I couldn't agree more with this advice. I'm more of a dev than a consultant, but I believe this applies to many fields.
I quit my job a year ago to start doing freelance/contract work, I never directly looked for clients but just by having good relationships with my former employer, colleagues, and people I know in general, by October I had so many projects on my hand I had to work 80hrs/week for a short period of time.
Just to re-iterate in how many different ways you can get projects and even long-term clients, this is my "how I've gotten gigs" list:
* Former employer: when I quit I was 100% honest, boss trusted me and wanted to keep working with me. They are still giving me work
* Former colleague: he quit right before me, started his own small company, knew he could count on me being a reliable dev, became a long-term client
* I was looking for devs on Twago, in order to get help in case I had too many jobs on my hand. One of the applicants was a small dev agency looking for projects. They ended up giving me work, instead of the other way around.
* (most random one) A client I had a few years ago, during my first venture as entrepreneur, messaged me on Skype by mistake, thinking I was somebody else they knew. Turns out they needed a dev, became a long-term client.
* Went back home to Italy during the summer, rented a room for a few months. My landlord was working in marketing, ended up giving me a few very good clients
I quit my job a year ago to start doing freelance/contract work, I never directly looked for clients but just by having good relationships with my former employer, colleagues, and people I know in general, by October I had so many projects on my hand I had to work 80hrs/week for a short period of time.
Just to re-iterate in how many different ways you can get projects and even long-term clients, this is my "how I've gotten gigs" list:
* Former employer: when I quit I was 100% honest, boss trusted me and wanted to keep working with me. They are still giving me work
* Former colleague: he quit right before me, started his own small company, knew he could count on me being a reliable dev, became a long-term client
* I was looking for devs on Twago, in order to get help in case I had too many jobs on my hand. One of the applicants was a small dev agency looking for projects. They ended up giving me work, instead of the other way around.
* (most random one) A client I had a few years ago, during my first venture as entrepreneur, messaged me on Skype by mistake, thinking I was somebody else they knew. Turns out they needed a dev, became a long-term client.
* Went back home to Italy during the summer, rented a room for a few months. My landlord was working in marketing, ended up giving me a few very good clients