Common knowledge but great share. I did find the part about "personal projects" pretty funny though, as the first thing that a client usually brings up is about how they enjoyed my non-narrative work on Vimeo. You would think they would of enjoyed the previous work that relates to what they want but instead they are drawn by your other work!

People can't tell good stuff from bad stuff any more. The person with the cheque book is probably quite anxious to get that job contracted out in a way that'll cover themselves from any stuff-ups you might make.

Give them a list of who else has hired you. Then they'll be able to hire you with no risk of getting the sack.

(What, nobody's hired you?) Get a name producer partner for your first couple of jobs. They'll do nothing. But pay their fee as long as you can. (What, no cash?) Go back and live with your parents, borrow money for a haircut and clothes, etc etc)... :-)

People can't tell good stuff from bad stuff any more.

To be able to do this you need to... spend time.

And today big corporations (media, etc) and shopping take most of the time. You can check charts posted here by me.