Setting up a business like a vended laundry has numerous advantages and one of them is certainly that it will take up less of your time than other types of business.
It's during the process of opening your laundry that you'll have to put in the most time as you have to study the competition, decide on the location and the premises, choose the right machinery, conduct a viability study and develop a marketing strategy, among other things. This is why you probably need to rely on the advice of a specialist agency throughout the process of opening your business so that no loose ends remain.
However, once you've managed to complete all the necessary stages and your vended laundry is open, you can make a profit while putting relatively little time.
Why does having a vended laundry take up so little time?
All businesses take up some time, and naturally a vended laundry is no exception. The tasks you will need to perform include dealing with problems or incidents, keeping the accounts, keeping up with progress in the sector and the competition and thinking about improving business and implementing value-added services, but even so, the features of this kind of business mean it need not take up too much of your time.
A vended laundry is practically a self-managing, self-service business. Its main activity is clients washing and drying their linen and to do this they don't need anybody's help. It is however essential to have clear, concise information about how the machines work to stop the public making mistakes or getting confused.
Nor do other extra services such as vending machines selling coffee, soft drinks, water, snacks and the like or products useful for washing and/or drying (detergent, conditioner, gloves, bags and so on) require your presence to work and generate revenue.
Therefore, as the owner of a vended laundry you can benefit from a series of advantages associated with this reduction in the time taken up that would be unthinkable in other kinds of business. Here are some of them.
Working from home or at a distance. As we said before, there is no need to be at the laundry in person; you'll simply have to open and close the premises according to their opening hours. And if you do wish to offer extra services which do require a person to be there, you can always hire an employee rather than doing the job yourself.
Combining it with other businesses and/or jobs. Another advantage of not devoting much time to your vended laundry is that you can do other jobs and/or run other businesses, so as well as having a profitable business, you can boost your profits by combining it with other businesses and activities.
Automation. Running your business from anywhere in the world.
Automation and technology are constantly advancing, and today they offer almost limitless possibilities as the owner of a vended laundry. Some of the advantages you can benefit from are seeing the state of machines in real time, switching them on or off and even adding money to them remotely in the event of any problem with payment.
Another of the benefits of implementing an automated service is that you can monitor the laundry's finances in real time, i.e. keep up with the daily, monthly and annual take for each of the machines.
You can do all this from home or from anywhere in the world, using a computer, a tablet or a smartphone, so the advantages offered by automating a vended laundry are enormous, giving you complete control wherever you are.
You can get this kind of advantages with automation software designed for laundries. At Girbau we have created Sapphire, the automation software that allows the owners of vended laundries to take complete control of the running of their business, as well as programming and managing different aspects of it, from anywhere in the world.
As you can see, a vended laundry will not take up too much of your time and you can combine it with other activities and jobs. And not only this, but it is also one of the businesses in which technology plays the most important role, both in enhancing the services you offer and in terms of convenience and ease of use for the owner. And Girbau can also help you with this time-saving: as your supplier we can offer you a complete advice and support service to cut the time you devote to your business both during the launch process and in your laundry's everyday operation.