Mike Ivers and Casey Ruff's Better than Mom's Laundry & Dry Cleaning offers next-day delivery on most garments.

The best business idea is often the one sitting right under your nose. Sometimes, you can even smell it.

Casey Ruff and Mike Ivers were juniors at Rutgers when they saw opportunity in dirty laundry. That year, they founded BTM Laundry & Dry Cleaning. The company will pick up your laundry, wash it at the laundromat, and return it to you the next day.

At first, they targeted fellow college students who yearned for the conveniences of home — “BTM” stands for “Better than Mom’s.” They knew students don’t like to do laundry. The question was why all students didn’t already pay someone else to do it for them.

The reason, Ivers says, is that most laundry companies charge by the pound, meaning that unless customers weigh their laundry beforehand, they won’t know how much the service costs until they receive the bill. This uncertainty does not sit well with often broke college students.

So Ruff and Ivers took a different route. Customers who would rather not pay by the pound can stuff their clothes in a big, blue “BTM” Bag, and pay a flat rate of $25 to get them washed. Like the per-pound option, this rate includes color separation, fabric softener, and next-day pickup and delivery. Stuffed to capacity, the bag holds about 30 pounds of laundry.

BTM picks up hundreds of these bags from college dorms, but they have also branched out to serve local businesses. Doctors’ offices, nail salons, and barbershops all need lots of sheets, towels and aprons cleaned every night. Several in the New Brunswick area have contracted with BTM to take care of it.

The company will also have customers’ clothes dry cleaned, a service that has become popular with families and young professionals in greater New Brunswick.

Since launching in 2006, Ruff, Ivers and their team of three employees have served nearly 1,000 customers. Their website is http://www.btmlaundry.com.

Leaf removal is one of many services that Bill Rawles, pictured, offers through his business, Making the Cut Property Maintenence, L.L.C.

Keeping a well-trimmed lawn has always been a source of pride for Bill Rawles. He enjoys working outside, mowing the lawn, cutting the hedges and edging the walkways. When Rawles decided to turn his gift for landscaping into a business in 2004, Making the Cut Property Maintenance, L.L.C. was born.

Since then, Rawles and his team have taken care of hundreds of lawns throughout Middlesex and Somerset counties, as well as some commercial properties in Newark. They mow the grass; trim the shrubs, and edge sidewalks and driveways. They’ll also get rid of leaves in the fall and remove the sticks and mud that accumulate in the spring.

What started as a part-time business to help Rawles pay for his kids’ education has since become a full-time vocation for the Piscataway resident.

Rawles has made sure that he and his team know the ins and outs of property maintenance. During the off-season, they take courses at the Rutgers University Cooperative Extension on snow and ice removal, pesticides, and irrigation systems. The company has also become certified to apply Techni-Seal sealants for paved driveways and walkways.

For full-service lawn maintenance, Making the Cut charges based on the size of the property. In this area, they charge an average of $35 per visit. Rawles can be reached at (908) 420-2921, or at nicegrounds@aol.com.

Robin Williams, pictured, runs Fromage Fete, which offers cheese catering and tastings for parties and fundraisers.

When Robin Williams was in charge of cheese at a five-star restaurant in Virginia, his official title was “fromgier.” But he prefers Cheese Guru.

His job was to guide diners through the restaurant’s wide selection of cheese, which would frequently include 30 types on a given night. He would roll the cheeses out on a platter and tell guests about each kind available. They would ask him whether it was pasteurized, who made it, what region it came from, and the wines with which it went best. Mastering the trade was not easy, but it left him with a level of expertise that has come in handy for his latest business venture.

Williams and his wife Heidi have founded Fromage Fete, a full-service cheese catering company. If you are having a house party, birthday gathering or fundraiser, you can hire Fromage Fete to provide an array of cheeses, presented with the expertise of a guru.

Along with the cheese, Fromage Fete will supply silverware, plates, sauces, crackers and bread. If you wish, they will also conduct a cheese tasting, offering guests a dairy education.

The Williamses will also advise a party’s host as to what types of wine, beer or coffee to serve with a given cheese selection.

Fromage Fete’s prices for catering depend on the amount of people at the gathering and which services a host request. For cheese catering alone, the price is $12 per guest. For a catering with a presentation, the price rises to $16 per guest. For $18 per guest, the Williamses will supply the cheese, offer a presentation, bring plates, glasses, bread and jellies, and will provide waiters.

This month, Fromage Fete began offering a variety of cheese gift baskets on their website, which can be purchased at www.fromagefete.com