Collaring business
A high-flying Warsaw woman has swapped her computer for an iron and is steaming ahead with a unique home delivery laundry service, Biały Kołnierzyk ("White Collars").
Twenty shirts a day
"After 25 years of being someone's employee I craved a business of my own," says Ewa Szaniawska, a former manager at the Polish branch of an American chemical corporation. The company suffered serious loses a few years ago and implemented necessary reductions that included Szaniawska's post. A quarter of a century spent among managers taught her one practical tip in particular-there is never enough time to wash and iron your own clothes. Her recently opened one-woman firm now aims to remedy this inconvenience of the professional class.
With an initial investment of zł.60,000 and 12 regular customers so far, Szaniawska is hoping to move into profit when the business takes in 20 shirts a day-sometime next summer, she estimates. When she hits her next target of an average of 15 shirts per day, Szaniawska intends to hire an additional employee and 50 shirts a day will allow her to move the office out of her home.
She describes her target customer: "Managers in their thirties and forties, working more than the regular eight hours a day and conscious of the professional significance of their appearance."
In a country where the home delivery service is still uncommon, Szaniawska hopes Biały Kołnierzyk will win through with its individual approach. Every order is washed, ironed and packed separately.
The perfect crease
One of the directors of a major American financial institution, Mariusz Kostera, heaps praise on Szaniawska's enterprise: "I appreciate this service for its quality; it is much higher than in regular laundries."
But the path to producing the perfect crease has not been smooth. The permits from various state bureaus allowing her to launch the business took six months to collect and Szaniawska found legislation sometimes incoherent and demanding. On the other hand she is full of gratitude for several well-informed officials who were eager to assist her.
In the end, though, this new entrepreneur is optimistic about her venture. "I wished for an activity that is both fulfilling and entertaining, and I managed to find it," says Szaniawska, her hand trembling as she irons a designer shirt, worth more than a month's wages, for the first time.
Twenty shirts a day
"After 25 years of being someone's employee I craved a business of my own," says Ewa Szaniawska, a former manager at the Polish branch of an American chemical corporation. The company suffered serious loses a few years ago and implemented necessary reductions that included Szaniawska's post. A quarter of a century spent among managers taught her one practical tip in particular-there is never enough time to wash and iron your own clothes. Her recently opened one-woman firm now aims to remedy this inconvenience of the professional class.
With an initial investment of zł.60,000 and 12 regular customers so far, Szaniawska is hoping to move into profit when the business takes in 20 shirts a day-sometime next summer, she estimates. When she hits her next target of an average of 15 shirts per day, Szaniawska intends to hire an additional employee and 50 shirts a day will allow her to move the office out of her home.
She describes her target customer: "Managers in their thirties and forties, working more than the regular eight hours a day and conscious of the professional significance of their appearance."
In a country where the home delivery service is still uncommon, Szaniawska hopes Biały Kołnierzyk will win through with its individual approach. Every order is washed, ironed and packed separately.
The perfect crease
One of the directors of a major American financial institution, Mariusz Kostera, heaps praise on Szaniawska's enterprise: "I appreciate this service for its quality; it is much higher than in regular laundries."
But the path to producing the perfect crease has not been smooth. The permits from various state bureaus allowing her to launch the business took six months to collect and Szaniawska found legislation sometimes incoherent and demanding. On the other hand she is full of gratitude for several well-informed officials who were eager to assist her.
In the end, though, this new entrepreneur is optimistic about her venture. "I wished for an activity that is both fulfilling and entertaining, and I managed to find it," says Szaniawska, her hand trembling as she irons a designer shirt, worth more than a month's wages, for the first time.
