Thursday, January 28th marked the one year anniversary of owning The Laundry Room. What an unforeseen journey the last year has been… for all of us! A while back, one of my girlfriends Christa encouraged me to start talking out loud to myself when I am alone. She said, “everyone has bluetooth in their car nowadays so they’ll just think you’re on the phone!” After initially laughing at the idea, I now live by it. My kids will sometimes mock me when I run down my laundry list of chores for the day, “Okay mom… comma, what do you want me to do, question mark, do this, exclamation point!”

No one really loves traffic but I actually don’t mind it. In addition to blasting music or listening to podcasts, making phone calls to catch up with friends or family, some of my best ideas happen while I am on the road. Most of my blog first drafts begin in the car dictating to Siri in an email draft. Then the blog draft can sit there for days or weeks untouched until the right moment comes along and I sit at my computer and finalize it. Like now… 7 AM on a Sunday morning at our friends’ snow-blanketed cozy cabin in Forest Falls while the boys are still asleep. One thing that I really enjoy about blog writing is that it encourages new ideas, to-do items or reminds me to follow up on things that I may have forgotten. 

To pick up from my previous post, Michael Ambrose from Western State Designs has become one of the key people to align with in the last year. From the moment we met, we clicked on a personal level – both being single parents of two young kids doing our best to juggle work, kids and the changing world around us. For me, it is imperative that my business relationships have a personal connection from which trust can develop. Not everyone likes to get involved at that deeper level and that’s absolutely fine, that’s just not for me. I was able to share both my goals and fears with Michael, be completely honest about my financial situation. He was patient and supportive as he often saw me ping-pong back and forth between “yes, let’s go full throttle on the remodel” and “no, I cannot spend another penny right now!”

Of course, Michael was gently trying to nudge me towards investing in my store and breathing the life into it that was so desperately needed. He shared extensive data on turns, equipment mix and pricing with me on nearby laundromats that were my competition. Then, he encouraged me to go and look at recently-upgraded stores a little further out that were humming along during the pandemic. Notably, he put me in touch with Ross Dodds and suggested that I meet him at one of his laundromats, Wash on Wester

Ross has become my go-to guy! He is well-known throughout LA and Orange Counties and very involved in a variety of laundromat owner groups. Ross and his husband Russell have set a new standard for what a laundromat experience should look like and how it should feel. Here again, Ross and I clicked immediately. He is so approachable and eager to help. He sincerely wants to see others succeed in this business. I pick his brain on all kinds of things from rolling carts to credit card systems and signage to hiring employees. Ross and Russell have rebuilt five stores and they’re only just getting started. 

In September (thanks to Ross’ suggestion), I started listening to Jordan Barry’s Laundromat Resource podcast. From that podcast, I have reached out to numerous guests but contacting Mike Kelly of Atmosphere TV was one of the best and easiest things that I’ve done for my store. Mike came out and installed an Apple TV device with no installation or monthly fees. Yes, let me say that again, there is no monthly fee! The requirement is that you run the programming for at least 40 hours per month. This is easily done because the customers really enjoy watching. This is one of the first things that I would encourage laundromat owners to implement. I am not a fan of the news playing on repeat all day. In an effort to provide an uplifting, positive customer experience, atmosphere TV is an absolute gem! 

And a recent podcast with Elizabeth Wilson of Suds Laundry in Memphis almost makes me want to jump on a plane to spend a couple of days learning everything I possibly can from her! Suds Laundry has a Laundry Assistance Fund which I would love to mimic here at The Laundry Room. The program covers the cost of self-service laundry for families in need.

As with any business, it has benefitted me to get involved on many levels. I have joined the Coin Laundry Association (CLA) which has a very active online forum. Owners and prospective owners share ideas on any topic that you might be curious about. Each month, I read Planet Laundry and American Coin-Op magazines from cover to cover, including the advertisements so that I can stay informed on what products are out there. I have joined a variety of Facebook groups, follow a couple dozen laundromats on Instagram, signed up for the LAX Coastal Chamber of Commerce and Culver City Chamber of Commerce which both have ongoing Zoom networking events.

Thank you for reading! With this blog, it is my hope to share my experiences and knowledge with others that hope to go down this laundromat ownership path. In closing, I am always looking to improve so please do share your feedback, thoughts and suggestions with me. Just like my mom friends and I often say, it takes a village to raise a child… and I like to think that’s also true of running a business!