From Quarters to Cash Flow: How Jordan Berry Built a Freedom Engine with Laundromats

In this episode of the Freedom Nation Podcast, host Jeff Kikel interviews Jordan Berry, founder of Laundromat Resource. Jordan shares his journey from being a pastor to becoming a laundromat owner and eventually creating a platform to help others achieve financial freedom through laundromats. He talks about the challenges he faced with his first "zombie mat" and how he turned those hard-learned lessons into a successful business model. This episode dives into the often-overlooked world of laundromats as a viable, low-risk investment opportunity for anyone looking to build a side hustle or a full-time income stream

Key Takeaways:

• Turning a Side Hustle into a Freedom Engine: Jordan explains how he transitioned from his initial career as a pastor to becoming a laundromat owner after his wife suggested the idea. Initially, he struggled with a rundown laundromat, which he called a "zombie mat," but he eventually learned how to turn it into a profitable venture.

• The Reality of Owning a Laundromat: Jordan shares the hard truths and pitfalls he faced, including working with a self-interested broker, underestimating costs, and lacking initial business knowledge. His experience highlights the importance of due diligence and finding trustworthy mentors or resources before diving in.

• Learning from Mistakes: Jordan’s early mistakes taught him valuable lessons that he now shares with others through Laundromat Resource. From demographic studies to marketing strategies, he emphasizes the importance of having a clear strategy to transform struggling laundromats into profitable businesses.

• The Laundromat Playbook: Jordan discusses his Laundromat Playbook, a comprehensive program that provides aspiring laundromat owners with frameworks, one-on-one coaching, KPIs, and a mastermind group to ensure their success. This playbook aims to help others avoid the costly mistakes he made and make laundromats a solid income stream.

• Geofencing and Targeted Marketing: As a forward-thinking business owner, Jordan utilizes innovative marketing tactics like geofencing to reach new customers. He explains how these methods, combined with loyalty programs and targeted promotions, can elevate a laundromat’s profitability.

About the Guest:

Jordan was a pastor for 15 years and transitioned out of full-time ministry into buying a laundromat. His experience buying his first laundromat was not a good one. Instead of replacing his salary, as he expected, his laundromat lost $2,000 dollars per month for well over a year. Desperate to find help to turn his business around, he frantically searched for someone to guide him to profitability. He found no rescue. After finally stopping the bleeding, he decided to share the hard-earned (and expensive) lessons he learned on a blog. And then on a YouTube channel. And then, on a quest to find out how the best laundromat owners operated their businesses, he started a podcast interviewing laundromat owners and other industry professionals. These platforms turned into Laundromat Resource, an education and community platform for laundromat owners and future laundromat owners to learn, share best practices, and connect with one another.

Links:

https://www.laundromatresource.com/

Fast Five Questions

1. If you woke up and your business was gone, you have $500, a laptop, a place to live, and food, what would you do first? "I'd network with people and find ways to serve. My first step would be finding a problem I can solve for someone, and then turning that into a business."

2. What is the biggest mistake that you have made in business? "Relying too heavily on a broker without doing my own due diligence...