How LaundroLab Supports Its Franchisees from the Start

LaundroLab, the elevated laundromat franchise, has been successfully franchising since 2021. 

A considerable part of the brand’s success comes from the support it sets its franchisees up with from the moment they inquire. 

Support Starts Early

As far back as the discovery process, LaundroLab aims to be as transparent as possible with prospective franchisees. This means being open about everything, especially regarding financials. 

“Looking at other brands’ Item 7s and Item 19s. They’re not as detailed as I would want them to be if I was an investor,” said LaundroLab Director of Franchise Operations Beck Miller. “So, we put a lot of time and effort into ensuring everything is itemized and laid out very clearly.”

The franchise has even built out a pro forma tool for them to be able to take the inputs from Item 7 and Item 19 and make assumptions with their own local market knowledge to build out what their business could actually look like.

LaundroLab knows that its laundromat builds are not cheap, so it is important to the brand that prospective owners know exactly what they are getting into from the beginning. 

The Post-Signing Process

Once an owner signs the franchise agreement, they are assigned a new store opening project manager who will be their main point of contact for everything from the franchise agreement all the way through the grand opening. 

They will also work with LaundroLab’s master real estate broker, as well as a local real estate broker, to find sites that meet all of the approved criteria. All of the territories are vetted using different data inputs, such as population, household income and density of multifamily units without a washer and dryer. 

Once a site is found, the LaundroLab team assists throughout the lease negotiation. They will recommend a preferred lawyer if the franchisee doesn’t already have one they want to work with. 

“We have things that we like to look for in leases that we will make the attorney aware of,” said Miller. “It's going to make for a better franchisee experience over the length of the agreement if they have a good lease.”

From there, a new franchisee will continue to work with their new store opening project manager, as well as preferred architectural and construction partners, which the brand requires. 

About two months away from their projected open date, franchisees are brought to Charlotte, North Carolina, for their first big training called LaundoLab 101. For four days, they are on-site at the laundromat getting their hands dirty, as well as spending time at headquarters learning best practices. 

When the opening date gets closer, a franchise business coach will be sent out for two days to be with franchisees on-site during the soft opening phase. 

“Between them initially opening their doors and when they do their big grand opening event, we'll have someone there with them for two days,” said Miller. “They will help with any kind of training that may have been forgotten or if there’s a specific thing that maybe we didn't talk about. It's really just to go through that final punch list of the store and make sure everything they ordered is there and then support them during their first couple days.”  

Ongoing Franchise Support

After LaundroLab franchisees open, the ownership of that account transitions over to the franchise business coach, who is in charge of all of their ongoing operations.

This includes being available to answer frequent calls and calming any new-owner jitters, as well as helping them work through any issues that may arise. During the early stages, the owner will also meet regularly with a field marketing manager to go through marketing strategies and other suggestions. 

The franchise business coach will also examine the financial aspects of the business. For example, they will go over the previous two weeks and review topics such as revenue and where they need to be in six months to make money as a business owner. 

“The franchise business coach provides new owners that extra insight to help them drive good decision-making for net margin,” said Miller. 

For franchisees who want to open multiple locations, LaundoLab aims to make it as smooth as possible. In fact, the average license per LaundoLab franchisee is three units.

A prospective LaundroLab owner needs $500k liquidity and a $1M minimum net worth. A new LaundroLab store can range anywhere from $1.1M–$1.7M, which includes equipment, buildout, franchise fee, working capital and more. For more information on franchising, visit https://www.laundrolabfranchise.com/opportunity.

About LaundroLab:

LaundroLab was founded in 2020 as the brick-and-mortar counterpart to laundry and dry-cleaning pick-up service 2ULaundry. The brand’s uniquely high-end amenities, including free Wi-Fi, lounge access and arcade games, made it an instant hit among the rapidly growing number of people and families in need of third-party laundry services. In 2021, LaundroLab launched its franchise opportunity, partnering with local entrepreneurs to help the brand continue to grow its footprint in markets across the U.S. Today, the brand is well on its way to achieving its ambitious nationwide goals, as the brand seeks to become a national leader in the $5 billion (and growing) laundry segment. For more information, please visit https://www.laundrolabfranchise.com/.