#374: Take Your Hands Off The Wheel: Automation For The Smart Business Owner

Creating automation in your business can help you streamline your tasks and save time every single day. Whether you’re a business owner just starting out or a seasoned entrepreneur, building automation systems in your business is key to helping you delegate and create processes that will help you succeed.  The bonus? When you create automation in your business you’ll also have the flexibility in your schedule you’ve always dreamed of.  I know, I know, you might be thinking, “But Amy -- this sounds too good to be true!” And while it may seem like a miracle for your business, I can assure you that with just a little patience and follow through with the step-by-step process I give you, automation will be yours!  In this episode you’re about to learn my favorite tips and tools to create: Auto-responders in your emails for all the FAQs that land in your inbox Seamless scheduling systems (no more headaches!)  Social media content creation so you can batch and post with ease Standard operating procedures -- every job now has a “how to do this” list A process for hiring a Virtual Assistant to provide ongoing help   Plus, just to make things interesting, I have a fun accountability challenge at the end and I want to make sure I’m cheering you on as you implement your automation so you can spend more time on all the things you love! Here’s a preview of the episode:  [04:18] Automation saves you time, money, and precious energy. It eliminates human error and allows you, and your team to focus on the big picture.  [05:41] Email automation. Only check your email once a day and set up an autoresponder for the other times.  [07:31] Create guided responses for common email questions that you get. You can still add a personal touch. You can use Boomerang to mark your email to go away and come back on another day. [09:33] Scheduling automation. Schedulicity is an online calendar that you can integrate with your calendar and create a personalized link with your availability. [10:59] Automating social media and weekly content. A social media automating tool will allow you to plan out your social media all at once.  [13:20] Managing emails from your community. ConvertKit is a good solution if you're just getting started.  [15:24] Standard operating procedures or SOPs. These documents will save you a lot of headaches down the road when you hire and scale your team.  [17:27] Compile tasks that can be passed off to a professional VA, even if it's just for a few hours a week. This will allow you to stay in your zone of genius. [18:35] Action steps: Decide on one automation step that you can set up within the next 7 days. Send me a DM and tell me about it!