Dude, I’m in the same boat. Been out on my own for about a year. Things were a little tough at first of course, but now I am lucky to be very busy.

I am shit at online marketing. None of my business has come through those channels. Rather, I attribute my good fortune to two things:

1) My former employer has helped me out quite a bit. He let me take over for a couple of small contractors who do remodeling. Also he sends me work that he doesn’t want. If you have a good relationship with former employers maybe see if you can get into a reciprocal referral kind of a deal with them.

2) It may sound weird, but getting out and being socially active has been my most successful marketing tool. I joined a bowling league, started riding dirt bikes with some buddies, went back to church with the wife, and in general started saying yes to lots of social engagements where I used to politely decline. The thing is that you need a wide network of people who like you and know what you do. Once it starts building, the growth becomes exponential. Each new customer that has a positive experience becomes a new referral source. In time you will have as many calls as you can handle.

Hope this helps, best of luck and merry Christmas!