About 5 years into my career I worked for a small consulting firm that did a lot of mechanical engineering and a little electrical. The owner could not find enough work for the mechanical guys and was tired of the ups and downs of consulting so he closed the business. I asked him if I could continue working directly for one of his old clients and he said sure. So that would give me one customer if I wanted it, but I would need to find more.
I was pretty young and wasn't sure I could do it. I interviewed for one full time job with a startup. At the end of the day I met with two people: 1) my previous mentor who was consulting there at a high level and 2) the CEO. I was open and honest with my mentor and told him I wasn't sure the startup was right for me, and I was considering striking out on my own as a freelancer, like him, even though I recognized I was probably too young to do that. He, being a compassionate and reasonable person, encouraged me and said "well, people should do what they want to do". So, when I met the CEO, I felt I should tell her what I was thinking - I was leaning strongly toward consulting work. Why was I so honest with her? I don't know. It's just my style. But, she blew up. She started yelling at me, saying "You are too young! People become consultants after years and years of experience for a reason! Let me tell you what you need to do! You need to get a job!!!" And she basically threw me out of the building.
From that moment on I was resolved to prove her wrong and become a successful freelancer. It's now 15 years later and I am sure I made the right choice. All my advertising is via word of mouth / previous clients. I've been busy every day I wanted to be busy.