The holiday season, with there being big family gatherings and Christmas parties, people want their house to be looking at their best – but they don’t want to go through the trouble of cleaning it themselves. There is a spike of cleaning jobs to be done. If you are a regular housekeeper, there might be a bonus in store for you as well.

However, if you’re new to cleaning houses and considering giving housekeeping a try even if just temporarily to make extra money, then here are some tips on how to go about it.

Just ask around your network of friends if they know anyone who needs house work done for them. The best way to get this type of job is word of mouth. After all, for these quick one off situations, people rely on good recommendations. This is not exactly the type of job that requires a resume but someone to be trustworthy. And who knows, this one off job might turn out to be a regular thing that you can depend on for extra income.

When your task is finished, express how you would like to work for them again and refer you to their friends and family. These types of situations always snowballs and you’d be surprised how quickly that by putting a few hours of honest work will often lead to something more. If you’re a good worker, people come to you, especially during the busy holiday season.

The bottom line is that house cleaning jobs are good if you’re looking for extra cash for the holidays and you might even parlay this to something more permanent. There’s always a need to be filled this time of year for holiday parties and get together. So what are you waiting for, get your name out there and start looking.

The benefits of starting your own domestic cleaning services business are that you can keep your own schedule, hours and rates.  No longer will you be sent off to clean a dirty house site unseen while the company rakes in the larger profits.  You have the right to refuse a house cleaning job; or if the house will require a lot of heavier cleaning than usual, you can charge more for it.  In other words, you will be compensated as you see fit.

At the beginning, it might be hard starting out to find clients who need house cleaning.  Thankfully, your start up costs is not a lot as you only require cleaning supplies.  In fact, some households would probably prefer you use eco friendly products.  If that is the case, homemade house cleaning recipes involving baking soda and vinegar are just as good and cheap to boot.  Furthermore, in the age of the internet and social networking, it can save you a lot of money in terms of advertising for your house cleaning services.  All you need to do is post on your local job boards giving listing your services, rates and time availability.  Be ready to have references available in case they ask for it.  Perspective clients might be very careful with who to choose for their housekeeper job you have to expect this as they are letting a stranger into their house.   On the other hand, the good news about picky clients is that if both parties are a good match, then you can pretty much expect a long working relationship.  Clients are creatures of habit and once they pick a housekeeper they are comfortable with and trust, they will stick with you.  That is the benefit in getting into the house cleaning business as it is repeat business.

Once you establish a regular client base, you can choose to expand or not.  As stated, clients are creatures of habit and pretty soon you’ll settle into a comfortable routine of cleaning for your regulars.  However, as your reputation of trustworthiness and work ethic gets around, you might find yourself in high demand amongst your clients who recommended you to their friends.  When that time comes, you will require more help to expand your house cleaning business.  If that is the case, you will soon be on your way to becoming an entrepreneur.