Everyone tells you to "build your network" before you go independent. That advice is about as useful as telling someone to get rich before they start a business.

This playbook is for people who are leaving now, with whatever network they have, and need clients in 90 days.

The Cold Start Problem

New consultants make two mistakes: they try to sell too broadly, or they try to sell to strangers.

Both are wrong. You have one real asset when you start: a small number of people who already know you're good. That's your entire market for the first six months. Not LinkedIn followers. Not conference attendees. People who have watched you work.

The 30-Day Sprint

Week 1: Make a list.

Write down every person who has seen you do excellent work in the last three years. Include former bosses, former direct reports, former colleagues, former clients if applicable. The list should have at least 20 names. If it doesn't, you waited too long to leave.

Week 2: Reach out to the top 10.

Not a mass email. Individual messages. Three sentences: what you're doing now, what problem you solve, ask if they know anyone who might need that.

Notice: you're not asking them to hire you. You're asking for referrals. This is less threatening and more likely to result in actual introductions.

Week 3: Follow up with everyone who responded.

Week 4: Pick your best lead and close them.

Pricing

Your first instinct on rate is wrong. It's too low. The market doesn't know you're new to consulting — it only knows what you charge. High rates signal competence. Low rates signal desperation.

Start at $200/hour minimum. If that feels insane, remember: your employer was billing you out at $300-400/hour and paying you $80.

The 90-Day Target

By day 90 you want one of these: - One ongoing retainer ($5K-$15K/month) - Two active projects totaling $20K+ - A pipeline with 3+ qualified conversations in progress

If you have none of these by day 90, the problem is not the market. The problem is scope.

The scope problem

"I help companies with technology strategy" is not a scope. "I help Series A SaaS companies reduce engineering churn through team structure redesign" is a scope.

Narrow scope feels like you're leaving money on the table. You're not. You're making it possible for people to refer you.

Nobody refers "a generalist." They refer "the person who fixed our engineering org structure."

Be that person.