Job Hunt turned market research

[Anonymous No.23288391]

Hey /biz/, I stopped filling out apps a long time ago and now I just contact businesses and professionals I like outright after meeting on linkedin or conferences. In the meanwhile, I build my skills and portfolio, which I share with these people. What has been happening is this:
1. Initial good will, interest in what I'm doing, they say we have potential to collaborate
2. They ask me if I could connect them to such and such person that I know, or see what people I work with think about their product
3. When asked about positions available, they say maybe maybe and then no

So... how do I capitalize from this? Clearly I have something valued, just not in the way I want, but in the way they want. Clearly, despite the niche field I'm messing with, they really don't seem to care that much that I'm helping them or showing HUGE interest in them. You'd think businesses would be frothing at the mouth for people like me, especially in such niche fields that no one really pays attention to, right? Not even high salary shit, this is healthcare stuff. So what the fuck. Do I start a consultant business?