How to Start an On-Demand Laundry Business: A Complete Guide

With offices and schools opening up, there is an increasing demand for dry cleaning and laundry services. And with their busy schedules, people prefer to have laundry businesses pick up and deliver their laundry. 

Moreover,  after COVID-19, customers expect laundry businesses to follow proper protocols while taking care of their laundry. 

So, if you are planning to start an on-demand laundry business, we have created a comprehensive guide to help you get started. 

Step 1: Plan Your Laundry Delivery Service

Before starting a laundry delivery service business, it’s essential to understand the market and what your customers want. Here are some questions to consider:

1. What Type of Laundry Do You Want to Provide?

Do you want to focus on dry cleaning only, or do you offer both dry cleaning and laundry services? 

Dry cleaning service is popular among professionals. In addition, the hospitality industry requires efficient laundry and dry cleaning services to manage its customer needs. 

So, providing efficient pickup and delivery services offers customers convenience. 

2. Where Will Your Business Operate?

What’s the best location for your business? Opening your laundry business near a residential area or university is ideal. Working professionals and students expect quick service time. This will also help customers to walk in and drop off their laundry.

Step 2: Create a Business Plan

A business plan is a well-defined document that presents your goals for starting and operating your business. It helps you organize, take stock of your resources, and develop a strategy for success.

A business plan needs to be a living document that evolves as your business grows and changes. Of course, you don’t need an extensive business plan to start, but it’s good to have at least one or two pages summarizing what you intend to do. This will help you stay focused on your goals and prevent you from getting distracted by new opportunities later on.

Your plan should include the following:

• Target market 
• Customer’s needs
• Business model (e.g., subscription or one-off).
• Capital to start the business (rent, salaries, equipment)
• Marketing plan for how you’ll attract customers to your service (and keep them coming back).

Step 3: Think About The Legal Entity

The next step to starting your laundry delivery service business is deciding how you want your business to be organized. There are two primary choices: sole proprietorship or limited liability company (LLC).

Sole Proprietorship

A sole proprietorship is the simplest business entity and requires no formal filing with any state or federal agency. If you opt for this option, you’ll be in charge of your company’s management and financial responsibilities — from paying taxes on profits to hiring employees and paying them wages.

Limited Liability Company (LLC)

An LLC offers many advantages over a sole proprietorship, including limited liability protection for its owners (known as members) and pass-through taxation — meaning that the LLC isn’t taxed like a corporation. Instead, it passes all income through to its members’ tax returns, where it’s reported as part of their incomes. In addition, an LLC provides some asset protection from creditors because it’s considered a separate legal entity from its members.

Step 4: Get the Necessary Permits & Licenses 

You’ll need to follow all local laws and regulations to start your own on-demand laundry business. In addition, you must register your company with the state, get any necessary permits and licenses, and ensure that you have all the insurance coverage required by law.

The first step is to file for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) with the IRS. This will be used when registering your business with the state and local government agencies. If hiring other employees, you will also need an Employment Identification Number (EIN). Once you have these numbers, you can register your business with government agencies such as your city’s Department of Revenue or Labor if they apply.

You should also obtain general liability insurance coverage if something goes wrong while one of your customers is in transit or during a drop-off/pickup process. This type of insurance will cover any injuries during delivery or pickup and property damage from accidents. 

Step 5: Acquire the Right Equipment and Supplies

Before starting your business, you’ll need to acquire the complete arsenal of equipment and supplies. You can buy some of these things new or used, saving you money in the short term. However, it’s also possible to purchase these items secondhand from other entrepreneurs who have already launched their businesses.

Here are the list of items of items you will need: 

Washers and dryers: 

These are essential for any laundry business, needless to say. You may be able to get away with renting them from a local laundromat. Still, it’s probably best to buy your own to not worry about maintenance issues or running out of machines at peak times (this is especially true if you’re running a delivery service). 

Suppose you’re starting an on-demand laundry business rather than one that picks up clothes directly from customers’ homes. In that case, you’ll want more machines than just those two types of washer/dryer combos — think washing machine/sink combos or portable sinks that can be used outdoors or inside.

Stainless steel sinks:

This is another item that every laundry service should have on hand. The stainless steel material makes it easy for you to clean your wash machines, dryers, and other equipment.

Detergent dispensers:

Detergent dispensers use the appropriate amount of detergent onto each load of laundry. They also make it faster for you to fill up each load with detergent instead of manually pouring it into the machine without losing any of the detergents inside the drum or tub of each washing machine. 

Commercial-grade dryers:

Dryers are a vital part of any laundry service as they dry the moisture in washed clothes. Industrial dryers are also more durable than home models, which will last longer and require less maintenance.

Commercial-grade ironing boards with an iron stand attachment:

Ironing boards are essential for any laundromat because they provide an efficient way to get wrinkles out of fabric before putting clothes on hangers or folding them into piles for customers to pick up later in the day or week.

Step 6: Register Your Business Name and Trademark Your Logo

You will have to register your business name and trademark your logo. This will help protect your brand from copyrights issues. 

Registering a business name can be done online or at the county courthouse.  Choosing a unique name is essential, so you don’t run into any legal issues down the road.

Trademarking a logo can be done by applying with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). A trademarked logo will help protect your business from copycats, but it’s not required for all businesses.

Step 7: Select an Online Payment Processor

Online payment processors, such as PayPal, can help you accept payments in various ways. For example, you can use them to process credit card payments directly from your website or mobile app, or they can process online debit card payments via text message.

The best part is that most online payment processors have low fees and offer a variety of other benefits that can help you run your business more efficiently. For example, some processing companies offer direct deposit capabilities that allow customers to send money directly into your bank accounts, while others provide customer support and fraud prevention services.

If you’re just getting started with your business and don’t have much capital on hand, we recommend using one of these online payment processors to accept all of your orders through Stripe or PayPal. Both companies allow you to accept payments from all major credit cards without any additional fees beyond the transaction rate set by Visa or MasterCard (usually 2% plus 30 cents per transaction).

Step 8: Create your Laundry Delivery Service Website

One of the critical steps in starting an on-demand laundry business is to create a website. You can use WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, or any other site builder to create your online presence. Choose a simple design that is easy to navigate and offers the following features:

A home page featuring a description of your business, its location, and hours of operation;

• An “About Us” page is a means to illustrate who you are and why you started this business.

• A blog where you can share tips on how to wash different types of clothes and fabrics.

• A FAQ page where users can get answers to questions about washing their clothes at home.

• A contact page where customers can send emails or contact you via phone or social media channels like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp for further questions about your service.

Step 9: Set up your Business Phone System

A business phone system is an integral part of any business. You’ll be able to better communicate with customers and employees and organize your tasks, which will make your life easier. It’s also important because it helps you build credibility and trust with customers — especially if they daily use your business phone to place an order or ask queries about their laundry service.

Step 10: Invest in a Laundry Delivery Software 

If you own a laundry business, the last thing you want to do is spend time scheduling laundry deliveries. You have to be able to focus on other areas of your business, like marketing and customer service.

A laundry delivery software will allow you to schedule your deliveries, track the status of each order, and communicate with your customers. Hence, it will save you time & money, allowing you to focus on running your business instead of worrying about logistics.

Here Are the Top Benefits of Using a Laundry Delivery Software:

Schedule all your deliveries in one place:

With laundry delivery software, all of your deliveries will be scheduled in one place, so you don’t have to remember when they need to be picked up or dropped off. This makes it easy to see which orders are coming up next and plan accordingly.

Track the status of each order in real-time:

With laundry delivery software, you will always know precisely where each order is at any given time and how long it will take before it arrives at its destination or needs to be picked up again (or both). You can even set reminders for yourself. If a critical order has been sitting for too long without being picked up or dropped off, you can send out reminders immediately instead of waiting until after hours.

Optimize routes to save delivery  costs: 

It is cumbersome to manually plan routes for multiple pick ups and deliveries. Leverage a laundry delivery software with route optimization capabilities to plan and optimize routes.

Route optimization technology includes pickup and delivery schedules, drivers’ schedules, breaks, traffic and delays.

In turn, it will help you reduce fuel costs and achieve optimal resource utilization.

Manage customer information with ease:

A good laundry delivery software will allow you to store customer information such as contact information, payment methods, account numbers, and more. When an order arrives, you have to confirm the order by email and print off a receipt. This will save you time and further minimize the odds of costly errors.

Manage orders in real-time. You can view all incoming orders and see where they are in the process at any given time. In case of any issues or delays, you are notified immediately so that you can address them as soon as possible. Therefore, it also means that customers don’t have to wait around for their laundry and can go about their business without having to call or check up on us every few minutes. It’s much easier for both parties when everything is handled electronically!

When it comes to Laundry Service Business, NetworkON is the finest option:

NetworkON is an AI-driven delivery management software that leverages machine learning to optimize your operations and increase profitability.

NetworkON has helped many of the world’s leading delivery companies increase profitability, reduce operational costs and improve customer service. 

NetworkON is built on the latest advances in artificial intelligence, allowing us to personalize our services for every user and use case. Our algorithms learn from every interaction with your business and continuously adapt to provide you with the most relevant insights possible when you need them most.

NetworkON can help you: 

1. Reduce costs by optimizing your fleet routes & schedules.

2. Improve customer experience with real-time tracking & notifications.

3. Increase revenues by offering new services such as food delivery or mobile payments.

The Bottom Line

Starting your own laundry business can be lucrative and worthwhile. It certainly can help you make a tidy profit while allowing you to serve your community at the same time better. 

However, like with any business, there will be challenges. You will need to work hard to get everything off the ground. Still, as long as you remain persistent and put in the time and effort, you should be able to build a successful business while also providing a valuable service that helps people to save time and money.