I also had a great time in the 90s and early 00s doing various software and tech gigs for non-software, mom & pop type outfits that just needed a bit of scripting, a web app, some network setup, etc... often found through mailing lists, usenet, user groups, friends of friends.

I've tried to go back to that a few times, but it's actually pretty hard to do these days. After a few decades of trillions of dollars of investment, pretty much every tiny niche has become a company / app with dozens of developers, or available as an online customizable SaaS, or something that can be vibe coded.