What started off as a small scale laundry service has bucked COVID closures to hit more than $1 million in revenue as it continues to expand nationwide from its Sunshine Coast base.
The Laundry Lady, founded by CEO Susan Toft in 2012, has a team of independent contractors working across four states (with Perth going live just this month!), servicing residential and commercial customers.
It offers door-to-door pickup and delivery in Queensland, Victoria, NSW and Western Australia with a 24-hour turnaround for clothes, linen, towels, uniforms and other fabrics.
An increase in demand for quality and affordable laundry services from property managers and National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants has seen the business increase its on-the-ground team to more than 50 contractors.
It’s been a long but rewarding journey, as Susan explains.
“Like many new mums, the return to work after maternity leave sparked a major work-life balance crisis where I questioned how I was going to do it all,” she says.
“A redundancy forced me to find something new, and when I couldn’t find anything with the flexibility I needed, I had the idea to start The Laundry Lady from my home on the Gold Coast!”
Susan has since moved to the Sunshine Coast, grown her head office team to six, and helps support a team of go-getter contractors in their own business aspirations.
Unlike a conventional franchise model, Laundry Lady equips mums, dads and individuals with all the required training and marketing, where they operate as an independent contractor from their own home.
It’s the flexible work from home business that can be replicated all over Australia – and word is spreading!
Going for growth: How Laundry Lady is increasing its national footprint
In the last year alone, Laundry Lady has kicked some impressive goals by exceeding $1 million in revenue and launching into brand new markets like Sydney, Melbourne and, more recently, Perth.
“As an essential service, we have not only grown our market presence but really thrived as a result of new client acquisition and demographic spread of customers,” says Susan.
These include families, gyms, sporting teams, property managers, Airbnb and Stayz, corporate functions and events, medical clinics and more.
Earlier this year, the head office relocated to new commercial premises in Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast in a bid to support its growing team of contractors.
Laundry Lady’s award-winning booking platform, which has been recognised for its digital innovation in national programs like the AusMumpreneur Awards, allows customers to easily book via suburb selection.
Orange and Bathurst in regional NSW are the latest in a long line of locations added to service areas, which already includes places like Sydney, Byron Bay, Lake Macquarie, Melbourne, the Gold and Sunshine coasts, Noosa, Ipswich, Brisbane, Mackay, Townsville and Cairns.
A rising star of the local business community, The Laundry Lady is a multi-category finalist in this year’s Sunshine Coast Business Awards, and took home two silver trophies (for Business Pivot and Service Business) in the 2021 AusMumpreneur Awards.
Financial freedom and flexibility
Aside from being a real time-saver for businesses, families and NDIS participants, Laundry Lady offers an attractive startup opportunity with huge earning potential for both women and men.
“We are actively recruiting in a number of areas, including Sydney’s northern beaches and holiday hotspots like Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast,” Susan says.
She says Laundry Lady is looking to launch into even more areas before year’s end, with opportunities open in Canberra, Byron Bay, Gympie, Rockhampton and Mt Isa.
“Contractors don’t join Laundry Lady because they love laundry, they join because they want the flexibility to work around their kids or other life commitments.
“This is your chance to build a profitable, home-based business with an established national network and customers ready to go!”
Those looking to join the Laundry Lady team – Laundry Ladies, Lads and husband-and-wife teams welcome! – can find out more and apply online.
READY TO BOOK? If you’d like to wash your hands of doing the laundry and book a wash, dry, fold or ironing service near you, click here.
