Connecting with an experienced laundromat owner

[Bryan Adams]

I am in the Dallas/Ft Worth area and am having a bit of trouble finding a laundromat owner that will talk with me. I have reached out to several through their websites or facebook pages, but I am not getting any response. Do yall have any suggestions on how to find another owner to speak with and ask questions.

[Dave “Laundromat Millionaire” Menz]

Bryan, You are very unlikely to find a local laundromat owner that’d be willing to help you at all. Even if you’re a few hours away, most mat owners are very leary to share information with someone local or even semi local. I wish I had better news.

Often times you can find good advice from a reputable local equity distributor but that’s very hit and miss. Distributors automatically have a built in conflict in most cases. If you are a new customer, they likely have loyalty to existing customers rather than to you. Also they make money by selling you equipment. The best ones will only be interested in your profitability and success. They understand that your success equals their success. Those distributors are out there but are fairly rare so be cautious and careful until you get to know them.

Your best bet in learning the business is to watch and listen to podcasts like Jordan’s, American Coin Op Podcast, etc. Read everything you can get your hands on and be active in forums like this one and Facebook forums like “Laundromat Owners Only”.

Lastly I do have a YouTube channel under the name “Laundromat Millionaire” if you’re interested. It’s all free content and designed to help elevate our industry. Best wishes to you!

[Ronald Morris]

Hey Bryan,
Here are a few tips on finding a mentor.

Try not to ask easily googleable questions right off the bat. Whoever you’re speaking with won’t want to help you unless you’ve taken the time to learn at least some of the basics.

Don’t ask right away “Can you be my mentor?” this stuff needs to happen organically.

Be consistent and come ready to work. This means be ready to clean their laundromats if they ask or do what you can within your skillset, bring value. Offer your services to make their lives easier even if its basic stuff the worst that can happen is, they decline.

Be ok with paying. If you’re serious be ok with paying them for their services until you’ve built up a relationship, then ask if they’ve ever thought of taking on a mentor roll and be ok with a no answer.

These people have specialized skills in a place people are really getting interested in. Many won’t have the time or patients to deal with whoever comes along off the internet. They probably get hundreds to thousands of e mails asking for advice, so you need to differentiate yourself.

For more practical tips look into your local SBA office. Many offer free sessions with local business owners. You sign up, fill out basic info on what you’re looking for and they match you with someone. If the first meeting goes well, ask for their e mail address AND FOLLOW UP. Tell them thank you so much for their time and mention something you learned from them. End by asking if they would be ok with you e mailing them periodically with questions or general updates. The biggest thing is not to appear desperate and needy, let it grow organically and be helpful.

[Bryan Adams]

Thank you so much Dave and Ronald for the suggestions and perspective. I have starting digging deeper into them.

[Author]

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