Dry cleaning license. How to open a dry cleaner - business plan, equipment price

The rapid development of the consumer services sector is due to great consumer demand, so your own dry cleaning, if properly organized, will bring considerable and stable income.

Not every person will be able to put their clothes in order and give them their original newness, besides, in many cities there are a lot of visiting citizens who do not have their own washing machines, so dry cleaning services for clothes will always be in demand. Let's consider the features of this type of activity, as well as what a novice entrepreneur needs to know for a successful start.

Pros and cons of opening a dry cleaner

Why should the sphere of providing household services, in particular the work of dry cleaners, be considered as a promising area for investment and subsequent business development? First of all, it is necessary to note the lack of such enterprises in Russian cities (with the exception of the capital and St. Petersburg, where there are dry cleaners in almost every residential area). This is evidenced by the following facts: in a number of European Union countries, 1 dry cleaner serves 5-7 thousand people, while in our country this figure reaches 150-160 thousand. It becomes obvious that this business has quite good prospects in the near future.

Beginning entrepreneurs who want to open a dry cleaner should know that during the economic crisis, about 25% of enterprises providing various household services went bankrupt for a number of reasons and ceased to exist. Therefore, now is the right time to start. The advantages of running a dry cleaning business include:

  • low level of competition in the niche;
  • low dependence on seasonality;
  • the possibility of obtaining a large number of regular customers (especially in residential areas);
  • lack of difficulties in managing the enterprise.

In addition, the entrepreneur will not have to invest a large amount of money in staff training. According to many experts, even under the most unfavorable conditions, the profitability of dry cleaning is unlikely to drop below 10-12%.

But along with the obvious advantages, there are also negative aspects that should be taken into account when opening a business providing household services. Let's list them:

  • the need for large start-up capital;
  • certain difficulties with the choice of production premises;
  • long period of return on investment.

In addition, it should be taken into account that in order to run a full-fledged business, you will have to obtain a fairly large number of permits from government regulatory organizations. To open his own dry cleaner, an entrepreneur will need a large amount of money at the start - from 1 million rubles, and the investment will pay off in 1.5-2 years.

Important: Since starting a dry cleaning business requires large initial investments, you can significantly reduce costs by opening a collection point for clothes, linen, carpets, car covers and soft toys. People will drop them off and pick them up at the appointed time. Items must be taken to existing dry cleaning establishments yourself and brought back to the collection point. You can negotiate a discount with service centers. Even with a small markup, due to the volume of applications, quite significant income will be obtained. Subsequently, you will be able to open your own enterprise with a full range of dry cleaning services.

How to open a dry cleaner?

Let's take a closer look at the main stages of opening a dry cleaner.

Business registration

A new entrepreneur needs to register his activities with the tax service. To open a dry cleaner, it is enough to register an individual entrepreneurship. You will also need to decide on OKVED codes. To provide services in the household sector, you can register a business with code 93.01 (Dry cleaning, washing, dyeing of fur and textile products).

This type of activity does not require a license, but you will have to obtain a number of permits. These include:

  • design documentation for the use of the building for dry cleaning;
  • SanPiN 2.2.1/2.1.1.1200-03 (hygienic requirements for dry cleaning enterprises);
  • SNiP 3.05.06-85 (requirements for power supply and lighting systems);
  • SNiP 21-01-97 (fire safety requirements);
  • permission to operate the ventilation and heating system.

To obtain a feasibility study for the use of premises for the operation of a dry cleaning enterprise, you will need to contact the city department of architecture and construction, otherwise Rospotrebnadzor will not issue a permit to conduct business activities. To do this, you need to agree on a plan for future dry cleaning and technical information about production and office premises with the BTI.

Please note that a detailed plan of the dry cleaning premises is required, which must also indicate the location of the equipment. Since a consumer service enterprise is an object of increased danger, the entrepreneur needs to obtain a number of additional documents:

  • conclusion of the SES on the reagents and toxic substances used by dry cleaning;
  • chemical disposal agreement;
  • permission to operate fluorescent lighting lamps and an agreement for their disposal;
  • contract for disinfection;
  • agreement for preventive maintenance of the ventilation system.

Unlike businessmen who want, for example, to organize the production of rubber tiles, an entrepreneur who wants to make money from dry cleaning will need to spend a lot of time obtaining permits and visiting more than one authority. But this issue can be resolved much faster and spend less money if you contact a specialized company that provides comprehensive services for preparing the necessary documentation.

Search for premises

One of the most important points in starting your own dry cleaning business is finding suitable premises. We have already mentioned that regulatory authorities impose increased requirements on buildings of consumer services enterprises, so you should pay attention to the presence of:

  • uninterrupted water supply, sewage system, heating;
  • working electrical network (380 V), lighting, ventilation;
  • high ceilings (from 3.5 m).

The optimal location of the dry cleaner will be in residential areas of the village. You should also look for buildings that have no competitors nearby, have a convenient road junction with access to the future enterprise, as well as two separate entrances (one must be an evacuation entrance at the request of the State Fire Inspectorate). It is recommended to select premises with an area of ​​at least 100 m², where the following will be located:

  • point for receiving and issuing products;
  • area for sorting and pre-processing of items;
  • laundry and dry cleaning shop;
  • finishing area.

The rent for dry cleaning premises can vary in the range of 60-80 thousand rubles, depending on the region and the population of the city. Many businessmen do the following: they open collection points in residential areas, and production - in industrial zones or on the outskirts. This approach allows you to significantly save on rent, especially when it comes to doing business in large cities.

Please note that the internal walls of production premises must be painted or tiled. In addition, the floor surface must be made perfectly flat. This is necessary in order to withstand vibrations of the equipment. If these requirements are not met, the sanitary and epidemiological station will not issue a permit to conduct business activities.

Equipment purchase

What is the price of dry cleaning equipment and what equipment do you need to purchase to equip it? To solve these difficult issues, you need to decide on a list of services.

Let us give an example of the equipment of an enterprise capable of processing up to 240 kg of wearable items in an 8-hour shift. To do this, you will need to purchase the following equipment for dry cleaning clothes:

  • washing machine with a load of up to 8 kg (2 pcs.) – 250 thousand rubles;
  • ironing press for processing leather goods – 630 thousand rubles;
  • washing machine with a load of up to 13 kg (2 pcs.) – 320 thousand rubles;
  • drying drum – 400 thousand rubles;
  • stain removal installation – 70 thousand rubles;
  • ironing board (2 pcs.) – 10 thousand rubles;
  • irons – 6 thousand rubles;
  • steam generator – 10 thousand rubles;
  • mannequins, hangers, other equipment - 30 thousand rubles.

In addition to the equipment listed, the dry cleaner needs to install a reception desk where the administrator’s workplace will be located. In addition, you will need to buy furniture for the customer service room, a cooler and a coffee machine. This will require about 65 thousand rubles. Total costs will be 1.791 million rubles.

Important: In order to save on enterprise equipment (whether it be production machines, machines for preparing dumplings, etc.), you can consider purchasing used equipment from leading European manufacturers for dry cleaning. Also, do not neglect new Chinese devices, which are much cheaper than analogues of well-known brands, but are not inferior to them in quality.

Recruiting staff

The issue of recruiting staff worries almost every businessman who wants to open his own enterprise providing dry cleaning services. To do this, you need to invite a production technologist, 2 ironers, workshop workers, and a driver.

If you want one that doesn’t waste money, you can initially play the role of administrator and order taker yourself, or entrust this responsibility to a technologist. It will be necessary to invite an accountant to work, however, as practice shows, it will be too expensive to maintain such a specialist on staff, so it would not hurt to outsource these responsibilities.

The average salary of a production technologist is 35 thousand rubles, an administrator - 25 thousand, ironers, workers and a driver - 20 thousand rubles each. The total amount of the wage fund will be 195 thousand rubles (160 thousand - employee salaries, 35 thousand - payments for social contributions).

Purchasing consumables

Consumables include washing powder, chemicals, packaging material, drinking water, coffee, gasoline for a work car and office supplies. The amount of chemicals is calculated depending on the volume and type of services provided. Typically this cost item is about 10 thousand rubles monthly.

To wash 1 kg of clothes you will need about 0.05 kg of powder. If the productivity of the workshop is 240 kg of things per work shift, then it will need 0.05 * 240 * 30 = 360 kg per month (or 12.7 thousand rubles). Taking into account other costs, the cost of purchasing consumables per month is approximately 50 thousand rubles.

Conducting an advertising campaign

How to announce the opening of a new dry cleaner and quickly attract potential customers? First of all, residents of the residential area (or other place) where the enterprise will be located should be notified about it. To do this, you need to post advertisements about the work of a new dry cleaner on notice boards, in front doors, elevators, and at public transport stops.

A good result can be obtained from distributing flyers and advertising leaflets, which need to be distributed in places with high foot traffic. It is also worth opening collection points near shopping and business centers, city markets and other famous places.

It wouldn't hurt to consider the option of promoting your business via the Internet. Teaser advertising in this case will practically not give any results, so it’s worth trying. If the dry cleaning service will be located in a large city, you need to create a business card website with detailed information about the services provided, prices, delivery conditions and contact information. On average, the cost of a monthly advertising campaign is about 30 thousand rubles.

Dry cleaning business plan

Why does a beginning entrepreneur need a dry cleaning business plan? It represents calculations that allow you to find out the amount of initial investment, the amount of monthly mandatory costs, as well as the profitability of the enterprise.

  • the cost of renting the premises is 70 thousand rubles;
  • purchase of equipment – ​​1.791 million rubles;
  • carrying out repair work - 150 thousand rubles;
  • opening an enterprise and obtaining permits – 20 thousand rubles;
  • purchase of consumables – 50 thousand rubles;
  • carrying out an advertising campaign – 30 thousand rubles.

Thus, the volume of initial investment will be 2.111 million rubles. Next, you should calculate your monthly mandatory expenses. These include:

  • payment for communications – 15 thousand rubles;
  • employee salary (with social benefits) – 195 thousand rubles;
  • rental of premises – 70 thousand rubles;
  • consumables – 50 thousand rubles;
  • taxes – 20 thousand rubles.

The amount of monthly costs is 350 thousand rubles. If we cut across regions, we get the size of the average check - 500 rubles. Let’s assume that in 1 working day the dry cleaner accepted 40 orders (the average after 3-4 months of operation), which means that the cash register size will be 20 thousand rubles, and for a month – 600 thousand rubles. From this amount it is necessary to subtract 350 thousand mandatory monthly expenses, in the end we get 250 thousand rubles of net profit.

Is it possible to open a dry cleaning business as a franchise?

Beginning entrepreneurs will probably be interested to know that the low level of competition in this business niche is associated with a large amount of start-up investment. Therefore, one of the best solutions for opening your own enterprise is cooperation with well-known brands under a franchise agreement.

You can find them on the Internet, which differ in the size of the entry fee, royalties and terms of cooperation. Of course, you won’t be able to open it, but with this scheme of work you can significantly reduce the amount of initial investment. The main advantages of working with a franchisor company include:

  • assistance in conducting advertising campaigns;
  • work under a well-known brand, which guarantees a large number of regular customers;
  • the possibility of receiving discounts on the purchase of consumables;
  • guaranteed return on investment;
  • receiving free consultations on any questions that arise.

As a rule, the franchisee is included in the list of partners and is designated on the franchisor’s official website. Therefore, wherever the dry cleaner is located, the flow of customers will be ensured. If a franchisee encounters difficulties at the stage of finding a suitable premises or registering a dry cleaning service, he can count on the help of a partner. The same applies to completing documentation and obtaining the necessary permits.

The advantages of working as a franchise also include the fact that the dry cleaner will operate under a certain brand, so the design of the premises falls on the shoulders of the franchisor. It is worth noting that the provision of branded clothing for employees, as well as the implementation of effective advertising campaigns and promotions, is carried out at the expense of the partner.

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As you can see, running a dry cleaner is a fairly promising type of business activity that can generate constant income. In order not to waste your start-up capital, you should conduct a thorough analysis of the competitor market, study the list of the most popular services, calculate the profitability of the business and offer clients impeccable service at the best price.

In contact with

  • Where to begin?
  • What documents are needed?
  • Franchise business
  • Business plan
  • Current expenses
  • Underwater rocks
  • Payback period and profitability

Dry cleaning is a business that is in demand in the context of the rapidly growing business burden on a modern person. At the same time, its organization requires a serious approach. This applies to both the volume of capital investments and organizational issues. Next, we will tell you how to open a dry cleaner from scratch, what documents are needed and how much it costs.

Where to begin?

Before opening your own dry cleaning, you need to weigh everything carefully, because this business requires serious investments and is associated with the following risks:

  • The need to maintain the quality of services at a high level, the slightest errors or errors in work immediately trigger the anti-advertising mechanism.
  • Seasonality. The largest number of orders occurs in the fall, when people take warm clothes out of their closets. Work in winter can be relatively stable, but you need to be prepared for the fact that in spring and summer the number of orders will sharply decrease with all the ensuing economic consequences. Therefore, it is necessary to distribute profits wisely.
  • Lack of a serious analytical base. Marketing research shows a stable annual increase in demand for dry cleaning services by an average of 20-30%. But these studies were conducted in large cities, where the level of competition is quite high, which also needs to be taken into account. At the same time, in a small town, opening a dry cleaner may not be profitable at all due to the lack of demand. Here you should carefully study the features of the economic development of a particular locality.

Therefore, deciding whether opening a dry cleaner will be profitable or not must be based on a serious analysis of the specific situation. It will help to conduct surveys of the population of the area where it is planned to open a dry cleaner.

What documents are needed?

Dry cleaning requires staff. Its standard version looks like this:

  1. Technologists – 2 specialists.
  2. Workers – 2 people.
  3. Ironer – 1 person.
  4. Accountant. But in order to optimize the accounting process and save money, you can use outsourcing.

Accordingly, if there are collection points, receptionists and drivers will be added to the staff who will deliver laundry to the dry cleaner.

Attention! A fully staffed staff eliminates operational disruptions, so there is no need to skimp on staff. You need to be realistic and understand that workers may get sick or be absent for other reasons. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a replacement.

The optimal form of organizational ownership here would be an LLC. What documents are needed for registration can be found on the website of the fiscal authorities. But here it would be better to contact specialized companies. This will speed up the process and eliminate possible delays. The cost of such a service is in the range of 8,000–24,000 rubles.

The optimal taxation system would be the simplified taxation system or “simplified tax system” with the payment of a 15% tax on profits or 6% on turnover. The appropriate OKVED code for the new classifier is 96.01 “Washing and dry cleaning of textiles and carpets.”

Franchise business

Franchising in this case is not the key to success. This is only a calculated business scheme, tailored to certain conditions that may not work under other circumstances. Therefore, opening a dry cleaning franchise may well be a waste of money, which is from 100,000 to 200,000 rubles (using the example of the popular Diana franchise).

You can also open a dry cleaner as part of an existing chain. But in this case, you will have to sacrifice independence and part of the profit, which is not very attractive and comfortable.

The optimal solution would be to develop and implement your own business plan based on the information provided. Here is a list of everything you need to get started and a breakdown of how much each action costs.

Interesting strategy -wise investment in real estate, especially if you live in a metropolis. By investing your money wisely, you can make good money.

Business plan

The first priority here is to find a suitable premises. According to the law, it must meet the following requirements:

  • be at a distance of 80 meters from residential buildings;
  • located on the ground or first floor;
  • ceiling height must be at least 3 meters;
  • It is mandatory to have an industrial-standard ventilation system;
  • the room must be equipped with a heating system.

From this list, the most difficult to complete is the first point. This problem is solved by renting a separate building or premises in business centers. But in this case, you will have to additionally open a collection point or their network in residential areas, which requires additional financial costs.

You should also take into account the need to organize a flexible order accounting system and create a transport system for transporting clothes and carpets from collection points to dry cleaning and back.

Attention! Failure to comply with regulatory and legislative requirements or ignoring them will result in the need to pay fines or closure of the business, which will lead to complete or partial loss of invested funds.

The optimal rental price here will be 450-1500 rubles per 1 square meter, depending on the location of the premises, the building and its condition. Repairs will cost an average of 1,500,000-2,000,000 rubles, taking into account the development of the project and installation of the ventilation system.


Now you need to purchase equipment:

  • stain removal booth;
  • perchlorethylene cleaning machine;
  • steam-air ironing mannequin;
  • universal ironing table;
  • apparatus for packing clothes;
  • compressor;
  • steam generator.

The cost of such a new set of equipment is $70,000 or 4,550,000 rubles. But this amount can be reduced by purchasing used equipment. At the same time, you can open a laundry if there is free space and funds for equipment.

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It is necessary to budget 700-1000 dollars or 46,000-65,000 rubles for commissioning and personnel training. This must be done before opening a business. In total, there are 5-8 employees on staff, provided that the dry cleaner works in two shifts. The presence of a collection point adds 2 people to this number. Accordingly, the load on the wage fund increases.

In total, to open a business you will need 6,096,000–6,615,000 rubles.

Download dry cleaning business plan You can get detailed calculations from our partners. The quality of calculations is guaranteed!

Current expenses

In addition to the starting costs, you should consider the running costs:

  • payment of rent if a deposit has not been previously created;
  • employee wages with taxes;
  • taxes;
  • payment of utility bills, mainly for electricity and water consumption;
  • purchase of consumables – household chemicals;
  • transport costs if there are collection points.

The optimal level of current expenses is 80,000 rubles. At the same time, it is better to try to work with minimal costs. This is achieved through the reasonable use of production materials, energy and administrative resources.

Equipment repair and maintenance. It is better to create a fund for this expense item from the very beginning of the dry cleaning operation. This will relieve some of the burden on the budget and will allow for timely implementation of technical measures, which will increase the service life of the equipment.

Underwater rocks

Many business theorists say that opening a mini dry cleaner or one collection point is profitable. In this case, costs are reduced to 70,000–80,000 rubles. But before organizing such an activity, you need to find a partner who will clean the clothes, and this is very difficult.

Opening a mini dry cleaner is also unprofitable from an economic point of view; it is obvious that a business with a closed structure brings more profit and allows you to be independent from other business entities.

Payback period and profitability

The optimal payback period for dry cleaning is 2 years. This is an average figure, taking into account the amount of start-up investment. At the same time, the profitability indicator is in the range of 10-40%.

Unfortunately, there are many things that cannot be washed, such as a jacket, a coat, a sheepskin coat, a winter hat with a frame, etc. By the way, sweaters from some manufacturers also cannot be washed, they either shrink (reduce in size) or stretch . And you can make good money from this by opening a clothes cleaning business, or, simply put, dry cleaning. How to open a dry cleaning business and how profitable is this business?

Motivation

According to statistics, there are 150,000 people per 1 reception point in a large city, and more than 200,000 in a small city. Moreover. In many Russian cities there is not a single collection point operating, but in this case, what should the residents of this city do? Drive 80 kilometers and further to the nearest clothing point. But jackets and winter clothes get dirty all the time! On average, every resident of Russia, aged from 14 to 65 years, has a need to clean non-washable items 2-3 times a year. That is, each opened clothing cleaning collection point already has more than 250,000 potential orders with an average bill of 600 rubles. Consequently, after passing the payback period, each reception point can receive 1,250,000 rubles of average annual total profit per month.

Format

Like any business, the clothing cleaning business requires proper organization, otherwise you may go bankrupt, and since dry cleaning, in addition to expensive European cleaning in shopping centers, is registered as an individual entrepreneur, you may lose your personal property. Therefore, it is important to adhere to some strict sequence of actions.

First of all, you need to decide on the opening format; it depends on the funds available.

  1. Clothes collection point. If you are opening from scratch, you need to rent a room with a total area of ​​20 m2 on the first, ground floor or basement of a non-residential building or a separate room at a distance of at least 80 meters from the nearest residential premises. The main equipment is a perchlorethylene machine, a stain removal cabin, 2-3 steam-air ironing dummies, a steam generator, a universal ironing table compressor, installations for packaging and storing things; this equipment will be enough for you for the first 18-24 months, until you pay for the collection point for cleaning things and accumulate funds for further business development. One-time investment of 300,000-400,000 for the purchase of equipment, 100,000 for refurbishment of the premises in accordance with the standards of the SES and State Fire Supervision. Monthly investments - 50,000 in a small city, 250,000 rubles per month or more in a large city. The average annual monthly profit in a small town is 30,000-50,000 rubles; in a large city – 150,000 or more. The payback period is approximately the same 3-6 months.
  2. Dry cleaning. This is one room with a total area of ​​at least 150 m2, where the clothing cleaning process is carried out and collection points are located not far from the main premises in a large city or scattered throughout the city in a small one. A one-time investment is about 3,000,000 rubles, monthly investments are 250,000 in a small city and more than 500,000 rubles in a large city. Profit depends on the number of collection points. Payback period – 12-18 months.
  3. Eurocleaner. A company that cleans any clothing, including even those on the label of which the manufacturer indicates that the item cannot be cleaned. Additional equipment - fabric composition analyzers, machines for laser molecular cleaning of fabric. One-time investment - 9,000,000 rubles or more. Monthly investments are 25-30% more than in dry cleaning, since only consumables are added to expensive equipment.

Registration

The main difficulties arise in the process of refurbishing the premises. Before opening a dry cleaner, take the standards for dry cleaners from the SES and read them. Absolutely everything is described there in detail, down to the type and color of the paint. Before opening a dry cleaner, think carefully about whether you can afford such repairs? If not, then try to find another room. Then everything follows the scheme: registration of individual entrepreneurs, conclusion of standard contracts for disinfection and disposal... But for dry cleaning or an independent collection point, disposal of harmful chemical compounds will be required. The tax rate for a collection point will be 5-7%, and for dry cleaning up to 13% of total profit.

Important! Dry cleaning is a business with seasonal income, which peaks in the cold season. During the hot season, only jackets, suits and some non-washable items are cleaned. And this is a quarter or less of winter income. Therefore, it is better to choose a percentage taxation scheme rather than a fixed monetary amount. If you have opened a clothing collection point without a centralized dry cleaning building, you may be subject to a simplified taxation scheme.

It is advisable to register Eurocleaning as an LLC, in which case you will be able to fulfill corporate orders from the offices of large companies. Although it is 5-10% cheaper than from individuals, it is 100 or more suits at once 2-3 times a year from only one company.

Grow while saving

If you have 3,000,000 rubles or more and you can open a clothes cleaning business from scratch with several collection points, get ready for a long payback period of 30 months or more. Firstly, in the first months of work you will not have a large flow of clients, because you are unknown to a wide range of consumers, therefore, transporting clothes in small quantities is an additional waste. Secondly, you need to open at least 3 clothing collection points, respectively, pay rent for additional space and staff salaries. So it makes more sense to enter this business gradually. Start with one collection point with a minimum of equipment, and six months or a year after it pays off, rent a room for full-fledged dry cleaning.

After the opening of the dry cleaning shop, the point will perform the purely function of receiving clothes from clients, so in the first 3 months, old equipment can be used in the dry cleaning shop. Its capacity of 360 kg per day is enough to service three collection points.

It is advisable to open a Eurocleaner six months or later after the end of the dry cleaning payback period and after reaching full capacity. At least 5 reception points. Due to the unstable profits of Eurocleaners, do not make a major bet on this business. This is an additional service of the network of clothing collection points.

In a small town with a population of less than 150,000 people, opening a Eurocleaner is unprofitable. Unless it is a resort town or there is an office of a large company with a staff of at least 100 people.

And now about profit

What can this business give? The profit of the clothing collection point and dry cleaning by 3 points was mentioned above. Now, let's look 3 years ahead. In a small city with a population of 75,000-150,000. in the absence of competition, you can open 5 dry cleaning points. Minus current expenses, you can earn up to 300,000 rubles per month. In the regional center, you can open 2 more European cleaning points. The average bill for a European cleaning service is 3,000 rubles. Average annual total profit 600,000 per month. Your 25% from two points is 250,000 rubles per month and that’s about 600,000 per month in a small regional center! In a large city with a population of 300,000-800,000 people you can earn more than 1,000,000 rubles, and in a metropolis - 3,000,000 rubles a month or more from cleaning clothes!


♦ 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 during the Soviet Union, the opening of a local dry cleaner was a common 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.

In order for a commercial structure to exist and make a profit, you need to invest a lot of money and effort in business development. The clothing cleaning service for the public is 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, near 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 for attracting customers you can come up with!

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.

The main target audience of the clothes cleaning business is 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 it:

  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 cleaning service itself can be opened on the outskirts of the city, but in each district an additional collection point can be located.

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 of the business rests on how professionally the employees perform their work!

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.

A technologist can combine his job responsibilities with the ability to accept orders and consult 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

Dry cleaners are enterprises whose activities involve a certain risk.

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

  • Violation of the rules and requirements of the SES, 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.
  • A decrease in the level of demand for a given business due to an economic crisis or season.

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* The calculations use average data for Russia

Opening your own dry cleaner in Russia can be a profitable endeavor. At the same time, you need to understand that there are two different directions of this business - a full-fledged laundry and dry cleaning and a self-service laundry. In this article, we’ll look at the first line of business in more detail (how they differ, I think, there’s no need to explain).

First, you need to register as a business entity, and here you can register as just an individual entrepreneur or register your own legal entity. In general, to start your own business in this area, it will not be enough to simply register; you also need to obtain standard permissions from Rospotrebnadzor, the Ministry of Emergency Situations and many other authorities. An entrepreneur must have contracts for the maintenance of his premises, but in general almost every entrepreneur goes through all these procedures, and there are no special features provided for here. Only special attention needs to be paid to utilities and the condition of the premises. In general, registration will require from 800 rubles (the amount of the state fee for registering an individual entrepreneur) to approximately 20 thousand rubles (registration of a legal entity with the formation of an authorized capital).

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The next step in organizing a business is actually finding a place to work. And here it must be said that an entrepreneur has several options available depending on what range of services he wants to offer his clients. In general, the size of the laundry room will be considerable, because you will have to have not only a washing area, but also ironing, dry cleaning, warehouses for consumables and ready-to-issue clothes, and an area for sorting linen. As a result, the size of the laundry room starts from 70 m2 to 100 m2. An entrepreneur should look for premises depending on the location of competitive enterprises, but still the most preferred places are residential areas with a huge number of houses. It is usually not advisable to be located in the city center, because it is still more convenient for clients to drop off and receive clothes close to home. This significantly reduces the cost of renting premises, because in residential areas it is always lower than in the center. On average, the cost will be about 500-600 rubles per square meter of area (this means premises not near roads, but somewhere among residential areas, for example, on the first floors of residential buildings, the main thing is that such premises are registered by the owner as a commercial real estate). In small cities it may be a little cheaper, but in megacities even such a room will cost much more. Also, when choosing a premises, you should pay attention to how suitable it is for this type of business - that is, it must be connected to a water supply system, the technical equipment of the sewerage and water supply system must correspond to the volume of water that will have to be used, that is, the calculations must be accurate, and you need to say that not every room may be suitable. Otherwise, you will have to do repairs, which will require additional investments, and here the amount may even exceed 100 thousand rubles.

When the issue with the premises has been resolved, you can begin to search for the necessary equipment. So, for a laundry, first of all, of course, washing machines are needed, professional ones at that, having a huge number of settings and working with different types of fabrics. Next are dryers, sometimes wringer machines are additionally purchased, and you also need to buy separate equipment for the dry cleaning area. Today, suppliers offer specialized machines, as well as so-called finishing equipment, which perform additional processing functions for soiled clothing. Dry cleaning employees must understand perfectly how to operate the equipment (but more about staff selection below). The cost of equipment can vary greatly; for example, foreign machines will be an order of magnitude more expensive than Russian or Chinese ones. Moreover, it makes sense to consider Russian equipment - it is not always inferior in quality to foreign equipment, but at the same time it is much cheaper, because transport costs are reduced and there are no customs duties. Chinese devices, in turn, are usually really inferior in quality, but can be the cheapest solution even taking into account customs operations and transportation. However, the cost of cars differs in other respects; So for washing, drying and wringing machines, the main parameter is productivity, that is, how much laundry the unit can process at a time; it is measured in kilograms, and here the simplest model has a maximum load usually no more than 8 kilograms. But for a professional laundry this may not be enough; In general, manufacturers supply devices that can be loaded with up to 100 kilograms of laundry. Whether it makes sense to buy such expensive (and very large) equipment - the entrepreneur decides for himself. The cost of all these cars is approximately the same, starting from 70-100 thousand rubles, but the most expensive cars cost up to half a million (and sometimes more). A separate category includes technical complex units that are analogues to simple machines, for example, barrier-type squeezing machines cost 700-1400 thousand rubles, and the most expensive units cost up to 5 million. But this is rather equipment for a very large dry cleaning service, which works not just with individuals, but with enterprises. There are also additional devices that improve the washing process, for example, detergent dispensers (allowing you to fully automate the washing process even for the entire working day), but their cost will not be small - from 100 thousand rubles for each washing machine. Next - ironing machines, their main parameter is the working surface area, so it doesn’t always make sense to buy wide units, because the laundry does not expect to work with wide products. A good ironing press costs about half a million, but for a laundry you need to buy significantly less of them than the same washing machines (a small laundry can be served by one such machine). Here you also need to understand that at least 100 thousand rubles will have to be spent on small additional equipment - boards, tables, racks and similar products. But the most expensive (of the necessary ones) will be dry cleaning machines. The cost of a normal machine starts from one million rubles, and although one machine may also be enough here, the equipment of a dry cleaning zone usually costs more than a simple washing zone. At the same time, opening a laundry without the possibility of dry cleaning is usually pointless, because a significant part of clients are interested in this. Hence it turns out that the cost of laundry equipment starts from 2-3 million rubles and can amount to several tens of millions, depending on how large the establishment will be, that is, how many machines will have to be bought. It is clear that even a small laundry cannot get by with one washing machine; sometimes up to a dozen of them are purchased (and in large enterprises more than ten). If you buy used cars, you can save a lot of money. By the way, it should also be noted that all equipment must comply with noise emission standards, especially if the laundry is located near residential buildings.

Once the equipment has been supplied and installed (and ideally the supplier should handle the installation), you can start looking for staff for your laundry. To work in a laundry, you need to find people who have already worked in a laundry or at least understand how to use the equipment provided. Such an enterprise can employ quite a lot of people, but much depends on the laundry’s operating schedule, as well as its size. Moreover, sometimes in a laundry the equipment does not allow for complete automation of the process, so people are hired to perform some duties, for example, ironing clothes. It should also be noted that many laundries operate daily, and the schedule can even be twelve hours. Under such conditions, it turns out that even a small laundry needs to hire at least 4 people. There must also be at least one receiver, that is, a person who is responsible for receiving and issuing linen and works directly with clients. Additionally, if the entrepreneur himself is not going to be the head of his establishment, then he will need to hire a director, and this person already receives 30 thousand rubles. The laundry workers themselves receive from 20 thousand rubles (people at the reception) to 30 thousand (employees who are directly involved in the work process). It is also worth noting that today some of the laundries offer their clients good service, and the most common additional service is visiting the client’s home and delivering washed laundry. Of course, the laundry service may charge extra money for this, and quite a few people order this service. If an entrepreneur decides to engage in this area, then he will have to hire a person who will be responsible for visiting the client. In other words, you just need a driver (the salary of these people is from 20 thousand rubles). But then you will have to buy a car for the company, which will pick up and deliver laundry. In general, the very minimum that you will need to spend on a car is 500 thousand rubles. A good car costs about a million rubles. Also, all business processes that are not related to the organization’s profit making should be outsourced. This includes accounting, security and premises maintenance services.

The next step will be to search for suppliers of consumables. Depending on the services provided and the equipment used, consumables may vary, but this is almost always a huge number of different goods; however, in any relatively large city there is more than one company that supplies such products. At the same time, before purchasing equipment, you should familiarize yourself with exactly what consumables will be required for your work. In general, they are purchased with the expectation that their cost will be covered by the provision of services, and together with all expenses, the cost of providing laundry and dry cleaning services will not amount to more than 25% of the final cost. That is, the markup in this business is quite high, but you need to understand that running a laundry is a fairly expensive undertaking, and therefore you always need to ensure a considerable flow of customers. A full-fledged advertising campaign can help here, that is, it makes sense to advertise in local media and even create your own website. For the first time you will have to allocate at least 100 thousand rubles, later, of course, this amount will be reduced, but some money will have to be constantly invested.

To open a laundry you will need to allocate:

    Registration – 20 thousand rubles.

    Equipment – ​​2 million rubles.

  • Rent – ​​35 thousand rubles.
  • Advertising – 100 thousand rubles.
  • Salary – 110 thousand rubles.
  • Consumables for the first time - 20 thousand rubles.
  • Buying a car – 500 thousand rubles.

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Total: 2 million 285 thousand rubles. Monthly expenses are 165 thousand rubles. The cost of laundry services, in general, should not be very high for the client, otherwise it will not be profitable for him to contact such establishments. In general, people go to the laundromat either when they have a lot of dirty clothes (which means that the main consumers will be large families), or when the clothes require dry cleaning. Dry cleaning is the most expensive service, and here you need to understand that sometimes it is cheaper for a client to buy a new item than to use laundry services; Only valuables are carried there. The cost of washing starts at about 200 rubles per kilogram of clothes; At the same time, many laundries that cooperate with enterprises and wash a large number of items for them at a time give a good discount - sometimes even more than double. Dry cleaning can cost more than 1 thousand rubles for one item, but much of this is determined by the difficulty of removing dirt and usually such prices are set for outerwear. To cover your expenses, you need to take in about 30 kilograms of clothes for washing every day - but this is calculated only at the lowest rate. From this it becomes clear that this business cannot be called highly profitable; profit is generated only with a very large number of orders - that is, with almost one hundred percent load of the laundry. For example, if a laundry takes in 40 kilograms daily, then its income is 240 thousand rubles, operating profit is 75 thousand rubles, net profit is 63 thousand 750 rubles (profitability is about 25%). Such a business will not pay for itself in a couple of months (according to our calculations - almost 3 years, if you do not buy a car), and it is recommended to have some reserve funds to ensure your work for the first time, at least for the first six months of work, until the number of clients becomes large enough .