J.R. Ryan, president of Meese and TBR Associates, served as moderator for the TRSA general education session held at the Clean Show on June 22, 2019. The session, “Tips for Entering the Commercial Laundry Industry”, was one of six general education panel sessions held at Clean ’19. It was held in the Great Hall at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. The larger space offered a greater number of attendees the opportunity to sit in on these topics and ask questions of the panel.
“I was honored to be part of this important discussion to help entrepreneurs that are considering entering the commercial laundry space get a clearer picture of what to expect,” Ryan says. “The personal successes and failures shared by each of the panelists was well worth the time spent at the hour long session. The entire panel took questions from the attendees during the session and each one of them stayed long afterwards to field additional questions.”
The panel featured these prominent industry leaders:
Dan Campbell, president, Wash Around the Clock
Lou D’Autorio, director of operations, The Laundry Company
Julia Pooler, president, Sacramento Laundry Company
Keith Pooler, vice president, Sacramento Laundry Company
Many important topics were covered during the session including:
Understanding the local marketplace and where opportunities exist.
The biggest mistakes made by each panelist when transitioning from operating a coin-op laundromat or dry cleaning business to a commercial laundry.
The equipment needed to enter the commercial laundry market.
The advantages of your commercial laundry business when woman or minority owned.
How to finance your growth using SBA loans.
Building a commercial laundry facility and getting advice on how to navigate building codes, sewer permits and other important, but often overlooked, concerns.
J.R. Ryan is a frequent speaker at laundry and textile industry panels and meetings and currently serves as the Chair of the Education Committee of TRSA. He is also an instructor at their renowned Product Manager Institute. J.R. is currently President of Meese and TBR Associates.
