Well, the best thing would probably be to start off with some mod-teams, show that you can actually put stuff into fully functional games. Try to get some clients while doing that, post on different forums etc etc, contact people. Work for cheap etc.
Thanks Ben. Useful info. So putting the caveats (like portfolio strength etc) to one side, how did you get the rest of your work (I assume you work for a company now)? Did you have to bid, or reply to posts or referrals? Were the clients aware that you worked from home, or did you have to explain to them? and did that…