I've had this happen too. About 5 years ago I started a small consulting company and I had roughly 10 clients. I eventually had to get a job because clients realized I was small and would not pay me on time (sometimes 3 months late) or at all. I also had no money for a lawyer.

Freelancing is a terrible way to make money. It's like you traded in one boss for X where X is the number of clients you have.