These Systems Made Him Millions

Last week I sat down with Jason Worme, an entrepreneur who just sold his laundromat business in a multi-million dollar deal. 

In just two years, he took a traditional laundromat business, systematized every aspect of the operation, and sold it for way above the standard industry multiple. 

Whether you’re planning an exit or just want to build a business that runs smoothly, Jason laid out the exact frameworks any service company needs to scale beyond the owner-operator stage.

Let me show you how he did it...

At most service businesses, everything goes through the owner. Jason solved this issue through super detailed documentation. 

He used an app called Notion as the central hub for all business knowledge. "We used Notion to document the internal operations for the business, either through checklists or videos."

Then he put an iPad in the office where staff could access everything. "The phone stops ringing from your staff to say, 'Hey, how do we do this?' Because they know that they can go to the iPad that's in the office, watch the video again, and check any of the key points."

The system included:

This isn't just about efficiency, it's about building a business that can run without you. One simple video walkthrough prevents a dozen future phone calls.

Jason's approach to new customers was methodical: "When we onboard a new commercial customer, I would do the first visit, we would just go through like a little checklist that we had of things that we understood were important to most customers."

But instead of just taking notes, Jason would make sure to document their preferences with video: "We’d get them to show us how they would like their laundry prepared to be returned back to them. And so we just take out your iPhone, take a video of that while they're doing it."

Every single commercial customer had a video showing exactly how their items should be handled. Plus, Jason would document how to drop off laundry, giving drives videos of entrance points, loading docks, and even which doors to go through. 

This upfront work with customers led to high satisfaction from the moment they started working with Jason as his team knew exactly how to deliver what they were looking for.

Jason discovered something crucial: not all customers are created equal.

His business actually had three distinct revenue streams: 

But the commercial side became the gold mine.

"The characteristics of a small commercial customer are completely different," Jason explained. "They have a higher order volume and a higher price point. So each order has a bigger value and they order more frequently."

While residential customers might order every two weeks or monthly, commercial clients were ordering daily or multiple times per week. And crucially: "They're less price sensitive. Once you create that relationship and they understand that the quality of your service is high, they're not gonna leave for a couple of cents."

Once Jason had honed in on the right target customers to help him rapidly scale his business, he also pivoted his marketing. Switching off Google Ads and switching to  cold email outreach for commercial prospects. The results? Six-figure annual accounts acquired for just a couple hundred dollars.

The lesson for service businesses: Look beyond residential customers. Property managers, small offices, retail locations, these B2B relationships may offer higher values and better retention.

Jason knew from day one he'd eventually sell. So he built the business to be sellable.

Most laundromat financials are "a mess." Jason made clean books a competitive advantage: "We wanted to make sure that if we decided to sell or we needed to sell, that we had a good set of books.” Plus, he also had clear, documented systems, built a professional online presence, and developed multiple revenue streams.

Most laundromats sell for 3-5x cash flow. But Jason believed he could sell for 8-10x because he built a business that was designed to be acquired.

When it came time to sell, Jason skipped the brokers entirely. He created a 10-page information memorandum explaining why his business was unique and justified the sale price he wanted. He networked through the CLA (The Laundry Association) and industry groups, building a list of potential acquirers.

The result? He saved hundreds of thousands of dollars on broker fees. The deal actually came from someone who called asking if he knew anyone selling.

Here's Jason's complete framework for scaling service businesses:

Want to start today? Pick one process this week and create a video or checklist that someone else could follow. Then do another next week.

Jason's now back in Australia, looking to acquire service businesses. His plan? To grow to $100 million by expanding a successful model across territories.

But in order to reach his ambitious target, Jason knows he has to think clearly about how to incentivize and reward his employees: "I want to make sure that we bring the staff along on the journey through profit sharing and incentives. Like how can I do as much as possible to have the people that are part of the team also win if I win."

He gets it. The businesses that win long-term are the ones where everyone benefits from success.

Want to discuss how incentives can help your business scale? Let’s hop on a call to discuss how ShareWillow can help.