Printing business cards and going on social media are the last activities, not the first. The first should be finding someone who respects your work to hire you. If you can’t do that, all the business cards and social media in the world won’t help. After you have a first client, then build your brand.
You've been "advertising yourself" for years. Not to sound too LinkedIn-y, but every interaction with a person is an advertisement, and every person is a potential client.
Most freelancers get started doing work for family, friends, or former bosses or coworkers. Having a prior relationship increases the odds of acceptance, and if you are a worthwhile consultant with a decent client (ideally, you wouldn't approach people who you know would be bad clients) it will usually result in a success story.
