!This budget covers under 15% of the typical cost to start ($182k). Almost nobody starts a laundromat this way. The few who did bought an existing one with seller financing, or leased the equipment.
Based on 16 real laundromats in Canada, including 3 that closed.
!Your budget is about $194k short.
Bills run about $7,830 a month (fuel, insurance, rent, phone). Most owners make a profit after about 9 months. Keep this much aside to pay bills until then.
Certificate of occupancy and building permits for the plumbing.
Sewer discharge permit from the city.
Licensed contractor signs off gas and power.
Register with your province (about $60 to $360). Get a free business number from the CRA.
Free to about $15 a month. Keeps business money apart from yours.
Sets up your books and files your first tax return.
Before costs. Steady, slight winter peak.
| Slow | Typical | Strong | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $2.1k | $3.4k | $5.7k |
| Year 3 | $5.4k | $8.2k | $12.2k |
| Year 5 | $6.8k | $10.6k | $16.4k |
Slow: 1 in 4 make less than this. Typical: half make more, half make less. Strong: 1 in 4 make more than this.
Suds & Co runs 22 card-only machines on a long lease with capped rent reviews, and has added wash-and-fold accounts for steady volume. It has stayed profitable through years of rising utility costs.
“Card-only machines cut my cash handling to zero.”
Fresh Fold had happy customers and lost money on almost every order. Each $32 order cost $12 in courier fees, each new customer cost about $50 in ads, and the average customer ordered 2.1 times before stopping. Growth made the losses bigger, and growth was the plan.
$219k
about $209k
Buying costs about $10.1k less than starting. You also get customers from the first month.