Hacker News Reader

Can you give some more insight into what you work on automating specifically?

Anything - green screens, Excel spreadsheets, PDF generation, Docusign, tying 6 web experiences with separate logins into one, simplification of complex auth scenarios, etc.

Most of my day is literally just getting one step further and one step further into a "process" of some sort, and then handling a metric boatload of edge-cases as they come up. Then the last portion of the contract is the actual integration into a business, and handling the "ninety-ninety" rule that always ends up happening when the rubber meets the road.

I take a complex, convoluted mess and turn it into a coherent "something", usually an API or web experience.

That is essentially what I do. I pitch it as process engineering, systems integrator, programmer, etc.

I'm curious how you market yourself or your services? I automate processes, workflows and tasks like this for some clients and I really enjoy it. It's easy to see the value I provide and the clients are happy. However I struggle with how to acquire new/more clients. The ones I have now I've acquired through past business relationships. I'd love to be able to do more of this work.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com