Do you sometimes feel like you are doing everything at the same time all of the time in your business and you’re basically wearing all of the different hats? You probably feel as if you're everything at once in your business. And that can feel really, really overwhelming. Maybe you often wonder: how can I save time as a solopreneur? Let me tell you how.
The trick to save time as a solopreneur is to let go of all the roles you feel you’re supposed to play and focus on the ones you’re actually good at aka your zone of genius. One thing I used to be very good at and kind of let slide is automating processes to save time.
As a solopreneur, it will save you a lot of energy and time if you find the things in your business you can automize, such as email sequences, social media posting, etc. Entrepreneurs often feel as if taking time off is mission impossible but why not look at automating some tasks? It’ll free up some of your time — not only literally, but also in your brain. Take that time to see your family or your friends.
So let’s take a look at what processes you can automate.
1. A digital calendar
Instead of answering emails from people who want to book an intake call with you, you can use platforms such as Calendly or Acuity to set up an automated system.
You can select days or hours in the day you’re available for calls and then the people wanting to meet with you can select a time and date to book a call.
Don’t waste your time and energy on the back-and-forth communication. Set up an automated digital calendar instead.
This automated process doesn’t only benefit service-based businesses — it also helps you if you have calls often with suppliers or other types of stakeholders.
2. Your content
Nowadays it’s expected of a business to always be active on social media and to post multiple times a week or even a day. So, I would understand why you would feel as if you have to be on your phone all day, every day.
But like any hardworking human being, you might also be craving some time off or just a moment of peace and quiet.
In order to enjoy some much-needed time to relax, you have to invest some time into planning your content.
First off: if you keep doing everything manually you’re not exactly living a freedom-based life being chained to your phone.
‘Oh Amy, but I like doing it. It motivates me.’
Okay, sure, but what about the times when you lack motivation? You just disappear from the grid? That’s no way to run a successful business. Start investing some time in batching your content and automating the planning and you’ll thank me when you don’t feel as motivated.
3. Email sequence
During the summertime, it often happens that businesses kind of disappear. They stop talking to their clients.
Don’t fall into that trap if you’re going on vacation. Instead, make sure to plan ahead and write some emails you can plan in ahead of time, using platforms such as ConvertKit.
You could also automate email sequences, which are useful when you’re selling online courses or guides. You can send them various emails over the course of weeks to make sure they’re settling into the course well and deliver the necessary information or nudges.
4. Lead generation
Do you want to grow the audience you reach through social media? Do you want to grow your email list? That’s called lead generation.
It’s another thing you can automate, for example by investing in advertisements.
Right now, you might be spending a lot of time on your social content but what if, instead you invested some actual money in ads? It saves you time and it gets you a bigger audience.
5. Invoicing
Automating my invoicing was one of the first automations I ever busied myself with.
You might think it doesn’t take you much time to make invoices, send them, follow-up on them, etc. But it does, it takes up hours and hours of your time every month.
My advice to you? From one entrepreneur to another? Find an automated system you feel comfortable with and make that investment. It will free up a lot of your time.
6. Your Instagram DMs
If you’re promoting a certain program or service and you’re kind of sick of having to explain it time and time again, maybe look into automating your Instagram DMs.
I recently hosted a free summit and if people wanted to register or find out more information about it, all they had to do was comment summit on my post and they’d get an automated DM with the registration link and extra info.
It’s a lifesaver when you’re launching something, so do some research and try it out for yourself.
7. Out of Office
This one might seem obvious to you, but set up an out-of-office. It’s the ideal way of setting up some boundaries when you need a break.
It allows you to provide the necessary info for the sender and they’ll know that you’re on holiday, when you’ll be back and when they can expect an answer to their email.
You’re allowed to take a break and not answer emails every single day.
Not only does it help you establish boundaries, it also helps people along faster and they won’t think you’re ignoring them.
Are you ready to start automating your processes and save time as a solopreneur?
These 7 tasks you can automate will help you save time as a solopreneur and boost your productivity. After you’ve adjusted it all to your liking, you’ll notice how it helps you take fast action and how it will speed things up within your business.
Are you at the end of this article and do you now realize you’ve already automated all of these things? And now, you’d like to hire a team to help you scale your business?
But do you have no clue on how to delegate or on how to lead a team? Then you can register for my FREE ‘5 Golden Tips to Start Delegating with Confidence’ training (Dutch).
Register for this training through: https://fastforwardamy.com/teamwebinar
Watch this episode on YouTube or listen via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, and search for episode 188 of The FastForwardAmy Show.
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