[earlyriser]

I'm also starting as a freelance after some years of web experience in startups and agencies but I have trouble finding these hundreds of people. Could you elaborate on this?

[driverdan]

It really depends on where you live. If you live in an urban area with a decent population there will be people you can meet face to face.

If you live in a rural area it's going to be a lot harder to meet people in person. In that case focus on finding online leads or consider moving.