Breaking through the start up barrier.

I find myself bumping into a wall a lot with my bids. I am currently using Rentacoder.com to find work, and the more I post my bids there, the more I realize that getting off the starting block is difficult.
Most of the project requestors want to see examples of your work, and a lot of those want to see 3-5 actual websites coded and in production. It's the catch 22 of freelancing. To build a portfolio you need to bid on projects and produce websites, but to win projects you need completed work to show as an example.
I found a website yesterday that addresses this issue at a rudimentary level. You can find it here.
The advice here is mostly information I either figured out myself or had read in other places but have not acted on entirely yet. I've been working on my own site for a few weeks now, but I haven't gotten very far with it as I keep changing the design. I guess I'm too picky. I've finally settled on a design and completed the template, now I just need to put some content together and get the domain name registered and choose a host.
After I get that setup, I think I'll work on an example site, something that will showcase my abilities to potential clients.

What this is.

I'm starting this blog to record my experiences/struggles of breaking into the online freelance market. As you may or may not know there are a several websites that allow people to post projects that they need done but don't have the know how/time/resources to complete so other people who do have the time/know how/resources can bid on and complete for them at a cost.
I have started frequenting these web sites and posting bids on projects that I think I can complete. I have completed one job successfully and have had one job in which the user was not happy with my work due to my lack of hardware to test. (I'll explain that on a different post).
So hang out with me and see how this process evolves. Will I become successful? Will I fail miserably? Who knows.