[pojzon]

There is a lot of contractors and you have to be extremely good to do what the dude/dudette said.

Like - have a unique skillset, have multiple certifications, recommendations, proven B2B experience as a consultant.

Then getting contracts is easy. Probably less easy now tho.

[skeeter2020]

I contracted for the better part of a decade and I wasn't extremely good, but I was solid technically and trusted as a problem solver, so I got my first contract from my personal network, and then built it from there. If I had to rely on being extremely good and going in cold I'd still be looking. Your best bet is to go with a third party and then eventually go independent once you have your own reputation and network.