It's not frowned on, but a higher-yield strategy is to meet as many people as you can for coffee and advice getting started consulting.
Consulting is all about networking... odds are very good you'll get far more work via referrals than through bidding or similar processes.
The quicker you can build up that network, the quicker you can start building up that queue of projects, and in the meantime, it's a good way to find someone to sub for while you get yourself started.