16d • Business & Strategy 🧠
Found My First Client In A LinkedIn Job Posting (They Weren't Hiring Anymore) 🔥
Scrolling LinkedIn jobs. Saw: "Hiring Data Entry Clerk - Process 100 shipping manifests weekly."
I didn't apply. I messaged the hiring manager: "What if those manifests processed themselves?"
THE SITUATION:
Small logistics company. Posted job 3 weeks ago. No good candidates. Needed someone to manually extract data from BOLs and manifests into their TMS system.
Annual cost if they hired: $32,000 salary plus benefits.
My message: "I can automate manifest processing. Gmail receives documents, extracts all data automatically, posts to your TMS. Want to see a 10-minute demo?"
Reply came 4 hours later: "Very interested. Can we talk tomorrow?"
THE DEMO:
Screen share. Opened n8n. Built workflow live:
Gmail trigger → Parse Document → Extract structured data (shipper, consignee, BOL number, weights, destinations) → HTTP Request to their TMS API
Showed it processing 3 real manifests. Data appeared in their system.
Build time during call: 35 minutes. They watched the whole thing.
THE CLOSE:
"This would save us the hiring process, training time, and $32K annually. What do you charge?"
My quote: $1,600 setup + $100 monthly maintenance.
They signed same day.
THE LESSON:
Job postings aren't just jobs. They're automation opportunities.
"Hiring data entry" means "doing manual document processing." That's literally what automation solves.
WHERE TO LOOK:
LinkedIn: Search "data entry" + "hiring" in your city
Indeed: Filter for admin/data entry roles
Company career pages: Look at their open positions
WHAT TO SAY:
Don't: "I'm an automation expert looking for work"
Do: "Saw your posting for [job title]. What if [their manual task] happened automatically?"
THE WORKFLOW I BUILT:
Gmail → PDF Vector Parse Document → Extract Structured with schema → Format data → HTTP to TMS → Archive email
Template pattern in n8n
Build time: 6 hours total (including testing and refinements)
Their savings: $32K annually
My fee: $1,600 one-time
JOB POSTINGS REVEAL PAIN:
"Hiring accounts payable clerk" = Invoice processing automation
"Need receptionist for form handling" = Form automation
"Looking for billing coordinator" = Statement processing
Stop looking at job postings as competition. Start seeing them as client discovery tools.
What job postings have you seen that are really automation opportunities?
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Found My First Client In A LinkedIn Job Posting (They Weren't Hiring Anymore) 🔥
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