Two numbers tell you almost everything about what a laundromat is worth: gross revenue and SDE. Ian Gollahon breaks down both — what they mean, how they connect, and exactly what belongs in seller discretionary earnings and what does not.

This is Part 2 of a 4-part series on laundromat valuation, running alongside Ian's ongoing feature in Full Cycle Magazine from the CLA. Part 1 covered the asset sale and the lease. This episode moves to the earnings side: gross revenue as your quick gut-check, and SDE as the number brokers, the SBA, and most buyers actually price a laundromat on.

You'll learn why laundromats typically sell for one to two times gross revenue, why Eastern Funding often lends on 50 to 70 weeks of revenue, and why you can never make an offer on gross revenue alone. Then Ian walks through SDE line by line — the owner's S-Corp salary add-back, and the difference between the costs you add back and the income you strip out.

What's covered:

• Gross revenue: why 1x to 2x is the typical range, and what it hides

• The Eastern Funding 50 to 70 week rule of thumb

• Why the SBA recommends SDE for businesses under $5 million in revenue

• The S-Corp owner salary add-back — the single biggest SDE adjustment

• What to ADD into SDE: owner salary, unnecessary personal vehicles, trade show and conference travel (Clean Show, Excellence in Laundry), redundant family payroll, lifestyle extras like magazine subscriptions

• What to LEAVE OUT of SDE: non-operating interest income from cash in an investment account, one-time equipment sales, and cash windfalls like COVID-era city or state grants

• Why roughly 3x SDE lands you right back at about 60 weeks of gross revenue

• How SDE differs from EBITDA, and when each one matters

Timestamped chapters (estimated — verify before uploading):

00:00 Introduction and Series Recap

01:30 Gross Revenue: The Big Number

03:15 The 50 to 70 Week Rule

05:00 What Gross Revenue Hides

06:15 SDE: Seller Discretionary Earnings

07:45 The S-Corp Salary Add-Back

09:15 What to Add Into SDE

11:30 What to Leave Out of SDE

13:15 3x SDE and How the Numbers Line Up

15:00 What's Coming on EBITDA

Ian Gollahon is co-owner of Liberty Laundry, a three-store laundromat chain in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area that did $2.5 million in top-line revenue in 2025. He's also co-founder of Wash-Dry-Fold POS, the original point-of-sale system for laundromats, and has spoken with more than 3,000 laundromat owners over the last decade.

washdryfoldpos.com

libertylaundryok.com

laundromat-ownership.com

laundryassociation.org/fullcycle/