Tips on starting your own laundry business

By: Theresa Calatcat

Now that everything is expensive, it is risky to invest in business. Knowing that most of the equipments are imported, laundry business is not an exception. So here are the tips to ease your starting stage of your shop.

Know your ideal location and your target customers. You should know the demographics within the 300-400 meters radius of your location. If you prefer to have the students as your customer, go for the big universities and colleges so you can cater a bigger market.

Condominiums have tenants that are good customer but not a good location. Since most of it is high-raised building, commercial spaces requires higher cost- its rental fees, electricity bill and water bill. It is recommended to have a drop-off station within the building and have a bigger laundry shop around the corner.

When it comes to laundry chemicals, invest more in finishing spray. As the clothes of customers undergo the process, wash-dry-fold, the chemicals used are powdered soap, fabric softener and finishing spray. It is a misconception that fabric softener should have the best smell because as the clothes are being washed, the scent given by the fabric conditioner diminishes in the dryer. But if you’re going to put a lot of finishing spray in it, the scent will stay up until your customer opens his plastic of newly-washed clothes.

If you want to open a Self-service laundry, put up a unique interior design. The customer will stay for a while in your shop so be the most Instagrammable laundry shop ever if possible to attract more people. On the other hand, Full Service laundry shops should put an emphasis on its exterior design. Decorations on the counter are a must.

Have at least one stable customer like hotels, motels, salon or catering services so that you can sustain the life of your shop when people don’t usually come.

Don’t start your shop on January to April. On these months, Philippines has dry season making it easier to wash laundry and degrade the number of the customers of your shop. Start on June-August because the weather disturbances usually occur during these months.
It is recommended to have 2-3 staff in your shop- cashier, one that organizes the clothes and an extra worker whenever one personnel is on day-off. Day-offs should be on Tuesday to Thursday because customers occasionally come on these days.

photo source: https://bizfluent.com/how-6961700-start-laundry-business-philippines.html

The machines, washers and dryers, are high maintenance. Life span of the machines range from 5-6 years but the warranty lasts for only a year. Learn to save so when the time comes, you will have money if your machines need to be fixed.

The tips given above are only the basic. As an owner, you should indulge with the operation so you can decide wisely what’s best for your business. Know your customers and have a good communication among your employees.