Meet your favorite twitter laundry lady

Lucy Gatimu

She saw a need and decided to provide a solution. Below is the story of  30 year old Lucy Gatimu, your favorite twitter laundry lady.

Give us a background of your entrepreneurial journey

I started my laundry business in April 2019 after been jobless for a long time. I have 3 children and they all depend on me. I faced difficulties in providing for them. I had no capital to start a business. So I thought to myself why not take up my passion and turn it into a money making venture. I decided to start a mama fua business where I provide laundry and house cleaning services. It was difficult at the beggining finding clients who were willing to allow me into their homes to offer my services because they already had people offering them the same service as mine.

What did you do to overcome that challenge?

I shared with a friend the problems that I was going through and he advised me to market my services on social media so that I could create awareness. He created  a twitter handle for me and showed me how to write my marketing messages and post images of my services.

Did this help?

It did and I still use it up to this day. Twitter followers are amazing!  I have a twitter following of at least 1600 followers and they form the biggest part of my clientele. In a week I get up to 5 clients in need of my laundry and house cleaning services.Other times I'm fully booked that I have to postpone bookings.

How do you ensure clients build trust in you?

I have perfected my customer care and communication skills and I take every client seriously. I make sure I offer the best cleaning services. If I'm doing the clothes, I'm careful not to damage them in the process of cleaning and ironing. I take extra caution while doing the house cleaning too. I would feel bad if a client called me back and told me I dissapointed her or him.
My charges are also affordable. I charge my laundry services at Sh 700 and Sh 800 for house cleaning.

What challenges do you encounter in this business?

A client's location is my major problem especially if the client lives in a place I've not been to. I get lost and this takes up the clients time and mine too. I also get teased and mocked alot because some undermine my hustle.

What satisfaction do you draw from this hustle?

This hustle has made a big difference in my life and that of my kids. I'm now able to fend for them and cater for my upkeep. I no longer beg for money to provide for my family.

Lucy and her 3 children

What is in the future for you?

I have a dream and desire to professionalise my laundry hustle by establishing a laundry company. I wish to become an employer by employing more people to cater for the growing need for provision of laundry services.

Clients' reviews on her timeline show that she is best at what she does.