In the last article, I introduced the idea that if you’ve got a good team and a good product, you *should* be making a healthy profit—but you probably aren’t because day-to-day operations pull you in a thousand directions.
In this article, we’re going to look at how automation and AI can help you deliver your product or service more consistently and with less stress.
Let’s start with the part of your business that most often goes overlooked: **operations.**
### What Are We Talking About When We Say “Operations”?
Operations are the behind-the-scenes engine of your business. It’s the part responsible for:
- Ordering and tracking inventory
- Scheduling crews or jobs
- Communicating with customers once the sale is made
- Making sure work gets done on time and up to standard
- Fixing things when they go wrong
It’s not glamorous, but it’s what your reputation is built on.
And it’s also where most small businesses *bleed time and money.*
### Where the Wheels Fall Off
Most business owners know how to sell. But once the order is placed, things can fall apart fast. Jobs get delayed. Customers don’t know when you're coming. Supplies aren’t where they need to be. Paperwork is missing. People “forgot.”
That’s where automation tools and AI come in.
Let’s break down how to use a few of them to fix this.
---
### 1. **AirTable: Your Digital Clipboard (That Never Loses Anything)**
AirTable is like a super-powered spreadsheet that can run your job scheduling, inventory, and project tracking in one place. You can use it to:
- Track every job or order by stage (received, scheduled, in progress, completed)
- Log inventory and flag items that are running low
- Assign tasks to team members with due dates and file attachments
And with automations, you can do things like:
- Send a text to the customer when their order is ready
- Alert your purchasing manager when inventory drops below a set level
- Trigger a checklist for your installer as soon as a job is scheduled
---
### 2. **ClickUp: Keep Your Team Aligned Without Constant Meetings**
ClickUp is a task management system that works great when you’ve got crews, jobs, or processes to manage. You can:
- Create repeatable templates for common workflows
- Assign tasks and checklists to individual team members
- Set reminders and priorities so nothing falls through the cracks
When connected to AirTable, you can automatically generate ClickUp tasks based on new orders or customer needs.
---
### 3. **HubSpot: Automate the Customer Experience After the Sale**
Most people think of HubSpot as a marketing tool—but it’s just as powerful for operations.
- Automatically send follow-up emails with prep instructions before a service appointment
- Remind clients of scheduled dates and times
- Request reviews after a job is complete
This gives your customers a smooth, “big company” experience—without you having to lift a finger.
---
### 4. **ChatGPT: Your On-Demand Process Designer and Troubleshooter**
This tool isn’t just for writing emails. ChatGPT can help you:
- Draft standard operating procedures
- Build logic for automations
- Create scripts for customer interactions or onboarding
Don’t know how to describe what you want your process to do? ChatGPT can help you sketch it out, then help you figure out how to build it in AirTable or ClickUp.
---
5. **Replit.com: When You Need to Go One Step Further
If your operations need something unique—like syncing data across multiple platforms or generating custom reports—Replit.com lets you build small code-based automations, even if you’re not a developer.
Need a script to ping your AirTable every morning and email you a list of overdue jobs? Replit can do
We’ll dive into **Finance**—how automation and AI tools can help you stay profitable, even if you hate spreadsheets.