HOw do you write a resume for a job you have not done?

I'd go with $15 per hr if it's what's paid in the community, and with an hourly rate. Bookkeeping and all that should be easier with an hourly rate, I figure.

Yes.
My ultimate goal.. even as far into the future as it is- is to have a handfull of regular houses that I clean every week or once a month... what ever their needs.
I would love to have regular customers , enough so, that I dont have to advertise anymore and i can just rely on their needs and maybe their referrances to keep me busy.
I am not looking to start my own company with employees or partners.. though.. that thought hasnt escaped me either. Just too big right now for starters.

To stay competitive , i agree i should stay in the same ballpark that others are charging. To sell my self TOO cheap, I could bring about other problems. No customers at all for one. People know that they get what they pay for.. someone running almost 7-10 dollars cheaper then everyone else would bring up a lack of confidence on the customers half before they even meet me.
To sell myself above others would .. in a small sense.. do the same thing.

From what I know of Housecleaning.

Charge $15 an hour and insist on a two hour minimum. Inspect the house before making promises. Twelve room houses take more time than six room houses. Cluttered rooms are harder to dust than normal rooms. Dusting takes more time when you have to move bric-a-brac.

Ask your employer when was the last time that she had an in-depth cleaning. Promise a thorough once-over and ask her if she'd like to schedule an extra hour so that you could start deep cleaning one room.

Ask now when your new employeers want to schedule pre-holiday cleaning.

How does Bean take to a playpen? You might be able to do some daytime jobs if the employee provides transportation or springs extra for taxi fare.

Be prepared. People are going to want you to do the nasty, gritty, jobs that they hate to do themselves.

Bean going with me, unless it would be with a well established customer , isnt an option.
She knows how to get out of a play pen, and i wont be making enough to pay for the broken items that come with a 2 year olds presence.

I have rolled around the 2hr minimum charge before.. and think i will stick with that.
Simply because, if the work is 1 maybe one and a 1/2 hours.. I have at LEAST earned a full tank of gas.
With gas at 289 a gallon.. that is a prize to me.

No... I think the hourly rate is right. What I meant was... when you're cleaning, where do you stop? It is good to have an agreement ahead of time with your clients. The professional cleaners I've had have a list of what they'll do and then I choose how far they go/how much I pay for. Some people want a massive cleaning from the ceilings down -- brushing off & dusting the walls. Some people will just want you to dust and vacuum. It helps for your clients and for you to know what areas you'll be covering and then there aren't a lot of surprises. It also helps because you can check it off as you work.

For example: you could dust, dust and polish, or dust and wax and polish the furniture. Or with the floors -- vacuum, vacuum & wet mop, vacuum & wet mop & wax. Or for the woodwork -- do you ignore it, dust it, dust & wipe clean, or dust and clean & polish it? Do you treat it with scratch cover?

Try to avoid doing pick up - or if you do... just pick up and put it in baskets that they provide. That's hard work and a hassle and a time-sink.

Best of luck. Wish you lived nearby... I'd hire ya!