Have been doing this for ~3 years as a way to bring into the industry. Has more or less worked (to that end), but the art of finding + maintaining a pipeline of potential clients while working contracts full-time to sustain a family is.. difficult. (And now that I'm qualified to get a real job in the industry, many raise eyebrows at the plethora of short-term contracts).

I'm happy to hear it's been working out for you, though. How do you manage/succeed?