Joe Ebanks did not set out to become a laundromat owner. A real estate investor for more than 25 years, Ebanks was negotiating a home purchase from a woman named Linda when the deal fell through. Weeks later, Linda called with an unexpected offer: would he be interested in buying her laundromat instead. Ebanks and his wife, Lisa, knew nothing about the business beyond the old assumption that laundromats were reliable cash generators, but they agreed to take a look. What they found was a rundown, un-air-conditioned laundromat in Florida, sweltering under the heat of running dryers. Ebanks negotiated a seller-financed deal, put $50,000 down and agreed to pay off the rest over time, closing on his first laundromat with no real plan for how to run it. With no formal training, the couple learned the business hands-on, repairing machines themselves and eventually writing the standard operating procedures their employees still follow today. A second, larger acquisition followed within months, again financed through owner terms.

As the business grew, so did the couple's focus on data and technology. Where many laundromat owners still think in quarters and manual price changes, Joe and Lisa manage pricing remotely and test dynamic pricing that shifts by the day. Their pickup and delivery service has become their most profitable addition, bringing in more than $28,000 in a single month. Ebanks credits much of that growth to a mindset shift away from viewing other laundromat owners as competitors and toward treating them as collaborators, a philosophy that eventually helped his business absorb an entire regional territory. That same instinct led the couple to launch Wealth Off Washers, a venture built to help others break into the laundromat business the way they wish someone had helped them.

Looking ahead, Ebanks sees the physical laundromat becoming less central to the business model, describing it instead as the infrastructure behind a broader, technology-driven laundry service, one where unattended locations, delivery routes and commercial accounts can all be managed from a single app. Asked what advice he would offer listeners, Ebanks pointed not to laundry but to personal fundamentals: get closer to faith, take health seriously and eat better, habits he believes make everything else, including business, work better.

Thanks for giving us a turn.

Joe Ebanks did not set out to become a laundromat owner. A real estate investor for more than 25 years, Ebanks was negotiating a home purchase from a woman named Linda when the deal fell through. Weeks later, Linda called with an unexpected offer: would he be interested in buying her laundromat instead. Ebanks and his wife, Lisa, knew nothing about the business beyond the old assumption that laundromats were reliable cash generators, but they agreed to take a look. What they found was a rundown, un-air-conditioned laundromat in Florida, sweltering under the heat of running dryers. Ebanks negotiated a seller-financed deal, put $50,000 down and agreed to pay off the rest over time, closing on his first laundromat with no real plan for how to run it. With no formal training, the couple learned the business hands-on, repairing machines themselves and eventually writing the standard operating procedures their employees still follow today. A second, larger acquisition followed within months, again financed through owner terms.

As the business grew, so did the couple's focus on data and technology. Where many laundromat owners still think in quarters and manual price changes, Joe and Lisa manage pricing remotely and test dynamic pricing that shifts by the day. Their pickup and delivery service has become their most profitable addition, bringing in more than $28,000 in a single month. Ebanks credits much of that growth to a mindset shift away from viewing other laundromat owners as competitors and toward treating them as collaborators, a philosophy that eventually helped his business absorb an entire regional territory. That same instinct led the couple to launch Wealth Off Washers, a venture built to help others break into the laundromat business the way they wish someone had helped them.

Looking ahead, Ebanks sees the physical laundromat becoming less central to the business model, describing it instead as the infrastructure behind a broader, technology-driven laundry service, one where unattended locations, delivery routes and commercial accounts can all be managed from a single app. Asked what advice he would offer listeners, Ebanks pointed not to laundry but to personal fundamentals: get closer to faith, take health seriously and eat better, habits he believes make everything else, including business, work better.

Thanks for giving us a turn.

Catherine Fisher never planned to enter the laundry industry. A longtime real estate agent in Corvallis, Oregon, she built a side business managing about a dozen Airbnb properties, a portfolio that produced an overwhelming amount of laundry. Towels, sheets, blankets and pillows piled up faster than she expected, and for years she paid someone else to handle it at a local laundromat.

The math that changed everything

At some point, Fisher did the math. She was spending tens of thousands of dollars a year paying someone to wash laundry at another person's business. Her first idea, buying commercial machines for her own house, fell apart the moment she saw the price tag. That's when the obvious question surfaced: if she was going to own the equipment anyway, why not let other people pay to use it too. In other words, why not open a laundromat.

Finding a space in a town that didn't make it easy

Corvallis, home to Oregon State University, has a population of roughly 55,000, and zoning rules there made finding a location difficult. Laundry use wasn't permitted in most commercial areas. Fisher eventually found a former gym in a strip mall where the original permit language happened to include the word "laundry," which grandfathered the space in for her use. She converted it into a 4,000-square-foot facility with 26 washers and 32 dryers, a build-out that started from the ground up.

Building more than a laundromat

Fisher named the business Adam's Washateria after a childhood friend who died from complications of ALS, a disease he was diagnosed with during his military service. He lived 15 and a half years after his diagnosis and encouraged Fisher to pursue the business before he died. She wanted the space to reflect his humor and dignity, which shows up in details like a disco ball and neon lighting.

Rather than maximizing the number of machines she could fit into the space, Fisher prioritized room for a kids' area, couches and wide folding tables. She also pays her staff well, even though it slows the business's path to profitability, because she wants employees who genuinely want to be there and who build relationships with regular customers.

Laundry as a form of connection

Fisher describes moments that stand out to her more than the business side of things: helping a customer who was a few dollars short, watching a young couple bring in 260 pounds of laundry they had been putting off because money was tight, and spending two free weeks of laundry service around the store's opening, during which she met a woman washing her hospitalized sister's clothes and bedding.

For Fisher, the laundromat became less about the machines and more about offering people a space where they feel seen. In a town that hadn't seen a new laundromat in 20 years despite adding 20,000 residents, she also saw a clear opportunity, one built as much on community as on convenience.

Thanks for giving us a turn.

Catherine Fisher never planned to enter the laundry industry. A longtime real estate agent in Corvallis, Oregon, she built a side business managing about a dozen Airbnb properties, a portfolio that produced an overwhelming amount of laundry. Towels, sheets, blankets and pillows piled up faster than she expected, and for years she paid someone else to handle it at a local laundromat.

The math that changed everything

At some point, Fisher did the math. She was spending tens of thousands of dollars a year paying someone to wash laundry at another person's business. Her first idea, buying commercial machines for her own house, fell apart the moment she saw the price tag. That's when the obvious question surfaced: if she was going to own the equipment anyway, why not let other people pay to use it too. In other words, why not open a laundromat.

Finding a space in a town that didn't make it easy

Corvallis, home to Oregon State University, has a population of roughly 55,000, and zoning rules there made finding a location difficult. Laundry use wasn't permitted in most commercial areas. Fisher eventually found a former gym in a strip mall where the original permit language happened to include the word "laundry," which grandfathered the space in for her use. She converted it into a 4,000-square-foot facility with 26 washers and 32 dryers, a build-out that started from the ground up.

Building more than a laundromat

Fisher named the business Adam's Washateria after a childhood friend who died from complications of ALS, a disease he was diagnosed with during his military service. He lived 15 and a half years after his diagnosis and encouraged Fisher to pursue the business before he died. She wanted the space to reflect his humor and dignity, which shows up in details like a disco ball and neon lighting.

Rather than maximizing the number of machines she could fit into the space, Fisher prioritized room for a kids' area, couches and wide folding tables. She also pays her staff well, even though it slows the business's path to profitability, because she wants employees who genuinely want to be there and who build relationships with regular customers.

Laundry as a form of connection

Fisher describes moments that stand out to her more than the business side of things: helping a customer who was a few dollars short, watching a young couple bring in 260 pounds of laundry they had been putting off because money was tight, and spending two free weeks of laundry service around the store's opening, during which she met a woman washing her hospitalized sister's clothes and bedding.

For Fisher, the laundromat became less about the machines and more about offering people a space where they feel seen. In a town that hadn't seen a new laundromat in 20 years despite adding 20,000 residents, she also saw a clear opportunity, one built as much on community as on convenience.

Thanks for giving us a turn.

In this episode of Full Cycle, host Matt DeWolf checks back in with Tim Johnson for the third installment of his series following the launch of Operation Laundry, a destination laundromat in Holland, Michigan. The earlier episodes covered Johnson's decision to leverage his 401(k) to fund the project, the construction process and his approach to building community and staffing systems. This conversation picks up after opening day.

Johnson shares that Operation Laundry officially opened on June 1, roughly a month behind his original May target. Construction took about 90 days after a 50-day demolition process he handled himself. He describes the response from the community as overwhelmingly positive, noting the business has collected more than 360 five-star reviews in five or six weeks, which he attributes to building relationships with customers and asking for feedback directly.

The conversation also covers the more difficult realities of the first weeks in business. Johnson talks about running the laundromat at a loss while working to reduce labor costs, since staffing is the one expense he can control. He recounts unexpected challenges, including customers who ignore posted signage, an aversion to technology among older customers and two flooding incidents caused by improperly sized bulkheads. He explains the fixes put in place since, including remote water shutoff controls and floor sensors that alert him to leaks.

Johnson and DeWolf discuss the ongoing effort to build commercial accounts and wash-and-fold service, which Johnson sees as necessary to move the business toward profitability, since self-serve washing alone is expected to break even. He closes with a piece of advice he attributes to a college football coach: the value of consistently taking action, which he ties back to his own habit of showing up and doing the work even when progress feels slow.

Thanks for giving us a turn.

In this episode of Full Cycle, host Matt DeWolf checks back in with Tim Johnson for the third installment of his series following the launch of Operation Laundry, a destination laundromat in Holland, Michigan. The earlier episodes covered Johnson's decision to leverage his 401(k) to fund the project, the construction process and his approach to building community and staffing systems. This conversation picks up after opening day.

Johnson shares that Operation Laundry officially opened on June 1, roughly a month behind his original May target. Construction took about 90 days after a 50-day demolition process he handled himself. He describes the response from the community as overwhelmingly positive, noting the business has collected more than 360 five-star reviews in five or six weeks, which he attributes to building relationships with customers and asking for feedback directly.

The conversation also covers the more difficult realities of the first weeks in business. Johnson talks about running the laundromat at a loss while working to reduce labor costs, since staffing is the one expense he can control. He recounts unexpected challenges, including customers who ignore posted signage, an aversion to technology among older customers and two flooding incidents caused by improperly sized bulkheads. He explains the fixes put in place since, including remote water shutoff controls and floor sensors that alert him to leaks.

Johnson and DeWolf discuss the ongoing effort to build commercial accounts and wash-and-fold service, which Johnson sees as necessary to move the business toward profitability, since self-serve washing alone is expected to break even. He closes with a piece of advice he attributes to a college football coach: the value of consistently taking action, which he ties back to his own habit of showing up and doing the work even when progress feels slow.

Thanks for giving us a turn.

Host Matt DeWolf talks with Amy Knopf and Avi Robbins, co-founders of A+ Laundry in Atlanta, about leaving private equity careers to build a laundry business from the ground up.

Knopf and Robbins both spent years in private equity before deciding to strike out on their own. Knopf's background is in commercial real estate, where she spent 14 years as an owner and operator across office, retail and multifamily properties. Her family has also run a commercial laundry business in Ohio for 95 years, giving her an early connection to the industry. Robbins spent about 15 years running manufacturing businesses for private equity firms, focused on launching new products in the medical and life science space. The two have known each other for more than 10 years, and after independently considering their next moves, they landed on laundry as an industry with room to grow.

They founded A+ Laundry in February 2025 and spent months evaluating opportunities across the greater Atlanta area, which has more than 300 laundromats. Their first deal came together quickly after a seller who had discovered that laundry wasn't for them agreed to terms within days, though the lease assignment process with the property owner delayed closing until September. They also acquired a pickup and delivery business built on two decades of paper-based routes, which they have since moved to a digital system for online requests and route optimization.

Much of the conversation centers on how Knopf and Robbins approached retooling their first laundromat. They redesigned the customer flow, moving the attendant desk and payment center to the front of the store so staff can greet customers as they arrive. New lighting, paint and a dedicated welcome area were part of an effort to create what Knopf calls a better laundry day, whether customers use the physical location or the pickup and delivery service.

Robbins and Knopf also discuss the operational lessons they have picked up along the way, including the importance of finding a trusted equipment distributor, budgeting realistically for marketing and community outreach, and building technology tools that let them monitor equipment and supply levels remotely. Knopf notes that A+ Laundry's tagline, "It's about time," reflects their focus on saving time for both their team and their customers.

The two close by sharing what has surprised them most since launching the business, including how deeply they have become involved in community events, and by offering listeners a piece of advice each: start fresh each day and give it full effort, and take time to listen closely to what customers, employees and potential sellers actually need.

Thanks for giving us a turn.

Host Matt DeWolf talks with Amy Knopf and Avi Robbins, co-founders of A+ Laundry in Atlanta, about leaving private equity careers to build a laundry business from the ground up.

Knopf and Robbins both spent years in private equity before deciding to strike out on their own. Knopf's background is in commercial real estate, where she spent 14 years as an owner and operator across office, retail and multifamily properties. Her family has also run a commercial laundry business in Ohio for 95 years, giving her an early connection to the industry. Robbins spent about 15 years running manufacturing businesses for private equity firms, focused on launching new products in the medical and life science space. The two have known each other for more than 10 years, and after independently considering their next moves, they landed on laundry as an industry with room to grow.

They founded A+ Laundry in February 2025 and spent months evaluating opportunities across the greater Atlanta area, which has more than 300 laundromats. Their first deal came together quickly after a seller who had discovered that laundry wasn't for them agreed to terms within days, though the lease assignment process with the property owner delayed closing until September. They also acquired a pickup and delivery business built on two decades of paper-based routes, which they have since moved to a digital system for online requests and route optimization.

Much of the conversation centers on how Knopf and Robbins approached retooling their first laundromat. They redesigned the customer flow, moving the attendant desk and payment center to the front of the store so staff can greet customers as they arrive. New lighting, paint and a dedicated welcome area were part of an effort to create what Knopf calls a better laundry day, whether customers use the physical location or the pickup and delivery service.

Robbins and Knopf also discuss the operational lessons they have picked up along the way, including the importance of finding a trusted equipment distributor, budgeting realistically for marketing and community outreach, and building technology tools that let them monitor equipment and supply levels remotely. Knopf notes that A+ Laundry's tagline, "It's about time," reflects their focus on saving time for both their team and their customers.

The two close by sharing what has surprised them most since launching the business, including how deeply they have become involved in community events, and by offering listeners a piece of advice each: start fresh each day and give it full effort, and take time to listen closely to what customers, employees and potential sellers actually need.

Thanks for giving us a turn.

Kate Wolfe came to the laundry industry the way many do, by following a thread of curiosity until it became a plan. A TikTok video about passive income sent her down a research rabbit hole, and within a year or two she had identified a laundromat near her home in Pennsylvania, arranged financing, and called the owner before her husband even knew what was happening. That first location, which they renamed Laundry Lane, closed in December 2023. Six months later, they bought the building. Four months after that, they acquired a second location.

Wolfe runs both stores with her husband, George, and the division of responsibilities has developed organically. George handles the mechanical side, maintenance, and property management. Kate brings an MBA and a background in people management, process development, and systems design from her years working on a government contract. She wrote SOPs, built training programs, developed flowcharts and job aids, and tracked processing times. That experience translated directly into how she runs Laundry Lane.

When they hired their first employee, roughly 18 months in, Kate had already built out a checklist that accounted for daily, weekly, and monthly tasks, with specific days assigned to specific recurring work. The goal was consistency, making sure the store looked the same regardless of who had cleaned it. She traces that standard back to a simple test her husband applies: if his 77-year-old mother can feel comfortable there at night, then the space is doing what it should.

In this episode, Kate talks about how the culture she is building at Laundry Lane is the connective tissue between her brand and her customer experience. That includes hiring former customers when possible, backing her staff when a customer crosses a line, and making sure employees understand why the standards matter, not just what they are. The two-way security cameras serve as a customer service tool as much as a safety measure. Magnetic locks let late customers finish their laundry without being rushed out. Small decisions, consistently made, have added up to a customer base that sweeps the floors on their own and drives past closer options to use washer number five.

Kate is candid about what she and George did not know when they started and how much they learned after they were already in it. The CLA, the Laundromat Resource Podcast, and other industry resources came later, once they had already stumbled through the early lessons on their own. Her advice for anyone new to the industry is to find those resources before you need them.

Her closing thought for the episode is a reframe on productivity: rather than measuring a day against a long to-do list, identify the one thing that matters most that day and do that well. Some days that is a business goal. Some days it is being present for her daughter. Either one counts as a successful day.

Thanks for giving us a turn.

Kate Wolfe came to the laundry industry the way many do, by following a thread of curiosity until it became a plan. A TikTok video about passive income sent her down a research rabbit hole, and within a year or two she had identified a laundromat near her home in Pennsylvania, arranged financing, and called the owner before her husband even knew what was happening. That first location, which they renamed Laundry Lane, closed in December 2023. Six months later, they bought the building. Four months after that, they acquired a second location.

Wolfe runs both stores with her husband, George, and the division of responsibilities has developed organically. George handles the mechanical side, maintenance, and property management. Kate brings an MBA and a background in people management, process development, and systems design from her years working on a government contract. She wrote SOPs, built training programs, developed flowcharts and job aids, and tracked processing times. That experience translated directly into how she runs Laundry Lane.

When they hired their first employee, roughly 18 months in, Kate had already built out a checklist that accounted for daily, weekly, and monthly tasks, with specific days assigned to specific recurring work. The goal was consistency, making sure the store looked the same regardless of who had cleaned it. She traces that standard back to a simple test her husband applies: if his 77-year-old mother can feel comfortable there at night, then the space is doing what it should.

In this episode, Kate talks about how the culture she is building at Laundry Lane is the connective tissue between her brand and her customer experience. That includes hiring former customers when possible, backing her staff when a customer crosses a line, and making sure employees understand why the standards matter, not just what they are. The two-way security cameras serve as a customer service tool as much as a safety measure. Magnetic locks let late customers finish their laundry without being rushed out. Small decisions, consistently made, have added up to a customer base that sweeps the floors on their own and drives past closer options to use washer number five.

Kate is candid about what she and George did not know when they started and how much they learned after they were already in it. The CLA, the Laundromat Resource Podcast, and other industry resources came later, once they had already stumbled through the early lessons on their own. Her advice for anyone new to the industry is to find those resources before you need them.

Her closing thought for the episode is a reframe on productivity: rather than measuring a day against a long to-do list, identify the one thing that matters most that day and do that well. Some days that is a business goal. Some days it is being present for her daughter. Either one counts as a successful day.

Thanks for giving us a turn.