For you, the entrepreneur, this means starting your business with as little as possible, and getting customers as quickly as possible to relieve some of your own financial pain.

When it comes to your potential customers (home owners and other businesses), it means that your rates are going to have to be competitive and/or you are really going to have to bring something "extra" to the table.

Is it possible for you to start a cleaning business that is profitable and that is capable of fixing your own financial problems while not making them worse for others? Absolutely.

Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Don't spend money unless you absolutely need to. This may seem obvious but many people miss it. Seriously, just don't spend money. Save it. Don't buy a bunch of office supplies. Don't buy a new phone. Don't get a new phone line to do telemarketing (use your own). Don't even buy any cleaning supplies. Save money, and only spend when you absolutely have to.

2. Use the phone and/or go door to door for marketing. Your voice and your leg work are free. Use them to the best of your ability.

3. For commercial cleaning, market to smaller offices. It is easier to keep your time and supply costs under control with smaller offices. When you're starting out, the chances are you will work alone, and when you work alone your margins will generally be a little better on a small office building. It can be more difficult in the beginning to have the time and resources to meet the needs of larger cleaning jobs, so it may pay to think small, at least at first.

4. Use a "meet or beat" pitch in your marketing. This is a good way to get new customers, especially if you are just starting out. Simply offer to any prospective customer to "meet or beat" the price of your competitors. (Tip: make sure any quote that you honor is in writing!) In the long run you will probably NOT want to always be the cheapest, but starting out it can be a great way to pick up customers... especially when the economy is a mess.

While it is not impossible to start a cleaning business in a down economy, it will certainly present some challenges. If you plan carefully and prepare yourself ahead of time, it is certainly workable. Just remember that the less you spend, the more you have... and that others are feeling the financial strain too (businesses to), so working this into your marketing will give you an edge that your competitors probably don't have.