Program · Small businesses
No-Code Automation for Small Businesses
A hands-on program for small teams who want simple automations that actually work — reminders, updates, hand-offs — without hiring a developer or rebuilding every system.
We’ll find a few high-impact workflows, design them carefully, then implement them using tools like Zapier, Make, or native integrations so your team gets real time back without losing control.
Program overview · Audio
A short overview of the program: who it's for, what we cover, and how to get the most value out of it as a busy professional.
What your business will be able to do after this program
Less “did anyone remember to…?” more quiet, reliable automations backing your team up.
- • Map a few key workflows where automation can genuinely help — without overcomplicating anything.
- • Build and ship simple no-code automations for things like follow-ups, hand-offs, and updates.
- • Keep humans in the loop for decisions, approvals, and anything sensitive or unusual.
- • See what your automations are doing via basic logging and alerts, instead of guessing.
- • Maintain a small backlog of realistic next automations, so you don’t try to “automate everything” at once.
Who this is for
- • Small businesses with repeatable tasks across sales, ops, or customer service
- • Owners, ops leads, and “systems people” who like solving process problems
- • Teams that have tried Zapier or similar tools, but haven't turned them into real, shared workflows yet
What you'll work on
- • Your real tools: email, CRM, forms, spreadsheets
- • Actual workflows you’re running today
- • Automations that go live during the program
Curriculum at a glance
Four modules from “we’re doing everything manually” to “a few key flows just happen.”
Module 1
Mapping workflows & picking automation candidates
- • Identify repetitive, rule-based tasks across your business
- • Separate “must stay human” from “safe to automate”
- • Turn messy processes into simple, step-by-step flows
Module 2
Building your first no-code automations
- • Use tools like Zapier/Make or native integrations
- • Trigger automations from forms, inboxes, or CRMs
- • Log what happens so you can see when things break
Module 3
Human-in-the-loop, safety & error handling
- • Add approvals and reviews where judgment is needed
- • Design fallbacks for failures and edge cases
- • Notify the right people instead of spamming everyone
Module 4
Rollout, documentation & an automation backlog
- • Document what you built in plain language
- • Teach your team when to rely on automations (and when not to)
- • Create a small, realistic backlog of “what’s next”
1. Mapping workflows & picking automation candidates
Start with the work your team actually does — not an automation tool’s feature list.
We begin by mapping out a few key workflows across sales, ops, and service. Then we pick 1–3 automation candidates that are repetitive, rule-based, and safe to start with.
- • Short interviews to surface repetitive tasks
- • Simple mapping: triggers → steps → outcomes → owners
- • A quick test: “Should this be automated, assisted, or stay manual?”
- • Choose a realistic “automation bundle” for this cohort
Artifact: workflow snapshot
You'll leave this module with a short workflow snapshot doc:
- • 3–5 workflows mapped in plain language
- • A shortlist of what to automate first
- • Notes on risks / who needs to be informed
2. Building your first no-code automations
Turn one or two mapped workflows into live automations — with logging from day one.
Next, we pick your main no-code tool (Zapier, Make, native automations in your CRM or helpdesk) and build a couple of small but meaningful automations end-to-end.
- • Choose one main platform so your team isn't juggling six tools
- • Trigger automations from forms, inboxes, or CRMs
- • Pass the right data between tools cleanly
- • Add basic logging so you can see runs and failures
Example automations we might build
Common patterns we often ship in this module:
- • New lead form → CRM + Slack notification
- • Paid invoice → project board card + welcome email
- • Support form → ticket + internal alert
3. Human-in-the-loop, safety & error handling
Keep humans where judgment is needed — and design for when things go wrong.
Not everything should be fully automated. In this module, we design approval steps, notifications, and fallbacks so your automations feel like trusted helpers, not loose cannons.
- • Decide which steps require a human check or click
- • Add approval steps where money or promises are involved
- • Design “failure paths” that notify the right people
- • Avoid noisy alerts that everyone learns to ignore
Safety checklist for automations
You'll create a small checklist you can reuse for future automations:
- • Does this touch customer money or legal terms?
- • Where will we see when this fails?
- • Who owns this automation and updates it?
4. Rollout, documentation & an automation backlog
Turn a couple of working automations into a foundation you can responsibly grow.
Finally, we help you document what you’ve built, share it with the team, and create a short, realistic automation roadmap — not a wish list that never happens.
- • Document each automation in plain language
- • Clarify when staff should trust or override it
- • Identify 3–10 candidate automations for the future
- • Decide how often you review automations for drift, cost, and usefulness
Automation one-pagers
Each live automation gets a short one-pager that covers:
- • What it does and why it exists
- • Where it lives (tool, folder, owner)
- • How to pause, change, or decommission it
Format & logistics
Designed for teams who can’t step away from customers for a full week.
Schedule
- • 3–4 weeks total
- • Weekly live working sessions (60–90 minutes)
- • Implementation time in-between on your schedule
Team
- • 2–6 core participants
- • Ideally: owner/ops + “systems person” + rep from a key team
- • Private cohorts for a single business
What you leave with
- • 1–3 live, documented no-code automations
- • A workflow snapshot & safety checklist
- • A realistic automation backlog for the next 3–6 months
FAQ: No-Code Automation for Small Businesses
Questions owners and operators usually ask before wiring tools together.
Do we need someone technical on the team?
It helps to have at least one person who is comfortable clicking around in tools and following instructions, but we don't assume a developer background. We'll keep everything as no-code as possible and document each step.
Which tools do you use — Zapier, Make, something else?
We'll look at what you're already using (CRM, helpdesk, forms, email) and pick a primary automation tool that plays nicely with that stack — often Zapier, Make, or built-in automations in your core platforms. The patterns transfer if your tools change later.
Are we going to automate people out of a job?
The focus here is on boring, repeatable tasks: copy-paste, hand-offs, reminders, and updates. Humans stay in charge of relationships, judgment, and edge cases. If something feels better as “AI assist” rather than “fully automated,” we'll design it that way on purpose.
What happens when something breaks?
That's exactly why we bake in logging, notifications, and ownership. Part of the program is designing how you'll notice failures, who will fix them, and how you'll decide whether an automation is still worth running.
Ready to give your team a few automations that quietly help every day?
This program is about shipping a small set of reliable, understandable automations — and giving your team the tools and language to extend them responsibly over time.
If you'd like to bundle this with AI Starter Kit or Simple AI Helpdesk & FAQ Setup, mention that in your note and we'll share options.