Laundry business in Nigeria is a very lucrative business that even youth can venture into and make lots of money.
Usually, this business is a good source of daily income, as you can barely find a dry cleaner without work to do unless they have a day off. Dry cleaning business in Nigeria is profitable you can make up to 1,500 per clothe in some parts of the country.
Since workers are usually busy throughout the week (even on weekends) they tend to order a laundry service, thereby increasing the demand for dry cleaners.
Whether on a small scale or large scale, laundry business can be done in many ways, you just need to know what you’re getting into before starting.
That is why we’ve come up with this post to show you exactly everything you need to know about the laundry and dry cleaning business in Nigeria, how to get started, the cost of starting, profits to expect, and how to make the business a success.
Without further ado, let’s get started!
Understanding Laundry Business in Nigeria
Popularly known as dry cleaning business in Nigeria, laundry business involves the washing and ironing of clothing and other textile material for an individual, group of people, and/or companies.
This business moves fast in Nigeria as there’s high demand for laundry services by mainly professional workers like doctors, bankers, politicians, etc., as well as companies, mainly hotels.
Laundry business is very easy to start in Nigeria as it is not capital intensive, which means you can start with about any amount. This is because it is not necessary that you start with a washing machine and electric iron to offer the best service.
This business can be operated in different ways from offering home service laundry to having your own laundry company or business place. Some people, mainly students also do this as a side hustle on weekends.
One cool thing about the laundry business in Nigeria is the flexibility of prices, which means you are to decide on the pricing of your service.
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How Much Does it Cost to Start a Laundry Business in Nigeria
Business like this always keeps people asking – what is the cost of starting a laundry business in Nigeria?
Well, like I said earlier, the dry cleaning business in Nigeria is not capital intensive, although the cost of starting depends on your mode of operation.
This is because you can decide to work as an individual dry cleaner, start a laundry company where your hire staff, or offer home laundry service. Regardless of how you choose to operate, laundry business doesn’t require tens of millions of naira to start.
As an individual dry cleaner and/or home service laundry guy, you can start with less than 5,000 Naira. While you need anything from 500,000 Naira to 2 million naira to operate a standard laundry business in Nigeria.
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How to Start a Laundry Business in Nigeria 2023
Here’s a step-by-step guide to starting a laundry (Dry cleaning) business in Nigeria in 2023:
1. Start With Some Research
First things first, to start, you need to get to understand the business by carrying out some detailed research on how laundries operate in your area.
You need to do some findings on the best mode of operation, what set of tools is needed, where is the best place to start in your area, find out about your competitors, and also seek the required registration and obtainable licenses to run a laundry business in your area.
As part of your competitors’ research, do some findings on the price range per type of materials in your area. This is will help you have a clue of the profit to expect at the end of the day, and decide if it is with it.
Because the price, cost of operation, and legal requirements vary across every state, town, and even street, you must make sure your research is done based on the place where you want to start the business.
2. Decide Your Laundry Business Model
During your research, you must have found out all the modes of operating a laundry business in Nigeria which include offering home service, starting as an individual, and running a standard laundry company.
Now, sit down and decide on the best one for you based on the cost of operation, profitability, and ease of running the business.
If you’re a student, the best one for you would be offering home laundry service on weekends, while a non-student can start as an individual dry cleaner or start a dry cleaning company based on the capital you can raise.
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3. Find a Suitable Location
Unless you want to offer home service you won’t need a good location to start. As a laundry guy, location really matters as it determines the type of clients you’ll be getting, as well as the amount of money to be made.
Usually, laundries located in an area where rich people and professional workers like bankers, contractors, politicians, and businessmen live tend to make more money than operating a laundry business in ghetto areas.
Therefore, you need to take your time to secure a good location for your business, as the caliber of people in an area also determines your pricing – rich people = high pricing and more sale, while middle and lower class = low pricing and few sales.
More so, while looking for a location for your business you need to make sure to secure a place close to roads where you’ll be quickly noticed, get a place with no competitors, and also keep the security of the place you’re about to get in mind.
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4. Get Your Business Registered
Although registration of a laundry business depends on location, as a lot of dry cleaners don’t register before getting started.
However, to be on the safer side, during your market research, try and find out if there are associations of dry cleaners to join, legal licenses required, or governmental permits or levies to pay to operate a laundry business in your area.
5. Get All Necessary Equipment
To start washing, you need a washing machine, and to start ironing, you need a pressing iron, either charcoal or electric. And in cases where there’s bad electricity, a generator may be required.
That means to operate a laundry business in Nigeria you need to buy some equipment. These equipment include but are not limited to:
- Washing machine
- Laundry detergent
- Washing basin
- Pressing iron
- Ironing table
- Power generator
- Starch
- Water
- Hangers/garment conveyor
- Nylon and tags
All these are required to start a laundry business in Nigeria, although you may not need all if you’re starting on a small scale.
6. Hire Staff (If Required)
Unless you want to start individually you won’t need staff. However, as a laundry company, you’ll need to hire staff who will be responsible for washing, ironing, packaging, and even delivering respectively.
Although all this can be done by you alone in the start, as you grow and start getting more clients, you’ll need some helping hand, so that you can focus on other important parts of the business including marketing.
7. Get Started
To get started means to source for clients by marketing your business and driving sales. Dry cleaning business in Nigeria is very easy to market in the long run, but in the short term, marketing your business may be difficult as people don’t trust you yet.
So, to get started, you need to advertise your business to friends, family, and neighbours. Also, encourage them to tell their friends and relatives about your business.
You can also use some promotional materials to market your business. This includes printing flyers and mounting a banner signboard at the front of your shop to gain people’s attention, and build awareness.
Laundry business can also be advertised online. You can use local SEO techniques, listing your service on Google my business and Google Maps. Also, you can market your business using social media. You can run targeted ads and also try Influencer marketing.
Lastly, go to offices and inform the workers of your service, and also market your laundry service to hotels. To make this work, you’ll need to offer flexible and fair prices, offer prices, and also offer home pick-up and delivery as part of your service.
Is Laundry Business Profitable in Nigeria?
With the cost of start varying based on the mode of operation, you may be wondering how profitable is dry cleaning business in Nigeria.
The laundry business is very profitable in Nigeria, however there are lots of factors that determine the profitability, and it may vary across every state or town in the country.
In some areas washing and ironing just one shirt could cost 1000 or more, while that same shirt could be washed and ironed for 300 naira or less in some areas. The uncertain price is usually due to the caliber of people living in an area, cost of living, cost of material, and also electricity, and water supply.
Let’s assume that you price your laundry service (washing and ironing) at N500 per shirt, and you wash 30 per day, you’ll make N15,000, and after deducting the expenses incurred, you may be left with N10,000 to N13,000 profit.
Note that the cost of washing suits, bed sheets, curtain, jeans, and native clothes are more expensive. That means you could make up to N20,000 per day or more washing those types of textile materials.
Overall, weekly you could be making up to N150,000, and about 600,000 or more every month as a dry cleaner.
With that above, we can assume the profit margin of a laundry business in Nigeria to range from 70% to 95% per cloth washed and ironed. Keep in mind that the more service rendered the more money you’ll make.
Dry Cleaning Business – FAQs
How much will it cost to open a laundry shop in Nigeria?
Opening a standard laundry shop in Nigeria could cost anything from 500,000 Naira to 5 million Naira depending on the size.
How do I get customers for my laundry business?
You can get customers for your laundry business by marketing your service to friends and neighbours, using social media, using Google my business and Google Maps, and also visiting offices to market your service to workers.
What do I need to start a small laundry business?
All you need to start a small laundry business is a startup fund, the equipment needed, and a shop to get started.
How hard is it to run a laundromat in Nigeria?
Running a laundromat is not that hard in Nigeria, as all you need is the capital to get started, equipment, and a suitable location for the business, although poor power supply may be an issue.
What are the weaknesses of laundry business in Nigeria?
The main weakness and challenges faced by laundries in Nigeria is the poor power supply.
Conclusion
The laundry business In Nigeria is a very profitable one that anyone can start, as it makes a lot of money and is very easy to operate in the country.
Whether you’re looking for how to start a laundry business in Nigeria or how to start a dry cleaning business in Nigeria, I believe this post has offered all that you need to know about the business.
Thank you for teaching me how to start laundry business
Truly helpful