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Thanks, that's incredibly valuable input. I'm actually a little fuzzy on how much a pound of clothing is. Would that be, say, 2-3 lbs per load? I mean, obvio

Thanks, that's incredibly valuable input. I'm actually a little fuzzy on how much a pound of clothing is. Would that be, say, 2-3 lbs per load? I mean, obviously it varies, but roughly.... The catchy name is a particularly insightful tip. I was actually thinking that pickup/delivery would be part of the included price. I was trying to keep it incredibly simple and cheap, so that college students might pay for it. I've run a few numbers and you're right about the balance point being precise. I think $5 for pickup and delivery of ~1 load plus $3 for each extra load was a decent price (which is pretty close to what you suggested). I'm going to sleep on this idea. If I wake up tomorrow and it still sounds feasible, I may pursue it.

brk 17y ago
I have no idea how much an average load of laundry weighs. Mine probably comes in around 8lbs or so for a load, but is probably also not at all indicative of a college students laundry... Simple/Cheap is good, but where does it scale? How do you ever make enough money to cover your gas/transportation costs AND have enough left over to make this more worthwhile than just getting a $5.00/hr job? You're going to gross about $3.00/load after paying the laundromat, and will probably net out about $1.50-$2.00/load if you outsource the actual laundry (the other costs going to vehicle overhead, small marketing dollars, etc.). If you DIY, it's probably pretty close to the same numbers (you might fit 2 students worth of laundry in 1 washing/drying cycle, but you'll have to buy some of those netted laundry bags to keep the clothes separated.) But then with DIY it seems like a HUGE time suck to make $2.00. What else can you deliver WITH the laundry to offset your costs? Adverts for local businesses? Tie-ins to online clothing retail (I see you wear brand X, and your stuff is looking worn-out, here is a coupon (with your referral code) for 5% off at foo.com). Somehow the actual clean clothes seem like the loss-leader in this idea.

brk 17y ago

I have no idea how much an average load of laundry weighs. Mine probably comes in around 8lbs or so for a load, but is probably also not at all indicative of a college students laundry... Simple/Cheap is good, but where does it scale? How do you ever make enough money to cover your gas/transportation costs AND have enough left over to make this more worthwhile than just getting a $5.00/hr job? You're going to gross about $3.00/load after paying the laundromat, and will probably net out about $1.50-$2.00/load if you outsource the actual laundry (the other costs going to vehicle overhead, small marketing dollars, etc.). If you DIY, it's probably pretty close to the same numbers (you might fit 2 students worth of laundry in 1 washing/drying cycle, but you'll have to buy some of those netted laundry bags to keep the clothes separated.) But then with DIY it seems like a HUGE time suck to make $2.00. What else can you deliver WITH the laundry to offset your costs? Adverts for local businesses? Tie-ins to online clothing retail (I see you wear brand X, and your stuff is looking worn-out, here is a coupon (with your referral code) for 5% off at foo.com). Somehow the actual clean clothes seem like the loss-leader in this idea.