Business Automation 101

Let’s dive into business automation. Yeah, you probably have heard a lot about marketing automation. Working people through funnels, getting in front of them with the right information at the right time. I really am more interested in talking about business automation today. Making sure that you’re getting not only more things done, but that you are getting the right things done.

It’s been said there are only three ways to get more done:

• Eliminate
• Delegate
• Automate

But, really, if you think about it, it’s all just eliminating things from your list. Either it doesn’t get done at all, it doesn’t get done by you, or we make the robots do it. I’m a fan of making the robots do things. Sometimes it can be intimidating to start. We have this vision that automation is this huge thing or that automation isn’t for us. Or that automation is hard. Or you can automate later… (and then later never comes).

Automation You Can Start Immediately

There are a couple ways that you could start automating right now, this instant. Trust me. You can do this. The first way is my favorite thing –  using a password manager. If you’re not familiar, a password manager is a piece of software that keeps and generates passwords for you. You no longer have to know your passwords. And that’s a good thing.

Every time I make this suggestion, somebody pipes up about security. Yes, keeping all your passwords in one place could be considered less secure, but it’s actually probably way more secure than what you’re doing right now, which is using your dog’s name, using the same password everywhere, or doing other things (post-it notes, cryptically named Excel files) that are maybe less than adequate from a security standpoint.

We all decide where we live on the spectrum of security vs. convenience. They’re opposites. You choose where you are in this spectrum. Really, for most business owners, a password manager is far more secure than what you’re doing currently, and allows you to share passwords without sharing passwords (yes, you read that right) in the case of LastPass.

Using a Password Manager

Stop taking up your time and mental space with trying to remember passwords, generate passwords, and resetting passwords. It’s automation. The robots are capable of doing it for you.

Use a password manager to:

• Remember your passwords for you
• Generate your passwords for you
• Update your passwords when they change
• Share your credentials with other people without sharing the actual passwords (yes, it is a thing and can be done this way)

LastPass (affiliate link) is the password manager I use and recommend. But, there are many others out there:

• Roboform
• Keychain
• Dashlane

As long as it’s a bonafide password manager, please use it. LastPass you can start using for free. It’s twelve dollars a year if you want it on your mobile phone too. The other thing it allows you to do is to set access to someone else if something were to happen to you. What would happen to your business if suddenly no one could access any of your accounts again? That would be pretty serious.

Check, Check, Check It Off

Another way to get started with business automation, that’s actually super low tech, is checklists. Yes, I said it. Checklists. It doesn’t get much more low tech, but honestly you can’t begin to know how to put business automation into your business until you know what you’re trying to do.

Checklists are ground zero for business automation. Start using them, and you are now freeing up your mental space from having to remember the steps. You are also enabling other people in your business to get things done and off of your plate, because they know what needs to be done. If you want to have somebody else do it, make then a checklist. Screencasts are also good for showing someone how to perform a task. I use Screencast-O-Matic or Loom (affiliate link, but the product is FREE) for that.

Then once you know what you’re trying to do, you can see where the robots can help. Sometimes they can do all of the things on the checklist. Sometimes it’s best if they just do some of the things on the checklist.

Get Batching

Another way to help your productivity is to batch your tasks. If you are creating social posts, and you’re not using a scheduling tool yet, at least create them all at once in a batch. That way you could schedule them if you wanted to, but you don’t have to go through the motions of creating each part every time you’re trying to post them.

Anyway you slice it, getting things off your list is something you should be doing this week. Either the tasks won’t get done at all,  you’ll  get someone else to do them, or you harness the robots. Drop me your questions on automation, business automation or marketing automation. I’m a fan of all three.

Ramp Up Business Automation

If you are interested in the other tools and services I use in my business to automate, be sure to check out the Resources page.