WASH, RINSE, OPTIMIZE
aka, how AI can help a laundromat business grow
Who doesn't love going down the YouTube rabbit hole and watching one subject or one creator for hours at end?
I know I sure do.
Someone I recently started binge watching on YouTube is Codie Sanchez. She hosts a show on buying boring businesses.
And it turns out boring businesses make you a lot of money, which makes them really good investments 🤔
Take laundromats for example.
There are so many benefits to owning a laundromat!
Recession proof. People do laundry during all economic times.
Steady cash flow. Can generate up to 300K annually.
Low overhead. Low inventory.
Sell at a multiple of 3X to 5X when you exit. Plus, quick equity due to short-term loans.
Scalability. Add income streams with services like drycleaning.
95% success rate. Better than restaurants. 60% fail 😞
Excellent ROI. 20% - 35 % on average. Better than real estate or stocks.
Low labor costs. They run on a skeleton crew.
Often in high traffic locations. Good for getting customers.
Kind of passive income. If you plan properly, you can cut your time as manager to 15 hours a week (or less).
Like I said, I like to go down the YouTube rabbit hole. It's like a rainy Netflix weekend, but more informative.
This recent binge on ETA, or entrepreneurialism through acquisition (the fancy term used in MBA programs) got me thinking about how AI can help a laundromat.
And it turns out AI can actually do a lot for laundromats.
So, if you're a laundromat owner, AI technology might be that business partner you’ve been looking for to help you modernize your business and give it that much desired razor-sharp competitive edge.
Here are some of the things AI can do for a laundromat.
Streamline operations
Enhance customer experience
Boost overall efficiency
Cut back on costs
Provide you with some pretty brilliant ideas for marketing (and the tools necessary for executing those brilliant ideas).
So, let's take a look at some of the ways a laundromat owner can use AI to boost your business.
#1. SMART MACHINES
Over time you want to invest in some AI-powered washing machines and dryers.
They do things like adjust settings based on fabric type, load size, dirt level and help save you money by optimizing water and energy usage. Cool stuff.
For anyone not in the laundromat world, two big bills laundromat owners get hit with are water and electricity.
And these bills can be high!!!
Saving money in those two areas is always a plus.
My sources tell me Whirlwind Smart Appliances are worth checking out 😉
#2. ROBOTS
Robots are also a good business investment for laundromats.
They can do tasks like cleaning bathrooms or vacuuming floors. And if you want to get really fancy, you can even employ robots for sorting and folding clothes.
There's a robot for everything these days.
Your employees will thank you, too.
With that added free time your staff can focus on the things that robots can't do, like offering genuine human interaction to your customers.
Maybe you want to host community events to help promote your business and gain more customers.
Maybe host a talk on starting a small business or a social event like speed dating. The possibilities are infinite.
Robots can’t do that. Humans can 🥳
#3. MARKETING
Here's where it gets fun. Or at least for me as a digital marketer.
AI can help you with all your marketing needs.
And I mean all of them.
This list is long just to warn you.
You can use AI tools like Midjourney or Leonardo.ai to create a logo, graphics for your social media, or even for wall art for inside your laundromat.
When creating AI art all you have to do is feed it the right prompts. Describe the vision you have in your head and AI will produce something spectacular.
And if it's not spectacular the first time, keep trying. You'll find what you're looking for.
Or maybe something even better.
Tools like Photoshop or Canva can be used to add text for graphics.
AI tools like Writesonic will help with copywriting and content writing. Craft witty slogans, marketing emails, blogs, Facebook posts (not gonna lie, ChatGPT came up with the title of this article).
Use Tome to design your website and Semrush to help boost your SEO. And if you don't know what SEO is, just ask ChatGPT.
You can create a jingle for your business with Boomy. Create animated commercials with Runway. Voiceovers with Play.ht.
Many of these tools offer free trials or are free all together. Make sure to read the fine print about commercial rights. Some make you pay to keep the rights.
You're gonna want to have a social media marketing campaign planned with frequent social media posts, too.
Save yourself time and stress by using tools like Loomly to organize and schedule your posts for each platform.
Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, or YouTube. You don't need to be on all of them, just pick according to your target audience
Targeting big clients like hospitals, go with LinkedIn.
Targeting suburban boomers, it's Facebook.
Targeting urban millennials and Zoomers, TikTok.
Best thing of all, you can repurpose content across different platforms.
Like I said, marketing is a lot of fun.
Oh, and if you need help with branding, just look to ChatGPT for inspiration.
It helped me come up with the name of my future laundromat. Spin. It's gonna have a nightclub theme to it. Like Splash in Spain (its the hottest laundromat around) 😏
#4. PAYMENT SOLUTIONS
And there ends the fun part of this content 😴
Now let's talk about how AI can benefit you in all those boring but necessary ways.
Like AI-driven payment solutions. Options like mobile payments reduce the need for handling cash and enhance payment security.
#5. ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Use AI-driven energy management systems to optimize heating, cooling, and lighting throughout your laundromat. Something like a Nest Learning Thermostat.
This will help cut back on costs.
#6. MAINTENANCE
Another way AI can help your laundromat business is by telling you when maintenance is needed. Placing AI sensors on your machines will help monitor their condition, reducing downtime and ensuring that your equipment operates smoothly.
#7. CHATBOTS
It benefits every business to have an online presence these days.
Laundromats are no exception.
One of the hottest AI solutions out there today for your website is the chatbot. You probably see them all the time.
Integrated into your website, the chatbot assists customers 24/7 with any questions they have. This helps enhance the user experience.
You can even build your own chatbot if you don't want to hire an AI Automation Agency. Botpress is your go to for chatbot building. A great source for all things chatbot related is Liam Ottley.
And if building your own chatbot doesn’t sound like something you want to try, you can hire an agency to build one for you.
#8. INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
Not only can AI help you manage your equipment. It can also help you manage your inventory. Cents is a popular software used in the laundromat industry for tracking inventory, and many other aspects of the laundromat industry.
AI-powered systems can monitor detergent and fabric softener levels, guaranteeing you never run out of all those essential laundry supplies.
#9. CUSTOMER INSIGHT AND FEEDBACK ANALYSIS
AI can collect customer feedback from reviews and surveys, analyze data on customer preferences, and identify trends.
Your business can then use this data-driven information to tailor your services, target marketing efforts, and make improvements to the laundromat.
And another great thing is that you can even apply AI to spreadsheets 🤗
#10. FINANCIAL FORECASTING AND BUSINESS PLANNING
AI algorithms analyze historical data and market trends. With this information you can make informed decisions on pricing and other investments.
And if you’re looking for an AI tool to help you with creating and executing a business plan, look no further than Bizway.
#11. SECURITY
AI-powered security cameras help you detect unusual or suspicious activity around your business and send you alerts in real-time.
You could get one of those robot cops from Boston Dynamic. But that would be a bit overkill.
#12. SCHEDULING
And last, AI can help you with the nightmare that is scheduling. Thankfully there’s scheduling software to fix that.
Pretty amazing stuff!
There are definitely lots of options to choose from here. It might feel a little overwhelming given the volume of choices.
Pick which areas you want to tackle first for your laundromat business and play around with those AI tools.
AI is here to help you. It's a business partner that makes things run faster and more smoothly.
Oh, and if you’re interested in learning more about buying boring businesses like a laundromat, Codie Sanchez also has a newsletter called Contrarian Thinking. One of the best newsletters out there IMHO.
You're never going to look at a laundromat the same way again. And don't even get me started on car washes 🤑