Business Serving I-95 Corridor Helps With Time-Consuming Chores

WOODBRIDGE, VA — As a Stafford resident, Jake Stratton knows that commuters along the Interstate 95 corridor face long drives to and from work. That's why the 20-year-old entrepreneur wants his business to help residents take care of their most time-consuming tasks at home.

Stratton is the owner of Lilac, which offers laundry, house cleaning and dry cleaning services. The service will pick up laundry and dry cleaning at the door and deliver it back completely finished.

The name Lilac epitomizes the feeling Stratton wants customers to feel when they arrive home with their house tasks done. Convenience for clients who have busy work schedules is at the center of Lilac.

"The average family spends about 10 hours a week between laundry and cleaning," Stratton told Patch. "And so we've identified those as the two biggest, most mundane and time-consuming chores."

The current service areas include Springfield and Lorton in Fairfax County, Lake Ridge, Woodbridge, Montclair and Dumfries in Prince William County, Stafford, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania. According to Stratton, an area like Stafford has many working families, who may commute hours each day. Another major area of service for the business is Woodbridge, where Stratton says the population is denser and has even more people commuting to and from D.C.

"So a lot of these households are really busy," said Stratton. "You have parents who commute at least one to two hours a day, and they might not get home until it's dark out."

So far, Lilac is getting business based on word of mouth. Stratton is partnering with some luxury apartment complexes in Woodbridge to offer Lilac as a voluntary service to its residents. He's learned about the need for convenience, as some apartment property managers find residents are even too busy at work to attend community events.

"We found a tremendous growth model, which is sort of amenitizing our services to be offered to these apartments as a luxury amenity that they can offer to their residents at no cost to the property," said Stratton. "So far it's, it's been a wonderful partnership. So far, the residents are very happy with the convenience that it brings to their lifestyle."

The first services offered by the business — laundry and cleaning — are what Stratton says can be the most time-consuming. Stratton may expand Lilac's services in the coming years and like to get customer feedback on what clients need help with. He would also like to expand northward to areas like Arlington and Fairfax.

"We really have a big goal of becoming a multiservice at home concierge, whether that be auto detailing or different delivery services or organizing," said Stratton.

As a business owner, Stratton has learned "there is no blueprint" to doing your job like an office job would have. He sees his role as bridging the gap between what customers need and what the customers need.

"It requires a lot of sacrifice, a lot of commitment, it goes without saying," said Stratton. "It takes a lot of work to start a business and grow a business, but at the end of the day, getting feedback from customers who come to me and tell me that they can spend their time in more fulfilling areas of their life than laundry and cleaning is really fulfilling."

For more information, visit www.picklilac.com.

If you have a Woodbridge business worth a feature story on Patch, send an email to emily.leayman@patch.com.