I know there are a lot of people who have these absolutely insane automations that run their business — they touch just about nothing, and it all runs itself.

And that’s great for them.

For the people I tend to work with, that actually sounds like a nightmare.

Sometimes it’s because they’re worried something will break and they won’t know how to fix it. Sometimes it’s total overkill for what they actually need. But more often? It’s because they genuinely like doing things manually.

There’s a certain white-glove, high-touch feel to it. Doing things by hand can make it feel like you’re giving your full attention to a client — because you are literally doing the work custom for them.

But… there is a downside.

Doing everything manually to make it feel more ✨special✨ takes up more of your time — and creates more room for things to slip through the cracks. Which, ironically, leads to a not-so-special client experience. Womp womp 😬

The automation middle ground most people miss

I’m not anti-automation. There are a few automations I’m obsessed with, like:

• An automated email confirming you received a new lead’s contact form
• Payment reminders
• Proposal follow-up reminders
• Scheduler reminders

Because automation in the right places will save you time, money, and brain space. But for the solopreneurs and micro teams I work with, massive automations make things more complicated and stressful.

Which is why when I build out automations, I’m very intentional about what we’re automating and how it’ll work based on how you work

So what happens when you need more than just the basics?

Where’s the middle ground between fully automated and fully manual?

That’s where micro automations come in.

What I mean by “micro automations”

Micro automations are automations you build within your systems that are only a couple of steps long.

They handle small parts of your overall process, instead of trying to automate everything end-to-end.

They’re small enough that you can pick and choose which ones to run based on:

• the service you’re delivering
• the client you’re working with
• what actually needs support in that moment

Examples of micro automations might include:

• Onboarding questionnaire delivery + reminders
• Testimonial or review requests + reminders
• Post-project check-ins

When most people hear “automation,” they think of a giant, set-it-and-forget-it workflow where nothing can be customized. And sure — those absolutely exist.

But almost all of us like having the option to pause, review, and personalize mid-process.

That’s where features like “require approval before sending” or “create as draft” inside your CRM become the real MVPs.

It’s not about choosing between manual or automated. It’s about breaking your process into smaller, almost modular pieces — and deciding what should run automatically and what should wait for you.

That’s a micro automation.

Why call them micro automations and not micro workflows?

In short, I call them micro automations instead of micro workflows because most CRMs use the term “automation” instead of workflow when it comes to how you can automate your process. In reality, you could say either of them, and it’d still make sense. I prefer to call it micro automations because the steps are automated or at least in part.

What a micro automation actually looks like

A micro automation might look something like this:

• A workflow automatically starts when a project is booked
• A questionnaire email is drafted so you can tweak it before sending
• A reminder email automatically sends if the questionnaire isn’t completed within X days

Some steps run on their own. Some steps stop and wait for you. That’s the point.

You still get the structure and consistency of automation — without losing the ability to customize based on the client, the project, or side conversations you’ve been having with them.

It also makes your systems way easier to maintain long-term.

When something changes — a service, a timeline, a contract term, or your capacity — you’re updating one small automation, not tearing down a massive workflow and rebuilding it from scratch.

Which means you’re far more likely to actually use the system you built.

A real example: testimonial requests (done the micro way)

Micro automations tend to click once you see a real example, so let’s walk through one in depth.

I’ll use something you know you should be doing — but probably forget to follow up on consistently: testimonials.

I’m not talking about your entire offboarding process. Just one small piece of it.

You’ve sent the final deliverables. You’re closing things out. So now you want to:

• send a testimonial or review request
• follow up once or twice if they forget
• thank them once they submit — ideally in a way that feels personal, not templated

Here’s how that micro automation could work.

Step 1: Manually trigger the workflow

When you send final deliverables, you activate this workflow.

• In Dubsado, that could be a manual trigger
• In HoneyBook, it might be changing the project status or adding a tag

Step 2: Automatically send the testimonial request

The testimonial or review form is sent automatically.

This isn’t an email that usually needs heavy customization — it just needs to be on brand and clear. You can create service-specific forms or keep them general, depending on what feedback you want.

Step 3: Automatically send reminder emails

If the form isn’t completed within X days, one or two reminder emails go out.

No manual follow-up. No awkward “just circling back.”

And reminder emails don’t have to feel cold or robotic. Automated emails can still be warm, professional, quirky — whatever your brand voice is. Always.

Step 4: Draft a thank-you email after submission

Once the testimonial is submitted, a thank-you email is drafted.

You get to decide how hands-on you want to be:

• Fully automated, sent as-is
• Or set to “approve before sending,” so you can reference something they shared or address feedback thoughtfully

Bonus: This email can also include a request for a Google review, if that’s something you need too.

Why micro automations actually get used

With micro automations, some steps run automatically. Some pause and wait for you.

But overall, the automation is short, sweet, and flexible.

And that’s what matters — especially if you don’t have a highly productized service. Client work varies. Projects evolve. Things aren’t always one-size-fits-all.

Instead of forcing one massive workflow to fit every service, every client, and every nuance, you choose the right support at the right time — and skip the rest.

That’s usually the difference between a system that looks good on paper and one you actually use.

The real goal of micro automations

The goal of micro automations aren’t to remove yourself from the process. It’s to stop spending time on the parts that don’t need your attention — so you can be present for the ones that do.

Start small.

• One micro automation
• One pause point
• One less thing to remember

That’s usually all it takes to feel a noticeable difference.

Want help setting this up without overthinking it?

If you’re reading this and thinking, “Okay, I get micro automations… I just don’t want to spend hours figuring out how to actually build them,” that’s exactly why I created the Implementensive®.

It’s not about turning your business into a fully automated machine or forcing you into rigid workflows. It’s about building simple, flexible systems — the kind that support your work instead of getting in the way of it.

Inside the Implementensive®, we can focus on:

• breaking your processes into manageable pieces
• deciding what actually deserves automation (and what doesn’t)
• setting up systems you’ll still want to use six months from now

If micro automations sound good in theory but hard to implement alone, this is the place I’d start.