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

missspeedy23

Hi and welcome!

I did all that you said (apart from Gumtree) but I also posted in a local guide that covers my post code area and got quite a lot of calls from that. Do you have anything similar round you? I haven't advertised in our local paper so can't comment on that but something else that worked well for me was Google Places. You literally create a place page with all your info on and then when someone types in "ironing near x" then you come up in that list. It's free and I've had a lot of calls from it.

We targeted the newer housing estates with some postcards (which we got free at Vistaprint) but only got a couple of calls from that so it's not always worth it for the amount of time/effort involved.

Good luck - hope you get some more customers soon
Jo
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Katgoddess

Ironing_Fairy wrote: »

I have just started ironing and I need to get more business in, can anybody give me some tips. Have posted leaflets in near by neighbours, have registered on gumtree and yell. Is it worth putting something in the local paper?

Just lurking in here, but have you tried your local netmums board? Lots of people wanting ironing done, on my local one.

Katgoddess

Right I've made a decision. Tentatively going to start an ironing business. My son starts nursery in Sept so hopefully I will be able to do things more seriously then.

So other than an iron, and an ironing board, and a passion for crease free clothing - what things should I add to my list of things to buy? (Sorry if there is a list somewhere, I can't find it!)

Ironing_Fairy

Thanks for the tip of advertising. Have done Netmums, have enquired about putting an ad in the All things Local. So fingers crossed.

Ninjawombat

Hi all

I've recently decided to set up an ironing service and have been doing a fair bit of research before splashing too much cash... I've read that some people had already bought a van before knowing how much business they will generate! :eek:

The first thing I did was develop a really sound marketing action plan, decide which areas I'm aiming to target, where I'll leave leaflets and where to advertise to get the most hits. I've also decided to target B&B's.

I've bought a domain name (5.99 for two years) and my OH is building a simple, clean website for me (he builds them for a living!) which will have a 'unique' hit counter built in. This will allow me to see how many people are visiting my site but not converting to a 'sale'.

I have a spare bedroom so will be using this as my ironing space and the only expensive items I plan to buy to begin with are a professional standard steam generating iron and a bigger, better board. I've sourced some cheap wire hangers and laundry bags/plastic covers for returning items to customers.

My next purchase will be some flyers which i've designed myself (I'm a graphic designer, so it helps lol) and I'll get 1500 for about £75 from stress free print. They should last quite a while as I'm not planning to flyer houses.

I'm lucky to live in the centre of a village surrounded by 4 affluent housing estates. I'll be placing my flyers in the village shops, which are used by people in all of the estates. I'll also be advertising in local area newspaper and magazine (dirt cheap!)

I'll be offering an ironing service of £15 for 20 items, with shirts, blouses and cargo trousers for £1.20 each. I will be asking commercial companies to contact me for a quote.

I will have refer a friend, first time customer and gift voucher offers advertised on my website and will also offer the 5th load of ironing free for each customer (sort of like the coffee loyalty card things) I'll also drop a little refer a friend card into the return laundry bag of each new customer.

If all goes well, I'm hoping to set up with my sister-in-law in the town where she lives, under the same company name. It'll be a kind of franchise I guess!

After that, who knows! I'm not expecting to be inundated with work at first, or to break even. As long as I can slowly build up a bit of steady work and start making a profit, I'll be happy!

chickad98

Hello , I'm new to this forum and I am about to start an ironing service, my maternity leave finishes in September so I want to move fast. All the notes on this forum have been so helpful. I have contacted the business link who are also helping me. I only have a small spare room, a basic iron and ironing board and a little car, I dont want to spend out loads of money in the begining, I want the proffits to buy other bits I need, although I am looking at getting trouser clips and skirt clips , what is a lint remover? Also does anyone know of any good suppliers? I want to charge by the KG the going rate is around £5 per kg this is in Bedfordshire area. The business link offer courses on textile care and service, I'm not sure if this is totally necessary to start off with, maybe something to look into when it takes off. I'm also starting a care in the community service (basic stuff like cooking a meal, doing someones shopping, making a phone call or answering a letter, a small amount of domestic stuff etc) and want to incorrporate this with my ironing service. The plan is that I can still look after my two small children around my husbands shift work and then go out and do other work in the community. Any advise or answers will be greatly appreciated thank you.

Ninjawombat

The care in the community type work is a good idea. You could advertise yourself as a 'personal assistant for the public'! You might need to get yourself CRB (criminal record) checked first though as you would be working around vulnerable people and going into their homes etc. I don't think it's necessary but it does put people at ease. You'll also need to get some insurance for the ironing service and I would look into what you might need for the community care stuff also. Again, it's not necessary but would be a good idea.

Ninjawombat

Hi Mike,

Would be interested to know much you charged customers and how. Was it per item, weight or bag? How did you handle your bookings? Did you find you were picking up and delivering throughout the day or did you have specific pick up and delivery times?

Hope you don't think I'm being cheeky asking!

Also, what kind of equipment did you use..... and are you selling it too?!

missspeedy23

Hi guys

Something I've just started doing that seems to be going down well is advance purchase offers, so they pay me £50/£100 etc up front and they get their ironing cheaper. Works out better for me and means I get cash up front!

I'm starting to get a lot busier now and seem to be always dashing here there and everywhere. I'm considering doing specific areas on set days - does anyone else do this and are your customers OK with it?

I'm also thinking of putting my prices up too - I currently charge £3 per kg but fuel has gone up quite a bit since I first started doing it so was thinking of increasing from September. I get quite a few customers saying how cheap I am so think I might be under pricing myself too! Has anyone else put their rates up and if so by what %?

Cheers
Jo

janibrown

Hi I am hoping to set up ironing from home, collection and delivery service, but how much is a reasonable rate per hour please, also any tips on things I may need to know before I start I have just got a new steam generating iron and will be getting a new board this weekend (need a new one anyway) can I ask customers to provide their own hangers or should I supply them my husband says to ask them for their own as it would be cheaper. Am now going to start and read through posts on here so it may take a while as its a very long thread !! May be some time