How to Open a Commercial Laundry Business: A Complete Guide
FRANCHISING
A commercial laundry business can be a great source of income if it’s located in the right area, offers competitive services, and is well-maintained. But opening a commercial laundry service isn't as easy as opening a simple mom-and-pop laundry business. Here's what you need to know to successfully start your own.
Know your niche
Study the market in your target area to determine the need for a commercial laundry. If you’re purchasing an existing laundry business, review its past business records to predict its future profitability. If establishing a new business, make sure you are not entering a market with more existing laundries than the area can support. Identify an area that needs, and can support, your new business venture.
Choose the right equipment
Find your spot
Carefully consider the location for your laundry business. People are constantly looking for convenience and rarely want to stray from their daily commute, so a dry cleaner is likely to attract more customers if it’s located near office and housing complexes, schools, and other areas with high, consistent traffic. For larger commercial laundries, consider locations near hospitals, hotels, or busy downtown areas where there is likely to be repeat high-volume business cleaning items like linens and uniforms.
Write your business plan
Your business plan is a formal declaration of your professional goals and plans for attaining those goals. It will serve as the blueprint for your commercial laundry business and will be necessary to secure funding if you intend to take out a loan. A good business plan should include:
Organization & management structure
Lay out your business’s managerial structure, professional qualifications and background, and your plans for maintaining ownership of the company.
Description of services
Describe your proposed services in great detail, including any factors that separate your business from similar concepts and potential competition. You should also include a description of any existing, pending, or predicted filings for copyrights or patents related to your business.
Marketing & sales strategies
Describe how you’re planning to enter the market, strategies for growing your business, channels of distribution and promotion, and how you plan on marketing your business to attract and retain customers. Develop a sales strategy that includes your proposed sales force and projected sales activities.
Funding proposal
If you will be seeking loans to fund your business, draft up a request that outlines your current financial needs, projected financial requirements, and strategic financial plan. Include a financial projection that details historical financial information (if you’ve been in business before) as well as anticipated earnings and losses for your new business.