Zac Karlaftis is up at around 4:30 am to 5:00 am, starts doing pickups from seven o’clock in the morning, and still makes it to pick up his daughter at 3 o’clock. That mix of early starts, tight scheduling, and fast lead follow-up is a typical working day running a Jim’s Laundry Services territory in Pascoe Vale Central. Here is the day, step by step, from the first pickup run to the last drop-off and admin.
Watch the video above, or keep reading to see what a full working day actually looks like.
What Happens Before 7:00 am? Morning Setup and First Pickups (4:30 am to 7:00 am)
Zac likes early starts because the street is quiet and the day feels predictable.
His routine is steady:
- Get up at around 4:30 am to 5:00 am
- Go to the gym (even though he says he’s been “a bit slack lately”)
- Have breakfast
- Set the day before heading out
Jim’s Laundry Services is a division of Jim’s Group, founded by Jim Penman, and Zac says the system takes pressure off the morning. He can “turn on my leads,” and the leads start coming in. He reckons he has “probably built 80% of my business based on the leads.”
That changes what “starting work” looks like. He is not sitting at home chasing customers. He is deciding how much work he wants to accept, then getting out on the road.
He runs his schedule from his van, which he calls “Tuk Tuk”. He grabs coffee from the same shop most days, and then he starts the run. From seven o’clock in the morning, Zac starts doing pickups.
In this ride-along, one of the first stops is a commercial pickup at Broski Barber Studio. Zac picks up a bag of towels, leaves another bag behind, and tags the load so it is easy to identify and return correctly.
How Does the Midday Run Work? Pickups, Leads, and Loads (7:00 am to 3:00 pm)
Once the run is underway, a lot of the work is repeatable. Zac wants it that way because repeatable work is easier to schedule.
He is big on labelling. He uses a bag and a tag so he can identify “whose laundry is who” and return it correctly. If there are “two or three” bags, he uses stickers as well.
Zac talks a lot about being local. He says he has been in the area for “40 plus years”, and he likes the community part of the job. In real terms, that means regulars, short drives, and familiar drop-off points.
Between scheduled runs, Zac keeps an eye on leads. In the video, one comes through that is “Six minutes” old. His rule is quick contact: “I like to give him a call within 10 to 15 minutes.”
On the phone, he confirms:
- What needs washing (bedding or clothing)
- Whether there is ironing
- When the client needs it back
He also sets turnaround expectations. For one lead, he says, “Tomorrow’s Friday, and usually we can drop it off back on Monday.”
A big day-to-day reality is that “a job” is not a neat unit. Zac explains a bag might have “three loads worth”. If he has “two clients a day”, that can become “six or seven a day”. He has also had “up to about 10 loads in one wash for a client.”
He sees spikes when customers move, travel, or buy a new home and end up with “all this brand new bedding, everything, the whole lot.” They look at the loads and decide to outsource them.
Zac also builds in variety. Alongside domestic and standard commercial work, he offers a tea towel hire service for cafes and restaurants. He provides the tea towels, polishing cloths, and wiper fibers. Because of food stains, the work gets soaked and can sit overnight. He says he uses a lot of the Jim’s products, and he also buys commercial products from Dominant, which he says have been around for “over 25 years”.
He does not talk about a fixed lunch break. Instead, he builds spare time into the week by batching work. Some days he books “two or three days fully” as laundry days, then leaves other days free for his other project and his other business.
How Does Zac Wrap Up? Drop-Offs and Admin (3:00 pm to 5:00 pm)
Zac structures the day around a real deadline: “I’ve got to go pick up my daughter at 3 o’clock”.
That one commitment pushes him to keep the run tight. He sets appointment windows, messages if traffic slows him down, and uses drop-off methods that save time.
For one apartment client, he works with the receptionist. He picks up, returns, and leaves it at reception so the client “doesn’t actually have to be there.” He says it’s a weekly client: “Every Wednesday, pick up, and every Thursday.” He fits the drop-off into whatever else is on the schedule.
Finish time depends on what he has promised customers, but he gives a clear example: if the job is close to home, he might drop something off at “five o’clock” when they are home. He prefers that the laundry not be “sitting outside all day.”
Before he finishes, he checks the schedule again and sends the follow-up texts he promised. He also sets the next pickup times, so tomorrow starts clean.
He protects weekends, too. “I don’t work Saturday and Sunday,” and he avoids weekend drop-offs unless something is “really urgent.” He likes picking up on a Friday and returning on a Monday, because it keeps the weekend clear and still works for most customers.
The Day’s Metrics: Time, Loads, And Turnaround
Start time: 7:00 am (pickups start)
Finish time: Depends on the day (example: drop-off at 5:00 pm)
Wake-up time: 4:30 am to 5:00 am
Family commitment: 3:00 pm (school pickup)
Lead response time: Call back within 10 to 15 minutes (example lead received 6 minutes earlier)
Turnaround promise example: Pick up on Friday and return on Monday
Weekly repeat client schedule: Wednesday pickup and Thursday drop-off
Commercial pickup cadence example: Fortnightly (moving to weekly as it gets busier)
Loads per bag example: Around 3 loads
Loads per day example: 6 or 7 loads (with 2 clients a day)
Largest single customer volume mentioned: Up to about 10 loads in one wash
Lead share of business: Around 80%
Would Zac Karlaftis Do It Again?
Zac came from the telco industry and spent 24 years in an office. He wanted a lifestyle change, flexibility, and a workday that could include family time.
He also wanted to stop being told to fly to Sydney for “two to three days” every month. Now he says he is “out and about every day” and he “absolutely loves what I do now”.
He likes that he can work his own hours. Some weeks, the laundry is “five days a week”. Some weeks it is “three days a week”. Some weeks it is “two days a week”. He decides based on what else is going on and how much he wants to push.
He is also realistic about what is hard. The busy part is not one wash cycle. It is managing the moving parts: pickups, drop-offs, timing, and expectations. He says, “By the time you get home for the day, you pretty much put on about 17 hats just to get your job done.”
For him, the Jim’s setup removes some of those hats. He points to marketing and lead generation, and he likes the fee structure because it does not scale up with revenue the way some other models do.
His advice is simple: “If you don’t put the effort in, you’re not going to get the return.”
FAQ: Hours, Workload, Lifestyle Fit, and Earnings Consistency
What time does a Jim’s Laundry Services franchisee start?
Zac says he usually gets up at 4:30 am to 5:00 am and starts doing pickups from “seven o’clock in the morning”.
How many loads can you handle in a day?
Zac says it varies. A bag might have “three loads worth”, two clients can become “six or seven a day”, and he has had “up to about 10 loads in one wash for a client.”
How fast should you respond to a new lead?
Zac says he likes to call within “10 to 15 minutes”, and in the video, a lead comes through that is “Six minutes” old.
Do you work weekends?
Zac says, “I don’t work Saturday and Sunday,” and he avoids weekend drop-offs unless it is “really urgent”.
Can Jim’s Laundry Services be full-time work?
Zac runs it as a part-time business for his lifestyle, but he says someone focusing “five to six days a week” could make a full-time wage.
Want to see if a Jim’s franchise fits your lifestyle?
Enquire jims.net or call 131 546 to see what territories are available near you and what a typical week could look like in your area.