How to leverage technology to simplify & scale your business, Part Two
Because it's possible.
TL:DR:
Your goal is to run a simpler, more scalable business and, no, you don’t have to become a “systems person” to do it. You just have to stop doing everything in your inbox and your head. Instead, you need to stop and think about the simplest way to achieve your business goals. You need the right tools and processes used the right way.
With that in mind, here’s how to leverage technology to simplify and scale your business operations — whether you’re a one-person PR shop, a two-partner brand studio, or you’re finally ready to bring on a VA/social person/project lead to help you grow your business.
This is another meaty post so save it to refer back to. And if you missed Part One, you’ll find it here.
Now, picking up where we left off last week…
6. Meeting recordings & transcripts
This has changed how I show up in my business, especially on client calls. It’s allowee me to be more present. Having a recording, summary notes, and a detailed transcript to review and share is a game-changer. I still like to take notes sometimes as it helps me take in and process what I’m hearing. That said, I’m not going back.
Here are three tools work with Zoom and Google Meet (and there’s more):
Fathom
Fireflies AI
Otter AI
Zoom, Microsoft Team, Google Meet - all three now have built in recording and transcription tools with AI (this is an evolving space with changes happening every week)
7. Automation (the glue)
This is where it gets fun. Or in my case, where it gets fun for my assistant (my brain breaks at this point).
Zapier
Make (Integromat)
Use case examples:
When someone books a call → create task in Asana → add to CRM
When invoice is paid → send onboarding email
When form is submitted → add to “leads” spreadsheet
And you can create zaps for your chosen AI agent
The idea is to start with 1–2 zaps. See how you like them.
And one note — never automate what’s broken. Get the process right first, then automate.
8. Payments / proposals (optional but nice and adds an element of professionalism)
HoneyBook
Dubsado
PandaDoc (for proposals/contracts; pair with Stripe) These can bundle proposal → contract → invoice → workflow. Great for brand/marketing studios.
Quickbooks (client invoices + payments + bookkeeping)
What this flow looks like in practice.
Lead comes in → lands in CRM → gets auto-email with booking link
They book → your calendar updates → project board creates a card → you get a Slack ping
You do the work → you follow your SOP in Notion/Drive → deliver via shared folder → task gets checked off
You invoice → auto reminder sent if they’re late → payment is recorded
That’s an operation. And it’s the same if it’s just you or you plus two contractors.
And here’s where AI comes in.
You can now create roles for your business within AI. This can be you or your Admin creating them. You do this by creating Custom GPTs, Gemini Gems, or Claude Projects.
Some examples of roles for you to consider:
Email copywriter
PR pitch writer
Social media content creator
Researcher
Financial analyst
Here’s a great LinkedIn post on this concept with a marketing/SEO lens. It was written by Meg Clarke, founder of Clapping Dog Media. It will get you thinking.
This approach will help streamline your team roles and raise everyone to their best level of contribution to your business.
When you add people to your team.
This is where many founders get tripped up: they hire BEFORE they standardize.
It’s time to reverse this: standardization and tech first → then people.
When a VA/social manager/project lead joins, you should be able to say:
“Here’s the tool we use.”
“Here’s the template we follow.”
“Here’s where tasks show up.”
“Here’s how we name files.”
“Here’s where to put questions.”
If your systems are in Monday.com/Asana + Notion/Drive, they can be productive in a day or two (latest a week). If everything is in your iMessages, Voxer, Slack, email… they can’t help you.
I took this approach before hiring a new VA last year and it was immensely helpful.
Here are a few principles to keep in mind.
One source of truth per thing. One project tool. One document hub. One calendar. Fragmentation is how things get dropped. Remember one of my favorit words… simple.
Buy the $12–$20/mo plan. The time you save on reminders and automations will pay for it.
Use templates everywhere. Client kickoff agenda, monthly social report, website project plan, launch checklist. Templates = scale.
Default to async whenever possible. For example, Loom + task comments rather than more meetings.
Review it all monthly. Look at what’s messy, add a field, add an automation, or delete a step. And make sure you’re getting the most out of each tool before you add another.
This is a continuous process.
As I mentioned above, this will require ongoing review and updating. In doing so, you’ll streamline and scale your business operations so you have more time to invest in your high value activities.
Start with the simplest version of this stack, get your offers moving through it efficiently and without too many errors, and then you can invite humans in to help you.
Reply and tell me: Which tool in your business is the biggest mess right now — calendar, project management, or client communication?
I’ll tell you where to start.
And if you’ve not completed it already, I’ve prepared a short, three-question survey about this newsletter. The goal is to continue to provide the information you need to grow your service-based business and feel good in the process of doing it. I would so appreciate your input.
Until next time.
Katherine
p.s. After last week’s email was sent, I received the following message from Danielle Cooke, Web Design Business Owner, Lodge Digital:
Maybe not quite as polished as some like ClickUp but I like Moxie.
It does project management, scheduling, CRM, and lead management, and some async updates, though as we’ve seen Google Drive is better for some use cases. It also has ticketing and email and an accounting integration but I don’t use those, at least not yet.
I also use Loom, think it’s great for comms and bringing docs to life.
In case it’s helpful.
#ICYMI
The point about standardzing before hiring is huge. So many people bring on help but then spend weeks just trying to explain where evrything is. Having Monday or Asana already set up with templates makes onboarding so much smoother. Also agree on not automating broken proceses first.