Correct, eLance and other similar websites are an absolute waste of time unless you are ok with competing only on price and you have a very low cost of living.
* Build a web presence that funnels potential leads to you (blog, portfolio, resume, stackoverflow profile with activity like posting questions/answers, programming/freelance subreddits, github contributions and projects).
* Build your personal network via meetups, conferences, etc.
* Toptal [1] is the best platform for finding gigs that I've used, but it could be better. It has short-, medium-, and long-term contracts. Not the best possible rates and it's possible to waste some time with interviews, but it's still a lot better than elance and others.
* Gun.io [2] is something that looks interesting, but I have never gotten a contract through it. So could be hit or miss.
I gave the most consideration to Toptal of all the gig sites, but ultimately even the high end of their rates are below market, at least for someone with 3–5 years experience doing web APIs for startups. I still may consider them for short gigs down the road, but I definitely think it's better to have your own clients.
I know every path is different for every person, and the things that worked for you might not work for other people, but could you tell us how did you get your first remote freelance client?
I posted a short update on Linkedin like "I left my CTO job at {nnn} and started a development shop" and a guy from my network saw it and asked if we could develop something for him
* Build a web presence that funnels potential leads to you (blog, portfolio, resume, stackoverflow profile with activity like posting questions/answers, programming/freelance subreddits, github contributions and projects).
* Build your personal network via meetups, conferences, etc.
* Toptal [1] is the best platform for finding gigs that I've used, but it could be better. It has short-, medium-, and long-term contracts. Not the best possible rates and it's possible to waste some time with interviews, but it's still a lot better than elance and others.
* Gun.io [2] is something that looks interesting, but I have never gotten a contract through it. So could be hit or miss.
[1] https://www.toptal.com/
[2] https://gun.io/