it’s relatively easier to distinguish work from personal life.
Additionally, this means you’ll have ample time to catch up on your family, chores, and downtime.
» Read more about this in my post: Why Do Laundromats Businesses Fail?
#2 Ease of Management
Another related advantage is the ease of management. Several technological advancements, like laundromat management systems, help manage a laundromat remotely.
Laundromat management operating on cloud-based systems and cashless operations has further reduced owners’ efforts to keep a check on their business. They can now do all that from the comfort of their homes.
Now that technology has taken over, you can ensure maximum efficiency and almost zero follow-ups.
#3 Minimal Inventory
Unlike your conventional business operations, inventory is low to almost nothing when it comes to running a laundromat business.
While retail businesses require large stocks, ensuring nothing runs out, it’s most certainly not the case for laundromats.
Laundromats have very little physical inventory which means minimal ordering, rotating, or disposing of products. Not only does this make for easy management, but it also gives you the liberty to not deal with loading and unloading stock.
In addition, you do not need large storage spaces to stock your inventory which is just another cut in your expense list. In this way, you run a feather-light business which ensures good profit and less hassle.
#4 No Invoices
A major benefit you will have is almost non-existent tax invoices because customers pay upfront in cash. Moreover, if you buy machinery on such a large scale, you can take advantage of the depreciation factor to aid your business.
There will always be general utility expenses such as electricity, water, gas, and other necessities. These are the only expenses you’d have deducted from your business.
Other than these capital expenses — which could initially be a hurdle to your business — but once you’re able to overcome these, the ROI at the end of the tax month makes it all worth it.
There isn’t much tax levied on laundromat businesses, which means more profit for you!
#5 Minimal Employees
Next up is cutting down your employee costs. Tonnes of laundromats work with a few employees and don’t need tens of them at a single time to manage the space.
This goes in your favor as you do not need to make complicated schedules and management responsibilities. A cherry on top is you also get more profit since you do not have to pay a large number of employees.
Businesses are already going on minimal employees, but laundromats have been that way forever. Hence proving that they do not require much effort to keep them running.
#6 Cold Hard Cash
When operating a laundromat, you do not have checks and postpaid subscriptions to worry about.
You get paid for your service in cold hard cash, which means fewer legal processes and fewer obstacles to enjoying your profit.
This is known as running on a cash principal which means you’re not stuck waiting for batch payments to clear.
Additionally, you’re also not stuck between third-party institutions to verify the authenticity of a check or large transfer of money. Instead, you get solid cash which then goes into your official account, and that’s it.
» This could also be something for you: Best High Cash Flow Businesses
#7 Self Service
The general rule of laundromats is that you go in, pay for the service provided and simply do the laundry yourself. Or at least, that is how most laundromats work.
So in a typical laundromat setting, customers come and help themselves, drying and washing their clothes. This means you can abstain from training, onboarding, and overall labor costs.
This is a major perk you have compared to other businesses, and customers pay upfront, which can also cut down unnecessary accounting hours. You could hire an extra accountant, in general, to help you with money matters.
If it’s solid cash, you can just do it yourself — or at most, you won’t need accounting services every other day.
#8 Operating Hours
Lastly, one of the most helpful pros of owning a laundromat is its operating hours. This is both in terms of work-life flexibility and profit margins.
The thing is, laundromats either work 24/7 in some places or has designated timings of operation and doing your laundry.
With a set time, you do not have to commit more than a few hours a day to ensure it’s going smoothly.
This means you can have time for other things like hobbies or family.
On the other hand, having a laundromat open for longer hours doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be there all the time. It can turn into a smooth absentee business.
You can install automatic payment processes and keep one employee and still guarantee higher revenue.
Conclusion
So that’s the end of laundromats. I think it’s safe to say that this effective business plan is one for the books if you’re seriously considering starting a side hustle.
It doesn’t even have to be a side hustle; you could simply consider it as your main gig and plan it effectively enough to provide you with sufficient funds. Whichever you choose to go with, just know that laundromats have all the hype.
A great thing about laundromats is that they won’t be going out of business anytime soon since everyone wants clean clothes.
Moreover, because we all need clean clothes, this business isn’t affected by recessions either, further enhancing your profit margin.
