Automation Made Easy: Simplifying Automation for Small Business Owners

Welcome to the first part in this series on automation! I’m excited to guide you through the fascinating world of automation. In this series, we’ll cover everything from what automation is, to what tasks you should automate, the tools you need, and how to create your own automation strategy.

Automation has been a game-changer for my clients and myself, and I’m here to demystify it for you. As solopreneurs, we wear many hats and juggle numerous tasks. Process automation helps us save time, increase efficiency, and focus on what truly matters.

So, what is automation anyway? Simply put, automation is the use of technology to perform tasks without human intervention. It can range from simple tasks like sending an email reminder to complex workflows involving multiple steps and tools, such as onboarding a new client through a cloud-based system.

One common misconception is that automation is only for tech experts. That’s not true! This misconception is born out of looking at bigger businesses & brands and what they are doing. We want to be like them & automate things that took an entire team to build. But automations don’t have to be that complex or complicated. With the right tools and guidance, anyone can leverage automation.

Another misconception is that automation means losing the personal touch. The truth is, when done right, automation can enhance personalization. The key is knowing how your automation is built so you can ensure personalization is inserted at the points where it’s required. If you let AI write an email for you, it’s going to sound like a robot; but, if you take the time to give it your own voice, it’s going to sound like you.

We all want automation for the benefits, and there are plenty of them to be had.

Automation can save you countless hours on repetitive tasks. Think about all the busywork or things that you do the same way every single time. Those tasks are the perfect candidates for process automation. When hand these tasks over to a computer, you allow yourself to focus on your zone of genius and the things you’d much rather spend your time on.

In addition to saving you time, when you hand your repetitive tasks over to a computer, it helps reduce human error. Think about all the little mistakes you make throughout the day in your work. Probably more than you care to admit, right? Well, computers don’t have that problem. When set up correctly, a computer does what it’s told, nothing less and nothing more. This ensures consistency and reliability in your processes.

Finally, by automating mundane tasks, you can reduce stress and prevent burnout. You’re no longer worried about those things getting done or taking up your valuable time. That’s what we call living the good life.

Why Solopreneurs Struggle with Automation

Here’s the thing, many solopreneurs feel overwhelmed by the idea of automation because they lack the knowledge and experience. You think about all the tasks you would love to automate in your business, then you are left standing like a deer in headlights because you don’t know where to start. That’s a problem. And the industry does nothing to help because they make automation so broad that it means everything & nothing, which makes it challenging to know where to start because there is zero context.

Uncertainty about what can be automated and how to implement it is a common barrier. But it doesn’t have to be.

You only need a basic foundation to get started, which this series is designed to provide. Think about coaches working with a new client. The client is overwhelmed because it’s all new. Yet, the coach breaks it down into bitesized steps so that the client makes progress with each step. Automation is no different. You just need the frame work & plan, which is coming next in the P.I.E. framework.

Another problem is that automation is a broad term that can be applied to various aspects of your business. It’s essential to dial it into specific contexts to understand how best to use it. Again, the answer is breaking it down into smaller pieces so you can build exactly what you need without any of the stuff you don’t. When you get specific about what you want to automate, building it becomes easy. Throughout this series, we’ll provide specific examples and scenarios to make it easier to grasp.

The final piece to the puzzle is understanding the difference between automation and delegation. Often these two things are conflated to be the same thing, but there is a stark difference between the two. Automation is not delegation, and vice versa.

Difference Between Automating Tasks and Delegating Them

Automation involves using technology to perform tasks, whereas delegation involves assigning tasks to another person. Both have their place in your business strategy, but the key is deciding when it is appropriate to use each one.

The best way to describe the difference is by giving an example, such as scheduling social media posts. This is a great example because it can involve both automation and delegation. The task of putting the social media posts into a piece of software to be posted later can be delegated to someone (such as a virtual assistant). But it is the actual posting of that content to social media that is automation. Why? Because once the information is set in the software, the computer takes care of all the work of posting it without any further human interaction.

An even better way to think of it is this: creative tasks or those requiring human judgment, like content creation or strategic planning, are better delegated. Yet, anything repetitive that is the same every time is better suited for process automation.

• Onboarding a new client = automation
• Writing a blog post or replying to a client email = delegation

Today, we covered the basics of automation, its benefits, and how it can help you as a solopreneur. We also discussed the difference between automation and delegation.

In the next session, we’ll dive into the P.I.E. framework, which will give you the foundation you need to begin thinking about process automation. This is the framework I use to build every automation, whether it’s for my business or a client. It’s the repeatable process that makes automation easy.

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