Micro, Small and Medium businesses are the engine room of any economy, the world over. Not everyone can venture into the medium enterprise sector, owing to the relatively high capital requirement, but many people can afford to start a small business, especially the micro ones, that, most times, require little start-up capital.
The hustle and bustle of many cities in Nigeria, especially Lagos and Abuja, and the rigour many of those in the working population face, everyday, make it difficult, most times, to add laundry duties to everyday routine.
This is why the laundry business has become so lucratice, as long as the owner pays attention to quality service and personalises his relationship with customers.
Laundry service can either be done on part time or full time basis, depending on the financial standing of the new entrant. But research has shown that those who personalise their laundry relationships with customers, pick their dirty clothes from their homes and return them, smartly cleaned, to their doorsteps, get more patronage.
WHAT YOU NEED
You do not need so much money to start a laundry business, and you can start right from your home, especially if there is good space in the compound for laundry services. This is because in the beginning, you would require referrals from families and friends to prove what you can do and retain customers.
As the business grows, you may need to rent a befitting shop, where passersby and others in need of your kind of service can stop to assess your job with one trial.
Apart from space, the remaining items needed to start the laundry business are: washing machine and dryer (not in all cases), constant source of water, good pressing iron, ironing tables, garment conveyor, and branded bags for neat packaging of treated clothes.
Other requirements are laundry items, which you can get weekly, like detergents, bar soaps, washing machine liquids, and spray or water starch, among others. Note that the type of washing soap you buy depends on how delicate the particular fabric is.
TRAINING
You may need to go for two weeks training to know how to deal with special colours and avoid spoiling customers’ fabrics. This is important so that you don’t go about paying for damages rather than making profits.Cleaning is technology; you need to master it with all sense of seriousness. A good cleaning detergent will go a long way in achieving thorough cleaning, and will, in turn, bring more customers.
Good pressing iron
Invest in quality pressing Iron for the sake of efficiency. Go for a high quality, brand new iron from known and reliable
makers.
Ironing table
It is very important for your table to be wide enough, at least to give enough pressing space and convenience as you will be handling many clothes. Do not use a small table that will make your work inconvenient and may eventually cause you some damages.
Garment conveyor
You will need a garment conveyor for hanging finished clothes. You may just get a nice locally made one from furniture makers, but it must be wide enough to avoid stuffing cloths. The conveyor here is just a hanging stand, not the ones that convey cloths used by bigger dry cleaners.
Profitability
For profitability, you must treat your laundry business as a standard one by ensuring you plough profits back in the business to get more things needed for expansion and save the balance. Above all, quality must be your watchword as the business thrives mainly on
referrals.
