Do you have any tips for starting out trying freelancing gigs? I think the main issue would be visibility for me, I still need to build a protifolio that speaks for my skillset, because right now I don't think I have much demonstrable skills outside of a traditional hiring interview pipeline.
The reality is that being self-employed requires building business skills and being able to sell your skills. I previously founded a VC-funded developer marketplace, and the people that won all the jobs were the great communicators - not the most experienced (or inexpensive) developers.
Fractional work is a nice in-between where you ideally have a retained part-time contract, paid weekly or monthly, so that you aren't constantly looking for new projects.
Exactly this. I remember back when elance was a thing I signed up and I won my first gig in 2 days. I asked my client why he choose me (charging $1k) when others were bidding to do the job for $50 and he said he liked the message I sent him... Communications is everything.