1. Network of your friends and ex-colleagues. Meet or call them to say that you are available. They or someone on their network is likely to have some work available. This is your best bet for the first gig.
2. Meet people at networking events.
3. Ask from your earlier middlemen if you can use "non-real" gigs as a reference on your website. "Together with Company X, I helped to build Y for company Z."
4. Be ready to do your first gig way below your price. And do it well. It's really valuable to have one gig under the belt.
5. Pick a niche. If you build just websites, there are several established small web development companies in your area. But if you build websites for lawyers, or build iPhone-versions of an existing websites, you have a better change to become a name that is recommended when people are looking for a right person for the job.
6. Do something small but visible as a spare-time project. It doesn't need to be on your niche, but something that other techies in your area appreciate.
The client has to have a trust that you are the right guy for the job. To get people calling you instead you calling them, you have to build that trust over the time. But you can shortcut it somewhat when people that already know you recommend you to someone.
Be ready to do your first gig way below your price.
The best way to do this is to offer a discount for new customers. Once you're established you'll instead want to offer discounts for established customers, but framing your low initial price as a discount will help you adjust it to the market rate once you have some experience under your belt.
Do something small but visible as a spare-time project.
This is extremely worthwhile. For example, I organized a meetup for JavaScript developers in my city. It grew over time and is now how I meet a lot of my clients and friends.
The best way to do this is to offer a discount for new customers.
Exactly, good that you highlighted that. And although other party knows that you couldn't ask your price at this point and the discount is not really a discount, I still did say our target price. It feels a bit stupid, but it's worth of it: "Our price is $100 per hour, but as we need a good show case project, we are ready to this for $60 per hour."
One other thing. Try to get gigs that have small enough scope in the beginning. You learn a bit about how to negotiate, how to deliver etc. Plus usually clients like it that you are not trying to structure a deal where you milk them for next 6 months.
2. Meet people at networking events.
3. Ask from your earlier middlemen if you can use "non-real" gigs as a reference on your website. "Together with Company X, I helped to build Y for company Z."
4. Be ready to do your first gig way below your price. And do it well. It's really valuable to have one gig under the belt.
5. Pick a niche. If you build just websites, there are several established small web development companies in your area. But if you build websites for lawyers, or build iPhone-versions of an existing websites, you have a better change to become a name that is recommended when people are looking for a right person for the job.
6. Do something small but visible as a spare-time project. It doesn't need to be on your niche, but something that other techies in your area appreciate.
The client has to have a trust that you are the right guy for the job. To get people calling you instead you calling them, you have to build that trust over the time. But you can shortcut it somewhat when people that already know you recommend you to someone.