[bxc]

I was already working remotely, but I'd quit a job of several years because of a disagreement.

Someone wanted to give me work, but they preferred to give me a job through a company-based contract rather than being an employee (for work permit reasons). It was pretty straightforward to make that happen from my side. Once I was in that game of "you contract for some of my time, but not all of it", I just carried on.

That someone found me through word-of-mouth / personal recommendation, which is also how everything after that has come along.

I don't market myself particularly hard, but I like to think that my reputation is "brutally honest".