A Step by Step Guide to Start Your Laundry Business

As much as people like to fill up our closets with all the new, trending, classy clothes, they hate doing laundry on a Sunday when it’s meant to be a rest day. To address this problem, many entrepreneurs are taking this as an opportunity to start laundry business. Recently, multitudes of laundry businesses have emerged from scratch to help you get over the work blues on a holiday.

It is for that very reason, laundry apps have been installed in hundreds of thousands of numbers worldwide. The revenue of a laundry care business amounts to around $104 billion US dollars in the year 2023. And this is estimated to increase to about 3.89% per year from 2023 to 2026. No wonder why entrepreneurs today are making a beeline to know about laundry app development to build a customized solution.

Why is it beneficial to start laundry business today?

As a result of rapid urbanization and globalization, the laundry business has been seen expanding worldwide. But the main reason why people need growth in the laundry business is not merely both of these. People today are occupied with full-time jobs that take up most of their days’ time.

In older times, women were supposed to be at home and take care of all these homely chores. But today, a woman with a 5-month-old is also working from home and does not have any time to do laundry. Then, there are those youngsters who move out of their homes without any knowledge of these chores. Thus, it has become very difficult for people to attend to these tasks. That one day of the week that they get as an off, they would better spend it resting and enjoying than standing by the washing machine.

Reading on, you can figure out how to start a laundry business in 2023 in just 10 simple steps.

How to start laundry business and make it grow efficiently?

Establishing businesses is not an easy nut to crack. You need to mind several steps to carefully plan the new venture.

Step 1: What services shall you provide?

Before getting into the nitty-gritty of any business that you’re contemplating in your mind, you need to do market research on what all services are to be included in it. If it is the washers and dryers that you’re going to install at the market place or is it a supplies store that you’re going to launch nearby a laundry service center? You need to ponder the services your business has to provide before you understand how to start a laundromat.

When you start a laundry business it is important to choose a locality where people hardly have a washing machine at their homes and depend on laundry services for their laundry. You could either provide door-to-door laundry wherein an agent picks up the laundry from people’s homes and gets it to your centre and then arrange to send it back after it’s done.

• You can provide washing and drying services at the centre nearby the residential localities. People can get their laundry once a week or however, they want and get it washed and dried in the machines at the centre.
• You can provide the doorstep service. In this case, the property doesn’t necessarily need to be near any locality, it can be at a marketplace.
• A commercial laundry service setup for uniforms, linens, laundry from hotels, etc. can do really well if you’re based out of a tourist location.
• Providing rental private laundry equipment to families can also be a good option for huge residential societies.
• Coin-operated laundry service- the most eligible and preferred kind.
• Additional services like ironing and dry cleaning along with supplies can also be included to get those extra pennies in your pocket. Making it a one-stop shop for your customers can help you draw more customers to your business.

While you decide on which type of business to kick start, go on choose a place and do research on how people of that area prefer their laundry services to be. Also, make sure you do not get into a very competitive zone. Though laundry services are high in demand these days because of the extremely wrapped-up lifestyles, it’s better you pick up a place with relatively fewer counterparts.

Step 2: Give your business a name, an identity

That’s true! You need a reasonable name for your business because it is an everyday chore of every household. No need to give it a ‘la lessive’ kind of a name. It will go smoothly with an English name conveying the meaning and services of the business. Though a peculiar name might not be required, this part of the entire process is considered to be one of the most important ones. When you start a laundry business, it is going to be known by a word or a few. Make sure these look good when spoken by someone.

• The name should be easy, and meaningful and yet be unique and catchy.
• It should be a reflection of the services being provided and not named after any random aesthetic.
• It should be easy to remember and locate for people who come to know about it by word of mouth.
• Follow the no hard-to-pronounce name rule. You don’t want people to get stuck while pronouncing your business’s name while referring it to someone.

Also, it is always advisable in the current digital era to pick up a name that is web-friendly as well. So anytime in the future you wish to take a username for your website or application, you shall not face any issues there.

Check if your state has certain naming guidelines for any particular business. if there are, you should ensure to follow them to avoid any issues with the cops. Not to forget that you should register the name to save it from being copied.

Step 3: How would you like to construct and run your business?

Having a blueprint of the fundamental structure of a business is as important as executing the business s operations. You would not know how to start and how to manage everything you’ve thought of if you do not have a prepared structure for your business.

For this, you want to fixate on any one type of laundry business type and the on-demand business model to follow. Whether it’s the doorstep service you’re doing or it’s the coin-operating system that you’re going to follow, everything needs a structure, to begin with. Consider the types of laundry services, locations, and budgets to get started with.

The registration of a business is based on this structuring, so make sure it’s done properly. Here are some business entities that you can choose from:

• Sole proprietorship- here, you are the sole owner of the business and it runs in your name solely.
• General partnership- a business is run by two or more people with a specified fraction of the company given to each.
• Limited partnership- this one is registered and has limited partners, like investors who do not have a say in the operations of the company and have fewer liabilities.
• C corporation- it is a separate legal entity wherein the corporation operates separately from the owner’s company. Shareholders have control over the company and have a direct link with the taxation of the company.
• S corporation- the taxation and liabilities pass through the owner.
• Limited liability company- a mix of the above entities

The taxation, paperwork, and profit-sharing are all based on the entity that you choose. So, make sure you do thorough research and consult some experts before stepping into any of these types.

Step 4: Planning is the key

Business planning is another crucial segment of starting a business. With the naming got done, and the business entity chose, you now need to decide how your business is going to look like. By now, you have decided on the services to be provided, so now is the time you understand how exactly you would do each thing.

You need to understand how the business would run, what all will be the requirements, what all things will you need, what paperwork needs to be done, what resources are to be bought, etc. a business plan is essentially a roadmap for your laundry business.

There are several ways you can find over the internet to search for ‘how to set up a laundry business. But how you want it to run, where you want it to reach, and what all are objectives your business would have, are all your decisions to take. A business plan can be around 30-50 pages or slides long for it is a detailed blueprint of the entire structure and functioning of the company.

The plan should include the following:

• The type of laundry business that you have chosen.
• The location of the laundry store
• The budget allocated or the company as a whole and each section separately.
• An account of your target customers
• List of operations that you are going to undertake.
• Requirements, right from the equipment, resources, and startup capital to the vendors and tie-ups to be made.
• Market analysis should also be a part of the plan.
• The projections, objectives, goals, and vision of the business need to be clearly mentioned.

A business plan is what will help you stay organized, not miss out on things and get you those investments when you try to explain the business to someone else.

Step 5: Get the permissions and initiate the paperwork

The most stressful and tedious work of all is to get the paperwork done for the business to officially begin. It is advisable to look for a professional to help you with this bit.

Now that you have already chosen an entity, it would be easy for you to look for agents who do the registration. If you’re registering with the state, you need to follow the guidelines and take the mandatory permits.

If there is a provision for hiring employees, you need to check out the Employer’s Identification Number (EIN).

Step 6: The sight of operations – the location

A location is of prime importance when starting a laundry business. There is no point in opening a laundry store in a busy market among showrooms of huge brands. You need to look for places that have a high demand for the laundry business. these are mostly near residential areas, localities, apartments, societies, etc.

Or, if you’re planning on a commercial laundry business, a place near hotels and lounges, where all the laundry work is outsourced would be a good place to base yourself. Apart from this, you need to ensure a few other things like:

• Guidelines for the laundromats given by the government.
• Choose a place near your target customers.
• A big space is required for a laundry business, so make sure there is enough space for industrial work.
• Keep in mind the other resources like water, electricity, equipment, plumbing needs, etc before setting up the place.

Step 7: Get a bank account for the company

It gets nearly impossible to track expenses and keep a check on the budget if you manage your business transactions from your personal bank account only. It is needless to say that you will require a separate bank account for your company. All the expenses, earnings, and money-related matters should be managed separately for your business to run smoothly.

This will also help you when you’re out there searching for funding from investors. You can also apply for a separate business credit card for your expenditures to be well-segregated from your personal expenses. It will also help you gain some credit scores which you can use later for buying equipment and resources to upgrade your laundry business.

Step 8: Time to buy equipment

Now that you have a place, a bank account, a business plan, and everything else sorted, it’s time to execute the plan in real-time. You should step ahead and buy the equipment that will be required to kick-start the laundry business and set up the space that you’ve bought.

Here’s what all you might need:

• Washers
• Dryers
• Coin machines
• Detergent supplies
• Laundry supplies
• Laundry baskets
• Carts
• Mats
• A payment getaway
• Hangers
• Ironing equipment
• Dry cleaning equipment
• CCTV cameras

Step 9: Get help from employees

Running a laundry business is not going to be a piece of cake, let us tell you in advance. The business requires labor if you have chosen a completely dependent service where the customer submits the clothes and gets them back with everything done. You need people to manage those tasks. You cannot single-handedly take up everything. If required, go out and hire a few people to help you with the chores, managing finances, customer handling, or keeping the records,

Step 10: Marketing the right way

People might stumble upon a newly opened store once in a while but that might give you only 6-7 customers a day. Thus, marketing is the key to business growth. You need to make sure your business is known around the region and you have customers coming in even from far-off places. This can be done by marketing the business at various places. Give an advertisement in print, social, and digital media if possible, to boost your laundry business app.

These days, putting up your posters online on various portals, groups, and social media accounts is not too difficult a task. Get someone to make some appealing posters for your store and get customers coming in with their bags full of dirty laundry.

Step 11: Take your laundry service to the next level with a laundry app

What is even a business without an app today? You need to make your services available through an app. If you’re wondering how to start your laundry business, this is the one thing that will get it kick-started in no time.

Build a laundry business app wherein the customers can track their laundry service efficiently. They won’t have to search for launders who are available to do their chores.

• Get your customers an account where they can track the available time, the number of clothes, and everything in between.
• An app where they can track the progress of their clothes getting washed, dried, and ironed.
• A place where they can choose additional services if required.

Alternatively, if you are on a budget you can opt for on-demand laundry app solutions which can prove to be a cost-effective approach and help in managing every aspect for your end-to-end customers.

How we can power your laundry business with a user-friendly App?

The laundry care industry is an already established field in western countries. Yet, it has a lot of scope because of the lack of organization and digitization in the industry. It’s time you start wondering how to start a laundry business because it is the new high demand of people with busy lifestyles and youngsters going to college.

Having a user-friendly app can help your laundry business succeed by providing customers with an easy way to access your services. With a mobile application, you can offer customers convenience and flexibility while also increasing brand awareness and loyalty.

At Prismetric, we understand how important it is for businesses in this industry to have an effective mobile app that meets customer needs – making life easier for both you and your customers!

You can hire our mobile app development team to build a custom laundry application for your business needs. Our team takes into account all aspects that can help improve overall customer satisfaction & engagement levels considerably.

So if want to get started on building the perfect laundry app then contact us today to discuss further details. We would be more than happy to assist you with every step way till a successful launch and even after that.

Ashish Parmar

He is the Co-Founder and CEO of Prismetric . An enthusiastic entrepreneur, interested to discuss new app ideas, rich gadget tricks and trends, and admires signature tech business styles to readily embrace. He enjoys learning most modern app crafting methods, exploring smart technologies and passionate about writing his thoughts too. Inventions related to mobile and software technology inspire Ashish and he likes to inspire the like-minded community through the finesse of his work.