Nothing, at all. No car. No job. Not even unemployment or government benefits. Started doing software consulting. Grew it to a good size. Then started doing business development consulting. That is still growing. Started a couple micro businesses, all of which are profitable. Developing Nuuton, and another micro.
Oh, that's easy. I simply advertise myself as such. Say, a post on HN or Craigslist (SF, Austin, NY, Denver) stating that I am available for hire. I put my rates in the ad to make sure that people who contact me can pay my rates (which are not really high, I don't charge that much), and sit back. Really simple. If you really want to hack it, just start blogging about the specific type of programming you want to do, and have your contact details in a place where people can see it. I did that for a short while, but I'm to busy to blog these days.
I also make sure to treat people as such, and not as walking dollar bills.
Try it out, it works.
Edit:
Here is a template for an ad you can use.
Headline/post title:
$language_name developer/engineer/programmer available for hire.
Body:
$language_name developer/engineer/programmer available for hire. Rates are $rate. Mature and responsible. Focused on working with serious people.
Remote only.
*
That's it. Dont give out too much information, because you are only pre-qualifying leads (people who respond to it are very likely to be able to afford your rates and meet your requirements). Then just work out the deal through email/phone/whatever.
Well, you negotiate the conditions of the contract, write the code, and make sure everything runs correctly. Nothing to it, really.
I actually teach people like you how to do this properly. Course costs $299. It is taught live, and it prepares you to point where you can consult confidently. Shoot me an email if you are interested. Too expensive? You will make 10 times that amount on the first month.
My path is not the same as yours. You have to find out for yourself. Go out, don't take no for an answer, and realize that the only thing keeping from success is failure. Fail more.
All in 3 years time. (:
How did I do it? I don't take no for an answer.
Edit:
Oh, and no VC money.