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Start an Ironing Service From Home

By: Chris Nickson - Updated: 6 Sep 2013 | comments*Discuss
 
Ironing Service Delivery Collection Work

Do you like to iron? Most people don’t – in fact they do all they can to avoid it. Clothes pile up, excuses are found, anything to put off the time when they have to settle down and iron clothes for the family.

That it has to be done is indisputable – shirts and blouses can’t look wrinkled, and everything is somehow finished by running an iron over it. But it’s still one of the least-loved household tasks.

All that means that if you like ironing – and you’ll need to like it and be good at it – you can work from home running your own ironing service. As home-based businesses go, it’s a good one, where the clientele will be regular, the work fairly constant, and you can earn good money.

Setting Up An Ironing Service

Although it’s easy to set up an ironing service where you’re working from home, there are a few things you’ll need to do first. The first, in order to make money, is to be quick but good with the iron. You can’t afford to dawdle over a shirt or blouse – time is money.

Secondly, your house needs to be smoke-free. People don’t want their clean clothes to stink of smoke. It might seem a small point, but for a successful ironing service, it’s vital.

You also need to offer collection and delivery of clothes. What your ironing service is really offering is convenience, and delivery and collection are part of that package. So, if you don’t drive, you’ll need to employ a friend or relative to take care of that side of the business.

How do you find customers? Advertise! It can be a card in the post office or supermarket (cover all the cheap outlets) or talk to the people who manage the local laundrette. All you need to start are a few customers.

Do a good job for them and they’ll keep coming back – after all, clothes need washing and ironing regularly.

If you’re efficient and iron well, expect them to recommend you to their friends (you can even ask if they know of other people who could use your service). The chances are that within a few months you’ll have all the work you can handle.

The Disadvantages Of Running An Ironing Service

The downside of any home-based business is that, when you work from home, those four walls are your office. So, to get the work done, you need to be disciplined and make sure you plough through everything until the work is done and delivered on time. Working from home it’s all too easy to succumb to distractions. When you’ve promised someone their ironing by six p.m., however, you have to deliver in order to keep that customer.

Learn to do your shopping when you’re making a collection or delivery, and try to string several deliveries and collections together, in order to minimise the number of trips you need to make – which is also a good way to cut expense, saving on petrol and wear and tear on your car. To achieve everything, and still have time for yourself, you’ll need to learn to budget your time properly – just as with any other home based business.

Running an ironing service can be tiring. You’ll be spending several hours each day over an ironing board, and it’s not easy work. It can become tedious, like any other job, especially when there’s no one else to talk to.

You also need to pay attention to what you charge. Too much and people won’t use your ironing service; too little and you’ll barely make a living wage after deducting for the electricity you’ll use and the petrol for collection and delivery – you need to pitch it right.

With some planning and lots of hard, steamy work, however, it’s quite possible to have a good living with an ironing service.

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How easy is it to start your own iron business
Claireyb - 6-Sep-13 @ 10:24 AM
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