Founder and CEO of Australia’s fastest-growing mobile laundry service The Laundry Lady, Susan Toft, has taken out the prestigious title of Corporate Business Woman of the Year at a Sunshine Coast Awards Gala.
Presented by the Sunshine Coast Business Women’s Network, the annual awards celebrate local women in business who are not only achieving excellence in their field – but who have been courageous, determined and inspiring on their journey.
Susan, who founded The Laundry Lady as a busy mum back in 2012, has steered her business to incredible growth, including multi-million dollar turnover and a team of 80-plus on-the-ground contractors.
Laundry Lady is headquartered in the burgeoning Aura development at Baringa. The Head Office provides administrative, training and marketing support for its network of Laundry Ladies and Lads – who complete pickup and dropoff laundry services Australia wide.
Taking to the stage on Thursday night (August 4) at the Caloundra Events Centre, Susan explained that her business is much more than “just a laundry service.”
“We are really about creating time and flexibility in the lives of our customers, and our team of contractors – our Laundry Ladies and Lads,” she says.
“They don’t join us because they love doing laundry, they join us because they are looking for flexibility in their lives.”
While women make up 95% of The Laundry Lady contractor numbers, the business also has Laundry Lads, offering a sustainable and profitable startup for men, women, students, career-changers and more.
“They [contractors] come to us with amazing stories, from the single mums needing an income to support their family, to the husband and wife teams wanting to create a full time business from home.”
In a bid to keep up with demand for easy to book, contactless and stress-free wash, fold and ironing services, Laundry Lady is currently recruiting in all capital cities and regional areas.
Those interested in coming on board can head to the Join the Team page and get a free info pack.
A game-changer for the mobile laundry service industry
The Awards were a full-circle moment for Susan, who previously worked as an event manager at the Caloundra Chamber of Commerce.
After moving on from her role when COVID-19 first hit Australian shores, she saw it as the perfect opportunity to build that vision she first launched as a ‘side hustle’ 10 years prior.
“As they say: when one door closes, another opens,” Susan says. And this certainly rings true for Susan and the traction achieved by The Laundry Lady.
“In the last two years alone, we’ve grown from 8 to 80 contractors and turned $200,000 annual revenue to $2 million.”
Sustainability in the workplace, building a solid financial base for future growth
In addition to her nomination for Corporate Business Woman of the Year, Susan was also a finalist in the Sustainable Business Woman of the Year category.
“Most people think sustainability is all about the environmental impact, but it’s really about the long term sustainability of the business across all areas,” Susan says.
“At The Laundry Lady, that’s about growing our business at a sustainable rate, and building a solid financial base to support the long term business,” she says.
Corporate Business Woman of the Year was proudly sponsored by The Events Centre Caloundra.
“Thank you to The Events Centre for sponsoring this award and to all the sponsors and organisers,” Susan says.
“I know personally just how much work goes into running a program like this and we are all very grateful to have a great network to be part of.”
It’s proving a big year for this rising star of the local business community.
The Laundry Lady was recently named finalist in two categories as part of the AusMumpreneur Awards (Service Business and Women’s Champion). It was also a finalist in the 2021 Sunshine Coast Business Awards and Telstra’s Best of Business Awards.
It will be in attendance at a number of major franchising expos, beauty events, and regional disability expos from Sydney to Perth and right here on the Sunshine Coast in the latter half of 2022.
Take a load off your mind with The Laundry Lady and explore work from home startup opportunities and bookable services for the home and business.
Discover your fresh start: www.laundrylady.com.au
