In the west, dry cleaning services for household linen and clothing are quite popular. Many live in rented apartments and do not own their own washing machines or do not want to spend time cleaning and washing, knowing that there are dry cleaning stations that solve all current problems. Opening a dry cleaning service may well become a profitable business, bringing real and stable income, and this should be taken into account.
Business description
So, if we talk about how to open a dry cleaning service, then it is worth considering two ways that are available for this. The first involves the ownership of the enterprise itself, and the second - the organization of a laundry reception center with its subsequent shipment to existing dry cleaners. If you are not completely sure that the opening of your own enterprise will be successful, then you should go the second way, that is, open a dry cleaning reception center.
So you can study the legislation of your country, assess the general situation, understand what pitfalls exist in this business, gain confidence and a clear understanding that the invested funds will pay off. Then it will be possible to look for a place and purchase equipment for dry cleaning your own.
Initial investment
It is worth noting that for the organization of its own enterprise, investments in the amount of 100-120 thousand dollars will be enough. Such a business has a number of advantages compared to all others, for example, with the opening of a beauty salon or the provision of forwarding services. In Russia, this type of business has not yet found proper distribution, but it is starting to gain momentum, so it’s really worthwhile to draw up a dry cleaning business plan and open it.
As the population’s earnings gradually increase, people can afford to buy more clothes that need to be cleaned and washed. And that is why it is quite natural for an entrepreneur to raise the question of how to open a dry cleaning service.
Of course, many similar enterprises are being opened now, but this is still not enough to cover the needs of the modern market. The income of dry cleaners is $ 1,000- $ 1,500 per month, and this is the average for most cities, and in megacities it is much higher. That is why it is worthwhile to figure out how to open a dry cleaning service and find out in more detail what is needed for this.
Important points
To make your company profitable, you need to draw up a clear and detailed business plan for its opening. This can be done independently, which will definitely take a lot of time and effort, or you can take the help of specialists. When compiling a dry cleaning business plan, you should consider whose dirty laundry will be cleaned in it.
Pricing depends entirely on the category of people for whom you will work, their position and social status. And over time, when you gain momentum, you can open a laundry or clothing repair shop, providing additional services to the public in the free space of your premises.
Choice of premises
The best option is to place the ground or ground floor in a large business or shopping center, the area of which is 100-200 square meters, if you have permission from the sanitary and epidemiological station, and if not, you will need to find a room located at least 50 meters from residential buildings.
Opening a clothing collection point
You can open a dry cleaning reception center yourself, or you can buy one already ready for 7-10 thousand dollars. Independent business organization will cost much cheaper. All that is required is the registration of the enterprise, a small room in which you will work, two or three employees, namely the receiver and driver with a car, a minimal furniture set consisting of several tables and chairs.
There is no exact recommendation as to exactly where to open such a point, since sometimes it is beneficial to do it near retail outlets, and sometimes in sleeping areas, that is, in the immediate vicinity of the bulk of customers. If we are not talking about how to open a dry cleaning service, but consider an option with a clothing collection point, then it’s worth mentioning the initial and current costs in rubles that await you.
Initial costs are associated with the following points:
- renting a room of 5-10 square meters costs 7500-25000 rubles per month, depending on the location;
- the necessary equipment, consisting of a minimum set (table and two chairs) - 4500-7500 rubles;
- the salary of the driver and two receivers is 30000-42500.
That is, the initial costs await you in the amount of 42-75 thousand rubles.
In addition, monthly expenses will amount to about 39500-75000 rubles.
The principle of operation of the clothing reception
It is important here to sign an agreement with a large network of dry cleaners, which is popular among consumers, having its own workshops and enterprises where the clothes of customers will be brought in proper form. And after that, the receivers can begin their immediate duties: receiving dirty clothes, sorting them, preparing them to be sent to a cleaning factory, as well as receiving clean products and handing them to customers.
Almost 60% of your revenue will go to the company. The rest falls on the salaries of employees, rental premises, as well as profit. A contract with a large and well-known company has a number of advantages:
- often they independently carry out a dirty fence and delivery of clean clothes, which saves on driver and transportation costs;
- It is always easier to work under a well-known brand;
- A large company is ready to bear responsibility for marriage in its work, which implies the obligatory compensation of material and moral losses of the client.
Initial investments will pay off in a maximum of 2 years, sometimes six months are enough for this, after which you can get a net profit. The profitability of dry cleaning is 10-40%. The owner of the reception center receives a monthly income of approximately $ 1000-1500.
Mini dry cleaning as an alternative
As in the reception point, the most important thing here is to choose the right room. The distance from residential buildings for mini-dry cleaning should be at least 50 meters. You can not open it near catering or grocery stores. If we talk about how to open a dry cleaning service, it should be noted that for such a case a license will not be required, but you will have to run around with obtaining permits to open a production.
Typically, such enterprises are equipped with the following types of equipment:
- dry cleaning machines operating on perchlorethylene;
- a special cabin in which cleaning and stain removal is carried out;
- a steam-air mannequin designed for outerwear;
- specialized ironing table with iron;
- device for packaging clothes after processing;
- conveyor unit for storing clothes;
- trolleys for linen;
- steam generator;
- compressor.
You should also purchase accessories. On average, we can talk about the cost of dry cleaning equipment at 100 thousand dollars, and for mini-dry cleaning the price of equipment will be from 25 thousand dollars.
Optimal option
The easiest way to organize such a business is to buy a franchise.The advantages of this method are obvious - it is an opportunity to organize a serious business even in the absence of any special training. All the worries associated with starting a new business, training management and staff, setting up equipment and selecting employees fall with the franchisor.
For this, he takes his interest not only at the stage of starting a business, but also with his supervision. You do not need to draw up paperwork and purchase equipment for dry cleaning, as this all falls on his shoulders. A franchised company pays off quickly enough, and after that the profit will be 7000-10000 dollars a month.
Understanding the question of how to open a dry cleaning service, it is worth saying that you can do it yourself, and then organize several points of clothing reception. It is important to understand that first you need to get all the permissions to organize a mini-workshop. An independent business has a lot of advantages, which include the availability of endless opportunities for its subsequent expansion.
