I've been doing contract development a little over the years, while maintaining full-time employment. Now that my wife and I have had our first child (pictures at http://www.ReynoldsOffice.com/joshua/), I'd really like to be independent full time, for more opportunties to be flexible and available at home.

My main obstacle is developing a client base. Up to now, my contracting has been done remotely (I've never met my clients, and I got connected with them through a referral), so it will be difficult to start from scratch here, locally.

I've been studying Janet Ruhl's books, Whil Hentzen's Developer's Guide, and am looking forward Nancy's Folsom's upcoming chat. From what I've learned, it appears that direct mail and cold calls are out, and that referrals are the best.

So, now I'm considering alternatives to being independent, and am investigating working with brokers, or as a temp, as I go about developing contacts.

Here's what I would like to know:

1) Working with a broker appears better than a temp agency (opinions?), however there does not appear to be any brokers in my area (Santa Barbara). Does anyone know of national brokers who work remotely?

2) Can anyone offer tips, advice, insights, and/or warnings about getting my foot in the door on my own?

3) I've done some sub-contracting, but it did not last long due to the needs of the project. If anyone happens to need help, please let me know. I've been specializing in office automation and data analysis, lately.

4) Finally, I suppose my biggest drawback is people-skills. While I've got the introverted part of me very well developed, I find it very uncomfortable (make that frightening) to really start networking with people. How do you deal with getting both sides of your brain to work well together? I feel that this handicap can really make or break my dream to go out on my own.

I would really appreciate any and all input.
--Michael Reynolds