The owner was working 70-hour weeks. Now it's 35. Here's the exact automation stack, scripts, and workflows that cut their operational overhead in half.
How a 7-Person Company Automated Like a 70-Person Company (For Under $200/Month)
"I'm drowning."
That's how Sarah started our call. She ran a 7-person marketing agency doing $1.2M/year. She was working 70-hour weeks just to keep the lights on.
Six weeks later, she was working 35 hours. Same revenue. Same team.
Here's exactly what we automated, how much it cost, and the copy-paste templates you can steal.
The "Small Business Death Spiral" Nobody Talks About
You know the pattern:
- Win new client (finally!)
- Scramble to deliver
- Drop the ball on admin
- Chase late payments
- Lose track of leads
- Work weekends to catch up
- Repeat until burnout
Sarah was living this. Her team was talented but chaos was killing them.
The solution wasn't hiring more people. It was building systems that work while you sleep.
The 5 Automations That Gave Sarah Her Life Back
For detailed process documentation, see our guide on Business Process Mapping - but remember, fix first, document later!
1. The "Client Onboarding Machine" ($29/month)
The Old Way:
- 3-hour kickoff call
- 2 hours creating project folders
- 1 hour setting up tools
- 45 minutes sending welcome emails
- Total: 6.75 hours per new client
The New Way:
- Client fills intake form (Typeform)
- Triggers this automation:
Typeform submission
→ Create Clickup project from template
→ Generate Google Drive folder structure
→ Add client to Slack channel
→ Send welcome email sequence
→ Schedule kickoff call
→ Generate contract from template
→ Create invoice schedule
Tools: Typeform ($29) + Zapier (free tier) + Templates
Time saved: 6 hours per client
Monthly impact: 24 hours (4 clients × 6 hours)
The Magic: One form submission creates everything. Sarah reviews for 5 minutes, clicks approve. Done.
2. The "Never Chase Invoices Again" System ($0/month)
The Problem:
- $47,000 in outstanding invoices
- Spending 8 hours/month on collections
- Cash flow nightmares
Want to see the exact ROI impact? Our operations consulting ROI calculator shows how invoice automation affects your cash flow.
The Solution:
// Stripe + Zapier automation (both free for this volume)
Day 1: Invoice sent automatically
Day -3: Friendly reminder
Day 0: Due date reminder
Day 3: "Oops, did you forget?" email
Day 7: "Let's hop on a call" + calendar link
Day 14: Service pause warning
Day 21: Service paused notification
Results:
- Average payment: 6 days (was 34 days)
- Collections time: 30 minutes/month
- Outstanding reduced to $8,000
The Secret: Automated but feels personal. Every email comes "from" Sarah with her actual signature.
3. The "Content Factory" Pipeline ($50/month)
Before: Content creation was a hot mess of Slack messages, emails, and missed deadlines.
After:
Content Pipeline:
1. Ideas logged in Airtable form
2. Auto-assigned to writer based on expertise
3. Draft reminder 3 days before due
4. Edit notification to editor
5. Client approval request
6. Auto-publish to all platforms
7. Performance tracking dashboard
Stack:
- Airtable ($20/month): Content database
- Buffer ($15/month): Social publishing
- Make.com ($15/month): Workflow logic
- Google Sheets (free): Analytics dashboard
Impact: Doubled content output with same team. Zero missed deadlines in 6 months.
4. The "Lead Nurture ATM" ($45/month)
The Crime: Sarah had 1,847 leads in a spreadsheet. Doing nothing.
The Fix:
Imported all leads to ConvertKit ($29/month)
Segmented by:
- Industry
- Company size
- Last interaction
- Interest level
Built 4 email sequences:
Warm leads: Case study + call booking link every 2 weeks
Cold leads: Value emails weekly for 6 weeks, then monthly
Past clients: Check-in + new service alerts quarterly
Lost deals: "What we've learned" series monthly
Month 1 Result:
- 3 dormant leads became clients
- $67,000 in new contracts
- From emails that wrote themselves
5. The "Team Productivity Multiplier" ($49/month)
The Insight: The team wasn't slow. They just couldn't find anything.
The System:
Every project follows this structure:
/Client Name
/01_Strategy
/02_Content
/03_Creative
/04_Analytics
/05_Admin
/_Archive
Plus automated:
- File naming: [Date]_[Client]_[Type]_[Version]
- Version control via Google Drive
- Weekly backup to cloud
- Search index in Notion
Tools:
- Notion ($8/user for team): Knowledge base
- Hazel (Mac) or DropIt (PC): File organization
- Google Workspace (already had): Storage
Result: Team saves 1.5 hours/day not hunting for files.
The "Where's My Time Going?" Audit
Before automation, track everything for 3 days. This is similar to process mapping - you can't fix what you don't measure.
Sarah's actual Wednesday:
8:00 - Email (47 messages) - 1.5 hours
9:30 - "Quick" client call - 1 hour
10:30 - Invoice follow-ups - 45 min
11:15 - Creating project folder - 30 min
11:45 - Slack firefighting - 45 min
12:30 - Lunch at desk, more email - 30 min
1:00 - Actual client work - 2 hours ← ONLY PRODUCTIVE TIME
3:00 - Team questions - 1 hour
4:00 - Proposal writing - 1.5 hours
5:30 - Tomorrow's prep - 30 min
6:00 - "Last" emails - 45 min
7:00 - Home (brings laptop)
8 hours in office. 2 hours of real work.
The Free Stack That Runs Everything
You don't need expensive tools. Here's what actually works:
Essential (Free Versions Work):
- Gmail: Filters + templates + aliases
- Google Workspace: Docs, Sheets, Drive
- Zapier: 100 tasks/month free
- Calendly: Booking automation
- Slack: Team communication
Worth Paying For:
- Typeform or Tally: Beautiful forms ($29)
- ConvertKit or Mailchimp: Email automation ($29)
- Airtable or Notion: Database + workflows ($20)
- Make/Integromat: Complex automation ($29)
Total monthly cost: $107
Time saved monthly: 120+ hours
ROI: Infinite
The "Monday Morning Quick Wins"
Start here. These take 30 minutes each:
Win #1: Email Templates
Subject: Re: [THEIR SUBJECT]
Hi [Name],
Thanks for reaching out about [SERVICE].
[ANSWER TO THEIR QUESTION - 2 sentences max]
To discuss further, grab time on my calendar: [CALENDLY LINK]
Looking forward to it!
[Signature]
P.S. Attached is our one-pager on [SERVICE] that might help.
Save as template. Use 50 times. Save 50 hours.
Win #2: The "Capture Everything" Form
Create one form that routes intelligently:
- New lead → CRM + welcome email
- Support request → Ticket + auto-reply
- Invoice question → Accounting + status update
- General inquiry → Slack + acknowledgment
One form. Four departments handled.
Win #3: The "Status Update Eliminator"
Create a dashboard everyone can see:
Project Status Board:
- Project name
- Stage (color-coded)
- Next milestone
- Blockers (if any)
- Last updated (automatic)
Kills 90% of "what's the status?" messages.
The Mistakes That Cost Sarah $10,000
Mistake #1: Automating Before Documenting
She tried to automate a process nobody understood. Spent $3,000 on tools that didn't fit.
Fix: Document the messy process first. Then simplify. Then automate. Our SOP guide shows you how to document quickly with video instead of 50-page manuals.
Mistake #2: The "Shiny Tool" Syndrome
Bought 5 project management tools. Team used none.
Fix: Master one tool completely before adding another.
Mistake #3: Not Training the Team
Built beautiful systems. Forgot to show anyone how to use them.
Fix: Record 5-minute Loom videos for everything. Make training mandatory.
Your "This Week" Action Plan
Monday:
- Install RescueTime (free)
- Track where your time actually goes
Tuesday:
- List your top 10 repetitive tasks
- Pick the most annoying one
Wednesday:
- Create 5 email templates
- Set up 1 Zapier automation
Thursday:
- Build your first intake form
- Connect it to something (email is fine)
Friday:
- Document one process completely
- Share with team
- Celebrate (seriously, you just started scaling)
The Truth Nobody Wants to Admit
Most small businesses don't fail from lack of customers. They fail from operational chaos.
You can't out-hustle broken systems. You can't hire your way out of bad processes. But you can automate your way to sanity.
Sarah's update, 6 months later:
- Revenue: $1.2M → $1.8M
- Team: 7 → 8 people
- Work hours: 70 → 35 per week
- Stress level: "Crushing" → "Manageable"
- Automation cost: $197/month
The tools don't matter. The process does. Start with one automation. Make it work. Build from there.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is process automation for small business and where do I start?
Process automation for small business means using tools to eliminate repetitive manual work. Start by tracking your time for 3 days and circling every copy-paste moment or repetitive task. Pick the most annoying one and automate it this week using free tools like Zapier, Gmail templates, or Calendly. Don't start with complex systems - start with one automation that saves you 2 hours weekly.
How much does small business automation cost?
You can start with zero using free tools like Gmail filters, Google Sheets formulas, and Zapier's free tier. A powerful automation stack costs $100-200/month: Typeform for forms ($29), ConvertKit for email automation ($29), Airtable for databases ($20), and Make.com for workflows ($15). This typically saves 100+ hours monthly - infinite ROI.
What's the biggest mistake small businesses make with automation?
Trying to automate before documenting the process. They spend thousands on tools that don't fit because nobody understood the actual workflow. Always document the messy reality first (30 minutes with sticky notes), simplify it, then automate. Fix the process with paper before adding technology.
Can I automate my business without technical skills?
Yes. Modern no-code tools like Zapier, Airtable, Typeform, and Calendly require zero coding. If you can fill out a form and click buttons, you can build automations. Start with email templates (takes 5 minutes), then move to simple Zapier connections. Save the complex stuff for later when you understand what you actually need.
What should I automate first in my small business?
Automate your invoice and payment reminders first - this directly impacts cash flow and typically saves 8+ hours monthly while reducing payment time from 30+ days to under 7 days. Second, automate client onboarding to eliminate 6 hours per new client. Third, automate repetitive emails using templates. These three give you immediate ROI.
How do I know if automation is working?
Track time before and after. If you automated invoice reminders, measure days to payment and hours spent on collections. If you automated onboarding, measure setup time per client. Real automation should cut time by 50-80% within the first month. If you're not seeing clear time savings, the automation is solving the wrong problem.
Stop Reading. Start Automating.
Every day you wait is another day of:
- Answering the same questions
- Chasing the same invoices
- Creating the same documents
- Having the same meetings
- Burning the same energy
Pick one thing. Automate it this week. Then pick another.
In 6 weeks, you'll wonder how you ever worked the old way.
Want to see how this fits into broader operational improvements? Our operational excellence framework shows how automation is just one piece of fixing your operations.
Ready to reclaim half your work week? Let's identify your biggest time drain and kill it with automation. First win guaranteed in 7 days or less.
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Ready to automate your business processes? Cedar Operations designs custom automation solutions. Let's discuss your needs →
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