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Published 09/03/2010 - 8:00 a.m. CT
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| A complete marketing program today includes traditional and new media including a website, experts say. |
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Jolly Belin of France opened the world’s first drycleaning “business” in the 1840s. He accidentally spilled some kerosene on his stained clothing and saw the spots vanish. The rest is history, as they say.
Today, there are more than 30,000 drycleaning establishments in the United States. About 85% of are small, Mom-and-Pop establishments employing approximately five people and generating about $200,000 in annual sales.
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Published 09/01/2010 - 8:00 a.m. CT
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| A complete marketing program today includes traditional and new media including a website, experts say. |
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Jolly Belin of France opened the world’s first drycleaning “business” in the 1840s. He accidentally spilled some kerosene on his stained clothing and saw the spots vanish. The rest is history, as they say.
Today, there are more than 30,000 drycleaning establishments in the United States. About 85% of are small, Mom-and-Pop establishments employing approximately five people and generating about $200,000 in annual sales.
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Published 07/30/2010 - 8:00 a.m. CT
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| iStockPhoto/Denny Chen |
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NEW YORK — Every drycleaner is looking for new ways to increase sales. A sluggish economy makes it particularly important to use marketing tools that can help tap new prospects at minimal cost.
That’s exactly what social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace do. Those services have gotten their fair share of attention in recent years, but the newest medium of all — Twitter — has perhaps the greatest potential for fattening your bottom line.
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Published 05/14/2010 - 8:00 a.m. CT
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| Photo: iStockphoto.com/Kativ |
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One reason entrepreneurs enter the drycleaning industry is to build meaningful businesses that grow into bigger and better enterprises. Add the freedom of “doing it your way and getting paid for it,” and they have a powerful motivator to take the risks.
Then, the reality strikes that things don’t always go exactly as planned. Since costs rarely shrink or go away, they try to hedge their bets by finding new ways to boost revenues. The logical solution is to sell more, but cleaning is, unfortunately, a need-based business.
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Published 03/31/2010 - 8:00 a.m. CT
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| iStockPhoto/Floria Marius Catalin |
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Being “green” can create great opportunities, and with opportunity, there is always risk. But to ignore the trend or create an appearance of apathy is, I think, the greatest risk of all.
Some cleaners just buy a banner that says “Environmentally Friendly Cleaning” and don’t change a thing. Others follow “green” ideals to the letter. There are drycleaners all over the “green”-marketing spectrum, from “greenwashers” to “treehuggers.”
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