Advice on new business please - Prices etc on ironing?
Answer:
Sounds a bit cheap - Also you have to factor in travel costs - How about?
- 50p per item (You could get a lot in a bin bag!)
- free delivery / collection within, say, a 5 mile radius (so you are not taken advantage of)
- A speical rate for 24 hour turn around
How to get people to use you - Go direct to local companies, get a cheap website, offer an initial discount, organise a charity event (a sponsored iron) & get the local press down for a story,
From a leaflet through my door:
Up to 10 items - £8
11-20 items - £12
(including free local delivery)
Don't sell yourself short!
Get some leaflets done and pop them through well-off neighbourhoods - ones that professionals live in (they have more disposable income and less time). Put leaflets in local newsagents. Offer discounts for first 20 customers (and hope they spread the word as word of mouth is the best advertising you can never buy!).
Good luck.
Ironing's a nightmare and I think you should charge £10 per black bag. Make sure when you advertise that you say it's a smoke-free environment. I've taken in washing and ironing in the past and a black bag can hold loads of stuff that will keep you going for hours. Also, if the stuff was washed and dried a while ago, it will be harder to iron and you'll need to use loads of steam. A good idea is to offer a shirt laundering service. I used to do this about 12 years ago and charged 95p per shirt then. It's much easier to iron stuff if you've washed it yourself and can iron it while still fairly damp. If you're offering to collect and deliver, I think you could charge an extra quid a bag for that. Don't sell yourself short on this one as you'll be doing loads of donkey work for non much money.
Dunno if i would pay that! Hmmmm, rich people may do. Try phoning another ironing company as a potential customer ask how much they charge. Or use their service as research (get a receipt and claim it back on tax when you become self employed)
Advertise in launderettes, you could pick washing up from the launderette for them if they drop it off there. Pick up and deliver would def be useful.
Do a loyalty discount to offer regular customers discount or 1 free bag in 10, encourages repeat business!
Good luck (also how about ironing board business cards?)
I want to do the same thing, a little search on jeeves revevealed that in London they charge per item
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