I hope that I can coerce some of the longtime lurkers to chime in here…

For the established freelancers here, how did you take the plunge? How long did it take you to be making a "living" wage? Did you just beat down doors or did you have a "buddy who knew someone who needed help"? Do you find that you are with one or two major clients or is it a bunch of little ones? Do you mainly stay in your own DP role or do you try and do odd jobs occasionally like jump on a production truck when it is in town for an event?