You've been doing it for four years, and you started in a better economy.
All that I am really saying is, “don't harbor any illusions.”
Contracting is neither easy, nor certain, nor is it particularly attractive. I was meeting last night with an attorney (“attorneys make the big bucks, right? ...”) who's having a baby! Great news, huh? Uh uh. No insurance. Nor will they now be able to get any: the future bambino is a “pre-existing condition.”
You can set up a proper LLC, build up a customer base, and purchase insurance, and even write it off when you do. But all of that takes time. If you have never actually done it before...
“Just no illusions, okay? Good luck! It may well be the best, or the only, chance you've got. But, no illusions.”