How To Start A Laundry Service Business In Ghana

Laundry involves the use of soap, detergent, and water to clean clothes.
Cleanliness they say is next to godliness.
Everybody wants to wear clean and neatly pressed clothes, but nobody loves to do the washing and ironing.
Busy and demanding lifestyles is making more people willing to pay laundry owners to take care of their dirty materials.
The laundry service in Ghana is growing at an amazing rate and has become another easy means of making fast money in the country.
As a neophyte, this business can be run from home if you can’t afford to rent a shop.
There are recognized individuals and corporate bodies who have recorded success doing this business, you too can succeed in it as well.
For the fact that you provide the convenience needed by customers at a reasonable price, you are sure to be patronized.
The profit potential in this industry is excitingly amazing on its own. You can earn profit as high as 60% gain on your first Start or more monthly if you invest in this business.
Much more can be earned if you include pick-ups and deliveries to and from your customers homes.
If you decide to invest in this business, you just made a wise choice! Interestingly, starting the business is not as capital challenging as some other service providing investments.
Reasons Laundry Services is a Viable Business In Ghana
i. More Ghanaians live in the high profile area because it is
closer to their work place.
This is the main reason for the rising demand for convenience
services like laundry.
Most career women wake up as early as
4 a.m. and live their homes for work at 5 a.m. in order to beat
traffic on their way to work. Many would not return home until
late at night around 9 p.m.
Even if they are self-employed,
they are often too tired and can’t find time to do their own
laundry.
Their weekends are cherished for maximum rest and
relaxation so they can’t sacrifice their weekends for their
laundry.
ii. There are fewer housewives in the high profile area.
Most households in the high profile area are now more likely to
have two working spouses.
Unlike in the past when most
women were considered full-time housewives, many women
now work at jobs or run a small business to support the home
and share in the economic burden of their partners.
Even the
housewives who still exist now are now more likely to pay
other people to do the household laundry for their children and
husbands.
As a result, there is now a fast growing need to pay
for their laundry chores.
iii. Special laundry needs
Another reason for the rising demand for these services is the
high percentage of white collar workers in town now.
They are
likely to wear formal business clothes like suits and jackets
which needs special laundry skills.
Uniformed workers like the
naval officers, military men, police men and so on needs to
always wear neatly washed, starched and ironed uniforms
every time.
The most interesting thing about the laundry service business
is that every one, including the rich and not-so-rich people in
high profile areas are willing to pay to enjoy the convenience of
having someone else do their laundry.
Steps Needed to Start a Laundry Service Business
Training
Just as it is obtainable in any type of business, you need to
be well trained. to render laundry services, you need to go
for at least 3 days training.
You will be enlightened on:
How to wash different fabrics
How to iron different fabrics
How to fold and package clothes neatly
How you can manage your time
How you can keep records so you do not mix up
customers’ clothes
Create a business name
Choose something creative. A simple, short and one that can be
easily pronounced will suffice. Note, if your name is easy to
remember, it will be easier to establish, maintain, and grow you
client base
Register Your Business name
It is advised that you register your business name with
Corporate Affairs Agency, this will help you to
explore into the corporate world.
Start-up Capital
You intend to start a laundry pickup and delivery business only,
your single largest capital investment will be in a durable
delivery van.
Clean and pressed clothes will need to be hung
on racks in the vehicle during delivery to prevent them from
becoming soiled or wrinkled.
Since your entire business will
depend on your vehicle, it’s important to ensure that it is well
maintained and in good condition at all times.
It will also be
essential to have a plan for dealing with breakdowns and
mechanical problems.
The necessary tools to start with are:
i. Basic washing tools and equipment like:
Washing machine
Hangers like 4 dozens
Tags
2 Pressing iron or more
Ironing tables
Nylon for packaging
A dozen of Basin
Spray starch
ii. A Generator set of about 20 k.va
iii. Employ few workers.
iv. You need a van to deliver and pick up customers cloth .
Your Business Location
A laundry service business may not flourish if it is established
in a low profile area.
People would prefer to do their laundry
themselves, if they calculate how much it cost for someone
else to do their laundry they will remember it can make a pot of
soup for the month, so it is advised you establish your
business in a high profile area.
Customer Service
If you treat and serve your customers well, they are most likely
to continue using your services and will recommend you to
neighbors, friends, colleagues and family.
It is essential that
you pick up and return their clothes on time and ensure that the
clothes are impressively clean. You could also provide your
own garment bags for customers to use.
These garment bags
can have your business name, phone number, and website
address printed on it.
This can serve as a good marketing tool
for your business.
Please inform your customers that you don’t guarantee 100
percent result as some clothes would be brought with heavy
stains, in order to avoid disputes between you and your
customer state this clear to your customers.
Run Promo Service
This service is to promote your business, it could be in a form
of wash 3 clothes and don’t pay for one, or print your name on
a t.shirt and give to your customers, it could even be like this
return a dozen of hanger and wash a shirt free.
All of these and
more will attract more customers to you.
Costs
Due to the frequent power failure in this part of the world, most
businesses have to own petrol/diesel-powered generators to
provide the electricity needed to run washing machines and
pressing irons.
Another major cost of the laundry business is staff costs.
Unless you’re using machines (which means you’ll have fewer
staff), manual hand-washing will often require that you pay
your employees salaries/wages.
We strongly advise that you
pay some staff (especially those who do the actual laundry)
based on the quantity of the clothes they wash or press.
That
way, the more work they do, the more they earn. But make sure
you have a way of checking that they’re doing a quality job and
not just going through the motions.
The washing machine and
pressing iron are major equipment. Make sure they’re properly
maintained and serviced to avoid any unplanned breakdowns
that may cost you a lot and disrupt your business.
All of these
tips will guide you in starting your own laundry service small
and succeed into a bigger one.