BECOMING an entrepreneur can be a difficult and scary challenge but mother and daughter duo, Alyia Yusuf and Sophia Ally are utilising their joint strengths to build their brand and expand their business. The two launched “Sparkle Laundromat” on July 30th, 2021, at the newly opened Amazonia Mall at Providence, East Bank Demerara. The business is opened from 10:00 hrs to 21:00 hrs daily. The business offers two types of services, the premium and normal washing, and a drying and folding service. Customers are offered a range of soaps, laundry detergents, and fabric softener based on the service type.
Yusuf told the Guyana Chronicle that the business operates based on weight, meaning that the charges are made based on the number of pounds each bundle has.

She related that she and her daughter initially came up with the idea for a business in 2019 and began brainstorming possible business ventures that they could go into as a team. She noted that after spending some time deciding on the venture that was the most viable, they both agreed to provide the much-needed laundry service.
She noted that one of the most notable issues Guyanese face is the change in weather which sometimes prevents some persons from being able to wash their clothes and have them dried on time. This, she noted, has been one of the factors pushing more Guyanese to utilise laundromat services.
She further noted that she believes that with the business being located on the East Bank Demerara corridor, it is at a strategic point to serve the people on the East Bank and its surrounding environs.

“We are on the East Bank and there isn’t this service offered there. The nearest one is on Durban Street in Georgetown, so we can cater our services to people who are staying at Princess Hotel, the people in the new housing schemes up there on the East Bank and even the cricket teams when they come to play at the stadium. It’s easily accessible,” said Yusuf. She noted that the business has seen several challenges, the most major being the COVID-19 pandemic which had put a halt to all construction on the business space at the Amazonian Mall. The duo said that they had a signed agreement with the mall since 2019 but plans were put on hold for almost two years owing to the pandemic. The business owner said even through the pandemic she remained resilient and patiently waited for the time when the country would return to normalcy and she could finally watch the dream that she and her daughter conceptualised finally become reality.

She stated that business aims to ease the burden of “washing clothes” for those busy Guyanese. The business will also compliment Guyana’s growing oil and gas sector and will afford persons who will enter the country access to a level of service familiarity while they invest in the country, she said.
“This service would come in handy especially at Christmas time when people don’t have time to wash curtains, clothes, and stuff especially when they have small children because they are busy preparing, trying to bake, buy presents and even still working. And we also thought too it could cater to people who are coming from the oil and gas sector and we have an advantage too because Haliburton is close by and those employees there would be able to access these services easily,” Yusuf added.

Yusaf’s daughter who is the brain behind the marketing of the business told the Chronicle that while business is sometimes challenging, having her mother as a partner has strengthened her on those hard days. She noted that working together has allowed her to draw from her mother’s resilience and make the best of the challenges she would face with running the business. Ally said that since she is currently a university student reading for her bachelor degree, she is unable to be present at the mall but this does not stop her from brainstorming innovative ideas to boost the image and clientele of the business.
She informed this publication that she currently wears several hats at Sparkle inclusive of public relations officer, graphics designer, and interior decorator.

LIFE SAVINGS
The mother and daughter duo made a major step in following their dream of owning their own business, investing all of their life savings to bring their vision to life. They estimated that the entire expenditure for the initial opening of the business cost them a little over $5 million.
Ally noted that apart from the machines and other equipment that are necessary for the daily operations, the majority of the money was expended on perfecting the aesthetic of the business to provide customers with the most welcoming environment.
When asked what piece of advice they would give to other persons going into business as a family, the duo noted that collaboration is one of the most important and necessary attributes that are needed to ensure each person’s strengths are used for the betterment of the business.
“I would say it’s not an easy road but if you are determined to overcome the obstacles you have a greater chance to overcome them. Even if you had a bad day yesterday, when you wake up the next day, wake up with a fresh new attitude that you’re going to make it the next day.
“Our personalities are on different ends of the spectrum and I think that’s what makes us work so well together; we complement one another, we rely on each other’s strengths and we utilise that to ensure that all aspects of the business are looked at and addressed. So, I would say the most important thing to do is assess everyone’s strengths and utilise them,” said Ally.