I want to do a solar powered laundromat in like Cary or RTP. labor is gonna be spouse-visa types working for "free", no illegals. cash handling, maintenance, security, dry-cleaning, insurance all will be outsourced. I wanna go for a bunch of green incentives and get access to some grant monies too. I am so for real this time guis. I can get us very good deal on dryers and stuff made right here in shanghai my mitsubishi and I can personally watch the units on the line. how many leed points do we lose right there, lol. panels too but I don't like any panels I've seen made here so those have to come from the states. when fuel prices fly up and ppl abandon their appliances, they'll come to good on Sunshine Laundromat. Watch some TV, enjoy some A/C, get the laundry done. I'm in for maybe 100K. Rotary club types preferred, this is a for real good for the soul business model.

7/11/2012 4:20:44 AM

Have you ever used a laundromat that's not right next to a college campus and seen the types of people that use them? The one that's in Cary is 99.8% illegal immigrants in there. Basically these people have physical jobs and get their clothes filthy, so they use the laundromat because they'd just keep on breaking washers if they had one at home.

7/11/2012 8:41:50 AM

^racist and wrong. Lower income folks use laundromats in NC because they can't afford to buy the units themselves and/or live in rentals that don't have laundry in unit.

In bigger cities tons of people use laundromats across the economic spectrum because the sq footage of apts is too small to have in unit facilities. The laundromats here in Seattle are pretty much like jcgolden is suggesting. And I spent plenty of time at several different ones when I lived in Raleigh and they were all well kept up.

7/11/2012 12:44:02 PM

Quote :

"Basically these people have physical jobs and get their clothes filthy, so they use the laundromat because they'd just keep on breaking washers if they had one at home."

7/11/2012 12:50:01 PM

londromat defeats smegma. people will become more transient even as energy costs go up. therefore landromat. i gonna do it for real. i make command center and play games 24/7 with mirrored glass but I can see down into the "pit" and nobody mess up my TV's and my machines. I will answer questions with god like vocaloid voice and even call in the "help" with a click of the mouse. I only have 177K total in the whole universe. not including rich-ass girlfriends and my mom and dad. that isn't enough to do a laundromat, well not quite. plus I heard you arent supposed to use your own money for a business so I want to use yours. haha, for real I am going to do this because I am giving up on grad school im too spoiled and lazy.

7/11/2012 1:16:04 PM

Well, that post settles it. I'm in.

7/11/2012 1:18:34 PM

Quote :

"^racist and wrong. Lower income folks use laundromats in NC because they can't afford to buy the units themselves and/or live in rentals that don't have laundry in unit. "

so illegal mexicans

7/11/2012 1:18:43 PM

Didn't John Elway do this back in the late 90s?

It failed miserably.

http://www.denverpost.com/allewis/ci_16330251

7/11/2012 1:20:45 PM

Quote :

"I spent plenty of time at several different ones when I lived in Raleigh and they were all well kept up."

Laundromats near college campuses are completely different that regular ones. Seriously, you people need to spend some time inside the one in Cary right next to the pawn shop. TV is permanently set to Spanish language channel and I was the only one in there speaking English.

7/11/2012 1:21:02 PM

yea i dont think noen has even lived outside of college towns

he hasnt seen what laundromats are in most sections of towns he has never even seen

7/11/2012 1:25:34 PM

I'm not saying that laundromats aren't generally low-income...because they are (with the exception of ones near campus and certain ones in big cities)...but they aren't low income because of this:

Quote :

"Basically these people have physical jobs and get their clothes filthy, so they use the laundromat because they'd just keep on breaking washers if they had one at home"

That's just stupid. Those people are there because they can't afford a washer and dryer or theirs are broken.

7/11/2012 1:33:13 PM

there are lots of spots all over NC where laundromats do very well. where they compete with eachother, it's always the one that is staffed that gets the business regardless of price. turns out, EVERYONE hates filth and robbery. imagine that!

7/11/2012 1:43:30 PM

Go-Green Green-Go's Laudromatadoria

[Edited on July 11, 2012 at 1:45 PM. Reason : f]

7/11/2012 1:44:58 PM

Looks like you've already got a couple of catchy slogans, so how could you fail?

Quote :

"come to good on Sunshine Laundromat"

Quote :

"londromat defeats smegma"

7/11/2012 2:35:36 PM

I had some friends look into buying a laundromat a couple of years ago (not in NC). They eventually decided against it since they said the insurance was pretty high compared to some other business they were looking at (don't know what kind of other businesses). They said lots of people make claims against laundromats since the floor is always getting wet from people's wet clothes and slip and fall a lot.

Technically it's all hearsay since I've never looked into it, but something to think about.

7/11/2012 3:19:41 PM

check your PMs

7/11/2012 3:25:25 PM

Quote :

"Basically these people have physical jobs and get their clothes filthy, so they use the laundromat because they'd just keep on breaking washers if they had one at home."

Because dirt breaks washing machines.

7/11/2012 3:56:13 PM

^^^plus shit always goes down at the laundromat or the bodega next to it

^daily washing of 10 peoples work clothing will break a washing machine

[Edited on July 11, 2012 at 4:23 PM. Reason : e]

7/11/2012 4:22:32 PM

^ BHS gets it. It is also common for these people to overload washers (and shorten their lifespan in the process) in an effort to save a couple bucks, since they know their clothes are just going to get messed up again as soon as they get to work.

7/11/2012 4:36:34 PM

Washing 10 peoples dirty clothes every day isn't going to break a washing machine. Overloading it will. But anybody can do that.

7/11/2012 6:33:18 PM

Quote :

"yea i dont think noen has even lived outside of college towns he hasnt seen what laundromats are in most sections of towns he has never even seen"

I haven't lived in a "college town" for years. I've also traveled around the US quite a bit and have done my laundry in probably close to 20 states now.

Yes, I have been in plenty of laundromats full of Latino's watching Univision. Who cares? I just bring a book or a laptop and entertain myself.

Quote :

"^ BHS gets it. It is also common for these people to overload washers (and shorten their lifespan in the process) in an effort to save a couple bucks, since they know their clothes are just going to get messed up again as soon as they get to work."

Sounds like a shittily run laundromat to me. Most places have an employee always there to keep people from doing stupid shit like this, to keep the floors clean and dry, and to help people out.

7/11/2012 8:11:15 PM

another quality thread from jcLOLden

7/11/2012 8:12:39 PM

I look forward to dyeing clothes at your laundromat.

7/11/2012 8:30:06 PM

Im in on the londromat

7/11/2012 9:10:10 PM

Nearby laundromat is a good place to get drugs

7/11/2012 9:56:33 PM

please contact me about the investment possibilities.

7/11/2012 11:27:20 PM

you gotta sell oils and incense out of the laundromat

and bootleg movies and homemade slushies in the summer

7/12/2012 12:11:06 AM

wait is this a joke?


either way, the solar required to run the dryers would be so expensive you'd never want to foot the bill to install them100k def wouldn't do it. It would be cheaper to spring for ultra-high efficient washers/dryers, put in low energy lighting, etc., go green that way

not to mention solar and Air conditioning........you don't have enough rooftop/parking lot space to accomodate all that. Why not go w/out AC and just put in a bunch of fans?


Might be able to look into solar thermal for the water heating. I'm taking a class on that next month, will get back to you

[Edited on July 12, 2012 at 8:03 AM. Reason : just a thought....]

7/12/2012 8:02:02 AM

^^don't forget those bath salts

7/12/2012 12:36:53 PM

I was also not sure about the seriousness of the OP.

Anyway, I've used a number of coin laundry places in the Triangle over the last 5 years, and through this time it has been my only way of doing laundry. Hopefully we can get beyond the misconceptions. The majority of the users of the majority of coin laundry places are Latino. Latino families are particularly common. Exceptions are places like Cameron Village. You could take a tour of the operating places in the area - it will take 10 seconds after walking in to get a feel of who it caters to. "Normal" people still go to all these places. Customers get scared away when panhandlers start walking into the place asking for change like the place on Western that shut down. Most of the coin laundry places also have a dry-cleaning service, which I would assume has higher margins.

Also, there are efficiencies from coin laundry places most people don't think about. Giant load machines involve WAY less labor than single-load machines in a home. The problem is you have to drive to use them and it costs nearly $20 when all costs are included. Laundry in general uses a huge amount of water and electricity. I tend to think that machines at a coin laundry are already way more efficient, mainly because the business pays the water and electricity bill. Don't forget, water is expensive too.

message_topic.aspx?topic=628807

Quote :

"either way, the solar required to run the dryers would be so expensive you'd never want to foot the bill to install them100k def wouldn't do it. It would be cheaper to spring for ultra-high efficient washers/dryers, put in low energy lighting, etc., go green that way"

Yeah, that's true. It's not going to make anyone want to go to your place though. Gas prices go up faster than electricity prices, so if the OP's scenario actually played out we would see fewer people going to coin laundry places. No one takes their laundry on the public bus. I have yet to see someone that gheto.

PV panels have been, and will continue to be, stupid economically. At least you should adjust them for the season, which most users don't do because they only bought them to feel good in the first place. You'd save more money collecting rainwater. But you couldn't filter it (or get approved if you did) and most local laws prohibit it in the first place.

If you wanted to start a business, offer to pick people's laundry up and do it for them. That's something that can actually make money.

7/12/2012 1:43:46 PM

Quote :

"PV panels have been, and will continue to be, stupid economically. At least you should adjust them for the season, which most users don't do because they only bought them to feel good in the first place"

with the state and fed tax credits its gotten much better, and ur now seeing ROIs of about 15% when you count the tax credits, energy sales, and RECs

ya nobody is going to adjust their panels for the season, maybe in the first year or two but then you get lazy. You can add a tracker if you don't have shading issues, though.

7/13/2012 5:41:07 PM

back to the OP though, if you are looking for a business partner on a laundromat, i'm definitely interested. Just not with solar. We can save the planet for a ton less money doing other green things

7/13/2012 5:42:30 PM

Check if centennial will have a laundromat, they are building a green campus and student apartments may want a nearby laundromat

7/13/2012 5:55:28 PM

so on TWW this thread gets treated as serious, and a thread about someones dead grandma is likely 15 cock pics.

makes sense.

7/13/2012 8:50:12 PM

^hahah

Also, if this happens and the place isnt called Green-Go's LaundroMatador I'm going to burn the place down. That's just too good.

7/13/2012 9:30:41 PM

I realize this thread is about laundromats....which I do not dispute. Hear me out, maybe I can offer some insight.

I am in outside sales, which is currently salary+commission, but will move into straight commission starting at the beginning of July 2010. I have been in this position since July 2009. I have competition from several direct manufacturing sales reps, large distributors, and local distributors. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of each:

Direct Advantages: Immediate knowledge of new technology, no middle man mark up, one shipping bill (paid by manufacturer or buyer of goods), access to larger range of non-commodity items, control inventory, have access to many distributors that can effectively sell their goods which increases market share, and set prices of commodity they manufacture.

Direct disadvantages: Typically have 1-3 sales reps per region (i.e. southeast, mid-atlantic, northeast, etc.) limiting the number of accounts they can successfully manage/cold-call, lack physical customer service or physical technical service available to or affordable for smaller users or altogether, are sometimes not trustworthy because they will go in behind their distributors that sell their commodity to one account in large quantities (i.e. they missed a big account, and have found out about it through a distributor selling their particular product) which leads to the distributor not selling their product anymore, have too many distributors selling the product ultimately driving the set price down through deviations, possibly rely on distributors to actually sell the product, and competition from other direct sources.

Large distributor advantages: have access to other commodities that go hand in hand with other manufacturers (poor example- grocery stores sell milk as well as cereal), get direct pricing, many locations regionally or nationally easing the shipping burden of buyers with multiple locations, personal service either customer or technical, many sales reps that are able to cover a broader territory, access to multiple manufacturers of the same commodity allowing to keep prices in check, service programs that smaller companies can't offer and direct providers can't match in price or value, and experts of many many commodities as opposed to one or a few.

Large distributor disadvantages: smaller local distributors creating price wars (think Michael Scott Paper Co vs Dunder-Mifflin), direct mfg's going in behind and stealing business, limited access to all of the mfg's (you won't find Harris Teeter name brands in Food Lion and visa versa), can't truly set prices because it's based on both supply and demand, territory management, and tough growth prospects in slower economies (this is true for direct as well really)

Local distributor advantages: Typically a good ol' boy setting where the seller and the buyer know each other for years (this does happen at all levels, but mostly at the local level), local folks are right down the street and can be used in emergencies, if the local guy buys at high enough volumes then there is no shipping charge to the end user, and access to both direct mfg's and large distributors.

Local distributor disadvantages: easily beaten in price, array of commodities, array of technology, lack of trained staff, low cash flow, etc etc etc.

This is what I have noticed in my six months, I am sure there are plenty more that need mentioning. The way I am setting myself apart as a sales person is this: I go after the big accounts right now while I am new. The big accounts, if I land them, will take care of me while I am new and building a customer base. The money made off of those allows me to focus free time on smaller accounts that get me higher margins. I build up big accounts, I would like to have 5-10 of these, then get 20-30 medium accounts. If I lose 1 or 2 big accounts, the 20-30 medium accounts keep me afloat while I go after new big accounts. I don't really waste time on small accounts simply because they basically pay for breakfast or something really small.

I will say this, if you can't get a big account in the first 6-8 months (assuming you have cash flow that you can ride this long) you could be in a world of trouble. If you can get one, it will really make going after the others a lot more enjoyable and less stressful. It's simply just very exhausting wasting any time on anything other than big accounts in the very beginning. You work just as hard on the medium sized accounts and see 1/3 to 1/36 of the money in my situation.

If you have any other questions, you can PM me. I hope this helps in the slightest!

7/14/2012 7:20:21 AM

a Moox point

7/14/2012 7:52:29 AM

so far I just have a retired Home Depot manager turned Park Ranger for the insurance who moonlights and weekends as a small businessman that thinks this might be a way to go. I have added the liber hippie futureistic characteristics.

okay. i think it is important for a business to know what it is and what it isn't. this is a laundromat where people go to wash clothes. this isn't a lobster trap, these ppl arent to be targeted for other services because they don't like that and it's too hard to manage. Think about why Walmart subcontracts out it's haircut, pharmacy, bank, gas-station, etc.

Our ppl come in, wash their shit, relax, socialize a little bit, then gtfo. it should be enjoyable, maybe more so than home but not like a Chinese park where ppl do group exercises and play boardgames. mostly, it should be carefully protected from intrusion by the fuzz. (this becomes important in the future)

The major flaw in most laundromats is they're desolate, lonely, and dirty (not so much dirty these days). The key features are location and service. There are locations where lots of people want to use a laundromat for long-term regardless of relative cost. I suppose it's because they dream of moving on to something better in the near future but currently out of reach. kinda like buying particle board furniture.

illegal status isn't going to change much anytime soon and clotheslines are a sure sign of immigrants: the illegals are even more sensitive to it than the officials.

in the future, moving stuff around is going to get more expensive and because of crazy weather and energy costs, people will be less interested in investing in the home. lastly, among professionals, working at home will become more better but lonelier.

all leads to teh laundromat being the scene of future. lets get in on the future.

7/19/2012 6:16:18 PM

any yes I am serious. i have been doing undeveloped land (code for trailer park) for like 20 yrs. even b4 i went to state. but now I want to do mor better. I know people here in Shanghai and several newly minted Chinese-americans that would love to park money in a business like this. real-estate is too low profit and no it isn't a buyers market and no, prices arent going to go up. real-estate is dog shit for moonlighting babyboomers and nonexpert asian fund managers that caused the bubble in the firstplace. there are exceptions but they aren't as juicy as a nice cash business.

What I want from TWW is expertise. I need business skills. machine people. location spotters. What I can do for us is show the folder around to investors. get us a steady supply of student-spouse labor. personally verify the manufacture and delivery of materials. this is the wild west: you can get stuff cheap here but you have to watch out, they're sneaky.

My goal is 50% annual profit and I think it can be done especially since it's a cash business.

7/19/2012 6:53:01 PM

You should look at this place: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suds-Duds/456993050290

7/19/2012 11:44:45 PM

poor people do not give a shit if the laundromat is "green"

they want it cheap and close to the house

7/19/2012 11:57:27 PM

i want to open a temporary laundromat for the london 2012 olympics. we can offer three types of wash; gold silver and bronze and people can watch the games live from the laundromat...without moving.

7/20/2012 12:36:41 AM

Quote :

" b4 i went to state. but now I want to do mor better"

7/20/2012 5:15:15 PM

The greenness of the laundromat is to qualify for federal programs that grant money for small green businesses start-ups. It will still be tied to the grid so it doesn't matter what happens to the solar stuff once the government buys it for us. I have some expertise in solar-thermal/photovoltaics and some business experience. Enough to do this project anyway. And yes, location is EVERYTHING for a laundromat. I am living on the other side of the planet so I need partners that are local to the Triangle area and maybe Raleigh/Cary.

With regard to timeline, I am thinking about starting up around 2014. I am having the state remediate an erosion issue with an unrelated property I own. Then I will sell it and use that money for the laundromat. I have always used my own money for things but for this project, I'd like to do it properly with a business loan and insurance and stuff. This is too big for me to do on my own.

I think we just set up some cheap cctv and I can hire some peasants here in China to sit and drink green tea all day and watch the screen. We can get spouse-visa types to just hang out in the laundromat and make change and make the place look staffed. I can deliver their "pay" to their families here in China. I think that's legal.

7/20/2012 5:16:16 PM

Is anyone gonna "give him the business?"

7/20/2012 5:31:53 PM

Could be worse. He could want to open a pizzeria.

7/20/2012 6:15:04 PM

http://www.soapboxlaundrolounge.com

7/20/2012 6:26:03 PM

It's not pv solar for electricity it's solar hot water heating. Back when I used to intern at a solar company we did a number of installs for laundromats. The roi is amazing because you get a huge portion if not all (in summer) of your hot water from the solar panels. It's much cheaper than pv and we always quoted an roi of a few years.

7/20/2012 7:08:44 PM

solar hot water might work. I'm actually getting into the industry myself, if you are interested, lemme know I have made a lot of contacts who can help you

also suds and duds place looks cool, unique business model

[Edited on July 23, 2012 at 6:47 PM. Reason : asdf]

7/23/2012 6:33:22 PM

Ok these bar/laundromats seem interesting. I bet they're hard to manage though. These two businesses seem to support eachother pretty well. legit reason to be up in the bar. something to do while waiting for laundry. keep some staff busy during the day and night so they can have a full schedule and be insured and stuff. How do you get good management?

7/24/2012 6:03:31 PM