How to Start Laundry Business in Nigeria

In this article, you will learn how to start a laundry business in Nigeria and make good profits. The laundry business in Nigeria is also a lucrative business but it is just that many Nigerians do not know how to bring this into manifestation. While some Nigerians that are interested in starting to think the problem is starting in the first place others think it is easy an easy business because it is easy to get customers.

After all, we all wear clothes and we want someone that will reduce our chores during the weekends especially if it is done at a low price. So today on the blog, I will be sharing tips based on my findings on how to start a profitable laundry and dry-cleaning business in Nigeria from scratch with or without capital to a multi-million naira business.

Doing this is not hard it is about getting the right info. But before we start I will really want you to drop the previous ideas you had about laundry and dry-cleaning business or put them aside as what I am about to share with you now might really change your beliefs and bring you to a different understanding of the business.

And I pray at the end of this article you will be able to start your own laundry business with ease and our blog will be a positive reference. Now let’s get started. what is the meaning of laundry and dry cleaning?

What is Laundry or Dry Cleaning?

Laundry basically means the art of washing clothes with detergents, soaps, and water while dry cleaning means the art of cleaning clothes without using water. Here what is basically used is organic solvents like benzene and toluene, alcohols). Laundry and dry cleaning are different.

The difference between the two is that laundry is for the overall washing of the clothes because the clothing has probably been used and it is now dirty while dry cleaning has to do with tackling a particular stain on a cloth basically to remove the stain and return clothing back to its original state.

Is Laundry Business Profitable?

So I guess your next question is how profitable or lucrative the dry cleaning and laundry business is in Nigeria. Well to start off let us look at how much it costs to wash and iron a shirt in the average city in Nigeria. This price goes from N250 – N1,200. Let us assume you charge N250 as a starter for your laundry business and wash 50 shirts a day for a start. 

N250 X 50 = N12,500. Give or take let us say you remove daily expenses like power, soap, water, and so on your profit can be N10,000 per day. As the business keeps growing and you keep getting customers based on reference and mouth to mouth if you get to wash 300 shirts per day that will be N75,000 a day minus expenses give or take N10,000 you’ll be having a profit of N65,000.

This might not sound big to you but imagine you are making this amount at least 6 days a week. This is N390,000 per week minus expenses. So if you ask me again if the laundry and dry cleaning business is profitable in Nigeria I will say yes it is very profitable.

Equipment Needed to Start Laundry Business

Below are the equipment needed to start a laundry business in Nigeria.

1. bowls

2. buckets

3. Pressing table

4. Pressing iron

5. Extension sockets

6. Hanger

7. Pegs

8. Bench or stood

9. Rapper or Bedspread

10. Radio

11. Fan standing or ceiling

12. Generator

13. Washing Machine(s)

These are the ones I can remember. You can add more to the list or remove from it. It all depends on you. After writing down all this, you should put the average price of this equipment and get your total. The total money you get is the money you will need as your capital.

How to Start a Laundry Business in Nigeria

Here are steps to start a laundry or dry cleaning business in Nigeria.

1. Conduct Market Research

Yes, you really need to visit a profitable laundry business in your area first to see how they run their business and what makes them stand out. I am saying this because aside from all that I will be sharing in this article,  you still need to see things yourself. My best advice here is to go on two different occasions.

One: On days when the traffic influx is high like on Saturdays and visit every department from the washing department to the drying area to the ironing department, customer service, and accounting, all the departments. If the business doesn’t allow such; tip someone there (a worker) to give you a VIP tour.

Two: Go on days the traffic is low like a Tuesday and just pay attention to how they attend to the customers and how they take orders. Doing this gives you a deeper insight into how a regular laundry and dry-cleaning business in Nigeria runs. Check out our guide on how to conduct market research for new and old businesses.

2. Buy the Laundry Equipment and Materials

At this step, you need to write out all the tools you will need in the laundry business. A good way to know all this is to think back on your visit to the Laundry Business (Company) you visited earlier and start to write down all you saw that was being used in the company.

After doing this, you can now start to write down the necessary equipment and materials you’ll need to start. But for easy thinking, I mentioned them above.

3. Write a Laundry Business Plan

The importance of writing a laundry business plan cannot be over-emphasized. You might be thinking that all the laundry equipment mentioned above are the only expenses you have when it comes to starting your own laundry business in Nigeria but this is not entirely true.

There are still what I call hidden expenses like the location – getting a shop in an area where thousands of people pass every day. And if you can not afford money for a shop you need to consider expenses if you’re starting from your house. All you need is just to create a space for the laundry business in your house or apartment.

Keep in mind here that there will be expenses for this like rewiring, setting up a space for drying clothes, and the rest. Write your laundry business plan. When you are able to write your laundry business plan, it will give you a perfect idea of how much you need to gather money. I call this start-up capital.

Reach out to us via theinfoworth@gmail.com if you need the help of a professional to write a business plan for you.

4. Look for a Perfect Location

When it comes to getting a perfect location for your laundry business in Nigeria you have to be sensitive. Sensitive in the sense that there are 3 things you must consider first before choosing the location for your laundry shop – if you can afford one immediately.

These 3 factors are the high traffic of people, how much it costs for a shop in the area, and the standard of living of the people in the area. Do not choose a place based on the fact that over 1000+ Nigerians pass there every day. You have to think creatively about location cost – how much it will cost you to get a shop in that area.

And finally, you have to consider the kind of people living in that area if they will be able to afford the price of your laundry services. All of these are important factors. No one is more important than the other and no one is a minority. When you get this, you are one step ahead in building your business into a multi-million naira empire.

5. Build your Customer Base

Here even though you have not gotten money to rent a shop at the preferred location, you should still start from your house or apartment. Waiting for the perfect time to start will make you postpone everything if you are not careful. Just start! Remember you have already written down all you need for the laundry business.

Go to the market and buy some of them if not all. Then start telling people about your business preferably family and friends first. The best trick you can use in convincing them to patronize you is to tell them you will be willing to wash their clothes at an unreasonable discount. Let us say their laundry customer wash a shirt for them at N250 tell them you will wash that same shirt at N100.

And tell them you are doing this just for them to try you out. Use this trick for all your friends and tell them you will even give them cheaper discounts if they introduce your business to their friends also. With this, they will be able to make free adverts for you and it will be easy for their friends to patronize you because they trust their friends’ advice.

Do this for a while until you can afford other forms of advertisements. Remember it is not only about getting your customers, but it is also about how well you keep them, making them tied to your business. And the only way to do this is to satisfy them (quality services).

6. Write your Laundry Price List

Yes, I never talked about price up to this time because I feel you do not need it at the early stages of your business. Price is a no-no if you are just starting out. You do not want people running away even before they get to know how good your business is but now is the perfect time for you to fix your price.

We usually have different prices for clothes depending on their thickness, sensitivity, and dirtiness. The price of washing a jeans trouser is different from the price of washing normal trousers material. The price for washing and steaming suits is also different from the price of washing native clothes.

We also have a price for washing bedsheets and curtains. All these vary; you just have to look for a middle ground. My best advice here is to bring your price down to attract customers because everyone wants goods and services at cheaper rates – even the rich.

7. Register the Laundry Business

To register your company, you need to look for a unique name at the same time an easy-to-remember name. Please avoid something like Chukwumerije Okonkwo and Sons Laundry Services rather go for simple names like JustClean Laundry Services. After doing this approach the CAC to register your business.

Your business should be registered in 24 hours less or at most 2 days but if you are not in the mood for all the stress you can simply look for an agent that can do this for you. Get your business registered and all the necessary documents needed.

8. Keep Accounting Records

They say the shortest ink is better than the most powerful brain. This is said because anything written down can never be forgotten unlike storing it in our brain. Like I usually advise business starters – it is always important to keep account of everything about your business.

From the total customers, you have down to the day-to-day expenses and how much you make every day. Doing this will help you track your business and see future loopholes where you can make adjustments. With these accounts, you will know if you are progressing with the business.

Or you need to rearrange some things like increasing prices or cutting avoidable expenses to boost profits. You will also need to know if you need to increase your customers or simply manage the ones you have. When it also comes to looking for investors for your laundry business keeping accounts is also important because you will need evidence (something) to show (statements of account) that your business is doing well.

No bank will ever invest in a business that does not have accounts. I will share how to prepare accounts soon for those of us that do not know how to do this yet. Just keep visiting the blog!

9. Brand your Laundry Business

It is hard to operate any business these days without branding. Asides from customer satisfaction, branding (packaging) also take a business to the next level. For those of us that do not know what this is it has to do with the color of your laundry company, logo, and every other detail you left out earlier that you want to add to your business now.

You need to take all these into cognizance. A good way to come up with yours is to visit a graphic designer (not necessarily an expensive one) and suggest some of the things you saw when you visited that laundry company in your area. I am not saying copy this company’s ideas into too.

You can be sued for this. All I am saying here is that you come up with some of the ideas related to what you saw.

10. Profits in Laundry Business

At this point, you should have started making a good amount of money. Do not get carried away by this and go on a spending spree to impress girls or family. Reinvest all the profit you have made back into your business. I call this ‘the Dangote principle’.

If you were washing clothes with your hands before getting a washing machine(s) to make work easier for your workers. If you have not gotten a shop due to lack of enough money (funds) then, now is the time to get a shop. If you do not have a delivery van or bike to deliver clothes to customers now is the time to buy one.

Just make sure you look at your business very well and check out how you can reinvest in it. The stage you are in will determine how and where you should reinvest.

11. Expand your Laundry Business

Finally, expand beyond your limits. At this stage, you should be looking for how you are going to establish more branches possibly in another densely populated area. And there are many ways to do this for a start so you won’t have to spend too much.

You can share a shop with someone in another business or get a container with a salesgirl just for gathering clothes before they are taken to the main branch. This is also called a satellite branch.

Conclusion

All these methods look small but it matters because they will take you somewhere. The most important thing here is that you expand without looking for a perfect time for this. Do it immediately you have the opportunity. You can also get investors if you are limited by funds but you have to be careful and watchful.

From there keep on expanding and follow my few tips and the sky will be your starting point. Do well by following us on all our social media platforms.

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