If you want to start your own commercial laundry business, you could become the next Dot Cotton with the right attitude and know how. If you think you’ve got what it takes to start a business like this, read on to get to grips with the steps to starting up:
Sort Out Your Premises
The first step is to sort out a suitable premises for your commercial laundry business. You want clients to be able to drop their laundry off to you if they want to, as well as you going out to collect/deliver it. Do your research, so you know that your business isn’t too close to other similar businesses. Make sure you’re not too far away from everything either, a central location is always best.
Work Out Your Prices
What do you think you should charge for your service? You’ll need different prices for a range of different services. Work this out by looking at businesses similar to yours, like Laundry Express Commercial Laundry services and how much they charge, as well as how much you think running this business is going to cost you and go from there. Make sure your target customer will pay these prices, however. Print up a price list once you know what you’d like to charge.
Recruit Staff and Management
Now you need to get staff and management sorted out (that’s if you don’t plan on being the manager of this place yourself). If you’re not familiar with starting successful businesses, I do recommend you work in the business for a while before leaving somebody else to run it. Make sure you do checks on any staff that you hire and that they are friendly. Your staff are a representation of your business.
Market Your Business
Now you need to market your commercial laundry business. There are many different techniques you can try, with both offline and online strategies. Think about who your target audience are and what they will most likely respond to. A great website? Flyers? Brochures? Business cards? Social media? You could try them all, and more! You could even offer the first service for free, as this will help you to get people through the door, when you can show them what a great job you do.
Make Sure You Impress Your Customers
You need to make an impression on your customers in order to get their return custom. Do a fantastic job, and always put in 110%. Make sure you greet them with a smile, and chat to them if they chat to you. Always appear friendly and approachable. Make sure any issues are dealt with swiftly and efficiently.
Set up a Delivery and Collection Service
A great commercial laundry business always has a delivery and collection service. You will likely charge extra for this, but people won’t necessarily have the time to come out to your premises. You can do this in a way that suits you, for example, only sticking to certain times for delivery/collection. However, the customer will be more appreciative if you arrange this around a time they are free.
Now you know what to do, go ahead and get your business off the ground!
