beginning research

[slechols]

I am just beginning to get into the research of either building a mat or buying a pre-existing mat. My question is "Where do you get demographic data and traffic data? The census bureau has demo data, but at the city level. Unless it drills down deeper than that, I am not looking in the right place.

I know of 2 mats on my side of town just by going by every day. Where do you go to find all the mats in your town? They usually don't have a listing in the phone book.

[BWJR]

Look to buy an existing Mat instead of putting in a new one. Start with the phone book yellow and white pages. Try to locate a local Coin Laundry Distributor and become educated.

BWJR

[Anonymous]

Originally posted by slechols
My question is "Where do you get demographic data and traffic data? The census bureau has demo data, but at the city level. Unless it drills down deeper than that, I am not looking in the right place.

Starting cheap and getting more expensive try the following,

1, If you are using a broker ask them they should have a demo program in house.

2, Check with your local chamber of commerce

3, for about $150.00 you can order a set for a given point
with several radii from CACI at: 1-800-292-2224

Traffic (at least in PA) i get from the Dept. of transportation web page, PA has adobe downloads of all the counties in the state.

[ajay]

your local distributor should be able to do the demographics for free for you. I would look to do .5, 1, 1.5 radius. This is just starting point however. if you go to your local library, you can search through D&B database, under SIC codes for mats. ALso drive around the area in all four directions of your potential location. Drive around alot. Do you own traffic, exposure anlysis. Also, keep in mind that people are currently doing their laundry somewhere - find out where!! If you're new in biz, try to buy existing - less riskier - unless ofcourse you have the capital to take on more risk. Also, contact your local chamber and city. They'll know who's what and where.

[Anonymous]

When you do demographic analysis look beyond just the ring studies. Take out a detailed map and look to see what natural (and man-made) boundaries might exist. Is there a railroad track, a river, lake, industrial park, etc... in the area. All these things can limit people coming from that direction. What about one way roads or divided highways. All of these things will serve to limit customers access to you. Be careful, they can be significant detriments.

[mike]

I've always thought that many here place too much emphasis on census.

What do you DO with those figures ?, they mean very little.

You could have a good business with only 200 customers, out of 250 living in the area, or you could only get 150 customers out of 50,000 living in the area.

Ajay is right, it's all about driving (or walking) around, and asking people where they wash. Asking distributors for existing addresses.

Eyeballing the area will tell you much more than a census.

The most important thing is to see if there are other mats in the area, and are they busy or not, and why.

[pete f]

Great replies here., maybe this should be become part of a FAQ

There are some things to remember, and consider. Your market may be very different than others that post here, in fact it will be.
We as a group would need very detailed info to respond better. If you are in Atlanta that is different than if you are in Woodstock.
Is your area growing, ie, new building being put up? If so, the demos are very different than if it is a built out area and has older apartments. I sort of agree with Mike on the census issues, and the others on how to find, except to look in the white/yellow pages.
For census http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html
This will take you some time to figure how to get around, hope you have cable or DSL. Find your census tracks and then you can see, providing the tracks are uniform, what is around your mat for people. I have 1 mat that has all little pockets of census tracks, I was trying to use the census on that mat to determine what another might do in a different area. It does not always work. Of course you can BUY data that is a cheap investment. What to do with it is another question. I happen to know what the average mat in my area does for volume, and the density, so I have an idea of what to expect per population in a given area. But this is over years of time I have this info. And it won't work for you, you need to know your local market. I do the "drive" method the most. Look for small apartments, duplexes, trailer parks. These people probably need a l'mat, and likely you will find one nearby... If you are looking much more than 20 mins from your home you are looking to far. You can always ask existing owner if they are thinking of selling. If you are in a bigger city, business brokers, the paper are ways of finding mats. New mats have a place, but must be picked very carefully.
Also, money is key to success, you should figure investing 150% of your own cash, what you want to make yearly, though a home equity sort of works, but still can come back to haunt you, then in 5 years you will have that. If you want to make 20,000 a year then you really need 30,000 cash, and you won't see the 20k for 5 years. I hear laughing in the background from those in high density areas...