How To Start An Ironing Business – Make Money From Home

It is easy to start an Ironing Business with little initial outlay.

You can make money from home in your own time, with no specialist skills, ironing for people who have little time to do their own.

Here, we will discuss how to start an ironing business, and things to think about before you start trading.

Advertising

You will need to advertise locally. Get some business cards printed – Vista Print offer great rates for a large number of cards. You can choose from hundreds of templates.

Display your cards in local News Agents, grocery stores, libraries and other public meeting places.

Create a Facebook Page. You are more than likely to have your own Facebook Profile. To create a Facebook Page for your business, navigate to the black arrow on the very top right hand corner of your Facebook page, and click ‘create page’. There are many options to choose from and at a later stage you can even offer an online booking option.

 

Be sure to include your name and telephone number, perhaps your email address.

Once you are established, ‘word of mouth’ can be a very powerful advert !!

Will you Offer a Collection & Delivery Service?

Many of your customers will work full time, be busy Mothers, or elderly and will welcome the collection and delivery service. Decide on how wide an area you are willing to consider, and whether you will add on a charge for this.

Your car will need to be clean – no-one wants their clean, professionally ironed laundry to be covered in dust, or perhaps pet hair or smelling of smoke.

How Much Will You Charge?

You can decide to charge by the bagful, per item, or per hour. It would be simpler to pay by the hour.

Don’t charge too much – you will struggle to get clients. Charge too little and you will have many customers, but will be working for next to nothing.

Compare prices with other businesses who are offering the same service.

I would imagine that most of your customers would like most of their clothes finished onto hangers. Ask them to include their hangers when you pick up their order. It would be a good idea to purchase some new hangers to keep for an instance where your customer doesn’t give you enough. There are lots to choose from on eBay and Amazon.

Know your Service !!

Make sure you now the obvious basics ! For example what heat settings suit which fabrics. If you’re unsure, ALWAYS check the care label of the garment. The chart opposite from Persil is a perfect indication.

Ask your customer if they would like their shirt collars, cuffs, etc starched. Learn how to use starch and how much to use.

Know the difference between pressing and ironing….some fabrics and garments require pressing, such as pleats. Read my article on this.

 

If your ironing board is looking tired and tatty, this will only serve towards your ironing being less than professional looking! Invest in a ironing board that has good reviews, and maybe is extra large….this will help to get your job done faster! Take a look at Brabantia’s website.

After you have finished ironing an item, consider whether it should be folded, or hung on a hanger. Hang garments to cool after ironing, this will eliminate annoying lines before folding. There are many videos on YouTube that will show you how to fold properly.

This ‘finishing off’ will impress your customer and help towards them recommending you.

Invest In A Professional Iron

For obvious reasons, a great iron is essential.

 

Visit our RME715 Professional Iron Article

This is the most powerful steam iron we have ever seen, and is used by several Ironing companies. You can use it for dry ironing, variable steam out put or powerful, continuous steam. You can re-fill the water reservoir at any time to give non-interrupted ironing!

Other Items You May Need

A water spray filled with water to dampen overly creased item.

A good quality hanging rail.

It is a good idea to get insurance – the last thing you need is to damage an expensive garment without insurance.

A last tip – Choose your environment – work in a smoke free area, away from pets and strong cooking smells. You customer will expect this and strange smelling ironing will deter them from using you again.

I hope this has helped you on your way to a successful business. Please bookmark my News Page for more tips and news.