Full Cycle

Welcome to the PlanetLaundry Podcast – brought to you by PlanetLaundry, the magazine of the Coin Laundry Association. In this episode, PlanetLaundry Editor Bob Nieman chats with Ryan Spicer, a multi-store operator with locations in the New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania markets. Spicer grew up in his family’s bicycle business and also spent 13 years in the nightclub industry, before getting in...

Welcome to the PlanetLaundry Podcast – brought to you by PlanetLaundry, the magazine of the Coin Laundry Association. In this episode, PlanetLaundry Editor Bob Nieman chats with Kent Wales from Spokane, Wash. He and his wife, Monica, are the owners of Happy Laundry & Dry Cleaning – a company that specializes in commercial laundry, personal laundry, and drycleaning services. Wales also is an Ea...

Welcome to the PlanetLaundry Podcast – brought to you by PlanetLaundry, the magazine of the Coin Laundry Association. In this episode, PlanetLaundry Editor Bob Nieman chats with Amy Martinez-Monfort, founder and CEO of Tampa Laundry Company. Amy is a Florida native who attended Florida State University for her undergraduate degree and the University of Florida for law school. She practiced law wit...

Welcome to the PlanetLaundry Podcast – brought to you by PlanetLaundry, the magazine of the Coin Laundry Association. In this episode, PlanetLaundry Editor Bob Nieman chats with Alaa Elbanna, co-owner of Bubbles Are Us, a five-store chain in the New York/New Jersey area – in which he has been a partner with his father for the last 20 years. In addition, Alaa also sits on the Board of Directors for...

Welcome to the PlanetLaundry Podcast – brought to you by PlanetLaundry, the magazine of the Coin Laundry Association. In this episode, PlanetLaundry Editor Bob Nieman interviews Joe Dan Reed, the owner of the Splash ’Em Out laundromat chain in Lexington, Ky. Splash ’Em Out is a nine-store operation, serving the greater Lexington area, which also features a robust wash-dry-fold and pickup-and-deliv...

Welcome to the PlanetLaundry Podcast – brought to you by PlanetLaundry, the magazine of the Coin Laundry Association. In this episode, PlanetLaundry Editor Bob Nieman chats with Ross Dodds, co-owner of Luxe Laundries, a 13-store laundromat chain serving the greater Los Angeles area. In addition, Luxe is opening a new 6,000-square-foot facility dedicated to its pickup-and-delivery business – in ess...

Welcome to the PlanetLaundry Podcast – brought to you by PlanetLaundry, the magazine of the Coin Laundry Association. In this episode, PlanetLaundry Editor Bob Nieman interviews Coin Laundry Association President and CEO Brian Wallace, who has served laundry operators for more than 30 years through his work at the CLA. The two discuss some of the pending legislation and government regulations that...

Welcome to the PlanetLaundry Podcast – brought to you by PlanetLaundry, the magazine of the Coin Laundry Association. In this episode, PlanetLaundry Editor Bob Nieman interviews Craig Dakauskas, senior vice president of Alliance Laundry Systems. This is Craig’s second stint with Alliance. He served as the company’s national sales manager from 2002-2007. Craig is known as an industry leader, as wel...

Welcome to the PlanetLaundry Podcast – brought to you by PlanetLaundry, the magazine of the Coin Laundry Association. In this special episode, recorded in San Diego at CLA’s 2023 Excellence in Laundry Conference, PlanetLaundry Editor Bob Nieman chats with Waleed Cope, the owner and operator of The Soap Box – laundry, drycleaning and sneaker-cleaning enterprise, based in Brooklyn, N.Y. We hope you...

Welcome to the PlanetLaundry Podcast – brought to you by PlanetLaundry, the magazine of the Coin Laundry Association. In this special episode, recorded in San Diego at CLA’s 2023 Excellence in Laundry Conference, PlanetLaundry Editor Bob Nieman chats with brothers Lee and Luke Williford, the third-generation operators of The Wash House laundromat chain, based in Raleigh, N.C. We hope you enjoy thi...

Welcome to the PlanetLaundry Podcast – brought to you by PlanetLaundry, the magazine of the Coin Laundry Association. In this special episode, recorded in San Diego at CLA’s 2023 Excellence in Laundry Conference, PlanetLaundry Editor Bob Nieman chats with “The Laundromat Millionaire” Dave Menz – author, laundry coach, and the owner of Queen City Laundry, a chain of full-service stores in Cincinnat...

Welcome to the PlanetLaundry Podcast – brought to you by PlanetLaundry, the magazine of the Coin Laundry Association. In this special episode, recorded in San Diego at CLA’s 2023 Excellence in Laundry Conference, PlanetLaundry Editor Bob Nieman chats with Brandon Schlichter, the founder and CEO of Investment Joy. Mr. Schlichter is an investor focused on small, traditional businesses – including la...

Welcome to the PlanetLaundry Podcast – brought to you by PlanetLaundry, the magazine of the Coin Laundry Association. In this episode, PlanetLaundry Editor Bob Nieman chats with Alex Jekowsky, the CEO and co-founder of Cents, an all-in-one software platform created to help laundromat owners grow, manage, and better understand their businesses. Alex shares his thoughts on the notions of customer su...

Welcome to the PlanetLaundry Podcast – brought to you by PlanetLaundry, the magazine of the Coin Laundry Association. In this episode, PlanetLaundry Editor Bob Nieman chats with Matt Gabris, a chief safety and environmental executive for the food and beverage industries, as well as industry safety chair for the American Bakers Association. In addition, he and his wife, Jennifer, are the long-time...

Welcome to the PlanetLaundry Podcast – brought to you by PlanetLaundry, the magazine of the Coin Laundry Association. In this episode, PlanetLaundry Editor Bob Nieman chats with Waleed Cope, owner and operator of The Soap Box – which is a laundry, drycleaning and sneaker-cleaning enterprise, based in Brooklyn, N.Y. Waleed shares his thoughts on the importance of customer support, texting to build...

Welcome to the PlanetLaundry Podcast – brought to you by PlanetLaundry, the magazine of the Coin Laundry Association. In this episode, PlanetLaundry Editor Bob Nieman interviews Chris Ward, the president and founder of 4WARD Energy Solutions, a national energy consultancy based in Houston. 4WARD is part of the CLA Business Solutions program – with Chris and his team helping Coin Laundry Associatio...

Welcome to the PlanetLaundry Podcast – brought to you by PlanetLaundry, the magazine of the Coin Laundry Association. In this episode, PlanetLaundry Editor Bob Nieman interviews Coin Laundry Association President and CEO Brian Wallace, who has served laundry operators for more than 30 years through his work at the CLA. The two discuss some of the leading trends impacting and reshaping the laundrom...

Welcome to the PlanetLaundry Podcast – brought to you by PlanetLaundry, the magazine of the Coin Laundry Association. In this episode, PlanetLaundry Editor Bob Nieman chats with 2022 CLA Member of the Year Colleen Unema of Brio Laundry in Bellingham, Wash. – who will be launching her new project, Brio Laundry University, for the laundromat industry early next year. We hope you enjoy this conversat...

Welcome to the PlanetLaundry Podcast – brought to you by PlanetLaundry, the magazine of the Coin Laundry Association.   In this episode, PlanetLaundry Editor Bob Nieman chats with Alex Smereczniak, co-founder and CEO at LaundroLab – a laundromat franchise concept – and 2ULaundry, which is the business’ pickup-and-delivery component.   We hope you enjoy this conversation. We invite you to listen to...

Welcome to the PlanetLaundry Podcast – brought to you by PlanetLaundry, the magazine of the Coin Laundry Association.   In this episode, PlanetLaundry Editor Bob Nieman chats with Mark Vlaskamp, the managing partner at The Folde, a pickup-and-delivery-focused laundry service, based in Houston and Austin, Texas. The Folde operates self-service laundromats that double as private, overnight productio...

Welcome to the PlanetLaundry Podcast – brought to you by PlanetLaundry, the magazine of the Coin Laundry Association. In this episode, PlanetLaundry Editor Bob Nieman chats with Bryan Maxwell, senior laundry specialist for Western State Design, a major laundry distributor based in Hayward, Calif. Maxwell has served laundromat entrepreneurs and the industry for more than 30 years – and, despite his...

Welcome to the PlanetLaundry Podcast – brought to you by PlanetLaundry, the magazine of the Coin Laundry Association. In this episode, PlanetLaundry Editor Bob Nieman chats with Alex Jekowsky, the CEO and co-founder of Cents, a point of sale and business management platform created to help laundromat owners grow, manage and better understand their businesses. Cents is building a network of laundry...

Welcome to the PlanetLaundry Podcast – brought to you by PlanetLaundry, the magazine of the Coin Laundry Association. In this episode, PlanetLaundry Editor Bob Nieman chats with John Buni, the CEO and co-founder of CleanCloud, the laundromat-specific software provider powering businesses in more than 90 countries. John and Bob talk openly about the current state of the industry, including the chal...

Welcome to the PlanetLaundry Podcast – brought to you by PlanetLaundry, the magazine of the Coin Laundry Association. In this episode, Coin Laundry Association President and CEO Brian Wallace chats with Brian Brunckhorst, owner of Advantage Laundry, a laundromat chain located in California’s San Francisco Bay area.  During this “How’s Business” segment, the two discuss Brunckhorst’s transition fro...

Welcome to the Planet Laundry Podcast – brought to you by PlanetLaundry, the magazine of the Coin Laundry Association. In this episode, Brian Wallace, president and CEO of the Coin Laundry Association, interviews Jim Whitmore, owner of Fresh Express Laundry Center in Salem, Mass. In this “How’s Business?” segment, Jim discusses his origin as a laundromat owner, the importance of mentorship in this...