I get all of my work from personal referrals. (3 years freelance DevOps) If you've worked as a CTO you probably know 200 people who know and respect your work.

I get all of my work from personal referrals. (3 years freelance DevOps) If you've worked as a CTO you probably know 200 people who know and respect your work. Reach out to your network and tell them you're available and what you want to focus on. I assure you, you'll be swimming in work before you know what hit you. I got started practicing my pitch by going to a conference and telling people I met what I thought I was about. That got me ready for customer meetings. I've never talked to a potential customer who said no. Once I started, every customer has asked me to come on full-time, several customers have suggested my rate is too low. (it's about what I'd make total comp + benefits if I went back to a FAANG company full-time). I have now welcomed 4 different people to work alongside me and we're still swimming in work. I have a shitty website I stood up in an afternoon and zero marketing budget. Forget branding, forget marketing. Use your network and practice describing the things you're passionate about. And I suppose, be passionate about things that actually create value. And then be excellent to your customers. It's a small world out there. Word gets around.