How Kingsley’s laundry business grew five-fold in one year

Kingsley Ogbeide Eromosele is the CEO of Elegance Laundry and Dry Cleaning Services, which offers laundry services to private homes, churches, schools, event centres, banks and offices.
A graduate of Physics from Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Ogun State, Kingsley is currently based in Badagry and has been in this business for one year. He started with N105, 000, but is now worth N500, 000 within 12 months.
Like many young graduates, Kingsley started life by seeking employment, carrying files from one street to another. When his efforts to get a job fell through, he decided to venture into laundry.
“After my service year, I thought of going into something meaningful, after all efforts to get a job had failed. I just thought of something I could do with little capital, so the idea of going into laundry came in, and it is something I really have passion for,” Kingsley told Start-Up Digest.
Starting the business wasn’t easy for Kingsley because it required a machine that was quite expensive.
“I had to figure out what to do to get capital. Then the idea of teaching came up. I taught in a private school though the salary wasn’t encouraging. I also took some students on ICT. During this period, I was really trying hard to save the little I could. It was very challenging on my part but with hard work and determination I was able to scale through,” he explained.
“To be specific, I started with a hundred N105, 000. The washing machine alone cost me N85,000 and I bought a table and some other things,” he said.
Speaking on what it takes to start the business, Kingsley said, “As a beginner, one must have a good laundry and ironing skills and should fold clothes properly, In some cases when the machine is not available or probably there’s no light, you don’t have any excuse than use your hands to wash just to satisfy your customers,” he explained.
Laundry business was what anyone can start with even with as little money as N15,000, he said.
“It depends on how you want to start, either with your hand or machine. Anybody can go into laundry as long as you have what it takes to deliver,” he said.
Kingsley said that in his business, there was a price tag but there was always room for negotiation.
“I have been able to accumulate up to N500, 000 since October last year when I started. Laundry is for everybody. We encourage people to take care of themselves and for those that can’t help themselves, they should embrace us because that’s the essence of laundry business,” he stated.
On his long-term plans, the entrepreneur said that he would like expand the business and needed to get the right clients and better equipment to make his work easier and faster.
He further said that though the poor economic situation was biting hard on individuals, affecting businesses and not just laundry, he had been able to court high-profile customers, including Customs officers.
He advised that this was best for anyone to start a business and make expansion plans, rather than rely on one source of income.
“Write down business proposals and think. There are opportunities everywhere,” he said, stressing that education had a strong correlation with success.
“Some people keep saying that education is useless, but education gives you the opportunity to think. If you are a graduate and runs a barber’s shop, your mode of dressing and the way you package yourself will attract clients and also differentiate you from others,” he concluded.

ANGEL JAMES