Could a home-based laundry service work as extra income with children?

[AmiThyst]

I’m trying to think of ways to generate some extra income from home that doesn’t require me to need childcare. I’m a qualified beauty therapist but I feel like doing treatments from home isn’t possible if I have my children around, I’ve thought about marketing myself as a child friendly beauty therapist but I just don’t know if it’s possible to do nails/brows etc whilst having young children around, let alone safe. I enjoy baking and have been told by friends and family to start selling my bakes but I just feel as though it’s very oversaturated in my area.

My top idea at the moment is operating a laundry service out of my home. This means washing/drying/steaming/folding other people’s laundry. Prices would be comparable with using a laundrettes but without having to wait around at a store or do any actual manual work. I’d also like to offer shoe cleaning and polishing services.

Does anyone think this could work? I see a lot of conflicting opinions. It’s extremely cheap for me to start up and it’s pretty passive aside from steaming and folding. I’m not looking to make a fortune, just something to top up our income.

Yeah, there are loads of people who do stuff like this near me (and I use one!) Definitely charge more than a laundrette. If you drive/can add business insurance (not sure of the logistics) you can charge a premium for pick up/drop off.

My advice would be don’t overcomplicate or attempt pieces that should be done by a dry cleaners. Ooh, and make sure you get some good insurance in case your washing machine blows up with clients stuff inside 😂

Amazing! I won’t offer pick up and drop off right away but it’s something I can definitely add once I get regular clients. I’m hoping my location on the main road will make up for the lack of pick up/drop off service initially.

If you don’t mind, how much do people in your local area charge and how do they set load sizes to price?

I like this idea but unless you are getting a significant work load then I don't see it being anything more than pin money. I'd expect to pay less in someone's home than I would in a launderette, where they have industrial grade machinery. Perhaps if you do specific 'deals' such as 20 work shirts per month, or school uniforms, gym wear etc it might appeal to people.

Honestly I can't see how it would generate a significant income for you against how much time you would have to commit to it.

I wouldn't imagine many people would choose a home based start up over a laundrette especially if prices were higher.

I use an ironing service and it’s great - but that’s because I leave a bag full in my porch which they pick up and then they drop it back the next day. I wouldn’t bother if I had to take it to them as the reason I use the service is that I’m short on time.

You really need to set pricing according to time spend. It can take a lot of time with little pay.

You'll need to do the costings before you work out a price to charge. Then you'll know whether it's even cost effective.

Electricity is expensive and rising in cost. What does it cost to run your washing machine on each cycle? What does it cost to run your tumble dryer for 30 mins? How long does it take to dry a full load of school uniforms vs towels?

Water - are you metered or uncapped?

Insurance - will your home insurer even permit you to run this under their policy? You may need specialist insurance.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6652938/running-small-business-from-home-home-insurance-business-insurance-both especially if you damage things, which can of course happen.

Cleaning products - will you be using fabric conditioner? Offering to remove stains? You'll want to think about what the most important thing for this so the cheapest options may not be the best ones to achieve the best results.

Time - how long will it take you to get through the full process of wash, dry, iron for each load? Can you truly charge what it costs and pay yourself minimum wage for example?

Tax and NI - you'll register as self employed (or set up a formal business) if you earn over £1k in a year. So you'll need to set aside money to pay your taxes each year or your bill will come as a shock. You'll want to look at what is tax deductible to reduce the bill.

Are you going to offer ironing too? That would attract me more. The machines are more powerful and quicker for wash and dry than a normal home.

At the laundrette I mean.

I was desperate for something like this for my elderly mum before she died. There was nothing in her area (would have needed a pick up / drop off).

I agree with @CornishPorsche - there is a lot to consider regarding costs and liabilities, it may not be profitable enough in terms of return per hour by the time you have paid all the costs.

It might make more sense to start with eg just the ironing (the old MN favourite!) and see how that goes and then do the business plan for a larger service.

Beauty treatments might be hard whilst children are around but what about evenings/weekends and potentially visiting them? This is traditional the time that women with such skills operate - when fathers are home to be with their children. Selling your highest skilled expertise should be more lucrative than other jobs.

Ok, I’ve done some maths on this;

Each wash load fully dried in the dryer costs me approximately £1.60, if I utilise partial air drying before using the dryer, it will cost 85p-£1.20 (depending on air dry time).

Insurance is around £10/month and my consumables etc are very cheap.

As a standard price range I’d probably charge £12 per load (I’ll need to define this to clients but I’m looking at doing up to 8kg loads), I’ll also offer add ons to increase income such as steaming (£1 per item and offer bundle discounts), scent boosters (+£2 per load), clothes pilling/bobbling removal (+£2 per item), urgent/rush service (+£5 per bag)

Towels and bedding would obviously cost more than a standard wash load (£15+ depending on size etc)

I can likely manage 3-4 loads per day and I can profit ~£10 per bag.

Is this reasonable and feasible? It’s supposed to feel like a convenience and luxury service.

I think if you live in an area with a lot of well off elderly people then that could be the way to go, and would really recommend adding in collections and drop offs. Paying a carer to help a relative with washing is expensive (I’m out of touch but imagine £15-20ph for care)

Yes my friend did this loved it, fit in with her five children.

£8-15 per bag seems an insane price to me. But then I wouldn’t use the service.

Yes I live in a fairly rural town with ageing population. Also some pretty affluent areas close by. Could also possibly appeal to busy families? I’ll definitely add collection and drop off if I see there’s demand, thank you x

Yes, I’d probably not use a service like this myself either but I’m certain there are people who are happy to pay for something like this if it buys some free time and an extra luxury in their life x

I'd definitely aim it at the elderly. If you get a few clients in one sheltered accommodation you could have a set pick up/drop off day. Find a bag that is the right size for a load and have a set price. £20 a week for laundry would be a sensible cost for an elderly parent with no family nearby.

I'm not your target demographic at all, but £12 for someone to do something that's very quick and zero effort for me wouldn't appeal.
Once or twice a week I spend less than 5 seconds pressing a button and dumping some detergent in a drawer. Putting it on the washing line takes 5 minutes.

I don't own anything that requires shining, ironing etc.

Sounds like a good idea, the laundrette never washes clothes properly/ you can't control the settings

You could offer a discounted subscription service?