What Is Automation?

I see this question all the time: What is automation?

At first glance, it feels straightforward.

Set up some tools, press a button, and let things run without you.

But the reality? Automation isn’t just about removing work. It’s about replacing it with something smarter, faster, and more profitable.

And that’s where things get complicated…

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🔹 More Value for Paid Subscribers – We’re increasing the AMA calls from 15 to 30 minutes. If you're a paid subscriber, you get direct access to me for business questions.

🔹 Even more value for Paid Subscribers - Once we hit 1,000 paid subs, we’ll allow the paid subs to have a time where they ask the guest questions directly to the guests.

🔹 I want to hear from you! So I’ve added a poll.Here are the results from yesterday’s poll. Today’s poll is at the bottom of the email.

Automation can do a ton of things. It can book calls, send follow-ups, qualify leads, process invoices, handle customer support, pull data, and even create content. But just because you can automate something doesn’t always mean you should.

Some tasks are perfect for automation.

Others? They still need human oversight. And the real challenge is knowing which is which.

How Do You Decide What to Automate?

Here’s a simple framework I use when thinking about automation:

The key to automation isn’t doing less work.

It’s about freeing yourself up for better work.

The kind that moves the needle.

But here’s where most people get stuck: they don’t know where to start.

They either try to automate too much too soon, or they avoid it altogether because they think it’s too complicated. Both approaches lead to frustration.

So, let’s simplify it.

Ask yourself these three questions before automating anything:

1. Does this task happen often enough to be worth automating? (If it’s once a year, probably not.)

2. Will automating this actually save me time, or just create new headaches? (Some things are better left manual.)

3. Is there already an existing tool that does this, or am I trying to build something from scratch? (Reinventing the wheel is rarely worth it.)

Now, I want to hear from you:

• What’s the one task in your business you wish you could automate?

• What’s stopping you?

Hit reply and let me know. I read every response.

Oh, and one more thing. Tomorrow, we’ve got a guest doing a demo of a brand-new automation platform that could change the game for your business. Don’t miss it.

Here is today’s poll