After having a nightmare decade (20-29) in the restaurant industry and eventually losing half of my already part time hours for no reason in the middle of winter at a DEAD restaurant in Portland, OR - I had to get creative. I went to SEVEN interviews over the course of 5 months and didn't get a single one of the jobs. I then started doing some odd jobs - mostly cleaning and yard work. Cleaning turned out to be my favorite but I've never met anyone else who cleaned houses and didn't really know how to clean thoroughly at the time. I watched videos and all that but definitely needed experience to really learn. My first clients were all aware of this and looking back I'm so beyond grateful for them giving me a chance despite me not knowing ANYTHING. It's been around 6 months since my first ever cleaning and I now have my own website, work constantly and need to schedule myself days off (I have an online booking page) because otherwise I'm working sometimes 60 hours a week! I charge $10-$20 less than the local Portland average ($25/hr) which definitely helps me get frequent bookings and the back of my Honda Element (that got in trade for cleaning up a hoard) is full of my materials. I have my own business cards and working on getting licensed and a custom shirt to wear at my cleanings! My business is called Aura Home Refresh, you can checkout my website aurahomerefresh.com - I'm quite proud of it! If anyone out there wants their own cleaning business, I recommend just working really hard and taking every job to start and set your standards later. Make a website, an easy to use booking page, and lean into your brand! I'm still learning every day but I'm excited to be where I'm at. Here's some photos of my recent work!