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Essential Maintenance, Acquisition and Growth Tips from a Service Technician/Owner- Breyan Rohrman — Transcript

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0:00Growth does not come from
0:01comfortability. I think what's worked
0:03for me really well recently is really
0:05grabbing onto innovations, adding mobile
0:08payment, Facebook pages, claiming your
0:10Google page, and just being really
0:12present in social [music] media. It's
0:13such a big thing and keeping up with all
0:15of the technology that's happening and
0:17[music] not being afraid to retool.
0:20>> Are there things that you're seeing,
0:23like
0:24high-performing laundromats
0:27are doing that
0:29low-performing laundromat owners or
0:31laundromats are not doing? Are you
0:33seeing like common You're in a bunch of
0:34laundromats, right? She's If you're
0:36listening to this, she's nodding her
0:38head vigorously right now, so.
0:41Hey, hey, what's up, guys? It's Jordan
0:43with The Laundromat Resource Podcast.
0:46This is show 251
0:49and you know what? I'm pumped you're
0:51here today cuz today we have an episode
0:54that has literally been years in the
0:57making. Uh I cannot wait for you to meet
1:00Briana. She is awesome, doing such cool
1:03stuff with her laundromat, and is also a
1:06professional service technician. We
1:08always talk about how there's a huge
1:10shortage of service technicians in our
1:12industry. Well, we got one on the show
1:14finally and uh we're going to talk a lot
1:16about that today, too. So, lots of
1:18really good stuff here. Uh she also owns
1:20laundromat and has owned multiple
1:22laundromats and uh we get into all that
1:25as well. So, lots of practical
1:26takeaways. You're going to love it. I
1:28know it. Like I said, this is literally
1:31years in the making for this one. So,
1:33but before we jump into it, Briana, uh I
1:35wanted to just say since last week when
1:38I mentioned that we're going to be
1:39starting up some new mastermind groups,
1:40quite a few of you jumped in, joined the
1:43pro community over at
1:44laundromatresource.com/pro,
1:46and we're getting those uh mastermind
1:48groups up and running. And if you did
1:51not jump in on that yet, and you want to
1:53join a mastermind group
1:55uh to meet with other people who are
1:58other just laundry dorks like us. Um,
2:01hey, come get into a group with a bunch
2:03of laundry dorks. Talk laundromats, no
2:06matter where you're at in the in the
2:07process, if you're searching for your
2:08first laundromat, if you own one or two,
2:10or if you own multiple, we've got groups
2:13going on for no matter what stage you're
2:15in. So, check out of other stuff that
2:17comes along
2:20with that, not just the mastermind
2:22groups, but that by far makes up for any
2:26uh, investment in joining the pro
2:28community over there. But, also you get
2:29all the resources and tools, uh,
2:31unlimited access to those, and live Q&A
2:35that we do monthly, and some other
2:36stuff. So,
2:38uh, really cool, go check it out. Again,
2:39laundromatresource.com/pro,
2:41and uh, let's get you into a mastermind
2:43group to take you to the next level,
2:45wherever you're at right now. Let's get
2:47you to that next one. All right, let's
2:48jump into it with Breanne, and uh, I
2:50can't wait for you to meet her, cuz
2:51again, she's rad, and you're going to
2:53love this episode.
2:55Three long years I've been trying to get
2:58you on this podcast, and here you are
3:00finally, Bre. Thank you for coming on
3:02the show.
3:03>> You're welcome. I know it's been a long
3:05time, but I'm excited excited to be
3:06here, and excited to talk about the
3:08laundromat industry with you.
3:09>> I am excited to have you. I appreciate
3:11you coming on, and uh, how you doing?
3:14>> Doing well. Doing well, been busy.
3:16Um, we're going through a little remodel
3:18at my laundromat right now, and um, of
3:20course I work a 9-5, so
3:22um,
3:23yeah, no shortage of work around here.
3:26>> Yeah, and that 9-5 is also in the
3:29laundromat industry, right? Which we'll
3:31talk about all that. Yeah, go ahead.
3:34>> I was just saying, I'm a service
3:35technician for a local distributor, so
3:38my life is laundry.
3:40>> [laughter]
3:42>> What a life, man. What a life it is, you
3:44know what I mean?
3:45>> I know. Selling machines, selling
3:47machines, owning my own machines, it's
3:49just
3:50>> Yeah.
3:51>> Laundromat
3:53>> I know, nothing better. Yeah, that's
3:55right.
3:56Okay, well, hey, tell us a little bit
3:57about you and I'm really curious,
4:00you know, how you got into this well,
4:02I'm not curious. I know, but I think
4:04other people are probably curious. How
4:06you got into this industry and then
4:08we'll kind of go from there and and talk
4:10a little bit about your experience
4:12owning and and maybe some maintenance
4:14stuff we might hit as well since you're
4:16since you're a pro.
4:18>> I try to be.
4:20Um well, I
4:23it's kind of a quirky story, I guess,
4:24but I've always just loved laundromats.
4:27My mom and I used to go and you know,
4:29we'd take all of our laundry and sit at
4:31the laundromat on the weekends and I
4:33just realized
4:34one day I was like, gosh, I just really
4:36like the laundromat. Like, what's a
4:38better place where you could come and
4:39get all of your chores done while
4:41reading a magazine, you know, expect
4:43that was before, you know, social media
4:45and that kind of thing. So,
4:47I just decided one day I was like, I
4:49really want to own a place like this.
4:51This is so cool. And actually the
4:53laundromat I was sitting in when I
4:54decided that I was about 15 and it was
4:58actually the laundromat that I own now.
5:00Um so, yeah, so I saw it one day and
5:05I had actually already bought one
5:06laundromat before this. I bought my
5:07first laundromat when I was 22.
5:10Um and I had used that laundromat when I
5:12was little cuz I kind of grew up in that
5:13area as well.
5:15Um and that came the gentleman that
5:17owned it used to I used to be in
5:18banking. Um he would come in and bank
5:20with me and so one day I was like, hey,
5:23you ever want to like sell your
5:24laundromat? He was like, yeah, you want
5:26to buy it? And I was like, absolutely.
5:29Um so, that worked out. So, I bought
5:30that one and I owned and operated it for
5:33um maybe about four years and in the
5:36meantime I bought my second laundromat
5:39um from the distributor that I work for
5:41now.
5:42Um I bought that one when I was I think
5:4525.
5:48And I still own that one. The first
5:50laundromat I had to shut down, I lost my
5:53lease. So, not a great financial
5:56decision there, but I learned a lot. And
5:58my second laundry, obviously I've owned
6:00it for about 11 years plus now.
6:02I love love love that laundromat. I grew
6:05up using it.
6:06Every time I go there, I'm just like, I
6:08just love this place. It's a heck of a
6:10lot of work, but it's worth it.
6:13And then as far as becoming a service
6:15technician, because I bought my second
6:17laundry from the distributor here,
6:20that's kind of how I got to know him.
6:22And then owning two laundromats, I
6:24realized it is very expensive to hire
6:27somebody like me. So, I started
6:30turning wrenches and kind of learning
6:31how the machines work.
6:33And the the way that the machines work
6:35really
6:36fascinates me. I've just been fascinated
6:38with laundry equipment.
6:40I suppose as you would say like a
6:41mechanic loves to work on cars, I love
6:43to work on these machines and just
6:46see how they operate and it's such a
6:47necessity in in the world and I just
6:50they're awesome to me. And obviously I
6:51still love them, still in the industry.
6:54And I just love my little laundromat.
6:57>> Yeah. So, funny. Okay, I mean there's a
7:00lot to unpack there.
7:03You got you got a lot you got a lot of
7:06Listen, I mean you you were buying
7:08laundromats before laundromats were cool
7:10and I think we decided right before we
7:12hit record that you probably were the
7:14one that made laundromats cool.
7:17So, thank you for that.
7:18>> That might be true. That might be true.
7:21>> [laughter]
7:21>> But I still think you did a good job.
7:23>> Yeah, I'm convinced it was you. So,
7:26thank you for, you know,
7:28making us cool again.
7:30But
7:31that first one, I
7:33you know, you had kind of this sort of
7:36working relationship at least with
7:38with the owner there.
7:40And
7:41>> you kind of talked a little bit about
7:42the lease and stuff, but
7:44can we can we just like dig in a little
7:46bit on like how did you actually
7:48buy this thing from this guy? You said
7:50you were 22 at the time.
7:52>> I Yep, I was 22. So,
7:54um, I had I grew up in finance really. I
7:57started at the bank when I was 16. So,
7:59I'd been around finance my whole life
8:00really. Um, but I actually went down to
8:04We have two distributors here in town
8:05and at the time I went down to the other
8:07distributor, um, and I
8:10>> walked in.
8:10>> Yeah.
8:11>> Yeah.
8:12>> Um, I walked in and I was just like,
8:14"Hey, I wanted to buy this laundromat.
8:16Here's the location. I know that you
8:18guys were the ones that built it and
8:20service it. Could you help me buy it?
8:23And I just I don't really know what I'm
8:24doing. I don't know how to value a
8:26laundromat.
8:27I'm not sure, but I want this
8:29laundromat. Like I was I was getting
8:31this laundromat.
8:33And so, he was like, "Absolutely. I'll
8:36come up there." So, he helped me look at
8:37all the machines. He helped me value the
8:39machines and he helped me create an
8:41offer.
8:42And then so, with that I talked to the
8:46owner and I was like, "Would you
8:47consider owner financing? Um, I don't
8:50really have money." Cuz I didn't. Um,
8:54so, would that be something that you
8:56would consider? And he said, "Yeah." And
8:59so, I was like, "Cool." So, we drew up,
9:01um, an owner financing contract. I gave
9:04him my offer. He took my offer and then
9:06he actually trained me for a few weeks,
9:09um, on drop-off laundry cuz we did
9:11drop-off laundry. We also took in dry
9:13cleaning, um, that we contracted out.
9:17And then, um, just the day-to-day
9:19operations,
9:21um, how everything worked. So, he he was
9:23really,
9:24um, kind to me in all of that and helped
9:26me, um, kind of just get on my feet and
9:29learn how just how to basically operate
9:32it day-to-day.
9:35>> Okay.
9:36Uh, I'm going to I'm going to
9:38withhold my judgment on that here for a
9:41second
9:42cuz you mentioned
9:45some mistakes with that first one and in
9:48particular you mentioned the lease. I
9:49don't know if there are other mistakes
9:50also, but can you talk a little bit
9:52about that? Is that too painful to
9:54>> It is well
9:56>> [laughter]
9:56>> I have since recovered. I have since
9:58recovered, but yes, it was a big loss.
10:01>> [laughter]
10:02>> It wasn't It was a big loss. So even
10:04though I did have a distributor's help
10:07what I didn't realize was the machines
10:10were very old and the machines a lot of
10:13them were out of service.
10:16And I didn't understand quite what went
10:19into laundromat equipment. So I suppose
10:21I had this false narrative that I was
10:24going to buy this laundromat and I was
10:26going to be able to read magazines and
10:28sip coffee with my customers.
10:31And boy was that not true.
10:33It was
10:34really a slap in the face. I mean, as
10:36soon as I bought it, I swear as soon as
10:38he left wrote him the check and you
10:42know, I'm on my own machines are just
10:44down down down down and I'm like, what
10:47is that? What is a bearing?
10:50What the heck is going on here, you
10:51know? And so
10:53>> Real quick, in case you don't know, a
10:55bearing is a big dollar sign basically.
10:58That's That's what it is.
11:00Replacing a bearing is a big deal. Yeah.
11:02>> Very big deal. Yeah. So I had multiple
11:05bearings going out
11:07and I was just like kind of drowning.
11:09And so I kind of limped it along and
11:13um
11:15So I'll go back to the lease. So
11:18mind you, I bought this laundromat with
11:20really old equipment. And then the lease
11:22I took over and there was only 3 years
11:25left on that lease. Hence why I only
11:26owned it for 3 years. So
11:30I at the end of this 3 years after
11:32really limping along these machines and
11:34and not knowing what the heck to do, um
11:38my lease ended and the owners were like,
11:41"We're doubling your rent."
11:43And I at the time I was paying like
11:44$3,200. So, that was going to be $6,400
11:47a month.
11:49And I was like, "That's crazy. I can't I
11:51can't afford that. I have to shut down."
11:53Um so, that was why I ended up shutting
11:55it down. But, um in the meantime,
12:00I had met the distributor here. Uh well,
12:03in the meantime I had bought my second
12:04laundry and so I'd met the other
12:06distributor here who I now work for.
12:08And he had helped me. So, I when I say I
12:10was limping it along, he had let um sold
12:13me a few used machines so that I could
12:15still limp that laundromat along until I
12:18can get out of my lease and just cut my
12:20losses.
12:21So, um jeez, I ended up taking like a
12:24$72,000 loss at the end of that.
12:28But,
12:29>> And then
12:29>> my 9-5.
12:31>> You felt that.
12:31>> Yeah, I don't You know, I didn't go to
12:34university. I didn't I didn't spend
12:36money on on that kind of stuff. So, my
12:37parents put it well. They were like,
12:38"You know what? Just take this as a
12:40learning opportunity."
12:41Um you don't You can't win if you don't
12:44take risks. So, I just
12:47And and thank goodness I had bought the
12:48second laundromat, which was a big win,
12:50by the way. So, I've had wins and
12:52losses.
12:53Um and I took that second laundromat and
12:55I was able to slowly pay that um that
12:58debt off.
13:00So, so I put that one in the past and I
13:02learned a lot from it and I hope that
13:04the people listening to this podcast, if
13:06you've taken a loss,
13:08it's not the end of the world.
13:10Um
13:10>> Yeah.
13:10>> You know, and and it takes it takes
13:12getting out of your comfortability to
13:13grow in life.
13:15And if that means taking a loss, so it
13:17be it. You just got to make sure that
13:18you can recover from that loss later.
13:20>> Yeah. I've I've kind of found that
13:23sometimes those big loss, I mean, it's
13:24hard to really think this and feel this
13:27when you're in the middle of it, but
13:28kind of looking back on it now,
13:30I kind of feel like those losses are not
13:32only are they not the end of the world,
13:33sometimes it's like the beginning of the
13:34world, right? Like my
13:36>> 100%
13:37>> changed dramatically after that cuz I
13:39learned so much and I became a different
13:42person. Like I really I became a
13:44different person.
13:45>> Yeah.
13:46I 100% agree with that. And it had I not
13:48taken that loss and and bought that
13:49first and just did and just took the
13:51dive,
13:52I wouldn't be where I'm at today. I
13:53wouldn't have met the other
13:54distributors. I wouldn't be, you know,
13:56in the industry. And I I truly love this
13:59industry.
14:00And so, I mean,
14:02it's fine. Like I moved on. And and like
14:05you said, it I learned a ton from it.
14:07So, I don't regret it. I wish it would
14:09have worked out better, but but it is
14:11the reason why I'm where I am today. So.
14:13>> Yeah, yeah.
14:14Uh do you think the So, if if the
14:18the lease had worked out,
14:21uh and, you know, just stayed status quo
14:23or whatever,
14:24uh
14:25do you think that business would have
14:27done okay? Like was it making money when
14:29you bought it or like
14:32was it the lease really that killed it?
14:35>> It was 100% the lease. Um so,
14:38they the new people that moved in, um
14:41it's a pot shop. So, they actually ended
14:42up paying like 10 grand a month. So,
14:45there was no way I was going to win that
14:46lease battle. But, let's just say I did.
14:49Um because I had started working with
14:51the other distributor,
14:52um
14:53we could have made a plan to retool that
14:55laundry. And the neighborhood that that
14:57laundry was in still needs a laundromat.
15:00Nobody's opened one in that in that
15:02neighborhood yet. Um so, I do I do look
15:06in that neighborhood and I'm like,
15:06"Dang, if I would have just had the
15:08right tools and not lost that lease,
15:11um jeez, knowing what I know now, it
15:13would have been a completely different
15:14story. Um but yeah, that that area still
15:18needs a laundry. Um
15:20and I I sometimes I look up there at the
15:21real estate, but it's a it's a trendy
15:24neighborhood and the leases are pretty
15:26spendy up there. But like I said, there
15:28was no way I was going to win that lease
15:29war. I even at 10 grand a month that it
15:32wouldn't have been able to support that.
15:35But if it would have all went well and
15:37it would have been a great laundry if I
15:39would have kept going on the path that I
15:40was on without losing that lease.
15:43>> Yeah. You got to do big volume to be
15:44able to afford that 10K a month. I mean
15:47>> Right.
15:48>> Probably you need to be doing at least
15:4940K at least a month to be able to
15:51afford that, so
15:53>> Yeah, I mean that's it's that was it
15:55wild.
15:56>> Yeah. That yeah, right.
15:58>> nothing, so
15:59>> Yeah. So, I mean I guess the reason I
16:01was saying I'll withhold, you know, how
16:04I feel about this owner who seller
16:05financed a deal. So, I'm wondering if he
16:07just was nice to you cuz you were taking
16:09his problem off his hands and uh
16:11>> Uh I I think so. Yes.
16:15>> [laughter]
16:15>> Is that yeah? You know, I mean, you
16:17know.
16:19I'll let I'll let the listener
16:21>> He didn't have a great relationship with
16:23the distributor that I the other
16:25distributor that I was working with
16:26initially. Um and and that distributor
16:29was pretty honest and open with me about
16:30that part of things. Um so, yes, I do
16:33100% think that I probably was just his
16:36way out. Um
16:38>> Yeah.
16:39>> But again,
16:40I appreciate the opportunity and I am
16:42where I am today because of all whole
16:43thing, so
16:44>> Well, in the other part of this, like if
16:46you're out there listening to this and
16:47you're young, it's like you can make
16:50mistakes like that when you're young and
16:53you got time to recover.
16:55Right? If you're out there trying to
16:57retire and you're in your 60s or 70s
17:00and you make a mistake like that, well,
17:02maybe you're in a better financial
17:03position, maybe hopefully, but but it
17:06could be harder to recover from a big
17:07loss like that. So, you know, if you're
17:09out there and you're young and you're
17:11you know, looking to make a move and you
17:14know, young I mean like 20s, 30s, 40s.
17:18Early 50s, I'll consider I'm I'm
17:19creeping up there, man. Getting close,
17:21so I don't know. I'm going to I'm going
17:23to consider that young. But, uh you
17:25know, like get out there and make a move
17:27and and don't be afraid to make the
17:28mistakes cuz a lot of times those
17:29mistakes are
17:31what puts you on a a path you never
17:33anticipated and help you build a life
17:34you never thought you'd you'd build.
17:37Uh
17:38but, all that to say, it still stings
17:40when you're in the middle of it.
17:42>> It definitely stung, but like like I
17:44said earlier, growth does not come from
17:46comfortability. So,
17:49I'm always a go big or go home gal.
17:51>> Yeah. Um did you buy that That's I like
17:54that. I like that. Uh
17:57did you buy that second one while you
17:58still owned the first one or was it
18:00after that lease ended?
18:03>> I I bought it while I owned the first
18:06one. So, when I bought my second
18:08laundry, I actually saw it for sale on
18:10Craigslist. That was still really
18:12popular back then.
18:14Um and it was the laundry I've always
18:17wanted. And so, I immediately called my
18:20dad. I was like, "Dad, the laundromat on
18:22Crestline is for sale."
18:24And he was like, "Well, call him up. See
18:25what happens." So, I was like, "Okay."
18:27So, I call
18:29my boss now.
18:30And I was like, "Hey, my name's Bree. I
18:34own the laundromat on the South Hill."
18:35cuz I wanted to start off with I'm not,
18:37you know,
18:38>> Yeah.
18:39>> just starting.
18:40>> Yeah.
18:41>> Exactly. So, I was like, "I want to buy
18:42your laundromat." He's like, "Okay,
18:43well, meet me in the morning." I said,
18:45"Okay." So, I show up and I walk in and
18:48the first thing he says, this is my
18:49favorite story.
18:50The first thing he says is,
18:53"What are you doing buying laundromats?"
18:55>> [laughter]
18:56>> And I was like,
18:58"That's fair." cuz I'm 5'3". I'm a small
19:00gal.
19:01Um and I was like, "I just really like
19:03laundromats."
19:05>> And you were like 25, right?
19:08>> Yeah. Yeah, I think I was about 24 by
19:10the
19:11uh the sale was starting. Yeah.
19:12>> Um so he just looked at me and he was
19:14like,
19:15"Good enough."
19:16>> Yeah.
19:16>> just kept on going and started showing
19:18me everything. And um so then I I knew
19:21what it looked like. I know I was a
19:23young girl. Um
19:25probably didn't
19:27maybe not take me seriously. I know I
19:29know what that can look like. So I I
19:31ended up writing him a letter or an
19:33email.
19:34And I just said, "Hey, it was so nice to
19:35meet you this morning. Thank you for
19:36taking the time to show me the
19:37laundromat. Um I just want to let you
19:39know um
19:42that I'm the I am a determined person. I
19:45love the laundromat. And I really hope
19:47that you would give me the opportunity
19:49to buy this laundromat." You know, I
19:51just tried to really kind of sell
19:52myself.
19:53>> Yeah.
19:53>> And he was like,
19:56"Sold. Cool." And so that was kind of
19:59how that worked out.
20:00And that one I was able to finance
20:02through the SBA. So I was able to do a
20:057A loan with a local bank here. Um so I
20:08did not do finer owner financing on that
20:10one.
20:11>> Okay. But I mean, SBA's another one
20:14that's tough to do with some
20:16laundromats, you know, cuz you got to
20:18have good records and stuff. And
20:20how did Did he have pretty good records?
20:22Is that How How'd you get the 7A loan?
20:25>> He did have very good records. Um
20:28so I had I had no problem working with
20:30him on that. Um he had a bookkeeper um
20:33who is actually now my bookkeeper as
20:35well. Um so
20:37she's wonderful. She had all of the
20:39records that they need. And she worked
20:40with my banker. Um so
20:43it was pretty easy on me. And And during
20:45that whole time I had bought a house
20:48also when I was 22. So I bought a house,
20:50then a laundromat, then my second
20:52laundromat. Um so I was able to use that
20:55house as collateral to secure the 7A
20:58loan.
21:00Without that house, I probably would not
21:02have qualified for that 7A loan.
21:04So um
21:05>> What a baller. Such a baller. This is
21:07why I wanted you on the podcast. 22, I
21:10bought a house and a laundromat and then
21:12I bought another one a couple of years
21:13later.
21:14>> That's so kind of you. Um, but I
21:17remember I did take that loss.
21:19>> [laughter]
21:20>> Still.
21:21>> And I did say I'm a go bigger or go home
21:23gal. So, I did see all of these
21:24opportunities and I just kind of I kind
21:26of just went for all of them and then
21:28and then
21:29waited to see what happened, you know. I
21:30just did my best through all of it. Um,
21:33but yeah, I got that 7A loan and um, it
21:35was awesome. My banker was wonderful.
21:38The SBA,
21:40um, I know it can be difficult to jump
21:42through all of their hoops, but once you
21:44do, um, their lending is fantastic. Um,
21:47so yeah, I've I've since paid that loan
21:50off. Um, I actually just paid it off. It
21:52took I did a 10-year loan, so I just
21:53paid it off last year. So,
21:55>> Nice.
21:55>> it took me this long to finally outright
21:58own my laundry.
22:00>> Nice. Yeah.
22:02>> Mhm.
22:02Very exciting.
22:04Super exciting. Congratulations, by the
22:06way.
22:06>> Now you now you really are a baller.
22:09>> Yeah, now now my debts are paid off.
22:10>> [laughter]
22:11>> But again, it it took some time, but
22:13>> Yeah.
22:14>> but we got there.
22:15>> Yeah, and you took that go bigger or go
22:16home literally. You're like, I'm going
22:17to buy the home, so I have a home to go
22:20to if I want to, but I'm just going to
22:22go big.
22:23>> It is one of my favorite sayings in in
22:25life. Like when I get when I get scared
22:27to make a decision, I always just think
22:29like go bigger or go home.
22:31Um, my parents were a big part of that.
22:33So, I'm like, you know, well, what would
22:34they do? Like they would definitely do
22:35this cuz they own rentals and also are
22:37small business owners. So, I I got a lot
22:39from them.
22:40>> Yeah, I mean, you kind of mentioned them
22:41a couple of times. Uh, I want to go back
22:43to don't let me forget cuz I want to go
22:44back to
22:47why buy a second one if that first one
22:49was I mean, you you quote, it was like a
22:52slap in the face when you bought it. So,
22:54I want to go back to that. So, don't let
22:56me forget, but I mean, I think I mean,
22:58you've mentioned your parents and
23:00calling your dad and some advice that
23:02they've given you, and you know, the you
23:05know, it it really struck me their
23:07response to you taking a big loss. You
23:10know, I think a lot of people,
23:12you know,
23:13are afraid they're going to get told,
23:14and and maybe will get told, and I got
23:16told by some people, you know, like the
23:18I told you so's, and you know, that kind
23:21of stuff when I, you know, took a loss
23:23on my first business, and
23:25uh but sounds like they've been very
23:26supportive, and is that because
23:31they invest, and they own businesses,
23:33and
23:34and uh
23:35where does that come from?
23:37>> You know, they've also taken
23:38>> all get parents like that?
23:39>> [laughter]
23:40>> They are awesome. Um but yeah, they I
23:42mean, they've also taken losses, and um
23:44and so I think they know, coming from an
23:46entrepreneurial background. So, my dad's
23:48had businesses that have failed as well.
23:50Um so, I think he just he knows how to
23:53um come back from those losses, and so
23:56when I took my first one, he was just
23:57like, "You know what? You live, you
23:59learn, you move on. There's nothing you
24:01can do at this point besides move on,
24:02and move on better. Like, now you know,
24:05>> Yeah.
24:06>> let's go do something else." And so, um
24:09they've been been more than supportive.
24:11And they were And then the one thing I
24:13took from them that I tell everybody
24:15else is, "You know what? I didn't pay
24:17for college. I didn't go get that big
24:18degree. And so,
24:20if you want to call that an equal loss
24:22there, you know, I'll just take my
24:24$72,000 loss, and I'll call that my
24:26education."
24:27>> Yeah.
24:28>> And then you just move on.
24:30>> Yeah. Yeah.
24:32I did go to college, and took a big
24:35loss, so I, you know, [laughter] your
24:37way I I basically should have just gone
24:39to med school, uh really.
24:41I support I didn't go to college. I just
24:44I had already been working at the bank
24:45when I graduated high school, so I
24:47already had a really good career, so I
24:49just didn't see the point in in in
24:52spending that money. Um but I I fully
24:54support college education. My brother
24:55and sister both went to UDub here um and
24:58got big fancy degrees and they're doing
25:00awesome. So, I just I was the
25:03the one in the family that just didn't
25:05go that route.
25:06>> Yeah.
25:07Yeah, well, I think there's
25:09Did they Yeah, did they support that?
25:12Was that Were they okay with it?
25:13>> Yeah. [laughter]
25:14>> Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
25:16Yeah, well, I mean, I think that's a big
25:17question a lot right now is is
25:21college worth it for most people? And,
25:24you know, obviously, you need college
25:26for certain career paths and stuff, but
25:28I think a lot of people are just kind of
25:30going to college to get a degree and
25:33there's a lot of questions on, you know,
25:36I I'm sure you make decent money, you
25:38know, turning wrenches on washing
25:40machines. Like, you know what I mean?
25:42Like, you don't necessarily have to go
25:44to college to,
25:45you know, to make good money. And now
25:47with AI,
25:49you know, scaring everybody, people are
25:51wondering if there's even going to be
25:53some of those jobs
25:54that people go to college for. So, it's
25:57a question.
25:57>> Yeah, AI's AI's getting pretty big. It's
25:59getting It's in the water mine industry,
26:00too.
26:01>> Yeah, it is.
26:03It is. Okay, so, well,
26:06you know, awesome awesome that you have
26:07parents that are supportive and
26:09understanding and, like I said, I've
26:12you know,
26:13heard tons of stories and had some Not
26:15with my parents necessarily, but had
26:17experiences with with people as well
26:19with the I told you sos and the what are
26:21you doings and the,
26:23you know,
26:24go get a job, you know, crowd and
26:26there's a lot of pressure, you know, for
26:28that. So,
26:29um and I know it it
26:31keeps a lot of people from from making
26:34moves or making those decisions, going
26:36big or going home. Uh they just kind of
26:38go home cuz,
26:40you know, it's hard to overcome that
26:42when you have that. So,
26:44you're blessed uh with that. Um
26:46okay, I want to go back to
26:48why in the world did you buy a second
26:50one when I mean I I don't know. You
26:52probably didn't know at that point that
26:54the lease was going to be such a big
26:56issue yet or I don't know, did you?
26:59>> No, I did not. I just assumed that when
27:01it was over, I would just renegotiate
27:04the lease and everything would be fine.
27:06Um but I I bought the second one
27:09one because I just I love that
27:11laundromat so much.
27:13Um
27:14and the financials looked awesome on it
27:16and um
27:18so I just I went ahead with it. And then
27:21the my boss who I bought it from um was
27:24also super supportive in the whole
27:26thing. Um I felt much more comfortable
27:28with that second one than I did the
27:29first one.
27:31Um and he sold it to me with a 6-month
27:34agreement about fixing the equipment if
27:37it went down. And so that was and I had
27:40expressed him that that was one of my
27:41worries was I you know, I told about my
27:43first laundromat experience and what I
27:44was going what I was going through.
27:47Um and he actually was like, "Hey,
27:50listen, I have some great used
27:51equipment. I can come help you um
27:54I I'll sell it to you." And I was like,
27:57"Okay, awesome." So he put some used
27:58equipment in there for me
28:00um
28:01until I lost obviously until I lost my
28:04lease and then when I did lose my lease,
28:06he brought him and his crew who I now
28:09work with um up and helped me tear that
28:12laundromat down. So they came up, we got
28:14a semi um and and they just knocked it
28:17out with me. So it was
28:19had I not bought that second laundromat,
28:21I'm not sure how I would have recovered
28:24from the first laundromat loss because
28:26the first laundromat
28:28um or excuse me, the second laundromat,
28:30the one I still own did so well and
28:33still does that I was able again to
28:35recuperate my loss from there rather
28:38than having to pay it out of any of my
28:39personal money.
28:41Um so
28:42so I was a little more skeptical on the
28:44second laundromat, but again, I I just
28:47I just love that laundromat with all my
28:48heart. Grew up there.
28:50Spend a lot of time with my mom there.
28:53Um so
28:55I might have looked past a little things
28:56just cuz I wanted to buy it.
28:58But the financials look great. I had a
29:00lot of support and so I was comfortable
29:02buying that second one.
29:04>> Yeah. Uh
29:05well, first of all,
29:07uh awesome that the team came over and
29:09helped you out uh with that one just in
29:11your
29:13in your time of need there.
29:14>> It was such a great
29:16>> great team, by the way. Uh that whole
29:18squad is money.
29:21Uh real real good group um over there.
29:24So, shout out to those guys.
29:25Um
29:29Uh man, I just had a question for you
29:30that I thought was a good one. Uh
29:34This is what happens when you get old.
29:35Don't get old.
29:36>> going to say, you said you were so young
29:37though.
29:38>> Uh well, I was That's what old people
29:40tell themselves so they don't feel old,
29:42you know?
29:43Uh you probably never call yourself
29:45young cuz you just actually are young.
29:47You don't have to call yourself young if
29:48you're actually young. You know what I
29:49mean?
29:50>> Well, I Okay.
29:52>> Oh, go ahead. Sorry.
29:53>> I said, you know, 29 forever now.
29:55>> That's right. That's [laughter] right.
29:59Um okay, so the uh so you you bought the
30:02second one. Oh, I know what I was going
30:04to ask you. When did you
30:06um
30:07uh when did you start working with your
30:10current employer? Was that like during
30:12this
30:14process of buying the second one or
30:16before or after or what?
30:18>> It was after I had bought the second one
30:21and after we had completely shut down my
30:22first one. So, I was done with my first
30:24one um
30:25operating the second one, still working
30:27at the bank. Um and I worked for a large
30:30bank um and they were downsizing. Um so,
30:34I was in management and they were
30:36getting rid of my position.
30:38So, they came to me and they said, "Hey,
30:42we are getting rid of your position,
30:44which I already knew.
30:45Um, you can move up, you can move down,
30:49whatever you want, uh, let us know. And
30:51I was like, you know,
30:53I'm so tired because at this point I had
30:56operated both laundromats and working
30:58full-time and I was just putting in so
31:00many hours between the three things and
31:03I was also renovating that house that I
31:04bought. Um, so I just told, you know, my
31:09district managers, you know, I believe
31:11in signs from the universe
31:12and I believe that this is one and I
31:14think that my time at the bank
31:16it should be done. You know, I and I at
31:18that time I had worked there for almost
31:2010 years. Um, so
31:23he was like, Bree, if you're tired, take
31:26your severance pay, take a 6-month
31:27break, come back. Like, just don't
31:29leave. And I was like,
31:30no, I just can't. And it was that was a
31:32very hard decision for me because I
31:34loved banking. Um,
31:36I still love banking. Um, but
31:40that was tough for me, but also like I
31:41said, I just I felt like it was a sign,
31:43like it was my opportunity out and I
31:45just really wanted to focus on my
31:47laundromats and just see if I can could
31:50just operate my laundromat and not have
31:52to have that 9:00 to 5:00. And so, um,
31:54so I did leave um, and it was uh, the
31:58best choice. I'm so glad that I didn't
32:00question myself on that and and stay.
32:03Um, and so when I finally got let go,
32:08um, I took my severance package and so
32:10and then I was talking to my boss now
32:12and I was telling him the situation and
32:15he's like, I really think you should go
32:16back to work. I don't think I don't
32:18think you should do this. And I was
32:19like, no, I'm fine. And my parents also
32:22were very nervous for me to leave my
32:24banking job because it was such a good
32:26career and um, you know, and and I had
32:28done well there. But um,
32:30I was like, no, I'm doing it. So, you
32:32know, go big or go home, right? So, I
32:33was like, no, I'm doing it.
32:34>> it.
32:35>> So, took some time off and um so then
32:38one day my boss called me and was just
32:40like, "Hey, um one of my guys is
32:42retiring. I know how much you like to
32:44work on the machines. I was wondering if
32:46you wanted to come work for me instead."
32:49And I was like,
32:50"This is like a dream come true. I love
32:53laundromat equipment. Heck yes, I want
32:54to work on them." So, that was how I
32:56started uh working for my distributor.
33:00>> That's crazy. Uh that's a wild
33:04like journey uh from being a banker
33:07and
33:08I I cuz I don't think I knew how that
33:11transition happened for you. Um and I
33:14was like, "Well, why would you leave
33:16banking to go
33:17work on laundry machines." But you
33:19didn't. You just left banking to leave
33:22banking. Like and then this kind of
33:25happened like for you.
33:27>> Yeah, it
33:29It is. Um
33:30but I'm so thankful that like I said,
33:33I'm I'm thankful that I trusted myself.
33:35And I suppose that my advice for
33:36everybody else out there like wondering
33:37if they're going to buy a laundromat or
33:39get in the industry, like
33:41you have to trust yourself and and and
33:43trust your judgment. And like I said
33:45earlier, if you take a loss, that's
33:47fine. But if you win, you're going to
33:49win, you know? So,
33:51um
33:51it worked out great for me. Um I I love
33:55love love love servicing equipment. Like
33:56I said, I am fascinated by laundry
33:59equipment. I know it sounds quirky, and
34:00most people are like, "What in the
34:01world?"
34:02But um but boy, if you watch a washer go
34:05into high extract, I mean, that's pretty
34:06fascinating.
34:07>> Yeah.
34:08>> And so I tell people,
34:09"Wait, wait, wait, the high extract is
34:11coming." You know, like it just it it
34:13fascinates me. Um so, it it worked out
34:15better for me and um
34:17as far as like money, I make
34:20I probably make more now than I would
34:21have if I would have stayed at the bank.
34:23Um so again, I just I'm really glad that
34:25I trusted myself on that decision.
34:28>> Yeah. Yeah. Well, you're in the right
34:29place cuz there's a bunch of nerds
34:31listening to this right now that are
34:32also
34:33>> Perfect.
34:33>> fascinated by
34:35washers and dryers and all that
34:37>> They're going to be like, "Oh man, that
34:38high extract speed is fascinating."
34:40>> fascinating. [laughter]
34:42We should all just get together and
34:44watch washers extract water from
34:46clothes. It'd be great.
34:47>> I can't tell you how many hours I put in
34:50just learning the equipment and how many
34:51hours I've sat in front of washers just
34:53hoping that it went into a high extract
34:56speed. At my first laundromat, I
34:58remember, you know, cuz I didn't know
35:00to clean out a drain valve. I didn't
35:02know what that was at the time. I just
35:03kept turning these washers on and being
35:05like, "Please go into high speed. Please
35:06go into high speed."
35:07>> [laughter]
35:08>> Yeah.
35:09>> So, yeah.
35:09>> Well, that brings up a good question
35:11actually is, how did you start learning
35:15about this like to a point where you
35:17got a job
35:19uh doing this?
35:21>> Um so, a little bit of my history, also
35:24um this circle goes back to my parents.
35:26Um my dad and mom flipped houses and and
35:31um my dad was an electrician.
35:33So, the businesses that he had owned was
35:35in the electrical world and so, while we
35:37were flipping houses, my dad
35:41and mom really never gave me a break. It
35:43was like, "Hey, we need this drywall
35:45sanded and mudded. Go for it." So, I
35:48would have to do all of that. Um
35:50we would have to chop wood. I would have
35:52to, you know, I was 8 years old out
35:54chopping wood, hauling it in the
35:56wheelbarrow so that we could start a
35:57fire cuz we back then we lived on some
35:58property.
36:00Um so, my dad just really, really
36:03really instilled in me that I can do
36:06anything that a boy can do. And so, if
36:08my brother was out there,
36:10um I was I was fully expected to be out
36:12there as well. You know, we're feeding
36:14the animals, um doing all that stuff.
36:16So, I really come from strong work ethic
36:18that way.
36:19Um and so, I knew kind of how to turn
36:23wrenches a little bit. And so,
36:25when I was trying to figure out what the
36:26heck was going on with these machines,
36:28um
36:29they were really big factor. I'm sure
36:31they I'm sure they loved it. But they
36:33you would have to come up after hours
36:35with me and help me just figure out how
36:37these machines work. But um
36:40you know, my dad's really good around
36:41wiring diagrams. Obviously, he's an
36:43electrician forever.
36:44He's no longer is, but he taught me how
36:48to use a meter,
36:49kind of showed me like, "Hey, this is
36:51this on the washer. Like, here
36:54here's how to test it." Um so, I started
36:58to pull the machines apart and just I'd
37:00call my dad like, "Hey, I'm looking at
37:02this. Can you tell me how to test it?"
37:04You know, like I didn't know how to ohm
37:05out something.
37:06And so, my dad would help me
37:09kind of do all of that. And what really
37:11pushed me to continue learning that was
37:13when I got my first bill from the
37:15distributor when they had to fix my
37:16machines.
37:17>> Yeah.
37:18>> like, "Oh, no. That's
37:20wildly it's I know it's expensive, but
37:23so I was just like, "Geez, I got to
37:25start learning how to do this."
37:26>> Mhm.
37:27>> So, that was kind of how I did it. And
37:28then I I just I really have a lot of
37:30support from my dad. And then also my
37:34husband who I started dating him when I
37:38was 21. So, he's been in this whole
37:41story with me.
37:42Um so, he was a mechanic forever. So, he
37:46really is really good at turning
37:48wrenches. So, even today, if there's
37:50something that I can't get off, like for
37:52example, a seized blower fan, um
37:56I'll call him and sure enough he'll come
37:57over and he'll just tap it right off cuz
38:00he is so good around Yeah, he's so good
38:02around tools.
38:03So, I do I have a lot of support as
38:05well.
38:06But anyway, circling back, that was how
38:09I started to learn how to work on these
38:10machines.
38:12>> Yeah. Well, you know, the the
38:13interesting thing about that too is that
38:16you know, kind of going back to it is if
38:19that first laundromat hadn't been so
38:22bad,
38:23uh
38:24you probably wouldn't have really
38:25learned like if you had bought that
38:26second one first, you might have just
38:29paid a service tech to come do it and
38:31never really learned it or never learned
38:33it to the extent that you did.
38:35Uh so again, it's those failures paying
38:38dividends and like becoming
38:41like the beginning of life right now
38:42you're because of partly at least
38:45because of that, you're
38:47this is what you do for a living now.
38:48You're not a banker anymore, you
38:50work on machines.
38:51>> Yeah, that's so true.
38:53Yeah, like I said when I bought the
38:54second one, they um
38:56had given me the contract that they
38:57would fix the machines. So I probably
38:59would not have been um as motivated to
39:03pull them apart.
39:04>> Yeah.
39:05>> And then my you know, and he wouldn't
39:06have seen me working on all the machines
39:08and offered me this job. So yeah, it's
39:09very true. A lot of good came out of
39:11that first laundromat.
39:12>> Yeah, it's so hard to you know,
39:16to believe that when you're going
39:18through something difficult, you're
39:19losing a lot of money or your business
39:21is struggling or
39:23you know, even your just your work is
39:25tough. Like I mean you like you said,
39:27you were kind of like burned out with
39:28work and that probably felt really bad.
39:30You didn't really exactly know what to
39:31do and
39:33um
39:34but man, if you just kind of keep
39:36going and
39:39life just kind of guides you sometimes
39:41here.
39:42Uh and that's I mean I think that's
39:43genuinely like a key
39:45maybe if not the key to success is just
39:48kind of keep going, right? Like keep
39:51you know, you fail,
39:53that's fine. Feel what you feel, but
39:54then get back up and dust yourself off
39:56and keep going.
39:58>> Exactly.
39:59>> of times those failures are
40:01they are what Like I wouldn't be doing
40:03Laundromat Resource if my first
40:04laundromat wasn't so bad.
40:06You [laughter] wouldn't be a service
40:07tech if yours wasn't so bad probably. Uh
40:09right? Like
40:09>> Yeah, yeah.
40:11>> Uh
40:11it's just crazy how that works. But it
40:13is really hard to So all that to say, if
40:15you're out here listening to this and
40:17life is tough right now, just keep
40:19going. Uh you know, find find the
40:21support um like you said, you had a lot
40:24of support around you. And if you're out
40:25there struggling with your business or
40:27just in life in general,
40:29uh find one or two people who can just
40:33be a support to you and and then just
40:34keep going.
40:36All right, do the best you can and keep
40:37going cuz a lot of times these are the
40:39times that forge you into uh who you're
40:43meant to be.
40:45Yeah.
40:46Kind of cool.
40:47>> That's so true. And and and having a big
40:49support team around you, like you said,
40:50no matter what it is in life, um people
40:53ask me all the time like, "Hey, how do
40:54you do all that?
40:56How do you get everything done?" And
40:57like, I have help. Like, I don't know
40:59the answers to everything, but I sure
41:00know somebody that does, you know, like
41:02as far as, you know, my bookkeeping and
41:05and people ask me questions all the time
41:06and I'm like, "You know what? I don't
41:07know the answer to that, but so-and-so
41:09does. Let me ask them." And I have
41:11wonderful employees. I have wonderful
41:13rental renters at my rentals. Like, I I
41:16just have a wonderful support team. And
41:19and so, you're very correct in that.
41:21Like, just find find that support team
41:23to help you get through whatever it is
41:24that you may be going through.
41:26>> Yeah. Yeah, and the the flip side to
41:28that is you got to let them know, too,
41:30though. And I think that's a hard
41:32obstacle for a lot of people, especially
41:36like
41:37I genuinely think like Laundromat
41:39Resource is,
41:41you know, whatever it is right now,
41:44mostly because I was willing to
41:47go listen to episode one of the podcast.
41:48I was willing to tell how I was the
41:51world's worst laundromat owner. Like,
41:52that's really what [laughter] it comes
41:53down to. There's no getting around it.
41:55Uh right? And so, but but you got to be
41:58able to
42:00share what's going on with people for
42:02that support to be able to take effect.
42:05So, that's the flip side to it, and it's
42:06also a hurdle and an obstacle and
42:09uh why I appreciate you coming on here
42:11and sharing, you know, I know it's a
42:12little easier when it's, you know, 10
42:15years in the past to be able to share
42:16some of these failures and stuff.
42:18>> Right.
42:19>> And still, like it's hard to hard to
42:21talk about that stuff and
42:23um
42:24but
42:25number one, it it helps give you like
42:28freedom from it when you share it. If
42:30you just hold on to it forever, it
42:32it like
42:34enslaves you, really.
42:35>> Right.
42:36>> Uh so, you got to be able to share it.
42:37And then number two, if you share it
42:39with your support group, they can
42:41actually support you, right? If they
42:43they Nobody can help you if they don't
42:45know what's going on, right? So.
42:46>> Yep. Exactly.
42:48>> Yeah.
42:49Uh sorry, I'm going to get off the
42:50soapbox there. Stop preaching. Um
42:56So, thinking about these two laundromats
42:59now,
43:01if you could go back,
43:03is there anything you would I mean, I'm
43:05sure there's things you would do
43:07differently. Do you know Do you Can you
43:08like pinpoint what you do differently?
43:10Specifically, I guess with the first one
43:11or the second one, too, but are there
43:13things you would do differently?
43:16>> Yeah, the I the first thing um
43:19would be to have looked at that lease
43:22and not and saw that there wasn't an
43:24automatic renewal. Um and maybe talked
43:27to them and be like, "Hey,
43:29I need to know that I can renew this
43:30afterwards." I had no idea that a long
43:33lease was
43:35was even a thing. I had no idea about
43:37any of it, honestly.
43:38>> Yeah.
43:38>> Um
43:40So, the first thing I would have I would
43:41have checked that lease. And had I have
43:43found out and just did my due diligence
43:45on that lease, I wouldn't have bought
43:47it.
43:48>> Yeah.
43:49Yeah, well, real quick, uh
43:51when we cuz this is a question I get a
43:53lot. When we work with clients who are
43:55looking to buy a laundromat and the
43:56lease is not very long and you know,
43:57just
43:58for like a framework, anybody out there
44:01who's maybe searching right now, what
44:03we're looking for usually is like 15
44:05years or more and like 20 is even
44:07better. And if you can get more than
44:09that, then that's even better.
44:11Um
44:12but if you find one that maybe has 3
44:14years or 7 years or something
44:16uh left on it,
44:18most of the time what we try to do is we
44:20try to get 5-year options to renew. So,
44:23if you had 3 years, we try to get like 3
44:25or 4
44:265-year options to renew, keep the lease
44:29as it is. Usually usually it doesn't
44:31benefit you
44:33to to write up a whole new lease cuz
44:35landlords take that as an opportunity to
44:37raise rent, but also shift terms more in
44:39their favor a lot. So, usually what we
44:41try to do is add 5-year options
44:44uh to those, and that just gives you the
44:46option to renew the lease, so you
44:47effectively have, you know, 18 or 21
44:49years or whatever. Um
44:52uh 20 That math was really bad. 23
44:54years.
44:55Uh
44:56there uh right? But
44:59uh so, yes, I just wanted to say that
45:00cuz there's I get asked that question
45:02all the time, "Well, what if a
45:03laundromat doesn't have a very long
45:05lease?" Uh that's how we try to handle a
45:07lot of times.
45:09>> Yeah, definitely. And and on my second
45:10laundromat, um when we were talking
45:13about the lease, um there was 5 years
45:15left of his lease. And so, I just was
45:19like, "That's not good enough. I I can't
45:21take that loss again." Um so, the
45:24building owners, um who I do have a good
45:26relationship with now, um
45:28they uh so, they agreed to renegotiate
45:31the lease with me
45:33um
45:34with the previous owner had to sign on
45:38to it with me for the first 3 years. And
45:42then after that 3 years, I had an
45:44additional seven after that. So, they
45:46they actually redid his lease at the
45:48time that I bought it um to make that
45:51work for me. So, when I bought the
45:53second one, I had a solid 10-year lease.
45:57Even though the current owner's lease
45:59only had 5 years left, the building
46:01owners were willing to work with me on
46:03that. So, that's also another, you know,
46:04just like you said, the 5-year option
46:05for renewal. A lot of building owners,
46:07they don't want to see a laundromat go
46:09anywhere because if it's an existing
46:10laundromat, the plumbing's there, the
46:12venting is there, the roof has been, um,
46:15you know, popped through with venting.
46:17So, they don't they don't want to see
46:18that laundromat go anywhere cuz it's
46:19going to be a lot of renovating for them
46:20to get another, different kind of a
46:22business in there, you know. So, um, it
46:25So, I I would definitely explore that,
46:27too, if if there's a short lease left.
46:29>> Yeah, definitely, definitely. So, well,
46:32you've had that one for Well, first of
46:33all,
46:35uh,
46:35that's very cool that the seller was
46:38willing to jump on that lease like
46:40basically co-sign with you, essentially,
46:42right?
46:43>> I can't speak good
46:45um,
46:46I can't speak any bad things about him.
46:48Obviously, he's my employer now. He's
46:49done so much for me and, um, even even
46:52when we sat down to sign that lease, I
46:54didn't know, again, because I wasn't
46:56experienced and this did not happen on
46:58my last on my first laundry, they
47:00wanted, um,
47:01first and last month's rent
47:04as, you know, a deposit. And that was
47:07like $6,200
47:08and I remember them being like, "Okay,
47:10well, we'll take a check. We'll be right
47:11back." And they left the room cuz we
47:13were at the lawyer's office.
47:15And my boss turned and he looked at me
47:18and said, "Do you have that kind of
47:19money?" And I said, "No."
47:21And so, he paid that for me. I had to
47:23pay it back, um, but he did he wrote the
47:26check for me. So, it's again, it's it's
47:28just that support group, you know.
47:30That threw me for a loop, too, and I'm
47:32here I am sitting at the lawyer's office
47:34like,
47:35I don't know where I was going to get
47:36$6,000. Thank goodness he was sitting
47:38with me and offered that cuz I
47:41totally I was just so caught off guard.
47:43>> [laughter]
47:43>> Yeah, yeah. Well, first of all, he's a
47:46good super good guy. Uh, I like him a
47:48lot.
47:49Uh,
47:50even even if I didn't know him, just
47:52hearing all this stuff that you're
47:54saying.
47:55Uh,
47:55>> I did I did I did I did pay it back. It
47:57took me a few months, but I did.
47:59>> Yeah.
48:00>> Yeah, thank goodness he was so nice.
48:02>> Yeah. Well, and you know, I want to like
48:05kind of highlight like both of these
48:08opportunities that you had.
48:10Um
48:13they came through like relationships you
48:16had with people and and you got us you
48:18know, you got like the two holy grails
48:20of what people were looking for a lot of
48:21times, right? Which is seller financing
48:24and SBA loans. Like
48:26those are a lot of people are trying to
48:27get in this business that way. It's
48:28tough to get in this business that way
48:29right now in this market. This market's
48:31different than when you got in.
48:33>> So much different.
48:34>> Yeah, but
48:36those opportunities happened because you
48:39built some kind of relationship with
48:41people
48:42that are there. So, if you're out there
48:43and you're looking to try to like buy
48:45your first laundromat and you need you
48:47don't have a ton of money
48:49to put into it, your best bet usually if
48:51you're not going to like partner with
48:52somebody or something like that, your
48:53best bet is to build relationships with
48:56sellers because then they want to help
48:58you succeed, right? You're 24-year-old
49:015'3" blonde girl who's about to be a
49:04service technician and you know, the guy
49:06says, "Okay, you know, I'll sell it to
49:08you."
49:09Uh do you have six grand to Okay, I'll
49:12front you the money and you know, we can
49:14work it out, you know, that kind of like
49:16that stuff doesn't just happen with
49:18strangers very often. It happens because
49:21you know, you get to know them, they
49:23start to like you, they want to help you
49:26you know, change the trajectory of your
49:28life or they see themselves in you or
49:30whatever it is, right? Um but you really
49:33got to put yourself out there. So, if
49:34you're out there trying to get a seller
49:36finance deal or an SBA deal and you're
49:38just browsing around on on BizBuySell or
49:40whatever,
49:42you know, might happen for you, but your
49:44chances go way up if you start meeting
49:46some owners and building those
49:47relationships with people.
49:49>> For sure. For sure. And and and another
49:51one of my favorite sayings in life is
49:53just be brave. And so I know it it takes
49:55a lot of courage to go out there and be
49:57like, "Hey,
49:58I want to buy your laundromat." Like
49:59that it takes courage to pick up the
50:01phone and call people and just have an
50:03unsolicited phone call. Um you know, but
50:05you but just be brave and and like I
50:08said earlier, trust your intuition and
50:10and it does really help to have that
50:12network and go out and meet these people
50:13and build the relationships and cuz most
50:15people are here and want to see you
50:17succeed.
50:19>> Yeah. Yeah. I love that.
50:22Well, you got some like good
50:24uh
50:24strong mottos that you're you're
50:27enacting in life.
50:28>> I took a lot of leadership classes at
50:30the bank.
50:31>> [laughter]
50:31>> Yeah. That's good.
50:33It's good. I mean, it served you well
50:35and
50:36you're living them out, man. I know
50:38uh
50:39Yeah. I mean, I love it. I love it.
50:42Okay.
50:43Um
50:43I got a question for you.
50:46Uh we want to talk a little bit on
50:49um I want to come back to retool. I know
50:51you're Well, let's talk about retooling
50:53real quick. Um and then we kind of shift
50:55gears a little bit. I know you said
50:56you're you're kind of retooling your
50:58store.
50:59Now, how did you know it was time? And
51:02like I get those questions all the time
51:04like, "Should I retool? Should I not
51:06retool? How do I know? You know, does it
51:08make sense?"
51:10>> Yeah.
51:10>> Can you talk me through your thought
51:11process on that? You got any cool mottos
51:12or anything we can you know,
51:15>> [laughter]
51:15>> Yeah, I'm here. If you got three bad
51:17bearings, it's time to retool.
51:18>> Okay, yeah. That makes [laughter] sense.
51:20That's a good one. It's catchy. It's
51:21real catchy.
51:23>> Yeah, I had a Well, I retooled once in
51:262017 and I kept I retooled
51:30a lot of my laundromat, but not the
51:32whole thing. Um mine is a a pretty large
51:35laundromat. I have
51:37uh 28 drying pockets and 38 washers. So,
51:41um it spans about 3,000 sq ft. So, I do
51:43have quite a bit of equipment in there.
51:46Um so, anyways, I retooled 2017.
51:50And I was able to pay that loan off and
51:53kind of write out those new machines.
51:56And then about 2 years ago, I had a
51:5920-lb bearing go out.
52:02And I fixed did the bearing job and the
52:06bearing job failed. And I don't think it
52:09was any of our fault. I think it was
52:11um
52:12a part from the factory wasn't good.
52:14But I didn't want to deal with it. It
52:16was a 20-pounder. It got It was back in
52:18the corner of my laundry. So, I just put
52:19it out of service. So, it'd been sitting
52:20out of service for quite a while.
52:22And then I had another one go out. And
52:25for some reason, my 20s are very popular
52:27in my laundry.
52:29Um
52:30I know they're not very popular in the
52:31industry as a whole, but boy do my
52:32customers love them. But anyways, I had
52:34another one go out and I was like, oh
52:36man. And that was probably about a year
52:37ago.
52:38So, I didn't want to retool at the time
52:41because I was so close to paying off my
52:43SBI loan. Just like I could just let
52:45this along and plan the retool.
52:48Um and as you know,
52:50I work for the distributor and we we run
52:52specials on equipment. So, I wanted to
52:54wait for that show special. So, I knew
52:58um at this next show special that we
53:00have that I was going to buy the
53:01equipment. So, I'd been planning the
53:04retool for about a year.
53:05Um
53:06and then I had another bearing. So, that
53:10was three.
53:11So, I was like, dang, I can't wait for
53:12that show special because this was
53:14probably back in maybe June or July of
53:162025.
53:19And then
53:20another bearing. So, that puts me at
53:23four.
53:24>> What [laughter] is You got Is it
53:26contagious?
53:27>> It must have been. And this was on So,
53:30this was on some old equipment I left in
53:31there. So, the the 20s that were going
53:33out were 2001
53:35machines. So, they were well past their
53:37time. They needed to go anyways.
53:39And then um but the fourth one that
53:42failed was a 40 pounder
53:44um that was a heavily used 40 pounder.
53:47So, having that out was a detriment to
53:50the laundry because that thing gets used
53:51all the time. It's right in the front
53:53when you walk in. So, I didn't want
53:54people walking in seeing that out of
53:56order sign. Um, so so I um
54:00I had already again, I had already been
54:02re-planning to retool with this last
54:03sale, but that fourth bearing was my
54:06we're doing it. I have to. You know, cuz
54:07if you leave machines out like that four
54:10of your biggest not biggest size wise,
54:12but big most used machines it customers
54:16start to comment on it and then um you
54:18know, that's really bad for bad for
54:19business. So, I decided um
54:22Okay, we're I'm just going to replace
54:23all of these. So, I replaced um my 20s.
54:27I have six 20s. I replaced three out of
54:29the six and I left the three that were
54:30running. Um, mostly because I want to do
54:33some more research again because of 20s
54:36just aren't that popular. So, I just
54:38want to make sure before I go buy any
54:39more new 20s that people actually value
54:42the new ones.
54:44Um
54:45So, any who I bought those and then I
54:48um replaced three 30s right when you
54:50walk in my door. So, I
54:51um I'm a Huebsch gal. So, I
54:54did the new touch screens. Um put two
54:57three new touch screens right when you
54:59walk in my door. So, when you walk in
55:00it's like, "Whoa, these are nice, new,
55:02and fancy." And then I did um
55:06So, my laundromat is in the shape of an
55:07L and on the the other side of what I
55:10call the annex
55:11and I replaced all of my dryers in the
55:13annex. So, and
55:15um
55:15Huebsch just came out with stack 55
55:17pound dryers. They are so cool. Um
55:21again, love laundry equipment.
55:23But what I had in there was three 50
55:25pound tumblers. So, by replacing these I
55:27added three more drying pockets, a large
55:30capacity drying pockets and I needed
55:33dryers. I knew I needed more pockets.
55:36Um my little brother had actually went
55:37to my laundry and called me and was
55:39like, "Hey, I just want to let you know
55:41there's lines for your dryers. You can't
55:44get a dryer in this place." So, I knew I
55:46needed to get more drying pockets in
55:48there
55:49cuz I have a lot of big 75 lb dryers
55:51which customers love, but it also takes
55:52away a pocket because they're not
55:54stacked. So, now with these new stack
55:5655s, I can replace some of my smaller
55:59single tumblers with stacks. So,
56:03>> Yeah. That's what you said.
56:06Yeah, yeah. Cuz you said you have
56:08something like I forget the number like
56:1035 washers, 28
56:12pockets, right?
56:14>> 38 washers and 28 drying pockets.
56:16>> Yeah, yeah. So, I mean and and
56:19the the pocket count and washer count is
56:23not as important, but
56:25the capacity, right, is probably your
56:27bottleneck where that and that's what
56:29you're getting at with the I'm just
56:31clarifying for anybody who wasn't
56:32tracking.
56:33Uh but that's you're adding capacity,
56:35dry capacity uh to to get it more in
56:39line with how much wash capacity you
56:41have.
56:42>> Correct. Yeah, there is an equation. I
56:44cannot remember the equation off the top
56:45of my head. Um you might know it, but
56:46there is an equation of washing poundage
56:49per drying poundage that you should have
56:51in a laundromat to make it function
56:53correctly.
56:54>> yeah. Typically
56:56yeah, right. Yeah, typically we're
56:57looking at like 1.1
57:00to to one dry capacity to wash capacity.
57:03Typically, you want a little more dry
57:05capacity than you have wash capacity.
57:08Uh cuz dryers can be a bottleneck for
57:11you. Like your brother was saying,
57:12right?
57:13>> Yep.
57:14>> your bottleneck. So,
57:15>> Yeah.
57:16>> Yeah. Um okay. Well, I mean that seems
57:18like a pretty clear indication that it's
57:19time to get some new equipment in there.
57:21All the bearings are going out.
57:22>> Yes. And and and of course none of that
57:25was my 2017 equipment. That was all my
57:27the when I did that retool. Now it was
57:30the equipment that I chose to leave
57:32then. So, now I'm kind of retooling
57:34that, but now my laundry is looking, you
57:36know, pretty good. I still have
57:38I have six older washers in there right
57:40now, but they're all up and running
57:41pretty good. So, I'm going to go ahead
57:43and leave it.
57:44Um and then if I need to if any of those
57:46bearings go out, I'll probably wait for
57:48my next show special and that way I can
57:50get a little discount on the machines. I
57:52know they're they're very spendy. So.
57:54>> They are spendy. All the equipment's
57:56spendy these days.
57:58>> Oh, so expensive.
57:59>> Ain't getting out of there cheap.
58:01>> I know.
58:02>> I know.
58:02>> No. Beautiful equipment though, I will
58:04say that.
58:05>> Yeah, I know. It is it is beautiful and
58:07it's more and more, you know, tech
58:10enabled and we're getting more and more
58:12functionality out of it and all that
58:13stuff too. So, end user experience for
58:15the customers is
58:16getting better also. So, a lot of a lot
58:19of good stuff happening, but it is
58:20getting more spendy.
58:23>> Yeah.
58:24>> Yeah.
58:25Um okay. So, I want to chat a little bit
58:28about
58:30uh
58:33just your perspective as being a service
58:35tech
58:36um on
58:38you know, your market or or anything
58:40else that you've kind of observed. Um
58:43are there
58:46Okay, well, first of all, just
58:48you know, quick question I guess is is
58:50there is there anything that
58:52if you're looking to buy your first
58:53laundromat or you own a laundromat where
58:56it just makes sense that I should know
58:58how to do like for example, a coin jam,
59:01right? I should know probably how to
59:02undo I don't
59:04shouldn't have to pay you, you know, a
59:06ton of money to come out and
59:08unjam a coin, right? Are there like
59:11fixes that every owner should be able to
59:13do cuz they're quick and easy and
59:15it's worth their time to learn how to do
59:17it?
59:18>> Yeah, um coin jams definitely, that's
59:20probably number one.
59:22Um second is probably just cleaning out
59:24your drain valves.
59:25Um
59:26drain valves cause a lot of issues from
59:28not filling to, you know, not spinning
59:31out depending on if they're clogged or
59:32if they're just not closing. Um cleaning
59:35out drain valves is a huge one. Um and
59:37then another one that I see a lot of um
59:39more hands-off owners um that I see,
59:43they the employees just are not cleaning
59:45out the lint screens. It's a It is a big
59:48deal. I It's still shocking to me, but
59:52um but they just don't realize that
59:53they're not being cleaned out. So, I'll
59:55get on this call and I'll open up the
59:56lint screen and there's 2 in of lint,
59:59you know, on the lint. I'm like, "Well,
1:00:01this is why they're not working. You
1:00:02know, you have to There's There's
1:00:04preventive maintenance that you have to
1:00:05do daily, monthly, yearly on these
1:00:07machines um
1:00:09in order to not have to call me out and
1:00:13and fix these simple things for a whole
1:00:15heck of a lot of money. Um so, yeah, I
1:00:17would And then um another one is just
1:00:20cleaning out your hose screens. Um a lot
1:00:22of people don't realize that there's so
1:00:23much sediment in the water
1:00:25um that they do have to take those hoses
1:00:27off and clean out all of the screens to
1:00:30allow for a proper water flow into that
1:00:32washer. And that will increase your wash
1:00:35um
1:00:36or I guess decrease your wash time. So,
1:00:38if you have dirty dirty filters, it
1:00:40takes longer to fill, and that's going
1:00:43to take a longer wash, and that's going
1:00:45to in uh decrease the amount of turns
1:00:47per day you can get on your washer.
1:00:49>> Yeah, definitely. You real quick, I
1:00:52mean, you want to tell people
1:00:54where they even
1:00:55find these the screens, you know, on the
1:00:59>> hose screen?
1:01:00>> find them to clean them? Yeah.
1:01:02>> So, the hose screens, there's always one
1:01:04at the hose bib where you turn your
1:01:05water on and off. You take that hose
1:01:07off, you'll see a screen there.
1:01:09>> I wouldn't say always.
1:01:11>> I was just going to say if it was
1:01:12properly installed, there should be a
1:01:14screen there. If you don't see a screen
1:01:16there, you should put one there because
1:01:18what that does is it blocks the sediment
1:01:20from getting down into your mixing valve
1:01:22and your mixing valve is what actually
1:01:24brings your water in and that opens and
1:01:27that sediment can get into that mixing
1:01:28valve and it can it can ruin your mixing
1:01:31valve.
1:01:31Um, so so first place is to check that
1:01:34hose bib screen, clean that, replace it,
1:01:37put one in if there's not one in and
1:01:38then the second place is actually down
1:01:40at that mixing valve where your hose
1:01:42connects to your washer. You want to
1:01:44take that off and make sure that that
1:01:45screen is clear as well.
1:01:48>> Yeah.
1:01:48>> So there's two different places you want
1:01:49to look.
1:01:51>> Yeah, awesome. And that's something that
1:01:53you could have an employee do too. Like
1:01:55if you have an employee who tend to
1:01:56who's there,
1:01:57you know,
1:01:59twiddling their thumbs cuz your drop off
1:02:01slow or they just their job is to clean
1:02:04or whatever, that's something you can
1:02:05have them do as well. It's pretty
1:02:07simple.
1:02:08>> Yep.
1:02:09Yep, and then
1:02:11um, I make my employees do that. So they
1:02:13they clean the water screens um, once a
1:02:15month and then they they know how to
1:02:18unjam coins, they know how to clean out
1:02:20drain valves, they know how to swap out
1:02:21pumps and belts on top loaders. Um, I've
1:02:24taught my employees how to do a lot. So
1:02:27um, which is
1:02:28pretty nice for me because then I don't
1:02:30have to run up there, you know, for
1:02:32those silly little things when they can
1:02:33just do it at that time.
1:02:36>> Yeah, definitely. And and I'll say too,
1:02:38I know you guys do this but a lot of
1:02:39distributors will do
1:02:41um, like these shows where you're
1:02:44talking about the show specials. A lot
1:02:45of times those shows have a a component
1:02:47to them where there's an education on
1:02:49how to do some of this stuff.
1:02:51>> Mhm.
1:02:51>> You can go to or that you can send an
1:02:53employee to or you can bring an employee
1:02:55with you to these to actually learn how
1:02:56to do some of this stuff.
1:02:58Uh, for free.
1:02:59>> um, absolutely [clears throat] and and
1:03:01even just at our last show, um, you've
1:03:04got just like the creme de la creme of
1:03:06the laundromat industry at that show. So
1:03:08if you can go to a laundromat show, I
1:03:11would highly highly recommend it. You've
1:03:12got all of your service technicians,
1:03:14you've got all of your sales guys, your
1:03:15finance guys, your distributors are
1:03:17always there and that's such a good
1:03:19networking event to circle back to how
1:03:22we were talking about um building your
1:03:24support team. Um just going out and
1:03:26meeting these people. Um it's just it's
1:03:29a wonderful opportunity.
1:03:31>> Yeah, and other owners, too, right? Like
1:03:33network with them, too.
1:03:33>> Absolutely. Absolutely. Yep, they meet
1:03:35you get to learn who owns what and um
1:03:37what their problems are and how they're
1:03:39how they're surviving.
1:03:41>> Yeah, I have four different clients
1:03:43right now who found
1:03:45a laundromat just by going to one of
1:03:46those shows one of those events from
1:03:48distributor and talking to an owner and
1:03:52telling them they were interested in
1:03:53buying and it just they struck a deal.
1:03:55Uh the show second happened there, too.
1:03:57Yeah.
1:03:57>> Nice.
1:03:58>> Super good to go to those events.
1:04:00Uh
1:04:02there. Um okay, another question I have
1:04:04just kind of from the from the service
1:04:06tech angle is
1:04:09are there things that you're seeing like
1:04:13high-performing laundromats
1:04:15are doing that low-performing laundromat
1:04:19owners or laundromats are not doing? Are
1:04:21you seeing like common You're in a bunch
1:04:23of laundromats, right? She's If you're
1:04:25listening to this, she's nodding her
1:04:26head vigorously right now. So, I'm just
1:04:28going to leave it at that. Let's not
1:04:30expand on that at all. We'll just leave
1:04:31it there are things that are I'm just
1:04:33kidding.
1:04:34Uh
1:04:34what [laughter] are what are some of
1:04:36those differences that you see?
1:04:38>> Um it is cleanliness and machine
1:04:41maintenance. Those are the number two.
1:04:43You could have and I I see this again
1:04:45every day. I'm in
1:04:46all the laundromats. Um we have
1:04:49laundromats in the worst neighborhoods,
1:04:51but they perform they outperform the
1:04:53laundromats that are in, you know, the
1:04:55better neighborhoods because they're
1:04:56clean, they're priced competitively,
1:05:00and their machines work. Um so, I see
1:05:03these some laundromats um
1:05:06that I go into and every other machine
1:05:08is down, the bathroom is disgusting, um
1:05:12and then you open the machines that do
1:05:14work and they're just filthy. Um,
1:05:17and it's just it's kind of sad. It
1:05:19breaks my my laundromat loving heart to
1:05:21see this because I'm like, "Poor, you
1:05:23could just be doing so much better if
1:05:25you were more willing to pay for us to
1:05:27come out or pay to retool, you know,
1:05:29like
1:05:30it spending money can make money and and
1:05:32so I watch some of these laundromats
1:05:34just put zero back into it and I'm like,
1:05:36"Well, this is why you're not you're not
1:05:38thriving." And and we talk to people
1:05:41that are buying these laundromats, you
1:05:42know, and and you have mentioned maybe
1:05:44the the term zombie mat. Um,
1:05:47people that are going to buy these and
1:05:49if you look at the neighborhood and the
1:05:50opportunities, most of them are pretty
1:05:53good. They just need equipment and they
1:05:55need to keep it clean. That's it's just
1:05:58It's like the two basics of laundromat.
1:05:59Get your equipment running, keep it
1:06:01clean, people will come, you know.
1:06:03>> Yeah. Yeah.
1:06:06Yeah, I man, and that I I feel like that
1:06:10mindset has permeated
1:06:13uh our industry for a long time of just
1:06:14like, hey, let it ride, don't reinvest.
1:06:17>> Yeah.
1:06:18>> But I mean, on the on the flip side and
1:06:20on the good news, there's more people
1:06:22like you and and a lot more of like
1:06:26business owner mindset, you know,
1:06:29sophisticated owners coming in and
1:06:32seeing the value in reinvesting in the
1:06:34business, seeing the value in,
1:06:37you know, making sure everything is
1:06:40clean and
1:06:42you know, but for so long in our our
1:06:44industry has such a bad reputation,
1:06:46which I think is changing, but it has
1:06:48such a bad reputation cuz so many owners
1:06:51just let their businesses kind of ride
1:06:55and they let machines stay down and they
1:06:57let it stay dirty and they're just like,
1:07:00well, customers are going to come
1:07:01anyway, so
1:07:02>> Yeah. Yeah, it's just
1:07:04Oof, sometimes I walk in and I'm like,
1:07:06oh man, I got to leave."
1:07:07>> [laughter]
1:07:08>> You're stressing me out.
1:07:09>> Yeah. Yeah.
1:07:12Yeah.
1:07:13Um
1:07:14Yeah, but I but I am thankful that that
1:07:15mindset is shifting, I think, in the in
1:07:17the industry and we're seeing more and
1:07:19more
1:07:21people
1:07:22treat their businesses like businesses.
1:07:24Not I and I'm happy about that not only
1:07:26because I think laundromat owner should
1:07:29be making more money and doing better,
1:07:30but also cuz it just serves the
1:07:32community better, right? Like, what does
1:07:33it communicate to the community if
1:07:36you're not going to
1:07:38keep the laundromat clean and the
1:07:39machines working. It communicates like,
1:07:42"You guys aren't worth it." Right? Like,
1:07:44and so I think there's a lot of
1:07:46opportunity to just, I don't know, bring
1:07:48dignity to the community just by
1:07:51caring a little bit, I think, is all it
1:07:53takes.
1:07:53>> I love that. I love that. Um we I
1:07:56actually at our at my laundry our like
1:07:59motto is our community laundromat. So,
1:08:02we have
1:08:03um you know, like on our shirts like
1:08:05that I'm wearing right now, you know, it
1:08:06says, "Our laundromat." My mats say,
1:08:08"Our community laundromat." Because it
1:08:10it's been a staple of the community and
1:08:12and it this is my opportunity to give
1:08:14back to my community and um you know,
1:08:18and keep a clean functioning laundromat
1:08:20for those that need it.
1:08:22>> Yeah.
1:08:23Um all right, I got a couple questions
1:08:25for you before we wrap this thing up.
1:08:28Uh number one is
1:08:31somebody's looking to buy their first
1:08:32laundromat right now.
1:08:34What's your best piece of advice I mean,
1:08:36you've already given some really good
1:08:37advice, you know, in that
1:08:40that area for for that person. But,
1:08:41what's your best piece of advice for
1:08:43somebody trying to
1:08:45get into their very first laundromat?
1:08:49>> Um
1:08:50probably [clears throat] just I
1:08:52circle back to being brave and and in
1:08:54reaching out. And if you're at the point
1:08:57where you've already talked to the owner
1:08:58and you're like, "Hey, I think I want
1:09:00this laundromat."
1:09:02Um
1:09:03biggest thing is the lease. Just make
1:09:05sure that the lease is okay. And then
1:09:08let's say you have like yep, I secured
1:09:11it'll be a 10-year lease. But my
1:09:13equipment is
1:09:15half of it's broke down. Okay, how are
1:09:17you going to retool it? Are you willing
1:09:19to spend the money to retool this
1:09:20business? Like really thinking about how
1:09:24you're going to make that business
1:09:25survive. Don't just buy it because you
1:09:27want a laundromat. And you think it's
1:09:30going to work out like lease your
1:09:32equipment state and how you're going to
1:09:34get those turns per day to make that
1:09:36profit. Really looking at your
1:09:37financials. Um and and understanding the
1:09:40depths of it. Um one thing I I kind of
1:09:43like to tell people is I know
1:09:45laundromats are trendy and I see it on
1:09:47the reels on Facebook and TikTok and all
1:09:49of that and um you know, they're
1:09:51marketed as as passive income, but but
1:09:53in reality they they take a lot of work
1:09:55and they take time and um
1:09:57the machines you have to be willing to
1:10:00clean out a coin drop and not just call
1:10:02your distributor and be like, "Hey,
1:10:04um
1:10:05my machine isn't working without going
1:10:07and looking at it first." So really
1:10:08making sure you look at the lease, your
1:10:10financials and be willing to um make
1:10:13sure that your equipment is either going
1:10:14to be retooled or that you can spend
1:10:16some time on it. And and really
1:10:17understand
1:10:20what it takes to get that laundromat up
1:10:22and running. Especially if you're buying
1:10:24um again, I'll use the term zombie mat.
1:10:26If you're going to buying a zombie mat
1:10:27that you're aware of what that entails
1:10:30because like I said earlier, boy was it
1:10:31a slap in the face for me.
1:10:33Um
1:10:34but
1:10:36but I would do it again.
1:10:37I love it, but that's kind of my advice.
1:10:39It's just just understanding the depths
1:10:41of it.
1:10:42It's not I don't really think they're
1:10:44passive. I again, I kind of laugh when I
1:10:46see those. Um but but it is a a
1:10:49wonderful industry and it is a good way
1:10:51to make some money.
1:10:53>> Yeah, I agree. I I
1:10:56Um
1:10:57I
1:10:58another question, but before that, I
1:11:00guess I have another question. So, I
1:11:01guess it doesn't matter.
1:11:03Uh
1:11:04Are you Are you thinking about buying
1:11:07any more? Like, what's the plan going
1:11:08forward? Uh
1:11:10laundromat.
1:11:10>> I personally am not. Um not because I
1:11:14don't think they make money or anything
1:11:15like that. My goal is just to um kind of
1:11:18wind down with this one. I've done um
1:11:21just so much work in my life, and I know
1:11:23I'm still young, but but she's I've done
1:11:25so much, and um my goal right now is
1:11:27just to kind of try to take what I've
1:11:29built and kind of
1:11:31go more into um just enjoying my life
1:11:34and enjoying my husband and not being so
1:11:37busy all the time. I still am busy all
1:11:39the time, but I
1:11:40>> Yeah, yeah.
1:11:41>> I don't I personally wouldn't take on
1:11:43another responsibility as a laundromat
1:11:45um just because like I just said,
1:11:47they're a lot of work. Um and and I'm to
1:11:49a point where I've built I've built up a
1:11:52good um
1:11:54a good little network, and I would just
1:11:55like to kind of relax and and just
1:11:58live a slower pace of life.
1:12:00>> I like that. Well, in I you know, kudos
1:12:03to you for that for, you know, number
1:12:05one, I mean, it takes a lot of work to
1:12:07build up to that, right? Like, you know,
1:12:10people want passive income and all that
1:12:13stuff cuz they don't want to work and
1:12:16like, I just don't know I I guess apart
1:12:18from like inheriting money or winning
1:12:19the lotto or something like I don't know
1:12:22a way to get there without putting a
1:12:25huge volume of work ahead of it. Like, I
1:12:28don't know if there's a way around that,
1:12:31right? And so,
1:12:33uh but then, I think what happens to a
1:12:35lot of people is
1:12:37you put that huge volume of work
1:12:40to get to that point, and you kind of
1:12:42get there, but the the bar moves, or you
1:12:45have
1:12:47uh
1:12:48like, anxiety about
1:12:51you know, letting off the gas cuz you
1:12:53your mindset in your life has been pedal
1:12:56to the metal for a long time. It's
1:12:58really hard to just take your foot off
1:12:59the pedal, right?
1:13:01And so, it could be really hard to make
1:13:02that transition into okay, I worked
1:13:04really hard
1:13:06for this life,
1:13:08you know, to have this kind of lifestyle
1:13:10and or at least for this period of time,
1:13:13you know, you might find yourself, you
1:13:15know, 20 years down the line being like,
1:13:17"Dude, I got to get some more
1:13:18laundromats. Like, I need some more
1:13:20action in my life here."
1:13:21>> I can see that.
1:13:23>> Yeah.
1:13:23>> Yeah.
1:13:23>> Um but, you know,
1:13:26having those like clear like here's what
1:13:30I'm aiming for and here's what I want
1:13:32life to look like and then once you get
1:13:34there,
1:13:35you know, again, kind of being brave
1:13:37actually is like kind of taking the foot
1:13:39off the pedal and and remembering
1:13:41keeping front of mind like what you were
1:13:43working for cuz
1:13:44when you work so hard for so long, the
1:13:46work can kind of become the thing that
1:13:48you're working for and that was not the
1:13:50original intention.
1:13:52Um so, kudos to you for kind of
1:13:55recognizing that and
1:13:57you know,
1:13:57>> Yeah, well, and I think I mean, life
1:13:59takes everybody different places, but
1:14:00you know, you see
1:14:02just, you know,
1:14:03just want to be able to spend time with
1:14:04my family and enjoy life while I still
1:14:05have it, you know, and so, so that's
1:14:07that's just my own opinion. I
1:14:10um I know a lot of people work
1:14:12for a long time and I know a lot of
1:14:14other people that are looking to buy
1:14:15laundromats. Everybody wants to buy a
1:14:16laundromat. Um
1:14:18mine's not for sale.
1:14:20>> But, I personally mean
1:14:23>> Not yet. Yeah.
1:14:25Like you said, maybe I slow down for a
1:14:26little bit and I'm like, "Ah, no, I
1:14:28can't do this. I got to go buy another
1:14:29laundromat."
1:14:30>> Yeah. That's right.
1:14:31>> I'm not closing the door or anything
1:14:32like that, but
1:14:34um
1:14:35yeah, as for me, I think I'll I'll stick
1:14:37with my one.
1:14:39And my one does great. It's a fantastic
1:14:40little laundry um and I'm I'm very happy
1:14:43with it.
1:14:44>> Yeah.
1:14:45Yeah.
1:14:45Um okay,
1:14:47going back [clears throat] to my
1:14:48original
1:14:49question uh that I had for you is
1:14:52existing owners, I mean, you can answer
1:14:54this from a you're an existing owner and
1:14:57from your experience in that, you can
1:14:58answer this from a
1:15:00service tech
1:15:02perspective, what go whatever way you
1:15:04want to go with this, but
1:15:06is there do you have a piece of advice
1:15:08for existing owners to maybe help them
1:15:10level up their business or maybe
1:15:12something you that's worked for you that
1:15:14you think might work for others or that
1:15:15you've seen other owners do as you're
1:15:17going into their stores?
1:15:19Um any piece of advice for existing
1:15:21owners to help them improve their
1:15:22businesses?
1:15:25>> Um I think what's worked for me really
1:15:27well recently is really
1:15:29um
1:15:30grabbing onto innovations, um
1:15:33adding mobile payment, Facebook pages,
1:15:37claiming your Google page, um and just
1:15:39being really present in
1:15:41um in social media. It's such a big
1:15:43thing and
1:15:45um and just being able to be
1:15:47um keeping up with all of the technology
1:15:49that's happening. Um and not being
1:15:52afraid to retool. That is another huge
1:15:55one cuz I know a lot of existing owners,
1:15:57myself included, it's hard cuz you know,
1:16:00I just paid my loan off and I was like,
1:16:01oh gosh, and I
1:16:03you know, I paid my loan off, the
1:16:04bearing goes out.
1:16:06>> Right.
1:16:06>> But um
1:16:07but just not being afraid to retool
1:16:10because um my laundromat has made
1:16:12substantial growth in the last few
1:16:15oh jeez, since September of 2025.
1:16:19I cuz I admittedly, I kind of just
1:16:22let it go. Um not cleanliness or
1:16:25anything like that, but I wasn't paying
1:16:26much attention to it and I you know, had
1:16:29a meeting with my husband and we decided
1:16:31we really wanted to take it to the next
1:16:32level, so we re-rebranded, did the Our
1:16:34Community Laundromat thing. Um we
1:16:36started being more present there every
1:16:38day.
1:16:39Um I raised prices, which was long due,
1:16:42long overdue.
1:16:43Um I think you and I had talked about
1:16:45that even um a year ago or so.
1:16:48Um
1:16:48raised my prices. The customers didn't
1:16:50complain at all. I have PayRange, which
1:16:53if if you guys don't know is a mobile
1:16:54app that accepts mobile payment. Um and
1:16:59what else? I'm I'm
1:17:01retooling, painting. I have floors, new
1:17:03floors going in that are scheduled. So,
1:17:05just not being afraid to reinvest as a
1:17:08whole. Like cuz you have to reinvest to
1:17:10keep those customers wanting to come cuz
1:17:11like I said, there's some laundromats
1:17:12where I walk in where they're not
1:17:14reinvesting or doing anything. And I can
1:17:16see why they're not doing well. It's
1:17:18very obvious when you walk into a
1:17:20laundromat, oh I can tell why you're not
1:17:21doing well. I wouldn't want to come
1:17:22here. You know, or or oh my gosh, this
1:17:25laundromat is beautiful. We have one
1:17:27over on the west side that they serve
1:17:29ice cream. It's like ice cream at a
1:17:31laundromat. Like what a cool idea. Don't
1:17:33be afraid to do innovative things like
1:17:35that, you know.
1:17:36>> Yeah.
1:17:36>> So, hopefully I answered your question.
1:17:38I kind of feel like I got off on a
1:17:39tangent there.
1:17:40>> No, that's good. And actually uh make
1:17:42sure that you get some before and after
1:17:45pictures on the flooring. I just find
1:17:47that if you redo your flooring, it can
1:17:49make it feel like a whole new
1:17:51laundromat.
1:17:52>> Yes, it's a long time coming.
1:17:54>> Yeah, it is so underrated how big of a
1:17:57difference flooring can make. So, get
1:18:00before and afters.
1:18:01Uh
1:18:01>> Yeah, I'll send you some photos.
1:18:03I'm excited. This is the original floor
1:18:05when I bought it and it's it's got holes
1:18:07in it. It looks awful. So, um finally
1:18:10pulled the trigger on that. So, yeah,
1:18:12I'm very excited. I'll show you.
1:18:14>> Yeah, I'd love to see it. I'd love to
1:18:16see it. Um awesome. Okay,
1:18:19uh
1:18:20any anything else that we need to talk
1:18:22about here uh from the maintenance side
1:18:24or from just your experience? I want to
1:18:26make sure we cover everything. I know
1:18:28you're dropping wisdom bombs left and
1:18:31right here. I want to make sure we cover
1:18:33everything.
1:18:33>> Um yeah, just I feel like I could talk
1:18:35about it all day.
1:18:36Um
1:18:36>> I know me too, that's a problem.
1:18:38>> [laughter]
1:18:39>> Um jeez, I would and also just for those
1:18:42people looking to buy, I think I might
1:18:43have already touched on this, but just
1:18:46just understanding
1:18:48that you do have to really kind of know
1:18:50your machines. I mean, you know, and and
1:18:52I joke around I say each machine has its
1:18:54own personality and they really do and
1:18:56>> That's true actually, yeah.
1:18:57>> Yeah, they do and each machine has it,
1:18:59you know, its own personality and its
1:19:01own set of problems and and not being
1:19:03afraid to get in you can get in there
1:19:05and try to fix those machines. Um cuz it
1:19:08is it is it's a big
1:19:10it's a big deal to know your machines.
1:19:13>> Do you ever have I'm just I'm asking
1:19:15this for
1:19:16person who maybe wants to try to delve
1:19:18into that but is afraid that they might
1:19:20mess them up. Do you ever have somebody
1:19:21who's
1:19:22tried to work on a machine and
1:19:25>> Oh, yeah.
1:19:25>> fix it or made it worse?
1:19:27>> All the time. All the time.
1:19:29>> Okay.
1:19:30>> Yeah, but
1:19:31>> do you think less of that person?
1:19:33>> No.
1:19:34No, I was that person.
1:19:35Um no, I think you're awesome. I think
1:19:37if you want to to try to fix your own
1:19:38machine and I tell my customers this all
1:19:40the time um cuz we have a lot of
1:19:42customers that want to fix their own
1:19:44machines and so they'll call me and be
1:19:45like, "Hey Bree, how do I do this? Uh
1:19:47hey, I'm stuck on this." And if you have
1:19:49your local distributor and their
1:19:50technicians, they're probably going to
1:19:52be just like me and be like, "Hey, let
1:19:53me help you." Like um and I'll help
1:19:56people over the phone. It's free to talk
1:19:57to me on the phone.
1:19:59Um
1:20:00and so
1:20:01>> me.
1:20:02What the heck? [laughter]
1:20:03I'm just kidding.
1:20:04>> I'm charging you for this.
1:20:05>> I know.
1:20:06>> Um
1:20:07but yeah, yeah, no, I say more power to
1:20:10it. If you want to try to open up a
1:20:11machine and and again, what I tell
1:20:13there's nothing that you can do
1:20:15that I can't fix. It might cost you more
1:20:17money for me to fix it cuz I have to
1:20:19figure out what you did, but there's
1:20:21nothing that you can do that I can't
1:20:22fix. So, I have for example, I have one
1:20:24maintenance guy um
1:20:26a little local owner here, he loves
1:20:27fixing them. He's like, "Bree, what if I
1:20:29can't do it?" I was like, "I'll come
1:20:30help you. If you can't do it, call me.
1:20:32I'll come up here and help you put it in
1:20:34there, but you can do it." And he he did
1:20:35it. Um
1:20:36so, yeah, I I would say don't be afraid
1:20:38of it. If anything, you're going to
1:20:39learn more just getting in there,
1:20:41getting your hands dirty, and opening up
1:20:42the machines, and truly learning how
1:20:44they work. That's how I started.
1:20:46Just pulling it apart and not being
1:20:47afraid to mess something up. If you mess
1:20:50it up, there's people out there that can
1:20:51help you.
1:20:52>> Yeah. Well, that's why I asked that cuz
1:20:54I know a lot of people feel like, uh "If
1:20:56I mess it up, it's going to be
1:20:57embarrassing. I'm going to call Brea up
1:20:59and be like, 'Brea,
1:21:00I don't know what I'm doing.'"
1:21:02>> And I do not think less of anybody for
1:21:04it. I think that I think it's again, I
1:21:06think it's more power to you. My biggest
1:21:08piece of advice is make sure it's
1:21:09unplugged.
1:21:11>> Yes. That's
1:21:12That's wisdom right there. That is
1:21:14wisdom right there.
1:21:15>> Yeah.
1:21:16I've seen a lot of people blow stuff up
1:21:18that way, so.
1:21:19>> Yeah.
1:21:19>> Make sure it's unplugged first and then
1:21:21have at it.
1:21:22>> Yeah.
1:21:23Well, listen. Uh first of all, thank you
1:21:25so much for coming on. You are
1:21:28incredible. You're doing amazing stuff.
1:21:30You've been doing amazing stuff for a
1:21:31really long time, and I'm glad we
1:21:33finally were able to kind of make this
1:21:34work. Um
1:21:36I think there's probably a lot of people
1:21:37listening to this who are inspired by
1:21:39your story. Uh maybe they're younger
1:21:43uh or you know, just trying to get in
1:21:45the business or they're an owner who's
1:21:47just inspired by your perspective on the
1:21:49industry. I think there's going to be
1:21:50people like that. Uh is there is there a
1:21:53way they can get a hold of you? Uh just,
1:21:55you know, drop you an email or something
1:21:56like that?
1:21:57>> Yeah. Yeah, you can um they can
1:21:59definitely email me.
1:22:01Um
1:22:02Do you want to give my email on here or
1:22:03can you attach it or?
1:22:05>> Yeah, I we'll we'll put it in the show
1:22:06notes.
1:22:07>> Okay, perfect. Yeah.
1:22:08>> And then if you're on YouTube, they'll
1:22:09be down below or the email will be down
1:22:11below with all the other links.
1:22:12>> Perfect, yeah.
1:22:13>> description. So, yeah, we'll put it in
1:22:14there. Um and uh man, connect up. Uh
1:22:18right, networking is so so important in
1:22:20this industry. I
1:22:22you know, that's why those shows are so
1:22:24important to go to, the networking, you
1:22:26know, getting that support. Um even just
1:22:28somebody who kind of understand like
1:22:31what made me feel really like me
1:22:32personally, what aside from just hanging
1:22:34out with you, which I like doing also,
1:22:36but what made me feel really good about
1:22:38this is that you have a little bit of
1:22:40solidarity in our first experience in
1:22:44the industry, you know, like
1:22:45>> The big L.
1:22:47>> We took some lumps, you know, we took
1:22:48some lumps and uh but we're still here
1:22:51and uh we still believe in this industry
1:22:53and we still uh enjoy this industry and
1:22:56I like that, right? And so just having
1:22:58somebody who understands
1:23:01you know, what you're going through and
1:23:02what you're dealing with. Like a lot of
1:23:04people don't and that's why I kind of
1:23:06wanted to touch on the parent thing,
1:23:08right? Because your parents understood
1:23:09it and were a support with you in that.
1:23:12A lot of times the people who say, "Why
1:23:14would you buy a laundromat? That's a big
1:23:16mistake." or "I hope you don't mess up."
1:23:18or you know, those kinds of comments
1:23:19that can discourage us, they just don't
1:23:21understand uh right? So you've got to
1:23:24surround yourself by people who get you.
1:23:27So
1:23:28>> 100% I completely agree with that.
1:23:31>> Yeah, so So I appreciate you. Thank you
1:23:34so much for taking the time to come on
1:23:35the show.
1:23:37Uh
1:23:37you know, even if nobody else got
1:23:39anything out of this, I loved it and and
1:23:41definitely did, but I know for a fact
1:23:43that people are going to love this
1:23:44episode for sure.
1:23:45>> Perfect. I hope I hope I gave some some
1:23:47wisdom and I hope people can take
1:23:49something out of it and again, if you
1:23:51want to reach out or have any questions,
1:23:52definitely shoot me an email.
1:23:54>> Yeah, and my my main hope here is that
1:23:56you just don't get flooded with emails
1:23:58and [laughter]
1:24:00>> Yeah, so
1:24:00>> Just overwhelm her people, overwhelm
1:24:02her. It'll be great. She doesn't have
1:24:04anything else going on.
1:24:05>> Yeah, yeah.
1:24:06I haven't quite got to that relaxation
1:24:08yet, so
1:24:09>> Okay, she's not there well, let's not
1:24:11let her get there anytime soon then.
1:24:13Uh just kidding. Thank you so much Bree
1:24:15for coming on and uh love to see you
1:24:18some pictures of that floor when you get
1:24:19there and uh you know, obviously we'll
1:24:21stay in touch, too.
1:24:23>> Definitely, sounds good. Thank you for
1:24:24having me.
1:24:25>> Anytime, you're welcome anytime.
1:24:28All right, I hope you loved that episode
1:24:30with Brian. So much good stuff in there.
1:24:32Listen, take something, one thing, put
1:24:35it into practice. There were so many
1:24:37things you can do
1:24:38uh to just
1:24:40take some action today on furthering
1:24:43your goals. Uh Brian gave you tons and
1:24:45tons of ammo to work with there. So,
1:24:48pick something and uh listen, if you
1:24:49can't pick anything, you can't think of
1:24:51anything to do, then the next best thing
1:24:54that you can do is head over to lawn
1:24:55care business resource.com/pro and uh
1:24:57join the pro community and sign up to
1:25:00jump into a mastermind group and also
1:25:04use all the tools and resources and all
1:25:05that stuff as well. But, get in a
1:25:07mastermind group cuz really
1:25:09when you get together with people,
1:25:11like-minded people,
1:25:14with similar goals, magical things
1:25:16happen. I can't explain it. I don't know
1:25:17exactly how it works, but it works. It's
1:25:20why I pay big money every single year to
1:25:22do exactly that in our industry and
1:25:25outside of our industry. And this is not
1:25:28big money and you get to do it with
1:25:30people in our industry. So,
1:25:32uh lawn care business resource.com/pro
1:25:34and uh if you can think of it, pick one
1:25:36thing from the episode, put it into
1:25:38action this week, today if possible, and
1:25:41we'll see you in the next one. Peace.

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