There are many work-at-home business ideas
that don't occur to most people. One of them requires no special skills
and very little start up money. Moreover, everything you need to
operate this business can be found in your laundry room. Not sure what
I'm talking about? Here's a hint: you already do it and probably have
been for years. I'm talking about starting your own
wash and fold service.
Laundry. So simple to do, yet most people hate doing it. For you, it can provide an extra income.
Many stay at home parents (SAHPs) looking for a work at home
(WAH) job or business probably don't think of a wash and fold service
as an option. It certainly wasn't something I thought of initially when I
was looking for something to do from home. But after trying a few
different opportunities and being disappointed with each outcome, the
idea of a running home-based wash and fold service was born. It took
some work and a few trials and errors, but now I clean clothes once a
week and gross 20,000 a month. Not bad for just cleaning clothes!
I'm
going to share with you how I began my home-based laundry service,
Raspberry Laundry and Dry Clean, and give you tips that would have saved me a lot of time.
I'll include a step-by-step guide as well as ideas for marketing.
Starting a home laundry service is a great way to make extra money
without having to sacrifice a lot of your time!
Take Care of the Legal Stuff
You'll need to check with your state on potential licensing and
registration requirements. There will be a sales tax you'll need to pay
on a frequent basis; it is imperative that you know what the sales tax
is in the county you will be operating in. You'll also need to establish
how you will be organized; Sole Proprietor, Partnership or Corporation.
Open a Business Checking Account
I strongly recommend keeping your laundry business and personal
transactions separate. Although not necessary, it is easier come tax
time to report your earnings and expenses if they are not commingled
with your personal finances.
Set up Your Record-Keeping
You will need to keep track of several things including:
- Laundry clients
- Payments received
- Expenses
- Mileage
This does not mean you need to go out and purchase fancy financial
software- What i did is i buy a columnar notebook and list all the expenses and receivables.
Arrange the Method and Terms of Payment
Determine your payment terms. Will your clients pay you before
services are performed or after? These are policies you'll need to establish prior to taking on
clients. Almost all of my clients prefer to pay cash.
You'll also need to determine how much you will charge your clients.
Make a Website
Some may argue that this step is not necessary, but I'd have to
completely disagree. You do not have a brick and mortar store like the
Laundromats, so your website, in a sense, is your store. You need to
have a way for clients to find you and get information about your
services. You can accomplish this goal by creating a website. Weebly s
is a free web design site that is very user-friendly.
Market Your Services
There are several online and offline ways to market your services; I'll begin with online marketing.
When
it comes to creating your online presence, you're going to have two
options: free marketing and paid marketing. I use a combination of both
to promote my wash and fold service. Free marketing would include
listing yourself on free directories such as Google Places and Yahoo!
Local. Sulit and olx is another great source to advertise your laundry
service for free. Paid marketing includes sponsored ads you see on a
search engine results pages. The top dogs are Google Adwords, Yahoo!
Search, Microsoft Advertising and Facebook Ads. There are many more free
and paid online marketers, but use this as your starting point.
Social
media marketing is an imperative piece to your marketing efforts.
Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn are just some of the available
social sites. You don't need (and won't have the time) to create
multiple accounts--a Facebook Page is sufficient to begin. To get
clients to "Like" your Facebook page you could offer an incentive such
as money off their first order.
Online marketing requires only
time and a computer. For offline marketing you're going to have to do a
lot of walking and talking. First thing you'll need to do is create an
attention-getting flier. Fliers are a cheap way to promote your business
and if there's a local college campus, you can expose yourself to
hundreds of potential clients every day. Make sure your flier has an
attention-getting headline and print it on vibrant colored paper.
Include pull off tabs at the bottom of your flier containing your:
- Business name
- Phone number
- Email
- Web address (if you have one)
Business cards and flyers are another marketing tool you'll need for those times
when you are talking with a potential client.
Make a
list of local companies that could use your service (spas, doctor's
offices, day cares, restaurants) and contact them either by phone or in
person. You don't have to make it a pushy sales pitch. Just give a quick
introduction about yourself and your laundry service, coupled with how
your service can benefit their business.
Here's a little insider information that I've used to win over
business clients: you are less expensive than big, commercial cleaners
and you don't require lengthy contracts. Most large commercial cleaners
require at least a year's contract and will charge for multiple items,
such as fuel and processing. Knowing this information can give you
something attractive to offer potential business clients.
Lastly,
you'll need to talk about your business as often as you can. Networking
is a very powerful tool. You never know when you'll run into someone
who just happens to need your service or knows someone that does.
Ready...Set...Launch!
Now you are ready to go live with your business. Please be patient
and understand that Rome wasn't built in a day. You will need time to
grow your business. I didn't get my first client until 2 months after
launch and believe me, I was starting to think I never would. After that
first client I grew to 4, then 8, then 12. As a stay-at-home mom, I was
making great extra money by just doing laundry out of my home. Now I
help other stay-at-home parents accomplish the same thing through my
company Raspberry Laundry and Dry Clean Services.
For more details you may call
0917.447.4068 or simply visit our site
www.raspberrylaundry.com
Raspberry Laundry and Dry Clean Services
