A business that opens every day, operates practically on its own and barely requires half an hour of daily work may seem, at first glance, a simple source of income. But behind a self-service laundry there are also machines that cost thousands of euros, rent, soap, electricity, gas and an investment that can take years to recover.
That is the case of Mark, owner of a self-service laundry in a small municipality of Castellón, who decided to open it after verifying that there was none in the town.
He explained it in an interview on the ‘Eric Ponce’ YouTube channel, where he has detailed practically all the numbers of a washing machine business, from the initial investment to what it bills in summer and winter.
“I was looking for a business that didn’t require me to be there for a long time,” he explains.
60,000 euros only in the machines
Your day-to-day life is quite simple when no incidents appear.
“Half an hour to clean and collect and that’s it,” he says. In total, he estimates that he spends about two or three hours a week doing laundry, in addition to ordering soap every few months.
But getting there wasn’t cheap.
He installed four washing machines and three dryers, with an investment of 60,000 euros only in machinery. Then he spent another 15,000 euros to renovate the premises and around 5,000 euros more on the gas installation.
That is, about 80,000 euros before starting to operate, a figure similar to that collected in other information about your business.
In addition, it had a major setback: the gas took six months to be ready.
“Those six months I was spending the rent money because I loved the place and I didn’t want anyone to take it away from me.”
“You are not going to get rich”
Billing changes a lot depending on the season. Mark explains that in summer he can earn around 1,900 or 2,000 euros per month, while his best months are around 4,000.
Winter works better because dryers are used more and customers bring bulkier clothing, such as blankets or duvets.
Now, billing does not mean earning that amount.
He spent about 7,000 euros a year on soap alone. To this we must add approximately 357 euros of monthly rent, electricity, gas and a fee of about 550 euros for the loan.
During his first year, he estimates that he obtained around 3,000 euros in profit, a profitability close to 3.75%, although he hopes to increase it to 5% or 6%.
That is why he estimates that it will take “about seven or eight years” to recover the initial investment.
And precisely there it introduces the most important nuance for anyone who sees this type of establishment as a completely passive business.
“You don’t have to take it as a main business, but as a separate business with which you earn something,” he explains.
Because it requires little time, yes, but a lot of capital.
“You’re not going to get rich or make a lot of money. It’s more about providing a service and making an extra every month.”
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Still, I would do it again. The reason is simple: you can keep it as a side business while you dedicate your time to other projects.