CHICAGO — Most dry cleaners are well-versed in the day-to-day challenges their businesses face. Those who not only survive but thrive in the long term, however, are able to steer their companies through rough moments, changing consumer needs and demands, and, as recent years have shown us, unprecedented industry upheavals.
Navigating Through Crisis
For most cleaners, the COVID-19 pandemic represented the most significant business disruption in memory. The sudden nature and uncertain duration of the shutdown required swift decision-making and adaptation.
“When COVID hit, we lost 90% of our business, basically overnight,” says Tom Zengeler, president of Zengeler Cleaners in Northbrook, Illinois. “We had to immediately adapt to change, and also realize that this wouldn’t be a short-term issue. We needed to downsize staff and production immediately, change store hours, and institute a multiple array of cost monitoring, dealing with everything from window washing to lease negotiations.”
While the pandemic’s impact varied by market, every cleaner faced difficult choices about how to maintain operations with drastically reduced volume. For Zengeler, this meant consolidating some locations.
“We were operating four production facilities, and we downsized to two,” he says. “We tried to keep a percentage of our staff, but we knew we would not be able to keep all of them. So, we furloughed some, hoping to bring back the employees who we couldn’t keep on board during that time, but we definitely kept the longest-term employees who were with us, and that was key.”
For Jan Barlow, owner of Jan’s Professional Dry Cleaners in Clio, Michigan, the first year of the pandemic didn’t significantly impact her business.
“During the first year of COVID, I wasn’t really affected, because we’ve been heavily involved with medical, police, fire departments and other services. We also have a laundromat, and everybody needs clean clothes. We are an essential service.”
As the pandemic started, however, Barlow recognized that the status quo was going to change and took steps to educate herself and her team to better adapt to what was to come.
At the recommendation of a drycleaning peer, Barlow started reading “Traction” by Gino Wickman and “The Great Game of Business” by Jack Stack. Of the two books, she says “Traction” felt like the better fit for her business. Serendipity then came into play when a group she belonged to, the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), offered a compressed one-month “Traction” implementation program specifically for women business owners.
Despite never participating in programs like this before, Barlow impulsively applied and was accepted by the next morning. The program turned out to be a revelation.
“I’ve been able to run my business really well for 80% or 90% of the things that come up,” she says, “but this was the stuff I’ve never been able to figure out on my own.”
Through this program, she was matched with a business consultant who became her long-term coach, helping her transform her operations.
Come back Tuesday for Part 2 of this series, where we’ll examine the value of rethinking business fundamentals and building staff for uncertain times.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Dave Davis at [email protected].
