The First 3 Automations I Ever Created

Ever feel like you spend half your day copying information from one tool to another, just to keep everything in sync?

That’s the reason I initially dipped into automation, many years ago, when I was working a corporate job. The company had many tools that were good at whatever they were supposed to do (like project management), but they didn’t always “talk” to each other. I explored automation because I knew it would save me time and eliminate errors.

When I launched my solo business, I continued to rely on automation to handle repetitive tasks. Turns out, they were some of the same tasks I needed to automate when running a corporate job. I consider them “no-brainers” because they’re straightforward to set up and don’t require any human judgment.

How does automation work, and what tasks can be automated?

Automation functions like this: If something happens in app #1, do another thing in app #2. It works in the background.

The earliest automations you build are usually the simplest ones, and they do one job: move information from one system to the next. More complex automations can involve multiple actions (do 5 things in app #2) or multiple apps (do another thing in app #2 and another thing in app #3).

I use Zapier* (affiliate link) for automation. Within Zapier, I can also apply filters (If something happens, but it doesn’t meet certain criteria, stop and don’t do anything).

If it’s a task that I need to do repeatedly, I set up automation for it. Zapier can connect thousands of apps together, so whatever I want to do is usually possible.

If you’ve never automated anything before, consider this:

• Is there a potential for error when you copy information from one system to another?
• What happens if there’s a delay, like you can’t get to this right away? Is it possible that you might forget to do it?

Errors and delays are huge incentives to automate tasks. There’s also a time factor. Zapier automates hundreds of tasks for me every week, freeing up my time to work on other things.

3 automations to get started

Below are the first three automations I ever set up in my corporate life, and they make sense for a solopreneur also. Each was trying to solve a specific problem.

1. Reducing duplicate data entry

My first automation existed to stop the same information from being typed twice.

At my employer at the time, the customer service team logged bugs and feature requests in a ticketing platform, and the development team tracked their progress in GitHub (a coding tool). The two systems had no connection between them.

Every bug meant copying the same details by hand out of the ticketing tool and into a new GitHub issue. It was incredibly time-consuming. While each tool served a specific purpose for the people involved, a manual process that depends on someone remembering to move data will fail sooner or later.

So I built a Zapier automation that created a GitHub issue directly from the ticket data. No more copying/pasting required. Plus, it saved a ton of time.

Creating something in one tool based on something happening in another is one of the most useful automations you can have. It works the same whether the trigger is a signed contract or a new event on your calendar.

Here are some examples:

• New Calendly event scheduled → add a follow-up item to your to-do list
• New contract signed → add the customer to your accounting tool
• New assignment or deliverable for a client → add a document based on a template to your Google Drive

2. Getting new customers onto a mailing list

The second automation put every new customer on the email list without anyone adding them.

Back in the days of working for an employer, we maintained a list of contacts in the customer service ticketing system. All contacts needed to be notified about product updates and releases.

Before automation, this was rough. At one point, it was a giant manually-managed list in Outlook (maintained by yours truly).

Eventually, the company began to use Mailchimp, and I set up an automation to move customers from the ticketing system to the Mailchimp list.

As a solopreneur, I use Kit for my email newsletter. Kit has a lot of integrations with other tools. If someone downloads a product of mine from Gumroad, Kit can pick up the email address.

In other cases, the integration with Kit is too limited or doesn’t exist. I had to build my own automation for Stripe transactions.

But this is exactly the kind of work that should run in the background. Preserve your energy for the work that actually needs your attention, not menial tasks.

Note: If you’re doing any automation with email lists, make sure you’re following all applicable laws regarding marketing automation and consent.

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3. Building custom notifications

The third automation sent people the notifications their tools wouldn't.

Most software has built-in notifications, but they rarely match what you want to know about or when you want to know it. You have to select from pre-built notification options.

So I layered custom Zapier notifications on top of the tools we already had. For example, one of them ran off a Google Form. The bookkeeper filled it out whenever a new contract was signed, and a Zapier automation emailed the relevant people so the project could kick off right away.

Another sent an email whenever an issue needed review, since not everyone worked out of the same project management tool.

For my solo business, I have notifications set up to email me when certain dates are coming up on my calendar or send me a Slack message when I need to review some project work. I even have some notifications arriving via SMS. Each is tailored to exactly how I like to receive information.

How AI fits into automation

AI has taken automation further than straight if-this-happens-then-do-this ever could. Straight automation follows an exact path you set up. It can handle several paths, but you have to account for every scenario. AI handles a lot more nuance, and you can describe what you want in plain language instead of building it in a low-code tool like Zapier.

Today, I use a combination of Zapier for straightforward automation and Claude when the task requires more nuance and isn’t time-sensitive (since my Claude Scheduled Tasks run daily or weekly, but not every hour). Zapier handles tasks immediately: they fire as soon as “thing happens” in tool #1.

One caution on the newer option. Having AI build something custom has some trade-offs, like monitoring functionality and models that keep changing. It’s a real “cost” of building your own tools.

You might be able to get it up and running faster (since Zapier has a learning curve), but they require more attention than Zapier does. Typically, once a Zapier automation is set up, you don’t have to think about it again unless something changes.

What I'd automate first if I were starting today

If you’re not sure where to start, look at the manual tasks that repeat the most and have a very straightforward “if this happens, then do this other thing” process. Don’t start with your most complex workflow.

Duplicate data entry is the easiest first task, because it both saves time and eliminates errors.

It might take a bit of time to get started with automation, especially if you’ve never set up anything like it before, but it’s a skill worth learning. You’ll save so much time in the future, and it allows you to stay on top of your work as a solopreneur, even as your business grows.

Tips for building your first automations

• Automate anything you'll do more than twice. If a task shows up a third time, it's worth the few minutes it takes to set up.
• Start with the simplest version that works. Build one trigger and one action. More steps can come later.
• Let the automation handle data entry. The less a system depends on you remembering to update it, the more accurate your data entry.
• Check your automations periodically. A change can break an automation, so give it a look whenever you update a connected tool.

Frequently asked questions