Laundry Business

GONE were the days washermen/women were employed to attend to laundry needs of students in tertiary institutions across the country. Then, all a student does is to call any of the washermen/women to pick up his/her dirty clothes, including beddings.

These launders would wash and iron clothes at no charges paid by students. That period now lives in the memories of those that enjoyed the services.

However, the intention of the period was not to make students lazy, rather it was aimed at making them not to have divided interest, so they can concentrate on their studies. And who says washing and ironing of clothes are not part of learning or creative exercise.

Do you know that as interesting and vital as this aspect of daily life is, some students still find it difficult to do? They are so engrossed with academic work that they rarely find time for their laundries, yet they want to look neat. Such students would be ready to pay anyone to do it for them, so why not catch on the privilege. Identify these students and fulfilling their needs means earning some money on campus.

As modern marketing strategies includes taking your services to the doorstep of the buyer, it would be proper to do a small advert; write your details on plain white sheet of papers and paste them at places students visit regularly. This includes lecture halls, toilets, café, libraries and others. With this, you have stirred up the market and the clients would rush in.

You may ask, how would one combine this with academic work? Strategise, get a washing machine and a drier of between N60, 000 and N80, 000; almost the cost of your laptop. Sacrifice and before the end of two or three semesters you would be smiling to the bank, thanking yourself for taking the risk; as you look forward to expanding the business.

But if you cannot afford a washing machine and a drier for now, it could still be done by hand. While washing machine and drier are faster and would save you some time, hand wash is tedious, especially with some tough materials like jeans and khaki.

Aside this, you will need some space to spread the clothes. Whichever method you choose, think of the security of the clothes, which is the reason you have to do your laundering within the period you are around, so that you can supervise the drying.

Apart from washing, ironing is another aspect of the business. Do you know that a special fee is charged for ironing only? For those that cannot iron theirs, you could as well do it for them within the corners of your hostel room with the school amenities, which is wasting away or begging for usage.

Our campuses are populated by mostly youths, who want to look neat and spot the latest in fashion. For them, anybody that would provide services that would fulfill this urge would be the most sought-after person. Key into the available market, think of how students always want to look neat around the campus, in the fellowship, social clubs and even for lectures. Imagine, the financial returns that come with it, if five per cent of the total number of students in your school patronizes you.