What You Always Needed to Know About Running a Self-Service Laundry…

By Stephen Bean | Dec 02, 2009

Being a laundry machinery distributor and therefore in the business of developing self-service laundry businesses for my clients, it never ceases to constantly amaze me how many people initially approach the subject naively, believing that the mere existence of the business is all that’s needed to ensure their success.

Typically, individuals suffering from this malady of thought are likely to have never owned businesses before and their perception is limited to simply noticing people who do. On the surface, it all looks very easy and glamorous – they see the business owner as merely taking in money, not working very hard, having a fancy title and perhaps driving the latest model luxury automobile. Then, when they finally enter the business world themselves, they often fail or do poorly, and more often than not they can’t seem to figure out why this occurred.

Owning and operating a small business is a big responsibility. Normally, the small-business owner has to work extremely long hours and wear many hats. For example, the typical small-business owner is the marketing manager, the operations director, the chief financial officer, the personnel director, and perhaps the truck driver and garbage person as well. And the list goes on and on.

I hosted a popular radio talk show in the Detroit market called “Entrepreneurial Focus,” and I used to say on each program, “It’s great owning a business because you only have to work half a day, and you can do whatever you like with the other 12 hours.” I was never quite sure whether or not my listeners grasped the seriousness of that statement.

The success or failure of most small businesses is most often solely dependent upon the skills and work habits of the owner. Businesses don’t become successful on their own; the owner has to make it happen by being proactive. While it is obviously true that the first step to being in business for yourself is to actually have a business, it also is true that the next step is to make that enterprise a success through dedication and hard work. Having a gun does not make you a gunslinger, and as I repeatedly say, “I bet on the jockey, not on the horse.”

In my view, owning and successfully running a business is an art form. You need to develop skills that will protect and grow the business, such as being completely honest with yourself regarding the true quality of your product or service in terms of how customers and prospective customers view it. After all, you may believe your self-service laundry is the greatest place to do wash on the planet; however, what really matters is what the customers think about your business.

Also, most successful businesses have a distinct personality and some unique selling features – you need to create these. For example, you can have extended store hours or a night where you offer live music, or perhaps customers can enter to win free washes or free lottery tickets or free gasoline. The list is as long as you are creative.

And speaking of being creative (one of my favorite subjects), I find that successful small-business owners are usually extremely creative. In fact, I believe that creativity is an absolute essential ingredient in the entrepreneurial success formula. Creative people simply know more and have more ideas – and the best way to become more creative is to simply become more curious. Curious people tend to read a lot and explore things and, by doing so, they create a large reserve of information that often manifests itself in new and innovative ideas on running their business.

If you ponder the subject, you will quite logically conclude that you can use creativity in all aspects of your business, from marketing to managing employees. If you lack creativity, there is no dynamic nature to your business, and it will soon become obvious to your customers and prevent your growth. So, my advice is to work on developing your creative abilities. You can start the process by working on becoming more curious about all of the diversified aspects of life. Curiosity is the fundamental foundation leading to the development of creativity, which will translate into making you a far better business owner and manager.

There is a big difference between just owning a business and actually running one. Owning a business is a passive act, whereas running a business is a dynamic, ongoing series of events. If you are proactive, things will happen for you; however, if you are reactive, they likely will happen to you. Huge difference.

In addition, past performance does not necessarily predict future results. This phrase certainly applies to investments in stock market but also to running your business. So, work to get more creative and more proactive. Even if your past performance was not record-setting, you can change the direction by changing your focus. It’s never too late to improve your skills and focus, because there is a comeback for every setback.

Always remember that merely owning a business is simply the first thrilling step and that the next step is methodically, proactively running the enterprise. As singer John Mellencamp noted in one of his songs, “Life goes on long after the thrill of living is gone.”