I actually can't legally use elance.com, odesk.com, etc. due to silly reasons. It's also not easy to get started there without a portfolio and rates are way low, not just at first, but always.

I actually found the first "free" client on elance, contacted him outside of it with a demo of what him wanted for free, and integrated into his website for him. I've gotten his trust and confidence in my abilities without any portfolio whatsoever, and a small paid job as well. So I think the "free first time" method is valid. I'll just have to wait and see if this was really a good idea.