Normally, when clients contact the Wilkes University Small Business Development Center, a common reason to schedule a meeting with a consultant is to facilitate the creation of a business plan, financial projections, and the associated written assumptions to projections. In tandem with this sort of technical assistance, it is common for clients to discuss matters related to financing, with conversations often delving into alternative financing options.
For Unity Laundry Systems Corporation, an operation that is focused on the direct-to-end user sales, service, design, and manufacturing of commercial-grade washing machines and related equipment, this is exactly what the company’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Jonathan Benjamin (pictured) set out to do. However, in completing his business plan, perhaps one factor worth noting about writing a business plan is an overarching theme of commitment – certainly to the success of a small business. But, as least in the case of Unity Laundry, there is a sense commitment that, some could say, transcends profit. In looking to establish company headquarters in Dushore, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania – very much a rural area – and purchasing the assets of an existing operation known as Hoffman-New Yorker, it is also a commitment to creating and maintaining jobs in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, most specifically in the Sullivan County area. And the implications that kind of commitment makes – maintaining wealth in the immediate and surrounding areas – just to name one.
The commitment that a business plan articulates can create authentic engagement, and in fact, with the plans outlined in Unity Laundry’s document, Mr. Benjamin had gained significant attention from several partners in economic development, especially as it has related to financing both through state and federal channels: instruments, which commonly, are considered less conventional financing. It could also lead to other kinds of commitments. In the case of Unity Laundry Systems, the company was able to secure a total of $1.6 million in lender and seller financing for the acquisition of real estate and business assets.
Indeed, there are many additional steps on the road to success for Unity Laundry Systems Corporation. Other financing is very much still in the works with various funding partners. But the actual purchase of the commercial property for the company’s headquarters does provide the operation with the metaphorical foot in the door; it is certainly no small win. And with projections of nearly 100 jobs to be created in Sullivan County within five years, it is certain the Wilkes SBDC will still be relied upon when those challenges arise and as Mr. Benjamin and the rest of the team at Unity Laundry cycle through the various stages towards success.