How to Buy a Commercial Laundry Business

Laundry businesses are not labor-intensive.

The efficiency of the commercial laundry business has improved significantly. Commercial laundry machines are more efficient, more powerful and consume less water. This business will not be affected even during a recession. You do not need any prior business experience to buy a commercial laundry business. Buying the business can help you cut down your start-up costs. The main advantage of buying a commercial laundry business is that it easier to establish a good client base.

Things You'll Need

• Business plan

Instructions

1. Write a business plan that includes the result of your market analysis. Incorporate your business overview, your competitor analysis, production and marketing plan, your target market, your expected financial results and financing alternatives to buy the business in your business plan. Organize your finances and make sure your credit history is good so that you can seek multiple financing alternatives.

2. Conduct a search on the Internet and visit vacant laundries in your neighborhood. Look through advertisements in your newspaper or radio for laundry businesses for sale. Make a list of all the available options.

3. Approach the owners for an estimate of their business and examine their business location and services. Compare the laundries based on high-traffic areas, price, current state of the laundry equipment and proximity to your home as well as your commute charges. Hire an industry expert and a lawyer to check all the details if you are new to business.

4. Gather all the financial information regarding the business. Look into the tax records at your local courthouse or ask the owner to give you her monthly accounting information in order to verify whether the business has been doing well and is worthy of the purchase price.

5. Hire a team of accountants, lawyers and business people to inspect the laundry business. Inspect appropriate equipment such as dryers, washers, plumbing systems, electric circuits and other electrical parts. If your team identifies any issues, you can approach the owner, show him the inspection report and negotiate on lowering the selling price or allowing the owner to fix the problem. It is better to negotiate a lower price because the owner may not have the motivation to fix the equipment thoroughly.

6. Draw a purchase agreement. Register the legal structure of the business and make sure that you check the history of the business before signing the agreement. Check the contract to verify if it meets all the necessary terms and conditions and includes all the equipment and premises that the owner has previously included in the purchase price.

7. Obtain a business license from your state, city and locality based on requirements. Check for additional permits with your local county courthouse.

8. Market your services in local newspapers, radio, TV stations, phone directories and online.

References

• Entrepreneur: How to Start a Coin-Operated Laundry