How early can I start doing this? I'm young but confident and I do feel like I have something to offer people already. I guess it's getting the first client which will be tricky...
Read the book Million Dollar Consulting. It pretty much gives a step-by-step guide, from lead gen to writing proposals to how to bill by value:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_19?url=search-alias...
It repeats itself a lot and is generally poorly written, but there's still a reason why it's been the top consulting book for decades.
I've been in your shoes before, trying to figure out exactly what consultants do and how to start doing it. Once I gave up on finding a simple answer and just did it I started to understand the game.
* Craiglist/eLance/oDesk ad * Tell people you want to do consulting work. People know other people. * Walk into a relevant business, after having found something could contribute, and ask them if they'd be interested in you helping them make money.
I've used all three. A local Kijiji ad has been surprisingly lucrative. Probably 10K over the past couple of years.
Referrals work great, as you're already proven.
The third one may sound iffy, but if you ACTUALLY can help, and you sound like you can, people will JUMP at the opportunity to have you help them. Happened to me multiple times.