Sunshine Coast-based laundry service The Laundry Lady has been named a state finalist in the Telstra Best of Business Awards as it continues to ramp up recruitment across the country.
The business, which boasts a team of 60-plus Laundry Ladies and Lads providing residential and commercial wash and fold services, has bucked COVID closures, recently celebrating a $1 million revenue milestone and interstate growth.
Laundry Lady CEO, Susan Toft, says she is proud to be representing Queensland in the Accelerating Women category.
“This announcement comes off the back of our finalist title in the 2021 Sunshine Coast Business Awards,” she says.
“It’s been a massive year for us, most notably in terms of location and team growth, and achieving such an amazing result in Telstra’s Best of Business Awards is a real boost ahead of the New Year.”
Not slowing down any time soon, she says Laundry Lady is currently looking to onboard new contractors (women and men) to keep up with demand for affordable and contactless laundry services.
Clients range from beauty salons and event planners to yoga studios, busy households, NDIS participants and property management/Airbnb.
“This is such an incredible honour for our growing business that started with just me trying to find better balance as a working mum, and has now grown to support more than 60 (mostly) women in profitable work from home businesses that give them flexibility around their lives.”
“Our team of laundry contractors don’t join us because they love doing laundry, they join us because they are looking for a way to work from home, work around their kids, or are looking after elderly parents.”
Flexibility isn’t the only drawcard of becoming a Laundry Lady contractor. As Susan explains, Laundry Ladies and Lads can earn anywhere between $300 to $3,000 per week.
“We have single mums, mature-aged women, husband and wife teams, who are joining our team and seeing the benefits that this type of business can bring them.”
The Laundry Lady is one of six Queensland finalists vying for top title in the Accelerating Women category, which also features an innovative packaging company and a bridal gown designer.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our team and how we are accelerating women Australia wide.”
Susan admits the application process for the 2022 Telstra Best of Business Awards was “next level”, highlighting the calibre of all the finalists.
“Up against a pool of 24,000 nominations; the process included four stages, 10-plus videos, 10,000-plus words, questionnaires, financials, and interviews with judges.”
“It provided a great opportunity to look back at where we started, and just how far we’ve come!”
The Queensland winners will be announced early next year and go on to represent their state in the national awards.
Other categories include Building Communities, Indigenous Excellence, Promoting Sustainability, and Championing Health.
