Laundromat Acquisition & Operation

01 THE IDEA

Codie Sanchez describes purchasing laundromats as a high-ROI boring business acquisition strategy. Her example deal: bought a laundromat for $100K that cash flows $67K/year — a 67% cash-on-cash return. The key insight is using SBA loans and seller financing to minimize upfront capital, often putting down as little as 10% while the business's own future cash flows service the debt.

Laundromats are recession-resistant (people always need clean clothes), low labor-intensive relative to other businesses, and frequently available for 2–3x profits on platforms like BizBuySell or through direct outreach to owners. They're ideal for first-time acquirers because operations are relatively simple compared to restaurants or service businesses with complex staffing.

02 THE NUMBERS

03 THE VERDICT

Laundromats represent one of the most validated boring business plays: recession-resistant demand, leveraged acquisition via SBA/seller financing, and low operational complexity. Codie's 67% cash-on-cash return example is credible and reproducible. The main barrier is deal sourcing patience and due diligence discipline, not capital or expertise. This is a genuine wealth-building path for someone with $20–50K and 6 months of deal-hunting time.

04 THE FIELD

• BizBuySellest. 1996STEADY · ADDED 2026-06-07

  CATEGORY LEADER IN SMB LISTINGS

  Primary marketplace for buying/selling small businesses including laundromats; noted by Codie as a starting point but not ideal for best deals.

• Coin Laundry Associationest. 1960STEADY · ADDED 2026-06-07

  INDUSTRY TRADE BODY, NICHE RESOURCE

  Provides industry data, training, and broker connections for laundromat buyers and operators.

• Acquisitions.com (Alex Hormozi)est. 2021GROWING · ADDED 2026-06-07

  EMERGING AGGREGATOR MODEL

  Buying and scaling unsexy community businesses; competes for the same deal flow and investor mindshare in the boring business acquisition space.