The Business of Laundry: Models That Work

In today’s laundromat industry, one truth holds across every market, model and mission: success requires more than just machines. Today’s operators must choose business models strategically, execute consistently, and lead with intention. Some lean into simple,...

Green is Good Business 

Green Operations Increasingly Important to Feed Consumer Demand  When Green Laundry Lounge co-owners Pulin and Krishna Dasai got into the vended laundry industry, they wanted to change a narrative: laundromats are water and energy-intensive businesses.   “The...

Metrics That Matter 

Profit, Performance, and Planning in Vended Laundry  The laundromat business is like most businesses in that you need to do a lot of things right to be successful. But how do you know if it’s working? According to successful owners, you just need to look at the...

Safety First, Last… Always

The Laundromat Owner’s Guide to Preventing Accidents, Protecting Your Business, and Controlling Your Insurance Costs As more and more entrepreneurs are discovering, running a laundromat can be a hugely rewarding business. But it also comes with its own set of risks...

PlanetLaundry Podcast

America’s #1 Resource for Vended Laundry News & Info

PlanetLaundry is the official publication of CLA and is trusted by thousands of laundry professionals to deliver the latest news and industry-specific topics.

A Long Time Coming

A Long Time Coming

Jason's Laundromat in Uniondale, N.Y., first opened its doors in July 2011. However, if co-owners Eddie Yacoub and Randy Shami had their way, the store would have been serving the community a lot sooner than that. For some time, Yacoub had identified the Uniondale...

The Card Game

The Card Game

In today's highly competitive market, there is no business that can afford to lag behind in technology. With smartphones becoming the norm, and various forms of credit and debit cards dominating payment choice, consumers increasingly base their buying decisions on...

One-Stop Washing

Originally posted - Jan 21, 2013 Capturing three revenue streams - a car wash, pet wash and a self-service laundry - Crystal Clear Wash in Montrose, Colo., is not only distinctive and profitable, but it also makes easy even easier. This three-in-one facility is...

Headlines

Take a Chance

Originally posted - Apr 12, 2013 "If we listened to our intellect, we'd never go into business because we'd be too cynical. Well, that's nonsense. You've got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down." - Annie Dillard, American author and...

10 Years….10 Lessons

Originally posted - May 06, 2013 I've been in the laundry business for the last 28 years, both as a distributor and a coin laundry owner. And, along the way, I've kept lists of the things I've learned. Some people collect stamps or coins or baseball cards. However, I...

Toughen Up!

Originally posted - Jun 27, 2014 I once read that "the ability to find energy and power from what we can't know or control provides an immense competitive advantage." Of course, as self-service laundry owners, we can only know so much about our businesses, the...

The Cost of Being Wrong

Originally posted - May 29, 2012 A fellow hands me a bag containing six marbles - five of the marbles of white and one is black - and he asks me to blindly draw a marble from the bag. If it's white, he says he'll pay me $20; however, if the marble is black, I must pay...

Stay Tuned

Originally posted - Jan 03, 2013 In a recent column, I discussed a relatively new field called neuromarketing, which combines neuroscience and marketing strategies, and is creating off-the-charts excitement and credibility in several business sectors around the world....

The Path to S-U-C-C-E-S-S

Originally posted - Aug 10, 2012 As coin laundry owners, sometimes we're simply too close to our businesses to actually see what we are doing wrong or the mistakes we are repeatedly making. Because most people are creatures of habit, we can easily get into the habit...

Crossing Paths

Originally posted - May 07, 2012 Those of you familiar with comedian Steven Wright have probably heard his hilarious one-liner about a man who asks a parachutist if he ever finds it frightening to jump out of airplanes - to which the parachutist deadpans: "I'm not...

At Your Service

Originally posted - Jun 03, 2014 Last time, I discussed some of the questions you should ask your wash-dry-fold customers in order to best process their laundry. In this article, I'd like to take that customer service topic a bit further and talk about training your...

Grease is the Word

Originally posted - Mar 07, 2014 During a recent webinar I conducted for the Coin Laundry Association, one of the questions that came up from several of the attendees was how to handle tough kitchen grease stains – either in a residential wash-dry-fold load or a...

Control Your Own Destiny

Originally posted - Oct 08, 2013 In last month's column, I wrote about the five biggest mistakes you can make when running your drop-off laundry business. One of the pitfalls I warned against was letting your employees work for themselves – essentially allowing your...

After Disaster Strikes

Originally posted - Oct 05, 2012 Previously, we looked at how fire and water garment restoration can be a profitable niche for some coin laundry owners – as well as how to potentially land this type of work. Now, let's assume that the restoration business has started...

Stain Removal: Back to Basics

Originally posted - Aug 27, 2014 I get calls from laundry owners every week, asking a number of questions about different ways to enhance their drop-off laundry businesses. However, the most common queries I receive revolve around stain removal. So, let's go back to...

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September Magazine Issue

This Month's Issue

 

  • Tech on the Rise: How Operators Are Using Innovation to Run Smarter, Faster Laundromats: From AI phone systems to real-time data tracking, operators and suppliers share how technology is reshaping the modern laundry business and what’s coming next.
  • Business Profile: Delivering a Superior
    Laundry Experience
  • Member Spotlight: Rick Rome –
    Innovating Laundry, One Customer at a Time
  • Guest Column: How AI Changed Google Reviews (What Laundromat Owners Need to Know)
  • And More…

THE LATEST ON LAUNDROMATS

Industry News

Alliance to Discontinue Sales of IPSO Equipment in U.S., Canada

Alliance Laundry Systems has announced that it will discontinue sales and marketing of IPSO-branded laundry equipment in the United States and Canada, beginning in April 2018. The move will not impact sales of the brand outside of the United States and Canada. "This...

Dexter Salutes Laundry Pro of Florida with Top Honor

Dexter Laundry recently recognized Western State Design at the manufacturer’s annual conference and awards ceremony, which was held earlier this year in Rome, Italy. The California-based distributor received top honors for its prior-year sales performance. In all, the...

Laundry Owners Warehouse Donates Washer to Pet Rescue Group

The number of abandoned pets in the U.S. is on the rise, and one organization working diligently to provide safe homes for these discarded pets is Abandoned Pet Rescue. Recently, Florida-based distributor Laundry Owners Warehouse donated a Dexter 200G Express Washer...

WASH Laundry Wins Microsoft ‘Visionary’ Award

California-Based Multi-Family Laundry Service Provider Recognized in Business Insights Category At Convergence 2015, Microsoft Corp.’s premier event for the business community, WASH Laundry was selected as a Visionary Award winner in the Business Insights category....

FROM YOUR FAVORITE INDUSTRY EXPERTS

Columns

The Laundry Doctor

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The Business Mind

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Wash With Wally

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Viewpoint

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Digital Marketing

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Strategic Corporate Allies Program

Our Strategic Corporate Allies support CLA’s mission through advocacy, education, and innovation to strengthen the industry, advance our members’ businesses, and prepare the next generation of laundry professionals for the future.

Interested in becoming a Strategic Corporate Ally of CLA? Contact President & CEO, Brian Wallace via email at [email protected] or call (630) 491-0499.