Earning Income While You Sleep

Passive income from 24-hour operation means the money keeps rolling in for this Speed Queen operator

Ask Konnie Roeun what she appreciates most about her Speed Queen-equipped laundromats and she’ll tell you straight off: passive income. ‘My accountant calls them my gold mine,’ she laughs. ‘I’ve got two so far and I’m planning on ten!’

Originally from Cambodia, Konnie arrived in New Zealand 23 years ago with husband Sokha. The couple originally set up a bakery in Hamilton but, with three children at school and two in day care, found themselves making endless visits to their local laundromat.

‘We researched the laundromat business and discovered Speed Queen provides the most robust and best-designed equipment,’ says Konnie. ‘That’s what you need in a business that runs 24 hours a day, so we found a good site and set up our first laundromat with their help.’

A few years later, Konnie and Sokha decided to sell up and move to Northland, but they knew for sure they wanted another laundromat and it had to be with Speed Queen machines. Today, the couple own a bakery and a café near the famous toilets in Kawakawa, both with managers as well as the two laundromats. ‘The laundromats really manage themselves,’ says Konnie. ‘We have someone clean them once a day and all I have to do is check my bank account.’ B

ut rather than just sitting back and watching the money roll in, Konnie has followed her passion to become a real estate agent. ‘I always wanted to do this when I was younger but I couldn’t afford to – now I can, and I love it.’

Back in fashion

Laundromats are back in fashion. As apartments have grown smaller, domestic washing machine and dryer ownership has shrunk. ‘We’re following the trend that happened in America 15 years ago where selfserve laundromats became more and more popular,’ says Royce Little, Speed Queen’s head of laundromat sales.

‘In fact, as Konnie and Sokha have found, laundromats are almost the perfect business opportunity – cheap rent, no staff, potentially cashless and capable of being run remotely,’ Royce explains. ‘You don’t need a primary high street site – a less glamorous site with plenty of parking is ideal, although in the Roeuns’ case being opposite their bakery has worked extremely well for both businesses!’

Speed Queen is the oldest and largest manufacturer of commercial laundry equipment in the world. ‘Despite being founded in 1908, we’ve always been at the cutting edge of technology and trends, and that’s why our operators continue to make big profits,’ says Royce.

‘Our modern machines offer technological advances that have been big game changers for the industry. With cashless payment and remote operation, laundromats have become even more attractive opportunities for owners as investors, and Speed Queen’s partners are reaping the rewards of us being ahead of the game.’

Speed Queen delivers

‘Passive income has been a driving force for us, and Speed Queen delivers,’ says Konnie. ‘They are very pro-active when it comes to helping choose suitable locations, because that is crucial to your operation. And the new cashless machines have made our business so easy-to-run. Everyone uses EFTPOS today, and I love seeing the money just arrive in the bank.’

Royce Little says that, ‘From an investors’ perspective, cashless payments offer a lot of benefits. For a start, all the security issues have gone – there is nothing to steal on site and no worries about cash handling, collecting and banking coins, either. New laws designed to prevent money laundering have made dropping coins into banks increasingly difficult, but the change has actually made owning a laundromat even more attractive.’

Never failed

Speed Queen is not actually a franchise – you operate under your own brand, but Speed Queen provides all the help you need to get up and running. Speed Queen has equipped over 50 outlets in the last two years and supplied 6 of the largest laundromats operating in the Southern Hemisphere. A medium-sized investment will be between $250,000 and $300,000, with a deposit required of $75-100,000.

‘The return on the total investment is in the region of 20-30 percent, and we’ve had some owners do much better than that,’ says Royce. ‘We’ve never built an outlet that has failed, and we’ve no desire to spoil that record. This is a near-perfect passive investment opportunity, and we are seeking further investors to satisfy the need.

‘One of our operators in Auckland didn’t even advertise when he started his outlet, and it grew exponentially purely by word-of-mouth. It’s all about location, and in his case the location was bang-on. ‘If you are interested in opening your own cashless, money-making investment, we have several areas with considerable potential, so give me a call and let’s start talking.’

Konnie Roeun has the last word. ‘You know how they say working hard brings the best results? Well, with Speed Queen, it’s the machines that are working hard instead.’

Advertiser Info

Speed Queen

www.speedqueen.co.nz

Contact Royce Little

P 0-9-528 5600 r

oyce@speedqueen.co.nz