Thursday, August 4, 2016

How To Setup A Self Service Laundry

The coin laundry, or laundromat, business is attractive to many entrepreneurs because it seems to run itself. Customers provide their own labor, and aside from washers and dryers, there are few other essentials needed to open up. However, several aspects of the coin laundry business should be considered before heading into this industry.

Competition

Most neighborhoods have at least two laundries within a short distance of each other. However, because laundromats are all run so differently, there is always room for another store to open up and be successful. For instance, if a neighborhood has two coin laundries that offer few extra services and have unclean facilities, it would be easy for a new store to come along and steal away some customers just by keeping their laundromat clean and putting in a TV and fully stocked vending machines.

Profits

The amount of profits one can make owning a coin laundry varies. According to Brian Wallace of the Coin Laundry Association, the gross annual income of laundromats ranges from $30,000 to $1 million. The actual profits of these stores heavily depends on their expenses. For example, you may gross $40,000 one year and only make $10,000 in profits due to not using energy-efficient machines, or you could make $30,000 in profits due to your yearly expenses being relatively low.

Offering Extras

To stand out from the competition, many coin laundries have started offering additional services to their customers. This includes wash and fold service, dry cleaning, vending machines with laundry detergent and fabric softener, televisions to watch while doing laundry, free coffee, nighttime security guards, children's play areas, free Wi-Fi and food cafes. What you should offer depends on who your competitors are. For example, if your two main competitors don't offer children's play areas or nighttime security, you could consider adding these services to your laundromat to attract their customers.

Staff

It is completely possible to run a laundromat by yourself. However, many coin laundry owners employ a few part-time workers to check in at their store and keep it clean since they have other duties to handle. Some laundromats that offer 24-hour service hire a security officer on an independent contractor basis, not only to keep their equipment safe but to give customers peace of mind as well. Laundromat owners that have little business experience often retain the services of a bookkeeper, accountant, marketing or public relations professional to help manage their business operations.

Daily Management

Unless you hired staff to clean your laundromat and check in on it, you will have to visit your store daily and perform basic janitorial duties. Expect for machines to regularly need fixing--because they'll be under heavy use, it is quite common to have at least one washer or dryer not functioning at any given time. If your coin laundry has vending machines inside that you do not operate, prepare to interact with vendors regularly not only to collect your portion of their profits, but to handle customer complaints about non-functioning machines and lost money. Other day-to-day responsibilities of laundromat owners include public relations management, marketing and bookkeeping.

www.laundrysetup.com

投币洗衣店 Laundrysetup.com

市面上的機器絕大多數是由歐洲或美國進口,Electrolux則是全球專業用, 最具規模的洗衣設備製造商,在歐洲、日本、台灣銷售數量都是年年第一,即使在美國也是佼佼者。主要是機器本體、配件及品質均較其他機器高出甚多,但價錢卻貴的不多。一般來說美國投幣洗衣機,所設計的承軸使用年限大多在25,000車次,而Electrolux的年限設計則為38,000車次。
 

機型的選擇
  • 店面附近300公尺內,八成以上是居家型住戶,選擇機型以10公斤以上為宜。
  • 店面附近300公尺內,有許多套房住宅,則至少需要2台10公斤以下的機器。
  • 洗衣機、烘乾機、需4組以上,才適合經營24H的店。
  • 某些廠牌機器,僅有單投幣系統,若改成儲值卡系統又需額外負擔,而且現有的儲值系統問題頗多。
  • 中小型機器,同一機型最好選擇2台或以上營運較適當。
  • 南部地區因氣候系因素,烘乾機的數量會比洗衣機少,北部地區則是烘乾機比洗衣機略多或一樣數量。
  • 本公司所提供的雙層烘乾機,沒有它牌機種的困擾,因為不用害怕其中一層故障,或下層洗衣上層烘衣的機型, 因為雙層機器,若有一層無法再修理時,則整台機器需同時報廢,本公司所提供的雙層烘乾機仍可單獨運作。
洗衣機 烘乾機訂貨須注意事項
  • 訂貨到交貨期, 約14天~2.5個月不等。
  • 機器顏色可選擇,訂貨後則無法更改,基本顏色不加價。
  • 訂貨需付訂金,以現金或即期票支付。
  • 洗衣店面需先租妥,規劃定案後含機器抵達至及施工到開幕約20天。
尋找店面時,工程數據上應注意事項
  • 4組機器13坪、6組機器20坪、8組機器25坪 (格局方正可減少5坪)。
  • 該店面是否有水壓低,或缺水的現象?
  • 排水系統(排水溝)是否有問題?
  • 總電量是否有15KW以上,線徑是否夠大?
  • 瓦斯是否有1 1/4"或1 1/2"以上的總管?瓦斯表及其流量可否達到8立方米/H (5組機器),或16立方米/H (8組機器)?
  • 是否有排氣口的位置?排氣總管至少要1200平方公分 (5台烘乾機),或1800平方公分以上(8台烘乾機)的排氣截面積。
  • 機座製造、水電、瓦斯、排氣配管、購料機、兌幣機及保全設定、瓦斯表申請及隔間裝潢,約15天。
  • 機器定位、試車、貼紙、及第7項之工作收尾,約一星期。
  • 以上2~6項若有問題,則工程費用會增加。

    From www.laundrysetup.com