Coin Laundromat Security - It's part of marketing a good Laundry as well

Congrats, Ben! His 3rd FREE Laundromat in Arkansas!

Big Brother is YOU.

Store security is vital. Important not only to you, but also your customers. Your patrons are predominantly single woman with children. I don’t mean they are un-married, but when they come to your Laundromat they will be without the “protection” of their spouse. One of the easiest defense measures that you can take is the installation of security cameras. The clients will appreciate the security, and your benefits are many.
Let’s not forget the demographic for a Laundromat is an economically depressed one. Beverly Hills will probably not be the best region of California for store scouting. Compton, however will be chocked full of laundry customers!

"NOT Today", indeed...

I tour several Laundromats a month and notice that very few owners bother with cameras at all. Some have the obligatory sign reading “WARNING: HIDDEN SURVEILLANCE OF PREMISES” It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the only thing that they spent a dime on was the sign. Many stores show outward signs of a failing system in the form of mismatched or obviously broken cameras. You don’t have to be a career criminal to spot a broken down or phony camera set-up.

There is an initial expense involved with a surveillance system. A good system should run you just over a thousand dollars and certainly not more fifteen hundred. But, understand that this is part of doing business, and the camera system is just as important as good working washers and dryers!
What to look for
These features are tantamount for proper operation in a Laundromat setting:

• Internet capable (IP addressable)
Your shopping should always include a system viewable on the internet! This is precisely what it sounds like. Once operational, you can look in on your store from anywhere in the world, at any time you choose. All you need is your home PC, a laptop, or in some cases even your Blackberry or pda!

Now you can monitor store traffic flow, customer habits, and even employee work ethics. There’s nothing more satisfying than grabbing your morning cup of coffee on a Sunday morning, sitting down in your home office, and peeking in on your investments while still in your jammies.


The static IP address will run you about twenty bucks a month through your local phone company. And this is the best part, now you have added yet another customer perk to your full service Laundromat. Yep, you’ll be opening the router up for customer use and creating a FREE WI-FI “hot spot” for the happy customers. Throw a nifty sign on the glass and they will beat a path to your door. Why should the six dollar coffee retailers have all the fun?


• Eight (or more) cameras
Trust me on this, the more cameras the better. The price difference is nominal, and you will always find a spot for the extra camera(s). If your store is 1500 square feet, have one in the office, one on the front and back doors, and two angles on the change machines. At least one should have a view of the entire store. Use the rest to look down the washer rows. Don’t leave any blind spots.
The placement of several cameras will ensure anyone in your store will be seen (and captured on digital video) as soon as they enter.

Watch Danny in action

• A good flat screen monitor
Placement of the monitor is also key. You want it in the office, out of the customer space. But don’t hide it. You want to deter the knuckle heads, so make certain that they “Know” it’s there. I have seen stores where they actually have a massive monitor on the wall in the mat. This is no good because it gives that would be bad guy the ability to see where best to strike. He may spot an area where there is a shadow or a large washer that he can target off camera. Don’t give him the chance.
Think about a place with the tightest overall retail security in the United States. Your local bank. Have you ever seen their monitor? They learned a long time ago it’s better to keep the hoods guessing.


• Dome Cameras
The black dome type cameras are best for a few reasons. Firstly, they also keep ‘em guessing. With these cameras it’s difficult to tell where they are pointing, this creates a greater deterrent. They are also difficult to tamper with.

• Go with the “Pros”
Purchase your system from a video security company. They will have professional staff on hand to answer your questions, keep track of your system for upgrades, and save you money. They even help with installation of the product. Don’t buy from a retail electronics store that specializes in plasma TV’s! Again, the “look” of an off the shelf retail

system is cheesy, and doesn’t give that professional appearance that you are after. I use Super Circuits and have had good luck with them.


Your surveillance system is just another amenity that your customers will appreciate, and help them to choose your store over the competition.


Good luck, and don’t get complacent with your stores’ security. If the system goes down, replace or upgrade parts immediately. Treat this just as you would your Washers or Dryers. Although it doesn’t take quarters, your security system will earn you money in the long run!

I get a lot more in depth with store security, including surveillance systems on my DVD/Streaming Course “Cleaning Up in Laundromats” as well as my Seminars. I hope to “see you soon”


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How to BUY a Laundromat 

Purchasing a cash Laundromat 

#invest #cashbusiness #investmentjoy 

Laundromat Employee headaches - turn employees into owners instead!

FREE EMPLOYEES - and it's legal in 50 states!



In my discussions with Laundromat owners nationwide I have noticed a trend when it comes to employees. One of two things is happening, they either hire attendants to mind their stores, or work them themselves. True, there is a third option (the unattended store) but I won’t even discuss that as viable - because not having someone to clean the store and greet customers is a Laundromat death knell.

            Actually, there is a better way, MY WAY. I will share it with you in a minute, but first let’s examine the first two commonly followed methods.

            Hiring someone as an attendant finds you constantly churning through dozens of malcontents who will simply do as little as possible for a weekly paycheck. This route pigeon holes you as a full time HR specialist as well as a middle manager. I saw this system employed in my very first Laundromat as the previous owner paid “kids” to sit and watch television all day. He took it a step further by paying them cash “under the table” thus exposing him to countless illegalities. No thanks.

Click and see how this security guard made his dream happen!

            Door number two would have YOU working the store. Sorry, but by attending your own store you are creating a job for yourself, and J.O.B. stands for “Just Over Broke” - you are affectively spending all of your efforts for job security that comes with no security. I cannot say enough about the dangers of running your own store as a manager/proprietor. I can tell you this, when I scout a potential takeover and find that the “owner” is working at the location I know that I have a huge leg up. I know that this individual has no idea how to get the heck out of that store and earn more money while doing it. This is status quo thinking. We must think outside the box in order to not just scrape by every month, but to become an entrepreneurial success story. Your time in this industry must be spent constantly looking for additional Laundromats to add to your empire, negotiating new leases, increasing your net worth, not waiting on customers one at a time.

            The system that I use is both simple and brilliant, and when it works it works so well that it one of the top secrets to my success! 

              Pay your attendants NOTHING. Allow them to completely earn profits from the Drop off portion of the Laundromat. Make them a contract employee. The Laundromat owners who run their “fluff and fold” service for profit, never see any return on the investment. Trust me - I know from asking hundreds of owners one question, “Is your drop off service profitable?” The answer categorically is NO. The lucky ones tell me that it breaks even. They pay two or three shifts in some cases to run the store, open and close on time, sweep and mop, and trust them to be honest when it comes to CASH paying customers. Add FICA, year end Tax forms, the time you will spend managing, hiring and firing and you have quite a JOB for yourself.

            I spend 45 minutes in my stores twice a week. I do so by empowering the right people and making them partners, not employees. Rather than hoping to break even with my drop off service I simply give that business away. I hand the profits over to smart, hard working people who will never need to be watched like a hawk because they have an ownership mentality. They are proud when the store is clean. They are happy when the customers are smiling. I am beaming because my time is my own.

            Your store will be set up as a fully attended store. You provide all of the overhead that the contract employee(s) need to be successful, office space, telephone, voicemail, internet, even advertising. (For instance you will print out 1000 flyers at your expense, but make them 50/50 regarding the coin laundry’s amenities, and the Drop off service. – and the attendants will distribute them throughout the community.)

            Finding the right partners is easier than you may think, and guess what - you can feel free to pick and choose who you think is perfect for the position. You aren’t hiring a short order cook, and therefore aren’t restricted by local labor laws. I am not telling you to discriminate, but honestly an 18 year old just entering the work force will not have the mind set to do him (or you) any good in this position. A “Cragslist” ad is the perfect formula for successful recruiting, just be specific, and up front about the time commitment versus the future rewards. Semi-retired folks will beat a path to your door.

            I go into detail regarding the monumental success of this program in my DVD/Streaming Course – so order it already!

This Georgia couple achieved the success they needed (they have 3 store NOW).

Laundromat Marketing that costs (next to) nothing!

Marketing Malady

          I am constantly astounded by the sheer numbers of Laundromat owners and operators who have no form of advertising whatsoever! Imagine trying to run any successful business and not spending dime one on marketing. Well, it happens. Would you open a restaurant, hire a chef, wait staff, and a pretty girl as your hostess then simply sit back and hope that “word of mouth” makes you rich? I hope not. However, this is the attitude of a number of laundry owners. I see this occurrence first hand, and often enough that I would confidently say it is the rule rather than the exception.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, WATCH...

          So, why are laundry owners so complacent? The fact is that they far underestimate the cunning of the laundry Customer. Innumerable owners see the customer as a non thinking, mindless thing. A thing that will always be there, inserting quarters like some mindless robot. After all, “these people aren’t even smart enough to own a washer and dryer.” “These folks have made some wrong turn in life.” “They aren’t property owners. They haven’t the smarts it takes to have kept good credit. They are stuck coming to my store!” Wrong.

          The facts are far different. Although the customer profile may be that of a lower income individual, they will appreciate being treated more like a high end customer because of it, not in spite of it. When I installed Free Wi-Fi internet access in all of my stores my critics said “Oh, come on, they don’t have computers... they don’t even have washing machines.”  I’ll tell you what, I love touring my stores and seeing my customers happily surfing the web while I’m collecting their hard earned dollars!

          Those same customers might have found my store by surfing the web, and that leads us full circle back to the effectiveness of marketing. Let the other owners ignore marketing. That’s more consumers for YOUR store! An effective and ongoing marketing strategy is as important to your single Laundromat as it is to a national retail chain. Perhaps, even more so. How do you think franchises are able to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees from store owners taking delivery of a brand new establishment? Advertising, that’s how. Advertising leads to brand recognition, and that leads to customer loyalty.

COST

           You can spend a boatload of cash on your marketing, but I don’t recommend it. I’m certain that a big time prominent marketing firm would love to throw together a “plan of attack” for you, but that would be a bit overboard.

Rule of Three

          Simply use the rule of three. Always have three separate marketing plans in effect at all times! These three can be of your choosing. And, yes

Danny can call Landlords FOR YOU!

one of them can be “w.o.m.” word of mouth is probably the most valuable tool in your marketing kit. But don’t take it for granted. W.o.m. can turn on you if not cared for properly. A disgruntled customer can just as easily push away friends and neighbors as a happy one might send them your way. The point here is simple, even word of mouth takes some “tlc”. Don’t forget, all the best marketing plan on earth can do is bring the customer to your store, it’s then up to you to keep them coming back.

Internet

          Here again, a large investment isn’t necessary. In fact, some of the best online advertising tools are FREE. About a month ago I had my Mom over and a tidbit about Google’s yearly earnings was mentioned on the news. It was in the multi Billions.  “How do they even make money?” she queried.  “By giving people what they want.” I explained. And you can utilize search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Yellow Pages.com, and Kudzu without paying a red cent. The easiest method here is establishing a phone line. Remember those Laundromat owners who conduct no advertising that I wrote about? Well, those same sorrowful owners typically don’t even keep phone lines operating in their mats! A simple telephone line places you in the phone book, and in turn wracks up countless free web links to your store!  The next step is sitting in front of your computer for a few well spent hours and fine tuning those free searches. As the owner, they allow YOU to edit the content, list amenities, and often include a press photo at no charge. Just don’t cheese it up with phony “testimonials” That’s a dead giveaway. Again, give your customers a little credit!

Flyers

          Good ol’ fashion flyers! They DO work. I’ve spent a lot of time talking up the customer’s savvy, but I can say that a well placed flyer is still a wonderful advertising practice. Just don’t deviate from these rules!

·        ONLY on Apartment doors

   Every house built after 1950 has a washer dryer hookup. Homeowners DO frequent Laundromats, but you’ll walk nine or ten miles to drop 100 flyers on homes, and 1/8 mile within an apartment complex.

   Cars are another “No No”. Do you read what’s left on your windshield?

·        DIY

   You MUST place the flyers yourself. If you don’t you’ll never know if they were affective, because you’ll never truly know if they ended up in a dumpster somewhere!

Coupons

·        Print out an incentive

  A simple offer such as “Free Dry with Flyer!” or  “ $.75 cents per pound for first time drop off customers!” will show you the total effect of the Flyer campaign!

Good luck, and don’t get complacent with this marketing. The turnover rate in apartment complexes is high, and this provides you a never ending supply of potential happy customers for your all cash Laundromat!!!

How to BUY a Laundromat 

Purchasing a cash Laundromat 

#invest #cashbusiness #investmentjoy Marketing your Laundromat 

Why Laundromats ? Why Now ?

Why Laundromats, Why Now? How much cash can a laundromat make? 

EARNINGS will be there FROM the START, as long as you don't BUY or BUILD the store! 

In the last few months, the United States of America has seen the greatest economic upheaval since the Great Depression.  The very core principles that the majority of Americans have grown up on (save those citizens from the Greatest  Generation) have been turned on their head.

There haven’t been soup lines (yet).  There haven’t been runs on the banks (yet).  The government hasn’t had to completely centralize the economy to keep citizens employed (yet).    What we have learned, though, is there are few guarantees left in this life (other than the obvious twosome).  The US had  25 years of the most stunning economic growth any country has experienced on earth, but that era seems to be temporarily over.  By most accounts, growth of residential real estate will be 2-3% for the foreseeable future.  The average American can no longer purchase a home and then count on that equity to either sell or borrow against it in order to increase her family’s economic status.  The decade ending December 31^st 2009 saw dramatic swings in all of the broader equity averages but, at the end of the day, there was little real growth for someone who invested $10,000 in an S&P 500 Index Fund from January 1^st 2000 to the reading of this blog.  With rampant outsourcing in every industry sector of the economy, not just manufacturing anymore, you can no longer show up to work and punch the time clock for 30 years and expect to receive a pension (fewer companies even have them anymore) and Social Security (possibly the biggest gamble of them all, depending on your age) at 65 and live happily ever after with your wife and travel the country visiting the grandkids.   A combination of greed and stupidity perpetrated by a large number of very powerful Americans, on both sides of the ideological spectrum, have put us in the position where we are now.  Uncertainty abounds.

After that grim view of reality, if you are still reading this, let me now profile the person that made it through the first paragraph:  You are sharp and keep your ears open.  You were already intimately aware of the picture I painted above.  You are a self-starter.  You currently are, or have been, in sales.  You have thought of, if not started, a small business.  You want to take control of your financial destiny and you aren’t afraid to think out of the box.  You’ve read motivational books and blogs by any number of authors and you know that YOU are the 1 out of 1,000 that will actually do something with that inspiration.  You have looked into multi-level marketing schemes, but you just don’t trust them.  You want something that isn’t as ephemeral as selling soap to your neighbors.  You have scoured the internet and/or the business trades for a small business to buy, but you don’t know how or where to start.  You might have mentioned the idea of purchasing a Laundromat and heard the snickers from your peers or family members, but you see something that they will never see.  You see opportunity.  You see the potential for an all-cash business that is legal, self-sustaining, and very repeatable.  You just don’t know what the first step is. 

I have written this blog for you.



I won’t lie.  I am very successful now, but I have had my ups and downs just like everyone else.  One of my businesses was essentially made illegal by the stroke of a pen a few short years ago.  Did I panic?  Sure.  I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t.  At my core, I’m  an average American: wife, mortgage, 2.5 kids, dog, and a white picket fence (well, I live in Arizona, so that last part is a little bit of a stretch—it is more like a block wall).  When I was put in that situation, I, unlike many Americans, had assets to fall back on, and options to pursue.  I also had a vision.  My Laundromat business has made me a very nice living and it is growing by the month.  The sky is the limit.  Life is good.

So why would I take time out of my busy schedule to write a blog?  Why would I want to take time out of my routine to share the secrets of how I started in the business and became very successful?   Not because I want you to believe that owning Laundromats is a noble pursuit (although I think it is).  Not because I need an ego boost (if you’ve seen my DVDs, or met me at my seminars you know I’m taken care of in that department).  Not because I’m a nice guy. 

Watch me beat up a landlord (FOR YOU)

It is because I know I have many kindred spirits out there who have the same dream and vision that I have.  I know there are other good, decent, hard working Americans who believe in creating multiple streams of income for their family, want to deliver a needed service to members of their community, and want to be economically comfortable and, most importantly, as independent of the whims of Wall Street and Corporate America as possible.

 

And at the end of the day, if you are successful and you take over a struggling Laundromat and turn a profit, it will be better for my industry and raise the standard for us all.

By the time you are done reading this blog, especially if you take the time to read every page, you will be equipped to do all of that and more for as little out of pocket as possible.  In some instances, you might even be able to own your own Laundromat for free. I have done it, and if you are willing to work half as hard as I have you can too!

If that doesn’t get you excited, then you should click away from this blog, and this industry.  This might not be the journey for you.  And that is OK, but for the rest of you, tighten your seatbelts - LET’S GO!

CLICK TO LEARN MORE

How to BUY a Laundromat 

Purchasing a cash Laundromat 

#invest #cashbusiness #investmentjoy