I got to know the first during previous full time employment, and met the other ones during freelance gigs. Had a general good vibe with them and went to 1 on 1

I got to know the first during previous full time employment, and met the other ones during freelance gigs. Had a general good vibe with them and went to 1 on 1 lunch dates while we were on-site, so not exactly going out of my way to "do networking". I realize that I might have been pretty lucky there, but overall the setup seems very attainable, especially if you put some effort into it, and reduces the need to "track down clients" in the long run.