Laundry and dry cleaning

About the business

Washing, drying and ironing clothes and handing them back: a small shop runs on one or two people and a few irons. A customer who comes once keeps coming, so the income is fairly steady. In a mofussil town the rate is low - Ajghar Ali, who runs a laundry in Gurudaspur in Natore, charges Tk 10 a garment, so a hundred garments a day is Tk 1,000, against a shop rent of Tk 850 a month. But this trade sits on top of the electricity supply. On 5 September 2026 there were five to six hours of load-shedding a day there, and his day's work fell from a hundred garments to thirty or forty and his income to Tk 300-400, while his monthly electricity bill rose from Tk 2,000-2,500 to Tk 3,000-3,500. Less earned and more billed at the same time is what closes small shops. Machine prices are known: Walton's 8 kg semi-automatic washer is Tk 12,500, a 10 kg twin tub Tk 16,500-17,900, an 8 kg fully automatic Tk 36,500-37,900 and a washer-dryer combination Tk 82,900. Remember that the customer can buy that Tk 12,500 machine too, and when they do the washing work shrinks and what is left is ironing and dry cleaning of the expensive things.

Unit economics

What you need to start

• Irons (electric and coal), an ironing table, hangers and racks, and a washing machine. Walton prices on 16 September 2026: 8 kg semi-automatic Tk 12,500, 10 kg twin tub Tk 16,500 and Tk 17,900, 8 kg automatic top load Tk 36,500 and Tk 37,900, and a 12+8 kg washer-dryer Tk 82,900.Equipment
• Detergent, soap, blue, starch, stain-removing chemicals, and numbered receipt books and tags.Starting stock
• Trade licence from the city corporation, municipality or union parishad: form Tk 10, licence book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, stamp Tk 150-300, licence fee Tk 100-60,000 by trade type, normally issued in 3-5 working days.Licence
• Knowing the cloth: what must not go in hot water, what bleeds colour, and how to lift a stain. Dry cleaning needs separate training.Skill
• A wholesaler for detergent and chemicals, a mechanic who repairs irons and machines, and messes, hostels or hotels for regular work.Supplier
• A small roadside shop with a water supply and space or a roof to dry on. One Natore shop pays Tk 850 a month; city rents are far higher.Workspace

How the work is done

1. 1Take a shop near messes, hostels, offices or a hospital. Laundry customers come from walking distance, not from far.
2. 2Get the trade licence: form Tk 10, book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, stamp Tk 150-300 and a fee by trade type, usually issued in 3-5 working days.
3. 3Start with hand washing and hand irons, and buy a machine only when the customers are there. An 8 kg semi-automatic starts at Tk 12,500.
4. 4Give a numbered receipt when you take clothes in and tag each piece. Mixing up whose garment is whose is how customers are lost.
5. 5Point out stains, tears or running colour to the customer when you take the garment in, and write it on the receipt. This is where the argument happens at handover.
6. 6Put a rate list up in the shop: ordinary garment, saree, blanket, ironing only. Quoting by mouth cheats both the customer and you.
7. 7Think about power first. Load-shedding stops the work, so keep coal irons at hand or arrange a backup supply.
8. 8Talk to messes, hostels, small hotels and clinics about a monthly contract. Regular work keeps income coming even in a bad week.
9. 9Push blanket, quilt-cover and winter clothes washing before the cold sets in; November to February is the busiest stretch for it.
10. 10Read the care label before washing anything expensive. One ruined saree or blazer has to be paid for, and that money takes hundreds of ironed garments to earn back.

Sources

• সিটি কর্পোরেশন থেকে ট্রেড লাইসেন্স প্রাপ্তির ধাপ সমূহ

  Collected: 16 Sept 2026

  Supports: Starting capital, Time to first revenue · বাংলাদেশ

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