Where to start with automation in a small business

In the first Better Spent post, I talked about why I'm interested in using technology to make everyday work a little easier. I also mentioned something I think is worth repeating: just because a task can be automated doesn't mean it should be.

That sounds good in theory. But if you're running a business and wondering where to begin, it doesn't give you much to work with.

My suggestion is to start with one task that keeps coming back. Not the biggest problem in your business, and not whatever the newest AI tool happens to be good at. Look for something that already has a fairly clear beginning and end but still requires someone to remember it, copy information, or send the same message over and over.

A new customer inquiry is a good example.

Follow what happens after someone reaches out

Imagine you own a small service business. Someone fills out your website's contact form while you're out on a job. The message arrives in your inbox, but you're busy, so you make a mental note to respond later.

When you finally get back to it, you need to find the message, read what they asked for, check your schedule, and get back in touch. If you've had a busy day, that inquiry might be sitting alongside a dozen other things that also need your attention.

An automatic acknowledgment could let the customer know their message arrived. A notification could put the details in front of the right person. And a shared list or task could give someone a place to track whether the inquiry received a personal response.

Those are separate improvements. You don't necessarily need all three, and you don't need an AI system to make them work. Even a simple email rule or a shared checklist might solve the part that's causing trouble.

The example is hypothetical, but the exercise works with a real inquiry too: trace its path from the moment it arrives until someone has followed up. Pay attention to where it waits and who is expected to take the next step.

Write down the steps before choosing a tool

For one week, pick a task you find yourself repeating or putting off. It might be following up on estimates, sending appointment reminders, collecting information before a job, or answering the same question several times a day.

When it comes up, jot down:

• What starts the task?
• What information do you need to finish it?
• Who handles it, and where does that person see it?
• What happens next, and how do you know it's done?
• What tends to slow it down or cause it to be missed?

You don't need a formal process map. A few notes in a notebook are enough to get started.

You may find that the problem isn't the task itself. Maybe two people assume the other one is handling it, or the information needed to respond is scattered across a text message and an email. Automating a message won't fix an unclear handoff.

Make one small change

Once you can see the steps, choose one part to improve. If inquiries are getting buried, the first change might be a notification to a shared inbox. If people aren't sure who is responsible, it might be assigning one person to check that inbox each day.

If a simple automation makes sense, keep it narrow. For example:

1. A customer submits the contact form.
2. The business receives a notification with the customer's details.
3. The customer receives a short acknowledgment explaining what happens next.
4. A person reviews the inquiry and handles the actual follow-up.

The acknowledgment should say what you can reliably deliver. If you can't always respond the same day, don't promise that you will. And if the message asks a question or includes an urgent request, someone still needs to read it.

Before relying on any setup, test it with a message you send yourself. Check that the notification arrives, the reply says what you intended, and the details reach the right place. Think about what happens if an email doesn't arrive or the form is submitted without enough information. Someone should have a way to notice and handle those exceptions.

Also take a minute to consider what information you're collecting and where it goes. Avoid sending sensitive customer details into a new tool until you understand who can access them and how the provider handles that information.

Give it a little time

After the change has been in place for a week or two, ask the people using it whether it's helping. Are inquiries easier to find? Does someone still have to copy the same information into another system? Did the new notification make things clearer, or did it just add another email?

You don't need a perfect answer right away. If the change doesn't help, adjust it or go back to the old way. The point is to make that particular piece of work easier, not to automate it for the sake of saying you did.

I like starting with a process like this because it's small enough to understand. Once you know what happens, who is responsible, and where the rough spots are, you can make a better decision about whether a tool is worth adding.

If there's a task in your business that keeps getting left to memory, take a few minutes to write down what happens the next time it comes up. That might be enough to show you where to start.

— Josh Strohm