How to determine the smallest viable 'mat size?

[Sudds]

Or.... depending on where you are located or thinking of setting a small location up, consider meeting or helping someone that is already in the business to give you a feel for what it will be like. Good luck. Thanks.

[Xiong]

to me, the "smallest viable mat size" could be one machine, if that machine could do enough to justify my investment and returns.

imagine if this one machine (i.e. washer) could just do 3 turns per hour or 72 turns per day, that would be much much better than having 72 machines each doing one turn per day?
besides, one machine will cost much much less than 72 machines, and getting you the same results

what should matter is the bottomline?
should your decision be can you make the money you want in that laundromat or machine?

also you can learn a lot on a website like this, even without owning a laundrymat
i'm sure there are people on here who can teach you how to take a part a laundry machine as well as put that machine together, or fix just about everything in a laundrymat. just ask your question....
i'm already becoming an expert in fixing coin jams, adjusting dryer temperature, etc ....
over the weekend i dismantled a toploader, and i was amazed it's nothing more than a tin-can for the drum

[psclaundry]

I'm fairly new in the biz, three years. Best thing I did was get a good rep from from a large distributor to help me do a demographics study. That can show you who lives in your area, not just how many, but income wise, whether they buy or rent, ethnicity, etc, and an experienced rep/consultant can forecast the dollars spent on laundry in the area. Your share of that pot depends on the competition, both how close they are and how good they are. Don't plan to compete on price, because if you're buying new machines and competing against someone with older equipment, you're going to lose.

Also, no matter how small your mat, include some larger machines. Mine is in a town of only 600. No other mat within 10 miles. We do get seasonal influx in the summer from boaters, campers, cottage owners, etc, but it's only for 90 days.

I've got 6 Neptunes, 2 top loaders, 2 30# and one 60# washer (11 Tot.) and 6 stack dryers with 30# pockets plus one 75# dryer. The 60# washer with the 75# dryer draws in people who would never otherwise come here.

I'm breaking even and didn't build this to provide an income. It brings new customers to town for all the businesses here and keeps our locals home.