Someone asked for details. Here's my bare bones outline of how I did it.
I used my marketing expertise to build a successful-to-me business in just 12 months. I generally like to stay away from the six-figure brag because I know people who are perfectly happy making $70K from their business and that is success for them. I set out to make a minimum of $32K in the first year, and it went better than expected.
First, I'd start out by defining what sets you apart from the other [what you do] out there. When I started a magazine a long time ago, I gave a lot of thought as to how to enter the market and "fill a hole." When I have started a business or submitted a nonfiction book for publication, I always gave thought as to how that business or product filled an existing hole.
Once you do that, create a list of all the methods you could use to market yourself. Do you like speaking? If yes, write that down as a possibility. Do you like networking events? If yes, write that down. Other ideas: Social media marketing, attend business-related workshops, Facebook advertising, hosting a chat on Periscope or Twitter, etc. There are so many ways to build your authority and credibility--and specific strategies for them all.
Next, set a goal as to how many people you need to meet and get into your pipeline per month to get the number of clients you need. When I started out, I chose 12 as the number of NEW people I needed to meet per month to get the business rolling. I could do this through public speaking or via networking events or even by finding people on Twitter and arrange calls to talk (NOT SELL). That is important. Treat your sales like you are making a friend. I hate salesy sales. Yuck. I LOVE developing relationships though and sales come from relationships. Real relationships--not just using people.
If you are just starting out, you'll need to make up the numbers I mentioned above and test. As you do this more, you will have a better idea of how many people you need to introduce your business to in order to get the number of clients you need to meet your income requirement. This is called your sales funnel. Post here or IM me if you have questions.