In the world of laundry services, convenience reigns supreme. Stephanie and Claudia, the dynamic duo behind We Wash Laundry Company, have taken this principle and transformed it into a thriving business model that has captured the attention of both customers and industry experts. What sets them apart? They’ve managed to tap into the wash-and-fold pickup and delivery market without the traditional laundromat setup. Their journey is a testament to the power of strategic marketing and a well-tailored approach.
Thriving Without a Laundromat
Starting a pickup and delivery service in the laundry industry without a physical laundromat might sound unconventional, but Stephanie and Claudia have done just that. They’ve proven that a strong focus on customer convenience can be the cornerstone of a successful venture. The duo’s determination to provide a hassle-free solution to the perennial chore of laundry has been key to their rapid growth.
Selling Convenience as a Strategy
In a world where time is an invaluable asset, Stephanie and Claudia’s business model revolves around one core concept: selling convenience. Their approach taps into the growing trend of outsourcing daily responsibilities and chores. By freeing up customers from the burden of laundry, they enable them to channel their time and energy into more meaningful pursuits.
From Early Gains to Rapid Growth
Stephanie and Claudia’s story isn’t just about initial success; it’s a journey of continuous growth. Their profits were quickly reinvested into the business to acquire bigger and more advanced equipment. While their first year may have seemed like working for free, the reality was quite different. Their willingness to put in sweat equity has led to astonishing growth figures, with the potential for even greater expansion in the future.
Unlocking Untapped Market Potential
Remarkably, despite already handling over 50 pickups and deliveries daily, Stephanie and Claudia believe they’ve only scratched the surface of the market’s potential. The laundry pickup and delivery service sector holds immense untapped opportunities. As awareness of this convenient solution grows, the sky is the limit for entrepreneurs like them.
The Synergy of Marketing and Software
One of the cornerstones of Stephanie and Claudia’s success is the harmonious marriage of effective marketing and carefully tailored software. Collaborating with Curbside Laundries, they found a software solution that matched their business operations seamlessly. By strategically reaching out to mom blogs and emphasizing convenience, they’ve managed to make their website the top search result, driving about 95 percent of their new business.
Stephanie and Claudia’s inspiring journey in the wash and fold pickup and delivery market serves as a beacon of hope for those looking to create a business with impact. Their story showcases how a clear vision, effective marketing strategies, and the right software can revolutionize an industry, even without a traditional setup. As they continue to lead the way, their insights and experiences promise to be a valuable resource for budding entrepreneurs seeking success in a convenience-driven world.
[TRANSCRIPT]
Matt: Stephanie and Claudia created a thriving pickup and delivery service without a laundromat, and they did this by selling convenience. Stay tuned until the end because Stephanie and Claudia will reveal where they get 95 percent of their new business.
Stephanie & Claudia: We started profiting pretty early in the game. We watched laundry costs, and then we reinvested those gains into the company to buy bigger and better machines. In the first year, we can say we were working for free, but realistically, we weren’t really working for free.
Matt: It takes time, and you have to put in the sweat equity to get it going. However, many businesses grow from where they started to where they are now. We’re talking about hundreds of percentages, and I wouldn’t be surprised if someday it’s a thousand percent.
Stephanie & Claudia: You know what though, it’s so strange because we think that everybody knows about We Wash, but we aren’t even saturating the market yet. There’s so much more potential.
Matt: Well you’re doing over 50 pickups and deliveries today. Yeah, I mean, you’re doing some pretty good business. (What did I tell you? We’re here to go, go, go.)
1:16
Matt: It’s funny, you bring up a good point, the same point I brought up at the Wash Dry-Fold conference. Do you see this business growing, shrinking, or staying the same? Well, two things: Society is moving in the direction of outsourcing responsibilities, outsourcing chores, so we know societal trends are in our favor. And two, there’s still very low product awareness for the service, so you take those two things together: the market is growing, and more people are becoming aware of it, making it designed for success. Just curious, why did you choose curbside laundries? I might be a bit biased, but there are a lot of different software companies out there that don’t have laundry experience; they’re just selling software. This is a business, not just software, and even if you have the greatest software in the world, if you don’t understand the business behind it, the software won’t match your operations either. Hopefully, I answered the question, but I’m just curious about your perspective.
Stephanie & Claudia: When we first started looking, it was one of those situations where you had to book an appointment or have a consult call, and we were constantly getting rescheduled. So when we called you guys, it was right here where Steph and I were shooting ideas back and forth, and we just started Googling, and we found Curbside. We called, and you answered; it was great customer service. You answered so many questions for us that went unanswered for a couple of weeks while waiting on phone calls back or scheduling appointments. Just having that person answer all of our questions is what really sold us. Our personalities are such that when we say we’re going to do something, we do it, and that’s you guys. You promised different software updates, and gosh, it’s come a long way. It’s come a long way, and I love witnessing you guys evolving your business side of things. You know, as we’ve grown, we’ve had different needs with the software and whatnot, so it’s also been a huge blessing to have you guys there to work out the little kinks or come up with better resolutions and better software. I know the latest thing was the ability to choose a starting route and an ending route, and you guys just rolled it out, and it’s been a tremendous help. I also love the fact that you guys don’t just put together software and say, “Here, run with it, work out the problems.” It’s continually evolving, and I hope not everybody does this to you guys, but I think we had an emergency where I accidentally deleted something off our website, and I called your brother at eight o’clock, and he answered. God, I love him; you guys are so good. I mean you pick up the phone.
4:22
Matt: Everybody here takes their jobs very seriously because it is a tremendous amount of responsibility. Because this is your operation, If something is not working, it affects me personally because that means we’re out of operation. If somebody can’t place an order online or can’t print tickets, it affects us. A lot of times, people have questions regarding a commercial account, how to price it, how to do things, and they would be stuck or losing out on opportunities. The neat part about Curbside is they could call in, and we could set them on the right path based on our experience, provide guidance, and then they’re able to move forward instead of having to learn the hard way, which is how we learned.
Stephanie & Claudia: The customer service from the get-go is what sold us and keeps us. Don’t worry; we get lots of calls from other companies, but we know they can ask software questions, but they can’t answer laundry questions. (It’s like a deer in headlights for them.) The majority of phone calls we get, three years in, are still directed to Stephanie and me because we still want to be in it that much. We want to be that voice and that face.
5:53
Matt: What advice would you give to somebody who’s thinking about starting a laundry pickup and delivery service without a laundromat?
Stephanie & Claudia: It’s possible, very possible, and you can do it with not a lot of money. You just need to be uncomfortable and put yourself out there in marketing. I think people don’t realize how important marketing is in this business. Like us, like we talked about, we’re still educating because it’s not something that’s really well known here. Like New York, Chicago, California, it’s a long game of marketing, pushing, and influencing. For us, we reached out to Mom Blogs; that was our first entry point. We wanted to reach out to people that would connect with us and the community. We offer convenience. You have your groceries delivered, your car gets washed on the driveway, someone comes to do your lawn service. What do we, as mothers who are always on the go, go, go struggle with? House cleaning, chores, and laundry. Laundry is our number one struggle. I don’t mind cleaning my house, but I hate doing laundry because it’s so time-consuming. We’re a family of five, and I easily get 60 to 70 pounds on a weekend. That time is taken away from my family. when I can throw it out at my front door and pay for the convenience. Our slogan is “Spend your time where it matters most.” It’s not cooped up in the laundry room all day on Sunday. And how many of you guys, and don’t try to say it doesn’t happen to you, leave your when you do your own laundry you leave it in the washer overnight, and the next day, you have to rewash it again? And you’re like, oh my god I have to rewash this again. I can get it from the washer to the dryer because I don’t want it to stink, but guess what happens when my dryer stops? You know what makes me not do it, I’m just going to go and go turn it back on. As long as it’s running, it’s not quite done. Now, luckily, we have the convenience of having our laundry delivered and picked up at our front door. It’s been a tremendous help. That’s quality control.
8:08
Matt: That’s getting new customers. You bring up a good point; it comes down to marketing and what percentage of your business comes from your website. Just having a really good website.
Stephanie & Claudia: we’re like the top search, and we never even paid for it. What would you say? 95 percent? Well, I Googled laundry service or I Googled laundry.
Matt: We provided you with a website, and dialed-in your SEO, and you didn’t let us stagnate. You guys are always constantly making things better, and we also provide guidance on where to make things better and how to make things more effective. I see a lot of people get software and then they don’t have any business, and they say, “Oh, pickup and delivery didn’t work for me.” At Curbside Laundries, we have a complete package, from getting new customers to having a strong web presence and great software that works well for the customer journey that is spectacular. We’re continually improving that process too, making it even better. Things are getting more competitive in different areas, so we’re also providing guidance on how to take what you have and make things even better. Some of the stuff that worked in 2017 is not enough. You have to do more, and
Stephanie & Claudia: …And that’s why I love you guys. You’re on top of it, continually making things better, and going on the back end to say, “Hey, we’re going to change this on the website or add this to gain more traction.” We’re not IT tech-savvy, and you guys know where people are getting traction (and the right type of traffic too.)
9:52
Matt: Is there anything else you want to share with the audience?
Stephanie & Claudia: When we started this, we never considered ourselves to be laundry experts or business experts, but we’re loving all the consultations that we’re doing. We’re having a lot of fun meeting different laundry owners, business owners, or people who are still dreaming about it and want a little bit of help getting started. That’s been really fun; we’ve met a lot of people throughout the country. We’re enjoying that part of it and love seeing them progress. We take the advice that we’ve given or pick our brains, ask us questions, and we help them get to their end goal. Your end goal, remember the one they did a consultation with us two weeks later, they sent us an email and said we did everything that you suggested. Yeah, the minute we hung up, they’re so busy, they’re pulling all-nighters. (That’s fantastic.) I’m sorry you’re crying, but just try and do the laundry, okay? Work faster. (That’s fantastic.) You know, we absolutely just love sharing the knowledge that we’ve gained from this whole experience because we were there, we were right where they are, where there are so many questions, what-ifs, yeah, the unknown is scary. And so being able to have people who you can rely on, who were at the exact same spot that you’re at, you know, yeah, we can understand and really, and thanks to you guys, because you really taught us. Yeah, I mean, we spent three days with your staff. We wanted to take them home. (Not allowed, haha) Right, we tried convincing Californians to move to Iowa. It didn’t work out so well in our favor.
Matt: I saw a video of Steve Jobs talking about how many small businesses are unaware of their core strengths, of what makes them special, and what they don’t even know what they know. And I kind of see that you guys are really good at marketing. I think you guys know a lot of different things that you’re aware of, but there’s also so much stuff that you get from just doing it, that you know so much that other people, and there’s nobody better because you guys are actually doing it, you know, the proof is right there. And I think the same thing also goes on the software side of things, you know, if we were not doing laundry, our software would look great in an ivory tower, but would it have traction? And the same thing in your situation too, you’re doing pickup and delivery without a laundromat, so your success is a hundred percent on what you pick up. Just want to thank you for being on the podcast. I think you guys are an inspiration to so many people, and I think there’s a big demand, big demand for that type of guidance and consultation because you’re actually doing it, you’re in their shoes, this isn’t somebody on the sideline reading a bunch of books about, oh, page 32 says this. No, you guys, you guys are doing it. We’re in it too.
Stephanie & Claudia: We appreciate you guys so much and now we finally got episode three. Yes, we have consultation calls, and they’re like we googled, we YouTube, we couldn’t find episode three, here it is, number three,
Matt: Yeah, well, it finally happened, and I think it’s worth the wait, and it’s great to see where you guys, how you got started and where you’re at today, and just wish you continued success.
Stephanie & Claudia: Thank you so much, Matt, same to you guys, we appreciate you, great, thank you.
