In the book The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber he explains why small business owners, in general, have a hard time moving from a technician (worker) to an owner. One of the main steps in this process is to document each step of your business and make it repeatable.
In the Drop Off Laundry business that many coin Laundry Owners have or are considering starting this is an obstacle that needs to be addressed early on. Even if you are doing your own work, having a set of Operation Standards ensures you do a consistently good job, are able to train an employee if needed and provides the crucial step in moving to the position of Owner.
In the future, you may want or need to sell your business. Your buyers are going to want to be Owners, not workers and expect a smooth transition. Having the ability to show all of your employees are trained and have signed off on a set of Operation Standards is an important document during the sale process. Also, your current and future customers deserve to get a great, consistent product from your business.
These Operation Standards are reviewed, signed and used by every employee at Washin Coin Laundry.
On the first day of hire, the Drop Off Laundry Training and Attendant Training Videos from the Coin Laundry Association are reviewed and discussed.
Next, we work through the Operation Standards. Some, such as the Utilities, are reviewed by a manager with the employee. Others the employee will review, discuss with a manager or senior employee and observe an employee doing the operation before signing off.
If you have any comments please post them below.
Ken Barrett
P.S. Join me in my new project HowToBuild.LaundromatHowTo.com as I work through all of the steps to build a Laundromat.
