Sponsored article
For Monica Hargis, the road to owning a successful laundry business started with a $5 delivery fee. More than 11 years ago, Hargis launched Laundry Liberator after noticing a need among customers at the Bozeman laundromat where she worked. What began as an after-hours laundry delivery service has since grown into a 10-person operation serving families, small businesses, medical offices and property managers throughout Bozeman, Belgrade and Big Sky.
Today, Laundry Liberator handles everything from everyday clothing and comforters to horse blankets, tack, vacation rental turnovers and even the occasional boxing ring. Hargis has built the business around a simple idea: giving people something they can never get more of—time.
When she’s not building her business, she spends as much time as possible adventuring with her husband and their dog, Odin. Explore Big Sky spoke with Hargis about leaping into entrepreneurship, adapting to her customers’ needs and why sometimes the best thing a business owner can do is simply take the next step.
This series is part of a paid partnership with the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce. The following answers have been edited for brevity.
Explore Big Sky: When did you first come to Montana, and what initially brought you here?
Monica Hargis: I moved out to Montana about 16 years ago. I had a best friend who moved out here, and I came to visit her for a little trip. I fell in love with it and thought, “I’m going to move here.” It took me about six months to actually do it.
EBS: What motivated you to move so quickly after your initial visit?
MH: I was coming from Cookeville, Tennessee, so it was very different. What really sold me was that I was here for two weeks. One week had beautiful weather, and the second week dumped snow in October. Everyone was still outside, and I thought, “That’s what I want.” I came to Bozeman first, and I actually just bought my first home about 10 months ago in Belgrade, but our business services Big Sky at different times of the year. Depending on the season, we’re there three to six days a week.
EBS: You’ve owned Laundry Liberator for more than 11 years. What prompted you to start the business?
MH: I used to work at a laundromat in Bozeman, and I kept seeing different scenarios where people needed a delivery service. I approached the owner about starting delivery, and he wasn’t interested. So I asked if I could do it, still work for him, and just deliver when I got off work. He said, “Okay, do it.”
I started my business under its own name, so that it wasn’t associated with his business, but he paid me. I think I charged $5 back in the day just to deliver laundry to people’s houses.
EBS: How did that small delivery service eventually become a full business?
MH: After the first year, I started running my numbers and thought I could do it by myself.
I went to my manager and told him that I was going out on my own and would do this full time, but I would work with him for six more months until he got a really good replacement. A month later, he had found my replacement and didn’t need me anymore. We contracted the use of his laundromat in Bozeman while he was closed so I could run my business. That was actually his idea. Laundry Liberator did people’s laundry overnight and delivered it during the day. We used that rental system in different areas around Bozeman for eight years before we built our own facility, which we’ve now been in for more than three years.
EBS: It sounds like that first business owner was almost a mentor to you.
MH: He was super supportive. When I split from him, I told him I wasn’t going to take any customers unless they called me. I wasn’t going to call them and tell them I was leaving. We’re still good friends to this day. He doesn’t own the laundromat anymore, but he’s still like a second dad to me.
EBS: What helped you learn how to become a better business owner?
MH: I think getting into different organizations as soon as I went out on my own helped me more. I learned from other people who had been in my shoes. I don’t know that I was open and willing enough to be told what to do when I started my own business; I was probably a little too stubborn in the beginning. But then, meeting other business owners through the years, networking, going to a lot of women’s events and organizations, I started coming into my own.
I’m a better person and business owner today than I was a year ago, and next year I’ll be a better person than I am right now. That’s always the goal.
EBS: What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned over the past 11 years?
MH: I think a lot of people believe they have to have all their ducks in a row before they make a choice to start their own business. Depending on the type of business you’re in, just go out there and start. Then create it as you get the money to. Don’t wait for perfection before starting, because you’re never going to get everything perfect. Every time we try to expand or add a new service here, we put it out there and see if anyone bites. Some things work, and some don’t.
Change is hard for anyone. I make failures every day, but I also win every day.
EBS: How has Laundry Liberator evolved over the years?
MH: I started the business with the idea of helping families or individuals with their normal laundry. Then it grew into small businesses that needed help, like dental offices, chiropractors and massage therapists. Then I was approached by a horse barn asking if we could wash horse blankets. I said, “Let me try.” Now we wash horse blankets and horse tack, and we actually have a huge client base for that.
EBS: What does washing horse tack and blankets involve?
MH: The biggest thing is that it’s something covering an animal that lives outside, so it gets really dirty. We have big commercial washers that can handle the weight of those items when they get wet because everything gets heavier. There are also a lot of buckles, metal objects, strings, ropes and leg straps, so you need equipment that can handle all of those things moving around. We buy special waterproofing designed for horse blankets and has been tested to be safe with animals. We buy it in bulk. Then, we hang everything up to dry. In the summertime, if you drive by us, I call them my “pets on leashes” because I have the blankets tied with chains and hanging outside in the sun. That way the wind can’t roll them down into the parking lot.
EBS: You’ve really found a niche by adapting to what your customers need.
MH: We have. I feel like the older we get as a business, the more we’re fine-tuning and know what we are good at. We have gotten past the point of saying yes to everything.
EBS: Where does Laundry Liberator fit between a traditional laundromat and a commercial linen service?
MH: We’re kind of in the middle. We do everyday normal laundry, but we also have property managers who manage more than 50 properties in Big Sky, and we do all their turnovers. We’re also paired with Bozeman Health and do the Big Sky division, including the medical center and urgent cares. So we have those bigger clients, but we’re still servicing anyone who can walk in our door or schedule a pickup and delivery in Big Sky, Bozeman or Belgrade.
EBS: What’s the most unusual thing you’ve ever washed?
MH: A boxing ring usually takes the cake. We do it twice a year for a nonprofit.
I’ve also done a teepee because it comes apart into fabric sections. I’ve done tents and boat covers too.
I always tell people, “I’m going to put it in a washer just like you would. My washer is just commercial.” If it isn’t designed for a washer, it might not work.
EBS: Tell me about your team and how you make all of this possible.
MH: We currently have a team of 10, and everyone plays a specific role. We have people who sort all the laundry coming in and get it into the washers. Then people transition it into the dryers. Depending on the item, we lay it out, and then we have a whole section that is just folding. We call it “the flow.” The flow has to keep moving. If sorting is backed up, someone needs to leave where they are and go help, because if stuff isn’t going into the washing machine, it’s definitely not coming out. Everyone gets to feel what that’s like at different times of the season.
EBS: Is that teamwork part of how you train your employees?
MH: We talk about it a lot. Our big thing is quality. I joke that people eat with their eyes. You’re not going to eat a plate that doesn’t look appetizing. I also think you wow people with presentation.
EBS: What has been the best part of working with the Big Sky community?
MH: Big Sky is amazing. It’s its own world. It’s so beautiful. Whenever I can, I take our routes up to Big Sky. If one of my drivers needs a sick day or a vacation day, I say, “I’ll drive. Let me go to Big Sky.” When people reach out to us and see that we service Big Sky—whether they need their family’s clothing done, a vacation rental turned over or whatever it is—they’re just so nice and happy that someone is willing to come all the way out to Big Sky.
EBS: What is the best business advice you’ve ever received?
MH: Know your value. Raise prices if you need to do so. I know that’s hard for the public to understand, but it’s important for small businesses. There’s a fear of raising prices because we don’t want to upset our clients or lose them. But I have a job to do. If I can’t do my job because I can’t afford to keep my lights on, then it doesn’t matter whether you choose me.
EBS: After 16 years in Montana, what do you still love most about living here?
MH: I will give anything to be outside on a summer day. It doesn’t matter if it’s rain or shine. I always tell my staff, “Remember to look up when you live here.” When we’re driving, we’re looking at the roads headed to work. When we’re driving home, we’re looking at the road headed home. But just look up too. If you raise your eyes, you have mountains everywhere—even when they’re just outlines through the clouds. Just look up. Because we’re all so lucky that we get to live here.
