In a world where nursing is no longer considered a professional degree, teachers have to create Amazon Wish Lists to supply their classrooms with the things they need, and professionals in far too many fields are grossly underpaid, it’s not uncommon for someone to leave their field in search of a better opportunity. Enter: 38-year-old Cami, an Arizona-based nurse who left her hospital job to run a laundromat full-time.
Why Did Cami Leave Her Nursing Role for the Laundromat?
Cami (who, according to CNBC, only revealed her nickname due to the cash-heavy nature of her new business) didn’t walk away from nursing on a whim — she walked away because the math and the lifestyle stopped making sense. After more than a decade in a demanding unit, she hit a wall: long shifts, holiday rotations, and zero control over her time. When she realized that going back to school was the only way to move up, she pivoted and started exploring business ownership.
The laundromat became her exit plan. It was already profitable when she found it, and with updated equipment, fresh remodels, and a year of running it while still nursing, she could see a path where her time no longer belonged to a hospital schedule. By 2023, the laundromat’s growth was strong enough — and her stress levels low enough — that leaving health care became the obvious move.
Is the Laundromat Lucrative?
For Cami, owning a laundromat has been an incredible investment, and not in a “set it and forget it” way. According to CNBC, Cami’s laundromat brought in roughly $475,000 in revenue last year, plus almost $30,000 in rent from an attached salon. After expenses, she kept about $66,000 as her personal salary and reinvested the rest.
On top of that, sharing her experience on social media turned into a second income stream, earning her about $22,000 in six months and projected to hit “around $200,000” next year. She now runs the laundromat in about five to six hours a week — a rhythm made possible only because she put in years of long days, improvements, and hiring. But financially, it outpaced her nursing job and came with a lifestyle she couldn’t get in health care.
So Should More People Invest in Laundromats?
Owning and operating a laundromat can be a smart move, but only if you’re prepared for the upfront grind. Industry averages show laundromats can bring in anywhere from modest supplemental income to six-figure cash flow, and they weather tough economies well (because everyone needs clean clothes). Cami sees hers as a long-term wealth builder and even talks about early retirement or picking up a second location someday.
But none of that happens without capital, consistent upkeep, and treating the business like … well, a business. It isn’t effortless, but for people who want more control over their schedule and don’t mind putting in the work early, laundromats can be a reliable path out of traditional jobs.
