SYS 178: Business Automation Secrets: My Proven Strategies for Avoiding Time-Wasting Mistakes

Systemize Your Success Podcast

🎙 In this episode of the Systemize Your Success podcast, Dr. Steve Day delves into business automation secrets. He discusses the benefits and drawbacks of automating tasks, emphasising the importance of proper planning and involvement in the automation process.

Steve shares valuable insights and lessons learned from automating various aspects of his business over the past seven years. He provides practical tips for business owners and managers on when to automate, how to approach automation, and the significance of process mapping in creating effective automations.

He also highlights five key tips for future-proofing automation, including the importance of documentation, organisation, and standardised naming conventions.

This episode teaches listeners valuable knowledge on optimising automation processes to scale their businesses efficiently and effectively.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Automating the right tasks in your business can be a huge time saver, but it's not without its drawbacks. It's essential to ensure that the process is well-established before automating to avoid automating something that is broken.
• Before automating a task, it is crucial to do it manually with a human first to test the process, understand the time-saving potential, and gather data on the efficiency of automation.
• Involving staff in the automation process can increase morale, motivation, and skill development. It also allows for a more seamless transition and understanding of the automated processes within the organisation.
• Process mapping is a valuable skill for business owners and managers to visually represent workflows, tasks, and handovers clearly and understandably. It helps in communicating automation requirements effectively.
• Standardising naming conventions for tags, custom fields, and automation, organising them into folders, adding notes to explain triggers and actions, and using unique identifiers can significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of automation in the long run.

BEST MOMENTS

01:09 - 💬 “Setting up automation takes a huge amount of time. And if we don't have the process absolutely nailed before we automate it, then we end up automating something that's broken.”

02:09 - 💬 “Having that data originally, or to begin with, about the actual time saving you're gonna get is important.”

13:59 - 💬 “Mastering process mapping before you start building out automations is the most valuable thing I think a manager or business owner can do.”

17:02 - 💬 “Put notes on everything that isn't absolutely obvious. The more notes you put on, the easier it will be for you and for other people to understand what you've built.”

25:42 - 💬 “Standardizing the way that you name everything, whether it's automations, tags, or custom fields, means that you can group things together easily.”

TIMESTAMPED OVERVIEW

00:00 Setting up automation saves time and money.

04:03 Automation is time-consuming but visually powerful.

10:52 Automate and document to ensure future-proofing.

13:28 Master process mapping before implementing automations. Standardise.

18:31 Group automations in folders for better organisation.

20:51 Automate triggers and note source and destination.

25:52 Using tags to trigger automated actions in Zapier.

28:04 Use unique identifiers for stable automations.

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Website: https://www.systemizeyoursuccess.com

Facebook Group: https://facebook.com/groups/systemsandoutsourcing/

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/systemsandoutsourcing/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/systems_and_outsourcing/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@drsteveday42

ABOUT THE HOST

Steve used to be a slave to his business, but moving to Sweden in 2015 forced him to change how he worked. He switched to running his businesses remotely. After totally nailing this concept, he spent his time helping other small business owners do the same. Steve has been investing in property since 2002, has a degree in computing, and worked as a doctor in the NHS before quitting to focus full-time on sharing his systems and outsourcing methodology with the world. He now lives in Sweden and runs his UK-based businesses remotely with the help of his team of Filipino and UK-based Virtual Assistants.

Most business owners feel overwhelmed because they don’t know how to create systems or get the right help.

Our systems and outsourcing Courses and coaching programme will help you automate your business and work effectively with affordable virtual assistants. That way, you will stop feeling overwhelmed and start making more money.