When did you get into the laundry biz?

[Rhino]

How old were you when you purchased your first mat? Also what made you want to get into the laundry biz in the first place? Myself I was 19 and I thought it was a good investment.

[CanCanCase]

When did I get into the laundry biz? No lie... TODAY! well... There was my dumpy rehab mat that I ran for the last 2 months, but with all the hassles of collecting quarters, maintenance on equipment older that two of me, and my general distaste for dirty things, I'm not counting any of that in my short history.

I'm literally posting this at the end of our first day of operations in the new store, and I'm beginning to wonder if they're going to give me the key to the city based on all the favorable comments so far...

34 when the property for this store was purchased, 35 when the second store was purchased, 35 when the first store opened, and possibly 35 when the third, fourth, fifth (!?) stores come into being...

- Case

[YoungJedi]

36. This year. Just opened on Jan 1. Finished majority of rehab and finally getting a feel for the flow of the biz since I'm not spending every evening and pre-JOB moment working on old machines.

[Super Clean]

I was 15 when my grandfather would head to Florida for a month and leave me in charge. I bought the laundromat from my grandfather when I was 27, 6 years ago now.

[DaveLevenson]

How old were you when you purchased your first mat? Also what made you want to get into the laundry biz in the first place? Myself I was 19 and I thought it was a good investment.

58.

I had been in the pay telephone business for about ten years, and liked the service-vending aspect of that business. The business was slowly dying as more and more of my customers began carrying and using cellular wireless telephones. I decided in 2003 to buy or start a new business, and began considering the locations where I had pay phones installed. These included mostly bars, restaurants, gas stations, and laundromats. After some serious consideration, the choice seemed obvious. I bought my laundromat in 2005. I'm also still in the pay phone business, and it's still shrinking.

[Adamski]

Rhino,

My dad bought his first laundromat when I was 16. I remember thinking Just my luck ... I'm now old enough to drive and my dad switches from the new car business to laundromats. Anyway, I helped him run his two laundromats until I turned 19. That's when I bought my first two laundromats (at one time). Over the years, I've owned 5 different laundromats at one time or other and I'm coming up on my 42nd year of operating them.

[bo]

Bought my first mat in 1981. I was 23. Went full time in 1990 with three mats.

[canon]

Built my first mat in 1999 at 37. Rehabed one in 2001. Built 4 more since then

[Brett]

Bought first mat in 92, one year before I retired from the Army. Second one two years later. Third just 15 months ago.