The question I have for you is how much time do you have?  If you have the time to do your own research then you can do some business analysis and comparisons from other similar businesses in your city or area.  The zone or area that business is located has a large impact on the performance of that business.  You have to consider the demographics and the target customers for your business.

If you don’t have the time, then you will need to hire a professional business analyst or broker to assist you in the assessment of the dry cleaner business you are considering to buy.  A business is a business, so the price should be based on the performance and profit that the business generates.  You can determine this in most cases by looking at the financial history.  The previous 3 years should give you a good idea on the profitability of the Dry Cleaners.  Based on the profit margin you can forecast your income from the business, from that point you can determine the return on investment.

A Business Broker specializes in the sales and purchasing of businesses of any scale.  The services offered by many of these companies include market assessments, business valuations, business appraisals and comparisons as well as a large listing of businesses for sale.  Even if you are buying a dry cleaning business and have done all your own research, it is still worth the cost for an independent valuation of the business.  Have a business broker who is not involved with the sale or purchase of the business to do a simple market value assessment of the business.

How Much Can You Make?

In reality, I can’t really tell you because each and every Dry Cleaners will be different.  I can give you a rough idea though.  Based on some survey data on salaries in the US and Canada for Managers and Owners of Dry Cleaners and other Cleaning services such as Laundromats, the Average Salary is between $45,000 to $60,000 annually.  First, remember that this is an average, so there is plenty of room to be making more.  In my opinion, this is a low estimate actually.  This survey that I found seems to target the “Managers” of the business, which in most cases are employees of that small business.  The net income from a business is really what the owners salary is and is often disclosed to the potential buyers as well.

Beyond the business financials, business plans, employees and all the other duties, what will it take to make a decent salary in the dry cleaning business.  In short, it will take your time.

As an example, lets look at a Dry Cleaner owner who is more hands off and hires a manager to run the business.  Out of the business gross profit you will have to pay your Manager, who in turn will make between $40,000 and $50,000.  The business manager will be responsible for day to day activities, storefront, marketing, licensing, permits, staff and other management duties.  The business in turn will be making a profit ( hopefully ) and your take home salary may as low as $20,000 a year.  Not great…. but you have to consider that this is probably income on top of whatever else you are making doing other things, or running other businesses.  You can then the owner and not the manager.

In most cases, unless you operating or buying into a multi-store business, you will both be the manager and owner.  Theoretically combining the income into one for yourself.  You will be the manager and have to put in the time to manage the business and all associated activities.  The more you do, the less you have to pay someone else to do them.  You also get to be your own boss.

The only real way to know how much you will make is to have a close look at the financial statements from the particular dry cleaners you are looking to buy.   This is where the business assessment comes in.  In most cases, when a business owner wants to sell their business they will want to have all the documentation ready for potential buyers.   Often the seller will have already arranged a valuation of the business, both for helping with the sale and knowing how much to sell it for in the first place.

Business financials are the key to knowing your potential income.  I have also found that business broker listings will show gross revenue and net profit/income.  The range on dry cleaners is from a net income of $50,000  to upwards of $250,000 + per year.  The Dry Cleaning business is a well established, long running business model with continued growth throughout North America.   The decision to invest your money and time into a Dry Cleaner is a smart one.  Finding the right size of Dry Cleaners is the next step.  Have a look at my article on Starting a Dry Cleaning Business as well.