If you are looking for an ideal work from home opportunity, something that you can run in your spare time from the comfort of your home and set your own hours, then this article is for you.

Although ironing is only a simple domestic chore, offering it as a service can be very lucrative. It is a task that many people dislike doing, or simply do not have the time. If everyone could afford to delegate this task, they probably would. There aren’t many people out there that really enjoy ironing.

What is involved in ironing as a service?

An ironing service is as simple as having a client drop off items of clothing to you, or you picking them up from their address. You would charge a certain price per kilo or pound and charge each customer accordingly for each load. Typically you would leave specially designed garment covers with the client after the first meet up. When you visit to collect the ironing (or they drop it off), you weigh each bag with a special hand-held scale and tell the client the cost of this particular load.

After this, you are responsible for ironing the clothes and pressing bed sheets and bigger items. Once complete, the items of clothing are then returned to the client, handed to them personally or placed somewhere of their choosing. Payment is received after an invoice is delivered.

What equipment is needed?

Beginners to the business usually start by using their own ironing board and iron.
Professional equipment can be purchased at a later date after becoming more established, and the client list has been built up.

Professional ironing equipment can speed up the ironing process and will be a lot more reliable and industrial compared to the traditional domestic iron. Professional equipment would include deluxe heated ironing table, commercial steam iron and boiler, and heavy duty garment rails.

Additional equipment needed may include wire hangers, foam hanger guards, trouser guards, skirt clips, garment covers, and customer labels.

How to get your first clients

The best way to get your first clients is to ask people you already know. Even family members. Once word gets out, and people start to talk about you and recommend you, the effect will snowball. Word of mouth will always be the best form of advertising.

Going further than this, print up some leaflets/fliers and some business cards. Put up ads in local shop windows. Give a few business cards to people whenever the conversation comes up. You only need a few regular clients to get started.

Another excellent technique is to advertise on search engines. Paying to put your ad right at the top of your the search results will lead to many inquiries.

This is called PPC or pay per click. You pay a certain amount of money every time someone clicks your ad. This means that whatever keyword phrase you bid on, your ad will be at the top of the search results every time, and you will only pay when someone clicks.

When people search for ironing service in “your town,” and your business name is right on top of the search results, viewers will usually click the number one search result (your ad) and not consider any of the others.

You will need a nice looking “landing page,” which is what the visitor will see when they click the ad. The landing page can be a simple one-page website, detailing your business, your service, and your pricing, and enticing the visitor to take action. In this case, the action would be to call you or send a web inquiry or email.

As you can see, starting an ironing service as a business can be a very lucrative venture, and can provide a full-time income. The busier you get, the more you can expand your business and team, resulting in a higher income.