Business: Up Then Down

[Trey]

I've owned a mat for eight months now. My business has been in a strong up trend since opening. The customers love the thing and say it is definately the nicest and cleanest in town.

The last week has been horrible! Off 30%! Did everyone wash ALL of their cloths the week before? Are they ALL out of town? Is it the phase of the moon??

I visited with two mat owners in a neighboring town and their business was very slow also. The only reason one of them gave was "It's the economy stupid!" (Maybe, but I wouldn't expect such an abrupt drop in sales because of the economy.)

Are these slow periods really unexplainable and just..."the things that are"?

I would love to hear some of your theories.

Thanks!!

[Kitty]

Some weeks are better than others. One store does the worst the last week of the month. First week of the month is awesome. We go up, and down slightly all year. Summer is the worst and the week of Christmas and NYs is the best!

[David]

Ditto, Trey.

Welcome to the laundry business.

[Fred50]

Trey,

Did govt checks go out late?

Or did a local large employer pay late?

Was there a local holiday?

[anonymous]

It happens in my area too. It really worried me at first, but when it bounces back it makes you happy. My mat is in a tourist area, so summers are better than winter for me, just the opposite of what I think alot of other mats do. The bright side of having a slow week is that your utility bills will follow suit.

[pete f]

Assuming nobody opened a new store very near by, and no local conditions happened, ie, big layoff, road construction, etc than it is business as normal. September is historicaly the slowest month for me, I do not expect much. Even in the good months there has been times I could swear someone had a key to my boxes and skimmed me. Then another time my coin bags will be way fuller than normal for no apparnet reason..

[Gary C]

You will find that in any business, don't sweat it. As long as it averages out you will be fine. And Dolly is right your utility bills will be lower next cycle.

Gary

[Fred50]

I don't see the benefit of lower utility bills if it means a lower volume of business. As I see it, we are value added resellers of water and gas.

The higher the utility bills the better as long as it is due to higher volume not higher prices!

[anonymous]

You're right - higher bills are ok if it's the response of more business, but it is not a linear business. We'd all like to have our stores packed all the time, but it doesn't work that way. You have to take the bad with the good...

[Andy]

I have too have slower times of the year, generally late July and August. Business picks up with cooler weather drops slightly between Thanksgiving and Christmas then spikes up again to pre-thanksgiving period then stays steady until May and drops again in June about the time it really gets warm out and school lets out.

I also know on a short term level as expected with social assistance programs usually paying on or near the first of the month, it is busy the first few day of each month.

Also, you may define your week as Monday to Sunday, your customers don't care about this. What I mean is for no reason a group of your customers may put off doing their laundry for two or three days during one of your defined "weeks". This shift will cause the revenue from this group to skip one of your "weeks". This is of course if all else is equal-as Pete F suggested perhaps a new mat opened nearby. If not then you will be blessed with a busy week the following week. I say, they always come, because they need clean clothes. They will be back.

[Anonymous]

The timing of the week does have a big impact. My week runs from weds to weds and I never see a fluctuation of more that 8% from one week to the next.

[Westlake]

I have been using quickbooks to track my sales. Nice because with a click of a button you can graphically see your sales over time. There is somewhat of a general pattern, sales in the summer slow down and sales in the winter pickup. Other than that, my business tends to fluctuates by about 10 percent ever month. Maybe once I have a 10-year history I can more accurately predict my monthly sales. But I dough it!

[buddy]

I have seen very low volumes on the rainy day. A week before last was kind of drizzly on Mon through Wednesday and my place was pretty slow. But I think they all showed up on the weekend and place was Mobbed through following Tuesday.

[Anonymous]

It just goes to show you that every area is very different. Rainy days is when I do my best business.

[anonymous]

Trey --

Sept. and first part of Oct. has always been a bit down in this area -- I figured it was fallout from overspending for last-ditch Labor Day vacations combined with back-to-school overspending. Also, it seems to take the moms about 1 1/2 months to get off the summer schedule, and back to the new school schedule.

At my store, the 1st and 3rd weekends are the busiest, as some folks get paid semi-monthly (15th and 30th). But it also depends on what else is going on. For instance, the weekend of "Bumbershoot Festival" at the Seattle Center affects my business 35 miles to the north!

HERE'S AN EXPERIMENT THAT WORKED FOR ME, BUT MAY NOT BE A GOOD FIT FOR EVERY MAT:

Wednesdays have historically (40 years) been the slowest, with only a handful of customers. This is because the grocery ads have always come out in Wednesday's local paper. Since I have an attended store, I experimented closing on Wed. to avoid a loss or break-even situation on that day. That was almost 2 years ago, and it's worked well. When my customers "must" do their laundry on Wed., they always bring back new customers with them, and vow never to go anywhere else again! Before closing on Weds., my total revenue had been flat for over a year. Within 3 months, my revenue started to climb again, at about 12% per year. Since personal recommendations work best in this biz, I let my customers do the marketing for me.

[pete f]

Bubbles..

Geez.. why not go unattended Wedsdays??
lights will be offest by 1 or 2 customers...

I always thought Thurs was the slowest..

[Anonymous]

My brain must not be firing on all cylinders tonight, I read you post three times and yet I still don't understand what you are talking about. You say you are closed weds, and then you did something buy I can't figure out what you mean. Please try to rephrase this so I can figure out what you are talking about.

Thanks

[anonymous]

Pete --

Before I bought my store, it was run partially unattended, and frankly I just can't take the level of mayhem that occurs. I'm in the oldest section of town, and peculiar things happen if you're not around.

Also, folks would be angry that they couldn't pick up their drop-off laundry even though we were "open".

My customers would generate less new business for me, if they didn't occasionally go elsewhere and bring new people back to my store with them.

And frankly, I think I make enough money. I've gone from flat-out scared (when I bought the store) to pretty darn comfortable. And I get a guaranteed day off.


Kirby --

I've re-read what I wrote and it seems okay to me. Maybe it's too novel of a concept and has caused hysterical blindness to some who read it ? ;)

[pete f]

God love ya,, and me. a real day off, what a novel idea.. Restrauants close mondays manytimes... why not not a mat for weds!
Hell I want a day of fishing without a cell phone call!!

[anonymous]

I have 3 part time gals who each work 5 days per week, and I am around most mornings. If I were open on Wed., I would need 2 more part time people to cover that day. So I'm keeping payroll to a minimum. I may like the way an attended store runs, but I am not so odd (yet) that I like having a humungous payroll liability.

Hair salons and barber shops, the DMV and the car emissions testing facility are closed on Mondays here. Nobody thinks that is strange.

[Andy]

How many of you actully work at your mats? as in you are the attendant or are doing laundry.

I know we all work ( I assume) on the books, payroll, ordering, repair, mgt. issues blah blah....

I mean you are the one who mops the floor and cleans the soap boxes on a regular basis?

[Andy]

For us Tuesday, wednesday or Thursday typically turns out to be the slowest day. However we would be giving our competition the drop-off upper hand if we closed.

I think it is great that you can be as profitable by closing one day a week. Heck if I could close and still make the $$ I would too

[Kitty]

Dave has 3 mats. A total of 13 employees, excluding me. I do all the work, and he takes all the credit

:)

[anonymous]

I do most of the regular maintenance unless it's too heavy, then I just assist the distributor's service guy. So I'm the one changing belts, breakers, outlets, and fixing mixing valves, etc.

Tomorrow I go up on the roof and take the swamp coolers off line, drain and clean them, and button them up for the winter. I have a few floor tiles to replace. The 120' hedge needs trimming.

I get to do a deposit at the bank..... they give out really big cookies on Friday. I'm psyched!

I put in about 36 hours per week at the store..... then I have book work and such. I really couldn't imagine doing anything but what I'm doing. Too young to "retire".

[buddy]

I have a regular daytime job as Systems Administrator (Networking Computers etc.) I have fully attended MAT. I repair all the machines, pay bills, run to the bank etc. I go to my MAT 2-3 times a week for couple hours mainly to repair machines, to stock up the supplies for WDF and to take out cash and fill the change machines. Not easy managing a MAT while working full time.

[Kitty]

Dave does all the maintenance and I do some little stuff, I continue to try and learn whatever I can. I do all the bills, payroll taxes, financials. We both count the stores 3 of the 5 day work week, fill vending, mow the grass, change the filters, bitch about the employees, etc. Monday and Fridays are kinda float days. I usually catch up on paper work, employee issues, Friday prepare for the weekend business and staff. The weekends are rotated between us. Every Sunday one store has to be attended to. Vending is depleted by Sunday morning, changers need attention as does the front coin boxes need dumping and changers filled....most Sundays on or two machines need the dump valve cleaned......Every other weekend I get the stupid calls from employees :) I am waiting in anticipation for the 1st call!
Happy weekend boyz and girlz!

[JeffLange]

You should use a payroll service, it is very cheap. It will save you alot of time.

[Kitty]

Jeff honey, I am the payroll service, thank you. And, where in NC are you? I hate to keep asking the same question, just curious why I receive no answer?

[JeffLange]

I would rather keep my location in NC a secret, just in case my comp is reading this board.

[Kitty]

Jeff,

I didn't ask to offend you or bother you in anyway, I wouldn't expect anyone on this board to become competition to anyone of us. We all know how expensive it is, and most markets are saturated anyways.....never know if I'd be in your passing through your neck of the woods in this great state. Its just a neighborly question.

[Kitty]

Ok, but I still wanna know where in NC you are. You can edit the demographics by stating western, eastern or the triangle area? Game? I am good hearted but very confrontational too.....:)

[JeffLange]

Sorry I would rather not say. Why does it matter and why do you care so much?

[Kitty]

I suppose it does not matter that you decide not to state your demographics. But cannot think of things to discuss with someone who is not somewhat forthcoming....

[JeffLange]

I am sorry you feel that way. But that is your right also. I still will offer you my hand if you need help.