This is still a dream of mine. I'd like to pull this off somehow. The answer is apparently not "Fiverr" or "Upwork".
1. having a network of trusted people you've worked with in the past
2. building some sort of public reputation where people seek you out.
They're not mutually exclusive, but #1 is probably easiest for people already in a job. Go to networking events (covid has muted a lot of this, I know, but it's coming back). Tell people you're looking for consulting work. Be nice.
Yes, the answer for most people is not fiverr or upwork. I've known a few folks who've done good there, but they're outliers in my network. And even then, the few businesses I've known that have used platforms like that use it as a test ground, and then go direct with someone they click with.
That said, I've never taken a full year salary in 2 weeks. I have taken my own full year salary matching my early earning days from 30 years ago in 2-3 months now.
Despite their (supposedly) knowing that, they put me through all their HR hoops anyway, all the way to a final interview, when the manager I'd have worked for looked across the table at me and said, "So what sort of salary would you have in mind?"
I looked him in the eye, didn't blink, didn't blush. Repeated the figure I'd given up front. The interview was over.
Why the fuck did they bother with all the palaver when they knew they were never going to pay that much. Did they think I'd blink?
Last laugh: I ended up doing a short consulting stint there several years later and took more off them in a couple of weeks than the annual salary they'd failed to meet.