Laundry That's On Demand Is Profitable – Financial Juneteenth
By Michal Ortner
Michael Hinkelman of The Network Journal took some time with entrepreneurs, Ray and Takiyah Wall, to investigate their business venture called “Got Laundry?” The business, based in the Philadelphia area, is a laundry service that is on-demand and includes pick-up and delivery.
The couple has been hard at work since 2009 to perfect the concept of “same-day/next-day” laundry service to a wide variety of customers. This undertaking led them to the 2013 U.S. Open, where they were able to work with the golfers to meet their needs.
The idea for the business came from their own struggle to keep laundry clean in their own hectic schedules. “We started with $200, which got us some hangers and laundry bags, and our family hit the street. We have a large van because we have a large family, which was a working van during the day and also a family vehicle,” they shared.
Since then, they have upgraded to 3 vehicles that run from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday. “We started with residential customers in northeast Philadelphia but now target downtown.”
As far as a business model goes, they worked with Common Ground Management to create a plan that works for them. “We’re heavily targeting a particular zip code of downtown. We do the pickup, wash-and-fold and delivery with our own employees. We’ve built relationships with two public laundromats. We do laundry and pay them for dry cleaning and add our markup.”
When asked about their selling point, the couple explained that they have grown their business “one relationship at a time.” Their growth has primarily taken place from referrals of people who “vouch that we’ll take care of it.” Another selling point is that they are eco-friendly, which is great for those who are environmentally conscious. “We have detergents that work for you as well as high-effiency machinery so we use less water, electricity, and heat.”
Their clients are primarily professionals in the working class who have two people that are working in the home, which causes the neglect of their laundry. “We have 100 to 200 customers per month and about 130 are recurring, 90 percent residential.”
Currently, their biggest challenge is the logistics of the business. “Time is money. We don’t want to go back to a neighborhood the same day.”
The Walls are currently working with 8 employees, 4 of them part-time. “We’ll have $200,000 to $225,000 in gross revenue this year.”
Source
By Michal Ortner
Michael Hinkelman of The Network Journal took some time with entrepreneurs, Ray and Takiyah Wall, to investigate their business venture called “Got Laundry?” The business, based in the Philadelphia area, is a laundry service that is on-demand and includes pick-up and delivery.
The couple has been hard at work since 2009 to perfect the concept of “same-day/next-day” laundry service to a wide variety of customers. This undertaking led them to the 2013 U.S. Open, where they were able to work with the golfers to meet their needs.
The idea for the business came from their own struggle to keep laundry clean in their own hectic schedules. “We started with $200, which got us some hangers and laundry bags, and our family hit the street. We have a large van because we have a large family, which was a working van during the day and also a family vehicle,” they shared.
Since then, they have upgraded to 3 vehicles that run from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday. “We started with residential customers in northeast Philadelphia but now target downtown.”
As far as a business model goes, they worked with Common Ground Management to create a plan that works for them. “We’re heavily targeting a particular zip code of downtown. We do the pickup, wash-and-fold and delivery with our own employees. We’ve built relationships with two public laundromats. We do laundry and pay them for dry cleaning and add our markup.”
When asked about their selling point, the couple explained that they have grown their business “one relationship at a time.” Their growth has primarily taken place from referrals of people who “vouch that we’ll take care of it.” Another selling point is that they are eco-friendly, which is great for those who are environmentally conscious. “We have detergents that work for you as well as high-effiency machinery so we use less water, electricity, and heat.”
Their clients are primarily professionals in the working class who have two people that are working in the home, which causes the neglect of their laundry. “We have 100 to 200 customers per month and about 130 are recurring, 90 percent residential.”
Currently, their biggest challenge is the logistics of the business. “Time is money. We don’t want to go back to a neighborhood the same day.”
The Walls are currently working with 8 employees, 4 of them part-time. “We’ll have $200,000 to $225,000 in gross revenue this year.”
Source
That fam
