Tough times call for some creative measures, and something as simple as starting a cleaning business can help you make your first million. Since the economy has taken a turn for the worst, I’ve personally met more people that started their own business in order to make a few extra bucks, and things seem to be going well. In  a couple of cases, the bad economy has been the best thing that has happened, as some of these people were able to leave their jobs because of the success of their small business.

One of the biggest mistakes new entrepreneurs make is that they feel they have to come up with something incredibly new or inventive in order to “make it big.” That’s the complete opposite of what should be done…

Something as simple as starting a cleaning business will allow you to make money fast, and allow you to scale your business so you can grow quickly. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. If you do, you make it that much more difficult to succeed. Take what already is proven to make money, and then do the same thing. As you build your business, you will naturally create a message, consumer experience, or uniqueness that separates you from the competition.

When you do something as simple as starting as cleaning business, you have thousands of other companies that have already tested the market for you and found what works. Secondly, competition shows that a profitable market exists and there are people/entrepreneurs making money from it.

So, going with the cleaning business example, let’s look at how stupidly simple this can be. Your cost is low, your investment is mostly your time, and you can quickly and easily hire help. Depending where you live, there is probably a large market opportunity. In other words, there’s a lot of profit to be made with little money needed to start. You could tailor your business to:

• Clean garages and attics
• Clean offices
• Clean construction sites
• Clean carpets and windows
• Clean schools and retirement communities

You get the idea. If you don’t want to get your hands dirty yourself, hire a college student to do the job, have your employee collect the payment made out to your business name, cash the check, and pay the employee the same day. All you have to do is do some marketing to land some jobs, or search Craigslist for people looking for hired help.

I’m sure there are some more complexities to starting a cleaning business that I’m leaving out, but the point is that something simple and not necessarily unique can provide a healthy income. Don’t waste too much time racking your brain about the perfect money making opportunity. Look around and see what others are doing, and get to work. To get some ideas, pick up the paper and search the classified section to see what products/services people are offering.

How to Start a Cleaning Business

At first glance, debt consolidation may sound like a good idea when you’re faced with $10,000 in credit card debt or medical bills and don’t see a realistic way out. Before you pull the trigger, be sure you know the benefits and the negative side to debt consolidation so you can make the best decision. Consolidating your debt may just be the right solution for you, but be confident that it is the route you want to go before making that choice.

The plus side to consolidating your bills is that it makes things more manageable. People who are drowning in debt and way behind in their bills have a tendency to avoid the problem all together. Bills are received in the mail, tossed in a corner and never opened, and the consumer has no real understanding of how much they owe or where to begin.

Minimum monthly payments, if affordable, don’t even put a dent in paying down the debts since the interest eats away at any progress you may have otherwise made. That’s where debt consolidation can help.

This option will take all of your bills and collapse them in to one payment. Instead of having 8 credit card bills, you’ll have just one bill to focus on. Psychologically, that may be easier to handle. Normally by consolidating your bills you will also reduce your monthly payment – on the front end. Each of your credit cards now have different interest rates, but consolidating them will bring all of those rates down to one, potentially lower rate.

There may be options to stretch out your payments as well. By turning your bills in to installment payments, you may be able to reduce your monthly bill by agreeing to a 10 year payoff plan, for example. Sounds great, right. Here’s the down side…

Debt consolidation just buys you time and may be a temporary fix. In order to become debt free, you need to target the root of the problem and put and end to that. That probably means changing your spending behavior in some way. Secondly, debt consolidation costs you more money – only it is spread out over time rather than large, monthly payments. The quicker you can pay off your bills, the better.

If you choose this option, you have to be incredibly disciplined to not incur more debt. Otherwise you’ll end up with the same problems you were facing before, only this time you will be deep in debt and have a debt consolidation loan to worry about. Be sure to thoroughly consider your options before making any drastic financial decisions such as this.

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This guest post is by Sam X Renick, Author and Social Entrepreneur

Here are a few simple, yet practical steps to teach kids about money:

1. Regardless of age – focus first on making saving a habit. Right off the bat this gives kids an additional option for their money besides spending. Secondly, saving has several benefits other than being a deterrent for poor spending. Here are a few: (a) it prepares us for emergencies and provides us more security; (b) it better positions us to make dreams come true; (c) it helps us to help ourselves and others; (d) it helps us get what we want and need when we want and need it; (e) it helps our money/savings to grow; (f) it gives us more choices, freedom and independence.
2. Next help kids set goals and make plans for achieving those goals – including savings goals. Plans can be as simple as listing a few written steps for accomplishing the goal. Kids and adults with a purpose or an idea of where they are headed tend to do better and struggle a little less with spending choices.
3. Now, concentrate on smart spending. As appropriate, include kids in shopping and spending activities like going to the grocery store and paying bills.
4. Finally, emphasize interaction, involvement, and incentives. Look for creative ways to deliver repetition. Being a children’s author and songwriter, I always like incorporating reading and music into the above activities. Playing games like Monopoly, doing activity and coloring books, creating family and personal savings jars are a few more examples of how to vary activities for kids.

Two of my favorite books for adults on raising money smart kids are:

Raising Money Smart Kids by Janet Bodnar and Yes You Can! Raise Financially Aware Kids by Jack Jonathan. Two solid books on allowance are: Allowance Magic by David McCurrach and The Ultimate Allowance by Elisabeth Donati. And, check out the Jumpstart Coalition website: www.jumpstartcoalition.org it is a great resource for financial education and advocacy.

About the Author:

Sam X Renick is founder of the It’s a Habit! Company and co-creator of children’s financial education and good habit character “Sammy Rabbit” as well as being an author and songwriter. Sam and Sammy have been hopping around the nation visiting schools, military bases, and other venues using their books, music, and live performances to share a secret with kids and families: Saving is a great habit! It makes you strong and secure and it helps you make dreams and goals come true. In 2007, It’s a Habit! received the California Jumpstart Coalition Leadership Award and in 2008 the company’s first book It’s a Habit, Sammy Rabbit! received the Institute for Financial Literacy’s children’s book of the year award. You can learn more about Sammy’s mission to change lives one dime and habit at a time, his books and music at www.itsahabit.com or at www.sammyrabbitblog.com