Start an ironing service... official MoneySavingExpert.com discussion

pinkpig08

Hi, just started reading this thread and it looks really interesting. I was just wondering though how do you do your books? Do you get a receipt book and give the customers a receipt? How do you record all the transactions? I work part time at the moment and ironing looks like a good idea to up my income a bit. Not sure about the insurance cost though, I'd have to ring my company and find out!

sarahc44

Can I just ask do I need to inform any authorities about the new business - company name etc? It's the only bit I am unsure of x x

sarahc44

bumping up to get q. answered

stacey1981_2

Hi, just want to get some advise, iv put my first ad in my local paper today, dont know why but got a feeling may not get a lot of responce, my town is quite small so I was thinking of getting the yellow pages and ringing around all the local pubs and restraunts telling them im a new service and if they would be interested, do you think this may work? also there are quite alot of nursing homes in my area do you think its worth calling them? or will they probably have their own contractors, also does anyone know where I could buy the bigger steamers for sheets and bedding ect, are you able to hire them? sorry for so many questions! stacey

Stephb1986_2

Hi Stacey you ad might do great ours didnt do to bad! in the yellow pages just get the free 1 liner as getting anything more is a rip off we've found. Nursing homes tend to do their own laundry as my nan lived in one

Do you have a local rag like a small paper they usually do good for advertising.

I have a heated ironing table that i want to get rid of as i dont use it now its really good if your interested pm me.

Sarah you have to inform the Inland revenue of your new business within 3 months for starting or there will be £100 fee

HTH

Steph xx

Whoooooooosh

grey_lady wrote: »

"Another one to watch is business rates - if you are running the business from a dedicated room, that room then becomes eligible for business rates"

Not sure where you got this from but its not correct, plenty of people have an office in their homes without being liable for business rates, its more complicated than that - from memory i think its something like if your making something e.g have a production line going :-) or if more of your house is given over to the business than what's used for living in then your liable. There was a little book i picked up in Smiths recently about setting up and running a ltd company where it talked about this.

Hi grey_lady, I got this information directly from the mouths of my local Business Rates department, when I phoned them up to make enquiries as to if I'd be eligible to pay business rates.

bbaby, I went with Lloyds TSB, mainly because I already bank with them on a personal level & I have past debt issues that score black marks against me. Lloyds have been loyal to me in the past, so my loyalty is to them in return. It's 18 months free banking.

However, last week I was on a Financial Planning & Managing Money course (organised through my local Business Link for free) & someone there was saying that Alliance & Leicester are currently offering a fantastic free for life offer on business banking accounts, so that might be worth checking out.

picklepick, I too will be a sole trader & therefore not registering with Companies House, but that never came up when I applied for the dedicated business bank account.

On the course the tutor recommended that you always have a dedicated bank account for self-employed businesses, as it gets so messy when it comes to tax returns otherwise & the IR only need a sniff & they're on your back big time.

stacey1981, I've replied to your PM at last A suggestion on one of the courses last week was to pay for an answering service, which you then pick your calls up from direct. I was very impressed with this idea, although I don't think I'll go for it at this point, I'll do something like Cazi suggests on my voicemail message. Surprisingly it was something like as little as £25 a month & makes for a very professional image.

One thing I found when phoning about to price competitors up was that ALL their phones were answered in the most unprofessional manner, ie "Oh you want Mum, she's not here", or "Hello". One thing pushed on the Sales & Marketing course I went on is that we are selling service, a professional one, that some ppl will view as an increased status indicator, so make it ultra professional & that in itself will justify your prices.

I'm intending to use both my existing mobile & landline for my business & they will both be answered with my business name as a greeting, unless I recognise the number as being a personal one (I have caller ID). For a very small fee you can have 2 ringtones on a landline anyway, for 2 different telephone numbers coming into one telephone line.

Andddddd to end on a VERY happy note - I just won the bid for a van on Ebay, a little white Suzuki Super Carry, with sliding doors on both sides & lift up door on back. She's 11 year old, looks very clean & in great nick & I am hoping to take possession of her on Thurs. I think I'll call her Suzi

shelleyclark

If anyone needs a cleaner/ironer in the Southend-on-Sea area, give me a shout. :j

picklepick

dizzyf wrote: »

I currently run an ironing service, and it's going pretty well. Does a website generate much more business? How easy / expensive are they to set up/maintain. CanI do it myself or pay someone. Sorry for all the questions, but I haven't a clue about websites!

Hi dizzyf
did anyone get back to you about websites?
when i place adds i place a link to my website on and it creates a more professional look. customers can also see all your information in one place
ive just finished setting mine up. was a bit wary at first cos i know nothing about them but thanks to another MSE'r ive managed to get one for free and it looks great. PM me if you want the details

lewt

who does this in northampton then ?

jaffacat_2

You may be able to put an ad on Ebay (cost of inclusion is fairly cheap)and you can run it for 7 days or more - obviously nobody will buy it but you can put a bit on their, website/tel number etc.

When I was thinking of starting a bouncy castle business I noticed that several people advertised in this way, not sure it would be ideal for your service but worth a try as fairly cheap advertising in my opinion.

Sounds an interesting business line, will look into it myself for my area.