Opening a dry cleaner. How to open a dry cleaning business and succeed

♦ Start-up investment in business: 940,000 rubles
♦ Payback period for dry cleaning: 24-48 months
♦ Business profitability: 15-35%

For the generation that grew up in times Soviet Union, the opening of a local dry cleaner was a familiar event.

At that time, this was not an attribute of luxury, but simply an obligatory component of every microdistrict.

In addition to the attitude towards the availability of dry cleaning services, the scope of ownership in this industry has also changed in our time. Previously, it was completely subsidized and generously financed by the state.

And now how to open a dry cleaner decided mainly by private entrepreneurs.

To commercial structure existed and made a profit, you need to invest a lot of money and effort into business development. Clothes cleaning services for the public are no exception.

In addition, entrepreneurs now have to fight with young competitors, of which there are more and more every day.

Which is not surprising, since the existing formats of dry cleaners allow you to enter the business even with a small capital. And the potential profit is very attractive.

Let's figure out what you need to do to achieve success by opening a dry cleaner.

Planning to open a dry cleaner

Dry cleaning project summary

Depending on the budget that an entrepreneur is willing to invest in the business, the format of the future establishment also varies.

There are mainly three common options:

1. Organization of a reception point.
   This cannot be called a dry cleaning business to the fullest extent, since the entrepreneur makes only a place where orders are taken from clients.
   And the cleaning process itself is delegated to another dry cleaner.
   This option does not require substantial cash investments, but you don’t have to expect much profit either.
2. Creation of a mini dry cleaner.
   In this case, the entrepreneur creates a small dry cleaning service with a minimum standard set of equipment.
   Subsequently, the business can develop into a whole network of mini-dry cleaners.
3. Big dry cleaning.
   If the budget for starting a business is not particularly limited, an entrepreneur can immediately start with a large dry cleaner, which will have high-quality equipment, have large capacities and offer a wide range of services.
   To expand in the future, it will be enough to open order collection points in other parts of the city.
   This option is the most profitable and has great potential. But the start-up investment will also require an extremely serious investment.

Dry cleaning advertising campaign

The dry cleaner is one of a number of establishments whose customers usually include all the people who live in the neighborhood.

Such “related” businesses (this includes pharmacies and bread stores) also need advertising.

It will just have small distinctive features.

1. Hire promoters to distribute advertising leaflets in nearby crowded places - at intersections, markets, passages, metro stations.
2. Order advertising on a local radio or TV channel.
3. It is definitely worth introducing a system of cumulative discounts or other conditions into your business that encourage regular customers.

Carrying out promotions for cleaning clothes, original commercials, bright slogans - how many great options you can come up with to attract customers!

Dry cleaning target audience

Fact from history:
In the first dry cleaners, dirty, greasy clothes were simply rinsed in kerosene. Then, after all the dirt had dissolved, the clothes were hung up so that the kerosene dissolved. In this method, things did not deteriorate, were clean and did not shrink.

Basic target audience Clothes cleaning business consists of solvent people aged 20-55 years. They have an average income level, which allows them to sometimes buy expensive things for themselves.

Careful handling of such purchases forces them to go to the dry cleaner several times a year.

It is these people who mainly visit the average dry cleaning order collection point.

Therefore, in the service business, they value, first of all, the following factors:

• how much does it cost to provide basic dry cleaning services?
• what range of services are provided;
• Does the item have high-quality and modern equipment?

Choosing a dry cleaning room

Before you open a dry cleaner, you need to find the ideal premises for it. A number of requirements are put forward to him:

1. For such purposes, only a room that is located on the first or ground floor, in the basement or in a separate building is suitable.
2. If an isolated premises is chosen for a business, the distance from it to the nearest house with residents should not be less than 80 meters.
3. For the dry cleaning to operate fully, the height of the building must be greater than 3 meters.
4. Sewerage, hot and cold water, and electrical wiring must be provided.
   Everything should work properly and without interruptions.
5. The building must have a properly functioning ventilation and heating system.
6. Typically, a room with an area of ​​100 m2 or more is chosen for dry cleaning needs.

It is a well-known fact that in order to attract more customers, it is recommended to open a business in crowded places.

It is prestigious and attractive to have a dry cleaner in the center, but the rental cost is extremely high. In addition, in residential areas the demand for dry cleaning services is high, and many will not want to go to the center in order to drop off clothes, but will look for something closer to home.

In fact, both of these options can be successfully combined!

The dry cleaner itself can be opened on the outskirts of the city, but in each district there is an additional collection point.

This will reduce rental costs while maximizing audience coverage.

However, we must not forget about the business expenses for salaries for additional workers and for the delivery of accepted clothing to the workshop.

How does the dry cleaning process work?

shown in the video:

Dry cleaning staff

If the entrepreneur has decided on a business option that involves opening an independent dry cleaner, rather than a collection point, 3 positions must be added to the staff.

The entire future success business!

Experienced employees will minimize the risk of claims, damage to clothing, and, therefore, business expenses for compensation to clients.

In addition, this will allow you to avoid investing additionally in training people.

So how many people will it take? The staff for a small dry cleaning service looks like this:

This list provides for a minimum number of employees, taking into account shift work schedules.

The technologist can combine his job responsibilities with the ability to accept orders and advise clients.

But accounting, if the business initiator does not plan to do it, can be outsourced to an outsourcing company or hired on a part-time basis with an hourly wage.

If you plan to open a clothing collection point separately from the main workshop, or even just one point, then transferring orders to a partner clothing cleaning company, personnel for these points must also be provided in advance.

Salary is included in the financial section of the business plan.

Financial calculations for opening a dry cleaner

Costs of opening a dry cleaner

Monthly dry cleaning costs

Potential business risks

The entrepreneur must identify these business dangers in advance and provide an option for action in the event of their occurrence.

• Breaking the rules and SES requirements, which will lead to the closure of the dry cleaner.
• Introduction of new legal requirements for business.
• Changes in prices for chemicals necessary for dry cleaning.
• Damage to customer products, which will become a stain on the reputation and incur expenses.
• Decrease in demand for this business due to economic crisis or season.

Dry cleaning is a popular and profitable business, in which there are practically no competitors. There are more and more users of dry cleaners every year - people appreciate the simplicity and convenience of using these establishments. Do you want to know how to open a dry cleaning and laundry business and how much you can earn from it? Check out our business plan!

Studying the market

On at the moment The dry cleaning market is almost completely free - such establishments operate only in large cities. At the same time, the growth in the number of potential users of dry cleaners is approximately 20-25% per year. People don’t have enough time to wash, dry and iron their clothes themselves, so they give their clothes to laundries and pick them up ready for use.

Dry cleaning will clean your clothes much better than classic washing

Experienced market participants cite the following figures: a city with a population of 1 million people brings an entrepreneur about 130 thousand dollars a year, and a city with a population of 500 thousand brings about 70 thousand.

What do you need to do to study the market? Find out if there are laundries/dry cleaners in your locality, what services they provide and how much they charge for their services. Think about who will become your regular customer and with whom you can enter into ongoing service agreements.

Please note: at the right approach you will be able to work not only with the population, but also with commercial and public institutions. Dry cleaners often service kindergartens, hotels, hospitals, etc.

Production plan

After analyzing the market, it is necessary to draw up a production plan. The main question is where to locate your business. The legislation puts forward serious requirements for placement:

1. It is prohibited to locate a dry cleaner at a distance closer than 80 m to residential buildings.
2. The room should be located either in the basement or on the first floor.
3. There should be no restaurants, cafes, or food markets or shops.
4. The size of the required room is from 150 square meters, the ceiling height is more than 3 meters.
5. The presence of two exits in the room.
6. The room is finished with glazed tiles and water-based paint.

It is best to rent a building located on the outskirts of the city. Here you will not disturb anyone, and rent will be inexpensive. To ensure convenience for customers, it will be possible to place several laundry collection/delivery points in the city center - they can be opened anywhere. In this room you will need to place a production room, a bathroom and a ventilation chamber.

Buy only high-quality dry cleaning equipment

The production plan should include the renovation of the building (it is almost impossible to find a ready-made one) and a list of necessary equipment.

Read also: How to rent an apartment daily: where to start

Also make a list of your services. It will include:

1. Dry cleaning of textiles.
2. Cleaning suede and leather products.
3. Cleaning fur clothing.
4. Textile washing services.
5. Cleaning and repair of products made from other/combined materials.

Add a visual work diagram to the document, which will consist of several points:

1. Reception of things at points.
2. Delivery to the enterprise.
3. Sorting things.
4. Cleaning difficult stains.
5. Washing things.
6. Cleaning with special solvents.
7. Impregnation with special means.
8. Heat treatment.
9. Quality control.
10. Issuing items to clients.

Necessary equipment for dry cleaning clothes

We recommend that you purchase original equipment for your enterprise - it will quickly pay for itself and work for as long as possible. The market leaders are installations made in Italy and Germany. You will need to purchase:

1. Apparatus for dry cleaning of linen.
2. Tanks for temperature treatment.
3. Self-cleaning nylon filter.
4. Special steam cabin for steaming.
5. Steam board.
6. A table on which staff will remove stains.
7. Capacious industrial washing machine.
8. Steam generator.
9. Drying.
10. Packaging machine.

Pay careful attention to personnel selection

In total, you will have to spend 30-50 thousand dollars on the purchase of equipment. About another 5 thousand dollars will need to be paid for delivery, installation and launch of the equipment.

Additionally, you will need to purchase chemicals for washing: powders, stain removers, solvents, etc. Reception points are also equipped with furniture, hangers, a computer for accounting, etc.

Dry cleaning financial plan

Let's give an example financial plan for a small laundry room measuring 150 m2. Costs will be:

1. Current repairs - 300,000.
2. Purchase and installation of equipment -2,600,000.
3. Installation of alarm system (fire/security) - 60,000.
4. Registration of documents - 50,000.
5. Marketing - 150,000.
6. Other expenses – 100,000.

In total, you will need 3.3 million rubles to open an establishment.

You also need to include in the dry cleaning and laundry business plan fixed costs: rent, salaries, taxes, utilities.

Laundry Organization Plan

The organizational plan specifies the operating principles of the institution. You will need to draw up a detailed feasibility study for dry cleaning, calculate the required area for work, draw up a plan for connecting to engineering networks. The first step is to write a letter to Rospotrebnadzor and Gospozharnadzor, indicating that you are going to open a new enterprise. Attached to the letter architectural plan buildings, equipment certificates and technological step-by-step description of the cleaning process.

Recruitment

To operate the organization you will need to hire:

1. Technologist.
2. Accountant.
3. Driver.
4. Receptionist (2-4 people).
5. Ironers (2 people).
6. Workers (2 people).

The consumer services sector in Russia is not yet as well developed as in Europe, and remains promising direction for beginning entrepreneurs.

Dry cleaning allows you to clean expensive and bulky items, as well as clothes that require special chemical treatment conditions, such as leather items. Often it also combines the functions of a laundry room.

What does dry cleaning do, the advantages of such a business

The sphere of household services has been developing rapidly over the past decades, and their volume is steadily growing. Modern Dry cleaners are becoming more accessible to the majority of the population, and this is confirmed by statistics - in a city with a population of 1 million people, the turnover reaches up to $800,000 per year.

Part of the growing popularity of dry cleaners is due to the fact that, year after year, they provide an increasing range of services to their customers, including the restoration of blankets and pillows, hemming and minor repairs to clothing.

We also offer. The car wash allows you to short term thoroughly wash the car both outside and inside. With its help, the driver significantly saves time and effort to get his vehicle in order. And in many cases this is just a lifesaver.

Thanks to the introduction of new technologies and the growing demand of the population for household services, the business of organizing and developing dry cleaning can be considered more profitable than ever.

Business plan: first steps

You should start by registering the organization and finding suitable premises. Taking into account safety rules, the distance from the dry cleaning building to residential buildings should not be less than 80 meters, and the height of the rented premises should be less than 3 meters. The following requirements must also be met:

1. The building must have an uninterrupted supply of large volumes of water.
2. Availability of a heating system.
3. Access to high power and voltage power supply network.
4. Availability of a ventilation system.

Most often, these conditions are satisfied by buildings located in the periphery of the city. Therefore, if there is financial opportunity and low competition It's better to open a large dry cleaner, providing several areas at once.

You also need to take care of creating a collection point for dirty clothes, which must be located in a densely populated area with a minimum number of competitors.

It is necessary to think about transport that will daily transport clothes from the workshop to the point and back, hiring employees and creating accompanying documentation.

Dry cleaning-laundry

You can also open a small dry cleaning and laundry service that can satisfy areas with a modest market for household chemicals. In this case, it is enough to purchase equipment with a productivity of up to 15 kg per hour and rent one spacious room. The expenses need to include the salaries of specialists, consumables and fees for electricity and water.

Necessary equipment, permits, documents

The use of modern equipment is the key to success. As an example, a clothing conveyor:

When developing a business plan for dry cleaning, you must adhere to a number of mandatory building codes, including:

• room dimensions and ceiling heights;
• location of the dry cleaner in the city, distance from residential buildings;
• technical specifications;
• availability of necessary communications.

You should be concerned about transport accessibility, the possibility of arranging a parking lot and the absence of nearby food stores, restaurants and canteens.

Competition assessment

The sphere of household services still remains in demand for the population and leaves a niche for aspiring entrepreneurs seeking to open their own enterprise from scratch.

Clients of dry cleaners are considered not only residents of nearby areas, but also car washes, large manufacturing companies, hotels, private firms and cafes. To accurately assess competition, it is necessary to analyze the local market and study existing companies.

Calculation of approximate costs for starting a business

The income of an enterprise directly depends on the quality of the developed business plan and the correctness of preliminary calculations. Let's consider averaged data based on general statistics.

With a dry cleaning profitability of 10% to 30%, the payback period is 2-3.5 years.

It is important to consider that these are average data, and much depends on the number and area of ​​rented premises, the production capacity of the enterprise, and the demand for household services in the region.

And also on the level of competition and coverage of dry cleaning. Planned net profit – from 40,000 rubles. per month.

Where to start a business

The first thing you need to do is fill out the documents, register the company as an individual entrepreneur with the UTII tax system, and rent premises. Then you need to purchase dry cleaning equipment, including:

1. Stain removal cabin;
2. Perchlorethylene cleaning machine;
3. Dummies for ironing clothes using steam-air devices;
4. Modern ironing table;
5. Steam generator with compressor.

It may also be necessary additional equipment, for example, an installation for storing clothes with their subsequent packaging.

Of course, we cannot forget about hiring qualified specialists. Since modern cleaning equipment operates in automated mode 5-6 people are capable of ensuring the smooth operation of the enterprise.

At the initial stages of organizing a company, it is important to pay attention to the experience of employees, because training is possible only in an already established company.

However, it is advisable to warn customers about the possible risks when dry cleaning clothes, as many will return clothes without labels describing acceptable procedures. It will be better if the client signs on the receipt that there will be no claims in the future.

At the final stages of organization, the enterprise must include a clothing collection point, a production building or dry cleaning room, a living room for workers, and a warehouse.

According to Russian fire safety rules, the building in which the dry cleaner will be located must have at least two entrances. Before opening a company, you need to create a price list, indicating the items accepted for cleaning, a list of services and prices.

The consumer services sector still remains a promising area for start-up entrepreneurs seeking to open their own business from scratch in an actively developing industry. And everyone can try themselves in this direction, starting with drawing up an up-to-date business plan.