If you are thinking about starting your own house cleaning business, begin by evaluating your present circumstances. There are no right or wrong answers to these questions, but how you reply will affect what you do.

How much strength and stamina do you have? If you have lots, you can schedule more house cleaning jobs than someone who is more average in these ways.

What times of the week are you available? If you have a job, weekly meetings of any kind, or children that you want or need to be with at certain times, draw up a schedule of when you can be available for your new house cleaning business. Don't worry if there are only a small number of hours per week that you can work right now. That will be enough to get you started, and you will be glad of the income.

Do you want to work alone or with your partner or another friend? If you have someone compatible to work with, it can be more fun to work together. Also, it can make it easier if you or your co-worker gets sick or has a family emergency come up.

There are many ways to get customers, and none of them have to cost much. Here are several:

Go to a local copy shop and have some business cards made up. (Or make them yourself on your computer if you happen to know how. Office supply stores sell boxes of cardstock already perforated for business card size. You'd need a program capable of making business cards.) Give these cards out and post them in grocery stores, laundromats, etc.

With a computer and a word processing program (or a poster-making program, if you happen to have one), you can make a one-page or half-page flyer that says something like: "Don't Have Time to Do It All? Let Lou's House Cleaning Business Make Your House Shine! Special Introductory Half-Price Offer!" Be sure to include your name, phone number, even your email if you have one that you check every day. Indicating your prices will get you more calls. Don't set your prices too low, a common tendency for new business owners.

Tell everyone you know. Get on the phone and tell your friends. Place a small classified ad in a local shopper-type paper.

Okay, you will soon be getting customers. How will you actually do the house cleaning? What tools do you need to start with? There are probably as many different answers to this as there are people who have started a house cleaning business. Here are some ways to decide what you will do: Poke around on the internet. Ask your mother. Go to a library or bookstore and read.

You may need to get a business license. Check with the city, town, or county, where you live. This rarely costs much.

So there you have it. You can start your own house cleaning business. Go for it!

Rosana Hart tells you more about cleaning houses and offices for a living at her website, http://infoandhelp.com. It also has links to further information about all the details of how to start a house cleaning business.