Wow. Big step, but it's cool to hear about! I don't know that you'll have to wait a year actually (if you didn't want to). I believe that they stagger their release of the phone book for that very reason. ie - This area gets them in March, that area gets them in May. I hear that it's really expensive though. Conversely, I've known people that advertise exclusively in the phone book and that's enough to keep their business running all year round!

A friend of mine (tongodeon) had some interesting thoughts on Craigslist if you wanted to go that route.

I'm not saying this to be snarky, I mean it genuinely: Do people use phone book anymore? We got our phone book delivered the other day, and we put it directly into the recycling bin; didn't even bring it inside. But I suppose people even just a few years older than me are probably more comfortable with a phone book as opposed to the scary computer.

Or... I am a Val-Pak junkie. I have no idea how much advertising in those costs, but I look through them every week. And if I miss a week, I go to the website and enter in my zip, and wham! Coupons!

- discounts to present clients for referrals to new customers

- I second the ValuPak recommendation

- interview your clients: how did they find you? what made them decide to use you?

- make friends with people who provide institutional cleaning supplies

- go talk to homeowners associations - ask about rules about contacting people inside developments

- look at homes you'd like to clean, and drop them a not

- lobbies of posh apartment buildings? where do the rich divorcee lawyers live in your area?

Home fliers designed by a professional designer to hang on doors (remember that you CAN'T put them in mailboxes).

This is Highly targeted and means you will be choosing the areas you want to work in as opposed to random locations which might have different economic requirements.

Targeting is key.

Careful, you might end up having to hire helpers. Soon you'll have an agency.

For me personally, if I were looking to hire a service, a website goes a long way. I always want to do a little research and a website makes that easy. Besides, my flyers always end up in the recycle bin, but I leave bookmarks on my laptop for ages. When I stumble across the bookmark later, I think about it again.