Starting and Building a Business

print up some  3 or 4 (or more) referral sheets, with your price and cleaning information, with the customers and let them pass them out for you to either relatives, friends or neighbors.

the first couple years, I ran a small add in the Yellow pages.  The internet didn't exist then, at least in it's present form, so mining your contacts there would be more or at least as important as any other advertising.

a half dozen commercial accounts (restaurants, offices) to keep you busy while you schedule and clean residential jobs and build up a clientele

And one thing I wish I had done more of, is keep a upto date list of clientele, that can be searched, by city, job last completed, relatives and referrals, so that when you schedule a job, you can contact others in the same area, saving travel expenses, or jobs that are due for annual or biannual cleaning, to keep your schedule full, or relatives or referrals of the scheduled job, to see if they want theirs done the same day....

I have several streets in a few cities where I have a half dozen customers on the same street, but can rarely get two or more to schedule the same day, if face I normally end up doing one and then the other customers see me there, or hear that I had been there and a few days/weeks later, I'm back on the same street again, not that I mind, but three or four of them, would make a great day, if I could schedule them together....

And it's not that I don't like people, but my favorite jobs are empty houses and apartments, clean them and bill the job.  The only thing better, is when they tell me where a key is, or a lock box code, and say the checks on the counter.

I too am new and appreciate all the posts.  Based on your experience what would you say is the most important marketing/advertising method or use for a beginner would be?

I'm new here in this forum and everything i read is really nice.
I learned a lot here.
Just want to say Thanks.. 

Yep, And were all 6yrs older......  That went fast!

This Thread is old man...  I wonder if all the people that have posted are still in business.

Superglide Ken wrote: Starts with a copy of Howard Partrige how to manuel. He is the most successful guy in the business that tells you how he did it.

What makes him the most sucessful guy in the business?

Bottom lining it, ROI -- Return On Investment -- must take into account time spend because time always equates to money. 

The higher the risk the higher the rate of return not only applies to venture capitalists it also applies to every business person who puts his capital at risk within his own company.  And the more you are willing to invest, the more you are willing to risk -- the higher the return you must demand.  It is why I don't do yellow pages for example.