The key to consulting is not technical skill. You can hire that.

  technical skill != business value

The necessary element is knowing people who are willing to pay your rate and convincing them to do so. If you're not in the orbit of people who are in the habit of dropping $10,000 per person per week on consultants, such work is inaccessible. Getting into those orbits is usually a matter of "paying dues". It takes a deep rollodex to sustain a backlog.

Good luck.