Laundry Service

Busy people all over the world rely on laundry services to take care of their washing, ironing and stain removal. Don’t let the conventional image of a laundry service in a shopping mall or street front location fool you; it is entirely possible to start an operation of your own right from your home. If you’ve got a knack for laundry, a small amount of start-up capital and a room to spare this could be your next work at home business.

Before The Start-Up, Let’s Not Get Ahead Of Ourselves

There certainly aren’t any formal qualifications needed to get started. You will however often be dealing with expensive or precious items of clothing. It’s essential you have a thorough knowledge of basic laundry services such as washing, drying and ironing as well as more advanced services you might offer such as dry cleaning.

The Start-Up

If you already own the machines your initial investment can be as low as $1000. To get started you’ll need a dedicated room (as spacious as possible), a washer and dryer (normal domestic ones will do for now, but industrial large capacity units are ideal) and an iron or steam press (a steam press is ideal for quickly ironing many items). Finally if you plan on offering specialist services like steam cleaning you’ll need the relevant equipment – a home based laundry service however would usually specialize in basic services.

Making It Work

Be prepared to put in a little extra effort, first to create your reputation and then to maintain it. People will happily recommend your service if they receive friendly and warm service, good value and a caring touch for their clothing and other items – invest in your brand at all times. Doing small repairs such as fixing missing buttons is one great way to do this.

Marketing

This is a word of mouth driven industry. There is a great deal of trust involved in handing your wardrobe to a business; as a result people often check with friends or co-worked before trying a new laundry service. To get started advertise in your community newspaper, at your local school, library and anywhere your ad might be spotted by someone too busy to do their own laundry.

Don’t Forget

Don’t forget to self insure for mistakes. Open a separate savings account and setup a monthly debit order for the amount you’d like to self insure for. Mistakes happen – the best thing you can do is be financially prepared for them. Finally don’t forget to insure your equipment and other assets once your business is breaking even – as you are running a business from your home those items won’t usually be protected under your normal household insurance.