Famous with laundromat, carwash business
CHILLICOTHE – Some may know him as a social media sensation, while others may know him as the local laundromat owner. Either way, Brandon Schlichter has made a name for himself in Chillicothe and on Tiktok.
With 3.4 million followers on Tiktok and 1.51 million subscribers on Youtube, Schlichter, also known as Investment Joy, has found a social media following by showing viewers how he runs his laundromat and car wash.
Some of his most popular videos show the social media influencer collecting money from his various vending machines or collecting coins from his washing machines at Trippie’s Laundromat at 92 S. Walnut St. in Chillicothe.
The 37-year-old said he did not grow up with wealth, but worked to make a name for himself. He grew up in Pickaway County and started working in warehouses, then realized he needed to make more than $11 per hour to “do the things I want to do in life.” He became a real estate agent, but quickly realized it was not the job for him.
He met two people that didn’t go to college, a truck driver and a janitor, who acquired wealth through investing in real estate. That’s when Schlichter started investing in real estate. By 2013, he began managing properties fulltime.
Prior to buying the laundromat, he started posting videos in 2017 which never got many views. He started uploading videos of his laundromat in April 2019. By October, his video went viral and he gained 100,000 subscribers on Youtube.
“It just kept growing more and more and more. It’s crazy,” Schlichter said. “Now we’re sitting at a bit over one billion video views in between Youtube and Tiktok. We recently launched on Facebook, and we’re picking up 10 million views a month right now. Which to me, that’s really solid.”
Some of his most popular videos show him collecting quarters from his machines and dumping them into a bucket, a video that many commenters described as satisfying to watch. Other videos show him counting or collecting money from machines, showing his children how the machines work, explaining how much his laundromat made and more.
“I don’t understand why people watch it. Because it’s like, I wouldn’t watch the quarter stuff, I would watch the videos where I use spreadsheet breakdowns and do a bunch of financial diagnostics,” Schlichter said. “But people engage with it and it’s given me this really interesting opportunity to talk to a lot of people about business.”
His favorite part of running his social media accounts is educating his followers on how to run a business. In addition to his laundromat videos, he also posts day-in-the-life vlogs, business ideas with low start-up costs and more.
After buying two Royal Car Wash locations in Ashville and Circleville, he gained another half a million subscribers and more content ideas. He posts videos showing how much money he has made at his car washes, refilling the
soap and towels and more.
At 37, he has $10 million in assets, over 130 rentals, two laundromats, two car washes, about 20 vending machines and a self-storage facility. Aside from the income from his various properties, he also hopes to make about $500,000 from social media earnings this year.
He thanks his success to those who have helped him along the way and he hopes to do the same for others through social media. He coaches about 70 clients by giving financial advice and hosting group calls with other investors. He also works to teach his five children about finances and running a business, if they’re interested in learning.
From humble beginnings, Schlichter has one tip for anyone interested in investing: start now.
Follow Investment Joy on Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube.
Megan Becker is a reporter for the Chillicothe Gazette. Call her at 740-3491106, email her at mbecker@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @Beckerreporting.