Hello!
If you like to clean, and you like people/customer service, then you can do quite well cleaning as a sole operator. If your'e good, you will be turning work away in a few months.
I started cleaning when I lived in the Highlands - I cleaned a couple of holiday let cottages and for a couple of local people during the week. I was limited by childcare to not have that much time so I didn't do that much.
Then, I moved down to a major urban area in England and decided to really go about it properly. I set myself up as a limited company, set up a web site, got a logo and some leaflets designed in elance,com, and started putting leaflets through mail slots. I put them out for about ten days, maybe 200 a day. With no more than 2000 leaflets and using Google Adwords, I already have six regular (5 fortnightly, 1 weekly) customers. I still have at least 8000 leaflets and I will put them out as soon as the weather improves.
My image is very professional. My website and leaflets are very slick. I have done a lot of research and I have very clear ideas of what I want to do. I use professional materials, have full insurance, and do everything by the book. I'm looking for £15 an hour, although sometimes I only get £12.50. (I quote by the job, not by the hour, so it's on me to estimate how long something will take and then it's up to me to be as efficient as possible.)
My husband helps a lot - web site, book keeping, general paperwork - and he's going to be joining me as my team mate in cleaning in a couple of months when his current job ends.
If you pm me, I can give you the URL to a very good forum for small cleaning services. There are some who have employees and there are some who are sole operators. All of us take what we do very seriously and none of us work for peanuts.
There is a big demand for reliable, professional cleaning. You'll see a lot of people on here saying that £20 is standard for two hours of work. Depending on where you are, you may be able to get more than that. But, you will have to be very good to compete against cheap cash-in-hand sorts. Our clients are those who want to feel they can trust whom they allow in their homes and want to know they can depend on us for professional service.