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How Bianca Spatafora pivoted from nonprofit work to building a thriving two-location laundromat business that serves both urban and rural communities.
From the bustling suburbs of Woodbridge, Virginia, just outside Washington DC, to the rural foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Tiny Bubbles Laundromat serves two distinctly different communities with the same core values: clean, bright, and friendly service that goes beyond just washing clothes. What started as owner Bianca Spatafora's unexpected career pivot has evolved into a thriving family business that she and her husband have built across Northern Virginia's diverse landscape.
Bianca's path to laundromat ownership wasn't exactly traditional. After decades in nonprofit and public sector work, including time overseas during the pandemic, she found herself at a crossroads when she returned to Northern Virginia.
"I was just kind of joking around, thinking maybe I should do a complete 180 and start doing all the internet businesses that you see on YouTube and social media," Bianca recalls. "And I had a family member who said, 'We actually have family friends who own a chain of laundromats. You should give them a call.'"
That casual suggestion led to a complete career pivot. "I started browsing BizBuySell, looking at laundromats. The timing worked out well, and I ran the numbers. I thought, 'Let me jump into this business.' This was nothing that we were remotely adjacent to. But I just decided to take the leap."
Two Stores, Two Completely Different Stories
Bianca's journey into laundromat ownership illustrates how dramatically different each acquisition can be. Her first location in Woodbridge, Virginia, in Prince William County, was what she describes as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"The owners, who are my current landlords, still own the property and the building, but they sold the business. They were ready to retire," she explains. "For all intents and purposes, my machines were new—seven-year-old machines are fantastic. It was an all-Dexter store, kitted out as beautifully as it could be and really well thought out."
The Woodbridge location serves a diverse, hard-working community where Bianca has created a welcoming environment for families and neighbors to connect. "It's a wonderfully bilingual store," she notes. "It's a really hard-working neighborhood with a big sense of community."
The second store, located about an hour west in a smaller mountain town, presented the complete opposite challenge. "It was a zombiemat," Bianca admits. "A lot of the machines were down due to poor maintenance, but there wasn't actually anything wrong with them."
This rural location required extensive renovation and community rebuilding. "We overhauled everything that needed maintenance and put in a couple of new machines. We're actually installing six brand new ones this month. We did all the cosmetic renovations—the walls, the floors—just making it a presentable space again."
The Technology Journey That Changed Everything
When Bianca decided to launch pickup and delivery services, she quickly realized she needed a proper POS system. "Prior to that, everything was done on paper restaurant tickets," she says.
After trying Square initially, she knew she needed something more comprehensive. "We decided we wanted to really track our metrics and start pickup and delivery, so we needed an all-in-one system. That's when we switched to Cents POS."
The contrast with her experience using a competing point-of-sale system at her second store was stark—the installation was problematic and the system proved unreliable.
The reliability factor became crucial for Bianca as a mother managing two locations. "I have two school-aged children. Running a business and doing all the things, I cannot have a point of sale constantly going down. It just needs to be reliable."
The experience highlighted the importance of choosing the right technology partner. "When Cents sent me a box with simple instructions, I thought, 'Oh, that means the product actually works.'”
Data-Driven Growth with Cents
One of the biggest advantages Bianca found with Cents was access to meaningful analytics across both locations. "The pre-built reports and customization options are a big draw as an owner who doesn't really know the metrics you need to track until you start getting into this business."
The wash and fold data proved particularly valuable as that service grew. "We had no data on it before. To be able to get a data dump as it's growing is invaluable because we just didn't know what we didn't know about orders, how long it takes to fold, processing times—all that kind of stuff."
Employee Implementation Across Diverse Teams
Getting her teams comfortable with the new system was initially a concern, especially given the diverse backgrounds of her staff across both locations. "Some of my attendants were nervous because Cents is obviously more feature-rich than a Square register that I can just put pictures on."
However, the bilingual functionality proved crucial, particularly at the Woodbridge location. "The fact that it was bilingual was the first draw—everyone can switch their language back and forth, and it still looks relatively simple with the icons."
The learning curve was manageable across both stores. "Getting over the first hump of learning all the processes was a little intimidating for some of my less tech-savvy employees. But as soon as they realized it was just a few extra steps that saves you headaches on the backend, they were fine with it."
Community-Centered Approach Across Two Markets
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Despite the demands of running two locations an hour apart, Bianca maintains a strong presence in both stores. "I think that if an owner rarely is in their own store, there is just a difference in the store. They don't tend to be as clean. I think communities like to know who owns the business."
Her commitment extends beyond just business operations, adapting to each community's unique needs. At the rural location, "We try to do literacy programs with our community that's relatively small and doesn't have a big library system. We're always bringing in books for people to take."
The demographic differences between her two locations have taught her valuable lessons about community engagement. "Everything about the two stores is different—the location, the demographic, everything," she explains. "It's a much more coin-friendly population" at the rural location, while the Woodbridge store serves customers who expect modern payment options.
Managing Two Locations
The logistics of running stores an hour apart requires careful planning. "I'm at that store twice a week. This schedule works because of the reliable staff she's built at both locations. "Once we got attendants who were really reliable, we just kept investing. If we made more money, they made more money. I think that makes a big difference with a smaller store in a smaller market."
Advice for New Operators
Drawing from her experience across two very different locations, Bianca offers practical advice for newcomers:
"Give yourself a solid year to learn before you start picking up another store. I don't care how good the deal is. We made it work, but that first year and especially those first nine months were really rough trying to get everything balanced."
On technology investments: "Don't be afraid of tech. I think tech is really helpful. A lot of people who've been doing this for 30 or 40 years say, 'Why would you bother with that?' But I think that's a world away from where we need to be."
Her top three priorities for new operators are clear: "Invest in the big three things: your point of sale so you can see what you're doing instead of guessing, your cameras, and your people. Pay your employees well and treat them right because they're the ones who are there everyday."
Looking Forward
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As Bianca continues to expand her use of Cents technology across both locations, she's planning strategic transitions that fit each market. "Long term, we'll be looking at putting card readers on all the machines and will likely take the Front Royal store to card only first while keeping the Woodbridge store hybrid longer." The Front Royal location is already leaning toward digital payments, with over 50% of transactions happening via credit card, while the Woodbridge store maintains higher coin usage among its customer base.
Her journey from nonprofit worker to successful multi-location laundromat owner demonstrates that with the right tools, community focus, and adaptability, newcomers can thrive across diverse markets.
