Getting Started- from scratch

[Washergal]

I am looking to get a new mat started in an area that does not have any other laundry mats. It is a small town with med. to high income. I know it is dificult to start one here because of the fact that there are no sewers and all the plazas are on septics that will not allow for this type of business. My question is, Is there any way for me to poll the residents to see if one is needed? I would like to know this before I persue the issue and spend money on new septics ect. I have checked out the surrounding towns Laundry Mats and their busness looks great, but I don't know which town these customers are from. Is this just one of those leaps of faith a new business owner has to take or is there some way I can stack the odds in my favor? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

[RWSmith]

I think I would start with a demographic profile of the area you are interested in. I would then obtain demographics of the areas that have "great" coin laundries and compare the information.
CLA is publishing a survey on coin laundry customers. The survey includes household income, size of household, amount spent on each visit, etc.. This information might be of some value in determing the viability of your project.
I think your biggest hurdle will be a septic system large enough to handle the volume needed for a coin laundry.
The few laundries I have seen on a septic system have been very small, low $$volume, with large amounts of land for their drain fields.
Good-Luck