Networking by and large will be your best bet. An odesk may get you some short-term work, but it won't necessarily be all that high paying. With a decent rep on odesk or elance you might get some good gigs, but those will probably develop in to non-odesk relationships with clients ("going direct").

I don't know many people who use odesk who pay more then $20-$25/hour, and it's typically for smaller type stuff. There are people who get "I want a full copy of XYZ for $500" and a number of people who bid on that, but there's "real" projects in there too sometimes. I just have a hard time looking at elance/odesk sites as something that 'real' companies use for 'real' (read: valuable) projects.

I didn't cover "pricing" in my post since it all varies based on your situation, your location, your skills, and the project itself. (crappy project/crappy client = ++rates).

I know a few YC founders that pay $70/hr - $80/hr for really great Rails devs, iOS devs, and front-end engineers that are not local to SF/PA (mid-west devs or southeast devs). I think the price for an experienced Rails freelancer in a big metro is around $100/hr - $125/hr.

On the design side, I have friends in DC, SF, and Chicago that are top notch visual designers and have worked on big "brand" sites, and depending on how busy they are, they'll charge anywhere from $75/hr - $80/hr. An art director I know will not go below $150/hr bc it's not worth his time to do more work outside of his day job.

But there are price inefficiencies everywhere, and if someone fresh out of college doesn't really understand how good of a designer they are or the going rates for freelancers, then you can find someone who's good for your MVP for $25/hr.

All of the above assumes you are pricing projects on a straight hourly rate (legalese = "Time & Material Rates").

Be warned that most small business owners will want firm-fixed pricing (ie - "I want a fully redesigned site for $a,000"). In that case, you'll need to figure how long it will take for you to complete the project, add a 10% - 15% buffer for client changes/indecision, and then settle on a firm-price of $x,000.

It takes patience. I left a finance to learn to code a couple of years ago, but only got smart about networking last spring. I'm just now beginning to bring in some freelance / consulting jobs. You just have to keep at it -- and deliver on time, on budget, on spec.

I don't know how the author of this post found consulting gigs, but the way my friends did it and the way I did (before going back to a design/dev agency) was by first and foremost deciding on a the type consulting service we're going to offer and then partnering with other freelancers on projects. Another friend did two "free" gigs to build a portfolio and have references to send prospective clients to, and that got the ball rolling.

If dev, then will you be providing back-end dev? Front-end dev? What language/framework? Any CMS preference? Or blogging tool preference?

If design, are you helping out with everything from UX/strategy to branding/visual design, or are you just taking black and white wireframes (UX design) and turning them into fully baked/designed photoshop files?

If marketing/SEO, then what sub services are you offering? Social media management? Blogging/ghost writing? Pay-per-click management? SEO backlinks?

Two things to remember. 1) Most small business owners aren't going to roll the dice if they are your first client unless you can sell like the best of them. 2) Your reputation is your source for new business/referral business, if you are poor in one or multiple areas (let's just say design and marketing) but are an expert in one area (let's just say back-end Rails dev + front-end HTML/CSS/jQuery), then focus on providing services/consulting where you are the strongest.

The quickest way to start is to either to free work/discounted work for a family/friend or find a designer that doesn't do what you do and figure out way to partner/work together. If they get a client, partner up to do dev component. You could also find a marketing/seo freelancer and help them setup custom Facebook tabs for their clients.

Once you have your initial client or two, then put up a site and list it at sortfolio and other relevant directories. From there, blog often about topics that you are familiar with, topics that are relevant to the community you are trying to help, and make sure you are relevant. Go to meetups, attend local events, be part of the community, and don't be shy. If you are shy, you are not going to be heard. If you aren't heard, you aren't going to be considered for business opportunities.

the best way is to expand your network and go to networking events. go to mobile meetups, tech meetups, business meetups, etc. From there you will notice a lot more opportunities will arise. This is also assuming you are good at something. Wether it's development / design or making pancakes. You have to be good at something before someone else will bring you on as a consultant / freelance.