Do you want to start your laundry service business? It might appear to be a simple business with easy operation from the outside. How difficult can it be to accept dirty clothes and deliver clean and dry laundry?
Well, no matter how simple the concept may sound, running a laundry business successfully is a little more complicated than delivering clean laundry.
Irrespective of whether you run a laundry for a small or large neighbourhood, commercial laundry and dry cleaning establishments need cautious planning for operating successfully. We will discuss the top 3 tips on the successful operation of laundry businesses of every size and how much you can expect to earn from the business.
3 Tips for Running a Successful laundry Service
1. Innovate and Increase the Services you Offer:
The laundry business is highly location-dependent, thus restricting your scope of customer base development. Expanding the database can be difficult even with efficiency in picking up the laundry from houses, cleaning them, and delivering them timely.
No matter what you do, if you stick to the traditional pick-up, clean, and delivery service, your clients will only belong to a specific geographic sphere. Inability to expand your business beyond this radius is likely to dampen your chances of making more potential clientele.
What can you probably do to attract people beyond your neighbourhood?
Our solution to the problem is to increase your services and open more dry cleaning stores in different locations. It might seem heavy on the budget, but we have cost-effective solutions that will increase your customer flow and revenue. It is the trick of innovation in additional services. Some of the services you can add to your list are-
- Laundry pick-up and delivery (only for launderers who are not providing these services yet)
- Only pressing and folding service
- Speciality dry cleaning service
- Rush or emergency dry cleaning service
You can try other innovative ways of increasing your revenue. However, you should focus on adding services that don’t require you to hire more staff for the additional job. If you provide the best quality service, it will impress your clients and arrange for references for your business.
2. Over-Preparedness
While you are in the laundry service business, always remember that even the slightest delay in service, like a stretched downtime period or trouble with dry cleaning supplies, can cause severe damage to your revenue flow. A laundry business needs you to be always ready for any difficult situation. Over-preparation is the key to ensure smooth operation.
Over-preparedness means-
- Checking your equipment performance from time to time and maintaining them to avoid downtimes
- Monitoring the supplies so that you always have your cleaning supplies stocked.
- Always have staff backup for on-time pick-up and delivery.
- Track the warranties of your machinery
- Maintain a relationship with a local mechanic for a pinch requirement during an emergency breakdown.
In short, a launderer needs to be over-prepared to avoid any possible downtime.
3. Keep a Check on Utility Costs:
Did you know that water accounts for 50% of the operational expenses you incur in a commercial laundry business? A launderer needs to concern about all the utility expenses while running the business. Water expenses are not the ultimate; there are other utility costs, like energy consumption, supplies, etc.
Too much utility cost can fall on your way to a successful business. Every successful business requires decent profit margins. You can bring in a revolutionary change in your expenses if you can just control your energy and water usage. A market survey says that by restricting water usage by 80% and energy by about 50%, a commercial laundry can save thousands of dollars every year.
How Much Can you Earn from a laundry Business?
A successfully running laundromat gets an average income of $450-$500 per day. You earn this revenue from various sources like dryers, washers, and secondary income sources like a vending service. Even a self-service laundromat earns revenue of between $100-$1500 per day. The average income of laundry depends on its location, services offered, and service quality.
Final thoughts on the Success of a laundry Business
A laundromat never goes out of business. It is a profitable business opportunity provided you chose an appropriate neighbourhood to service and deliver quality service. A successful laundry operation will also depend on the launderer’s ability to stay over-prepared and handle downtimes.