Profitable laundromat for sale in San Francisco - great starter business!

[Keira Hamilton]

Hello investors! My husband and I own a laundromat in San Francisco, CA, which we have recently decided to list for sale. We bought it a little over a year ago and have really enjoyed operating it. More than that, we have built invaluable business skills that we will be taking with us to our next acquisition.

The main reason we are selling is because we want to travel for an extended period of time and ultimately may end up settling down outside of the Bay Area. I strongly believe this business needs a local operator and that long term we will not be the best fit for this reason. We also plan to eventually pursue another larger acquisition and want to be able to focus all of our energy towards that.

Our asking price is $331k based on an SDE of approximately $77k. Businesses are valued differently than real estate, and I'm happy to walk potential buyers through the SDE calculation I've used. We are currently only accepting cash offers, but are willing to offer up to 10% seller financing for the right buyer.

This video is Part 1 in my 3 part series on how to buy a small business. If you go to the 4:00 mark, I break down why ETA (entrepreneurship through acquisition), may be a more favorable investment strategy than real estate. Personally, I can say that we are not going near real estate again anytime soon. We bought a 4 unit building in Oakland in 12/21, and comparing our experience with that to our business acquisition has opened our eyes to the many opportunities in the ETA space.

I believe the ideal buyer for this business is someone located in the Bay Area with a flexible schedule and the availability to work in and on the business 7-10 hours a week.

Here are a few reasons why I think this is a great investment:

Excellent starter business - Neither my husband nor myself have backgrounds or degrees in business. Laundromats are very straightforward, yet they also offer the opportunity to touch all aspects of business (customer service, sales, marketing, employee management, bookkeeping, etc). Owning this laundromat has really been like a real world MBA. We have gained the skills necessary to run a much larger business, and the credibility necessary to secure SBA financing.

Poised for growth - When we bought this business, it was profitable and had great online reviews, but there were a lot of holes in the operations. The majority of our effort over the last year has been on troubleshooting and improving operational efficiency. We currently are not spending any money on advertising or marketing. To be honest, this is not our area of expertise. That's actually great news because it means that someone with that knowledge (or someone interested in learning) can come in and really grow this thing. Currently, the machines are not maxed out, meaning there are hours in the day when there are open machines, leaving room to grow the wash & fold service.

Transparent & reliable sellers - There are laundromats in San Francisco currently being sold at a lower multiple, but I strongly believe we offer the most value. You will find that our data room is unlike any other out there. It includes all of the documentation relevant to the sale (which typically buyers are not given until after making an offer) and a video overview of operations. We genuinely want the next owner of this laundromat to succeed, and will provide extensive training to ensure that happens. We will also be very upfront about the problems of this business (because all businesses have them) and what you should expect as an operator.

There are less expensive laundromats out there, but they come with a lower value. With ours, you won't need to spend a year working out the operational kinks. We've already done that. You can jump in and take it to the next level.

If you are interested in learning more about our laundromat, please message me. After providing proof of funds and signing our NDA, you will have access to our data room.

[Alex Levine]

Which neighborhood is your laundry in? 
Thanks!

[Keira Hamilton]

Hey Alex! I've been meaning to update this post. We actually closed with another buyer this past week. However, I'm always happy to chat with folks about laundromats/business acquisitions in general. I make YouTube content on the topic and also broker SBA loans. https://www.youtube.com/@Keira_Hamilton https://calendly.com/keirahamilton