90 - Automation and Your Business

Welcome back to the Scale Your Small Business Podcast with your host, Jillian Flodstrom. This week, we’re breaking down automation. What should you automate? When should it be automated? What systems actually work better automated? Let’s dive in.    Automation is an absolutely incredible process that will make your business flow more efficiently and with much more ease.    When you consider automation, it’s all about identifying what to automate, documenting the process, identifying the solution, and then implementing the process. When you’re in a high-volume or high-stress moment within your work, automation can be a lifesaver.    A place to look at for automation is your calling–outgoing, incoming, or somewhere in between. Automating your phone system with a call center frees up time by eliminating back-and-forth messages, frustrating hold times, and other annoying barriers.    Along with automating your phones, you can integrate that process with your scheduling system, so your entire process from the first call to a meeting is automated, freeing you up to focus on what you need to.    Google Forms is worth a look when you’re thinking about automation. Through Google Forms, you can collect relevant data from your clients and have it automatically fill a spreadsheet for your use.    Finally, and this is a simple one, is email templates. This is as easy as a copy/paste. When you find yourself typing the same thing over and over, it might be time to automate. By having a template, you can just fill in information and keep the rest.    Key Takeaways   When you consider automation, it’s all about identifying what to automate, documenting the process, identifying the solution, and then implementing the process. Automating your phone system with a call center frees up time by eliminating back-and-forth messages, frustrating hold times, and other annoying barriers.  Email templates are an easy way to prevent yourself from typing up the same message constantly.