Today's Guest

Dave Menz grew up in poverty and overcame tremendous obstacles to become a successful entrepreneur, running the multi-store, multi-million dollar chain of laundromats, Queen City Laundry in Cincinnati, Ohio. In addition to running his business, he has become a sought-after guest speaker and coach and shares his wisdom on this podcast. Dave teaches the principles of relentless studying of the greats to be a great and knowing that even if an industry – like laundry – isn’t sexy, you can make it so by building a profitable, scalable business. Hear more about Dave’s story, how he is growing his business through innovation, and why he believes a laundromat is one of the best small businesses to own in America.

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Episode Summary

I grew up in Flint, Michigan, and while my parents provided a loving home, we were poor. The neighborhood I grew up in was rough and although my parents worked hard, we struggled. The good side of that experience is it ingrains in oneself a determination and grit to work for what you want and not expect you’re entitled to anything. I also know there are other people out there that had it a lot worse than I did and never want to come across as complaining, but my experience shaped who I am today.

While most entrepreneurs and business owners I know were raised by entrepreneurs and business owners, it was a pursuit that was discouraged in my home. My parents were convinced I needed to focus on my schooling, get good grades, go to college, and work as an accountant for 40 years. But I found the drive to be a business owner burning inside of me and never really liked the idea of working for someone else. Some people love the structure working in a company provides but for me it felt more like a cage. However, I also realized that working for yourself meant you were the one responsible for making things happen.

After working in corporate America for a decade and starting a family, I realized if I didn’t focus on my dream of becoming an entrepreneur it might never happen. So over the next few years, we saved as much money as we could and I began looking for businesses I could buy. After a lot of searches, I happened across a laundromat near my house that was for sale on Craigslist. In general, when people think of a laundromat they think “antiquated” and “rundown”. This is true for 70 to 75 percent of the locations across the country. My strategy has always been to buy the worst laundromat in the best location and then give it a complete makeover.  

There are seven reasons I believe a laundromat is one of the best small businesses to own in America. They provide a good return on investment, there is a relatively low barrier to entry, it is a vital community resource, a simple cash business, little to no inventory, low staffing requirements, and the business model offers flexibility so it can be done on the side while you work another job and scale.  

Listen to Dave’s insights on this episode of Winning on Main Street to hear how you too can find an opportunity in an unsexy business like laundromats and turn it into something great.

Resources Shared

• Laundromat Millionaire
• Laundromat Millionaire – The Grit to Elevate an Industry by Dave Menz
• Laundromat Millionaire Show
• Thryv
  

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