those online sites where you bid for work? e-lance and guru.com? they are about the worst place I can think of to look for contract work. Craigslist. Seriously. http://sfbay.craigslist.org/cpg I don't care if you are in the bay area or not. you get plenty of 'work from home' gigs there (and most of 'em are posted in the san francisco craigslist even if the client is in New York.)

Oh, and another thing; if you do get an on-site contracting gig (this is how I pay for my business) remember that most on-site contractors are basically people who were not skilled enough to get the job full-time. If you are shockingly better than the other contractors on the team, they often put up with a less-reliable schedule. Oh, and developing a reputation for honesty on your timesheets is also recommended. The body shop is going to want you to just put all eights, but if you are good, and the client notices that you are good (and that you are honest on your timesheets) they will go to bat for you. You may technically work for the body shop, but the only people you really need to like you is the client.

(If you can contract without a body shop and still get a good rate, shoot me an e-mail and explain how that works.)