July 2020 Summaries

Since graduating from college, the author has discovered the value of lifelong learning, emphasizing the enjoyment and professional benefits of acquiring new skills. Zapier is highlighted as a tool that can help automate mundane tasks, thereby freeing up time for skill development. The text provides practical advice for integrating learning into a busy schedule, such as blocking out time weekly, using workflows to manage calendars and tasks, and leveraging techniques like the Pomodoro method to maintain focus. It also suggests methods for organizing and reviewing learning materials and encourages seeking feedback from mentors to enhance personal growth. By automating administrative tasks with Zapier, individuals can concentrate more on skill acquisition, making learning a more manageable and rewarding part of their professional lives.

Networking doesn't have to be intimidating or extractive; instead, it's about building relationships and connections that benefit your career. To make networking more manageable, especially for introverts, automated workflows can help with tasks like organizing contacts, sending follow-up emails, responding to Twitter interactions, and keeping existing networks updated. By leveraging tools like Zapier and personal CRM systems, individuals can create a more proactive approach to networking that helps them build meaningful connections without feeling overwhelmed.

Two-way SMS marketing is about conversations, not campaigns. It uses two-way texting to engage with customers, providing quick responses and building trust. This approach can lead to up to 24% higher conversion rates and a stronger connection between the customer and brand. Two-way SMS can be used throughout the marketing funnel, including recovering abandoned carts, increasing website conversions, optimizing customer experience, and generating repeat purchases. By integrating two-way SMS with existing marketing strategies, brands can maximize revenue and improve customer engagement. The key to successful two-way SMS marketing is bringing value to the customer through personal interactions.

Most Americans are seeking new employment opportunities due to the pandemic, with 70 percent of job seekers believing automation skills will help them land their next job. The survey shows that nearly one-third of job seekers currently list "automation" as a skill on their resume, and over four in five are interested in learning or have learned automation skills, citing efficiency and time savings as top reasons. With more than 41 percent of unemployed Americans saying they were recently let go from their former employer due to COVID-related reasons, the desire for people to find new, marketable skills that make their applications stand out is becoming increasingly important. As a result, companies like Zapier are helping businesses grow using automation tools, and remote work has enabled them to operate with 300+ employees working in 30 countries around the world. The survey highlights the growing interest in automation skills among job seekers, who believe it will help them be more efficient, save time, and improve their overall work experience.

College students are likely to spend most of their time studying remotely, and it's essential to have a plan in place to stay structured and focused. Without the structure of traditional classes, college life can feel less tangible, making it easy to get lost without a clear strategy. Students should research different scheduling methods, such as time blocking apps, to create a plan that works for them. It's also crucial to "show up" for virtual office hours with professors, as face time matters and helps build relationships. Embracing the awkwardness of video conferencing can help students ask questions without feeling intimidated. They should balance their need to learn with respect for others and avoid being the only one asking questions in class. Procrastination can be productive if channeled into smaller tasks instead of the big one, and scheduling downtime is essential to avoid burnout. By implementing these strategies, college students can make virtual learning easier and more effective.

Feedback, often challenging to process, plays a crucial role in professional growth and job interviews, where it can inform one's responses to behavioral questions using methods like STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result). To effectively utilize feedback, maintaining a "brag sheet"—a dynamic document tracking work accomplishments, feedback, and actions taken—is recommended. This document can be easily organized in a spreadsheet, with tools like Zapier automating the collection of feedback from various sources such as emails, chat apps like Slack, and cloud storage. This automation also facilitates the categorization of feedback as positive or constructive and integrates it into task management systems for follow-up. By actively managing this information, individuals can better prepare for interviews, seek promotions, and ensure they have a comprehensive record of their achievements and improvements.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons' massive success can be attributed to its release timing, simplicity, and focus on user engagement. The game's simplicity allowed it to appeal to a wide audience, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when people were looking for ways to de-stress. Nintendo's swift response to customer feedback and issues also played a crucial role in maintaining user satisfaction. Additionally, the game's restrictions, such as limiting island creation, can be seen as a strategy to encourage users to purchase additional consoles, highlighting the importance of finding the right balance between free offerings and revenue generation. By analyzing these factors, small businesses can learn valuable lessons on how to increase their chances of success in the market.

In March, a viral leaked email from a Wall Street Journal manager instructed newly remote workers to keep managers informed if they're "taking a break, conducting an interview, in a meeting, or will otherwise be unavailable for a while." This approach is counterproductive as it implies that micromanaging how remote workers spend their time is necessary to ensure productivity. In reality, good managers trust their team members to get their work done and focus on outcomes rather than time-in-seat. Building trust through open communication, regular check-ins, and accountability is crucial for remote teams. This includes setting clear expectations, having one-on-ones with direct reports, publishing weekly updates, and fostering transparency. Effective management in a remote environment requires a shift from micromanaging to trusting team members to deliver results. By doing so, managers can create a culture of trust, accountability, and momentum that drives success.

amoCRM is a messenger-based customer relationship manager (CRM) that allows businesses to grow leads and build relationships without relying on traditional phone calls and emails. It connects with popular messenger apps like Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp, and also supports email and phone calls. The platform automatically pulls leads from various communication sources into a unified inbox and syncs in real time, eliminating the need for manual updates. Additionally, amoCRM's Digital Pipeline automates the sales process by moving clients through the pipeline based on their behaviors, such as visiting specific pages on your website. The system also features built-in messaging and collaboration tools to facilitate team communication and lead tagging. With its integrations with Zapier, businesses can automate workflows without requiring complicated code.

Pia Beck, the founder of Curate Well Co., a business that helps female entrepreneurs scale and streamline their service-based businesses, shares her journey of leaving an unfulfilling corporate job to start her own successful business. She achieved success by identifying her strengths and creating a system that allows her to execute on her strategy, including automation tools like Zapier, which saves her 1-2 hours per week, allowing her to focus on human connections and new projects. Through her work with clients, Pia helps them make an aligned and authentic impact, live a life they love, and leave a legacy, while also building a culture within Curate Well Co.

WordPress.org is an open source content management system (CMS) that allows users to download and use the software for free, with full control over their website's customization. In contrast, WordPress.com is a commercial service that offers a streamlined way to set up a website using a modified version of the WordPress CMS, but with less control over customization and a focus on ease of use. The two services are managed by different companies, one being Automattic and the other being the nonprofit WordPress Foundation. While both options have their pros and cons, users should consider their needs and choose between self-hosting using WordPress.org or using WordPress.com for its ease of use and support.

Salesforce is a leading player in enterprise customer relationship management (CRM) software, offering features to manage sales pipelines, connect teams, and track performance across multiple time zones and countries. With its robust analytics and tracking capabilities, businesses can see every touchpoint and interaction with customers. The platform also provides incredible customizability, allowing users to create custom objects and associate them with leads or opportunities. Additionally, Salesforce integrates seamlessly with other tools like Zapier, enabling automation of workflows and streamlining sales processes.

Shweta Dawar, a digital marketing strategist, found herself with two master's degrees but no jobs in 2016. She landed a job and started freelancing, but realized she needed systems to avoid burnout. Joining online communities of entrepreneurs helped her build a business from scratch. Shweta focused on lead-generating activities, created a valuable guide on Facebook ads, and built an email list. To automate client onboarding, she used Zapier to integrate various tools such as JotForm, Acuity Scheduling, Gmail, Trello, ConvertKit, HelloSign, and Google Drive. By implementing these automations, Shweta was able to focus on income-generating activities, avoid burnout, and grow her business.

To make video conferencing easier and less frustrating, businesses can try using automatic workflows called Zaps to automate various tasks such as sending reminders, scheduling calls, creating agendas, and follow-up tasks. These Zaps can be set up with minimal effort and can help streamline communication and organization for remote teams and clients. By automating routine tasks, individuals can reduce screen fatigue and make video conferencing a more seamless experience.

You can convert your regular Instagram account to a free Business profile, which gives you the power of a storefront on your smartphone, allowing you to add business information and tag products directly in posts. This enables you to reach non-followers and turn them into potential customers through shopping posts shared on Instagram's Explore page or Stories ads. With a Business profile, you can also gain metrics on followers' interactions with your content, making it easier to make informed marketing decisions. Additionally, tools like Zapier offer integrations that automate business marketing workflows, providing tips and success stories for creating engaging visual content.

Zapier automates workflows by connecting various tools and services, such as analytics, marketing, sales, and project management tools, allowing businesses to make data-driven decisions and track performance in real-time, thereby improving efficiency, effectiveness, and customer experience.

Pipedrive, a popular customer relationship management (CRM) app, was founded in Estonia, a country known for its high internet access and usage rates. The CRM is designed for dealmakers, offering features such as activity-based selling, call, email, and contact history tracking, and visual sales pipeline prompts to stay organized. Pipedrive provides all-in-one-place data management, customizable sales analytics, and automation capabilities through integrations with other apps like Zapier. It's a workhorse CRM suitable for various businesses, helping manage the sales cycle from end to end without manual work, and is available on iOS and Android. The app aims to help users focus more on selling rather than manual data entry.

I'm a quiet person who prefers written communication, and I value my thoughts and opinions carefully. To overcome my discomfort with speaking in large groups, I've learned to focus on high-priority tasks and communicate through writing, often asynchronously. At Zapier, we have a tradition of weekly Friday Updates where employees share their top priority projects and personal updates, fostering transparency, collaboration, and community. This practice helps build relationships and encourages open discussion, even for those who prefer written communication. By implementing similar practices in your remote workplace, you can create a positive culture and encourage intentional communication.

Building a strong network can be the key to professional growth as an entrepreneur, providing access to business connections, mentorship, and valuable resources. To build your network, consider pursuing learning opportunities through online courses or attending events that align with your values and goals. Be intentional about the platforms you support and test social media waters before pruning your feed. Give more than you take by sharing knowledge and expertise, becoming a connector to others, and creating solutions for everyone you meet. Attend the right events tailored to your interests to expand your network and make meaningful connections.

Marshmallow Streaming, an Illinois-based home entertainment company, had a manual 20-step sales cycle that hindered their growth due to the lack of automation and integration with various apps. The co-founders, George Kontos and Christopher Maciejczyk, implemented Salesforce as their CRM but struggled with disjointed ecosystems of specialty apps. They found Zapier, an integration solution on the Salesforce app exchange, which provided a cost-effective and user-friendly way to automate their sales cycle, reducing manual work and freeing up sales staff to focus on growing the business.

L. Michelle Smith, a serial entrepreneur, learned the importance of diversifying her business after building a product in her corporate job that didn't get monetized due to lack of knowledge about social media at the time. She transitioned from a media training consultant to a boutique agency and eventually back to corporate America before starting no silos communications llc, which expanded into multiple lines of business including executive coaching, strategic consulting, digital content for leadership eLearning, and more. The COVID-19 pandemic affected her speaking income but she was able to weather the storm by leaning into other revenue streams such as coaching, podcasting, and brand partnerships. To automate her growing business, Michelle uses Zapier to streamline processes and focus on high-value tasks, allowing her to spend more time with her family.

Google Sheets functions are powerful tools that can perform various tasks beyond basic calculations, such as translating text into other languages, pulling in information from around the web, and cleaning up formatting. Functions like PROPER, UPPER, LOWER, GOOGLETRANSLATE, IMPORTRANGE, IMPORTHTML, IMPORTFEED, and GOOGLEFINANCE can be used to automate tasks, fix formatting issues, translate text, pull data from other spreadsheets or websites, and create mini charts. These functions can be used to streamline workflows, improve data accuracy, and add visual context to information, making Google Sheets a more powerful tool for spreadsheet users.

To boost productivity, focus on making small improvements rather than trying to do more in less time. Identify small areas for improvement, such as eliminating distractions or refining responses, and prioritize one area to work on each week. By focusing on a single small task, you can raise awareness of potential bottlenecks and make tangible progress towards your goals. Communicating the impact of these small changes can help reinforce their importance and motivate continued improvement, ultimately leading to significant results over time.

Building trust with customers is crucial for growing a loyal eCommerce following, and video content can play a significant role in this process. Trust can be established through competence, expertise, and social proof, which can be showcased through high-quality production, explainer videos that educate and inform, and company story videos and customer testimonials that humanize the brand. By leveraging these formats, brands can demonstrate their quality, share knowledge, and showcase genuine customer experiences, ultimately building trust with their audience and driving business growth.

"We're not launching a rocket here" is often said when comparing the complexity of software development to space exploration, but as we saw at the Kennedy Space Center, even rockets require careful planning and documentation to succeed. To apply this to our own work, we can learn from the Apollo program's emphasis on clear goals, pragmatism, and embracing failure. We should focus on solving specific problems rather than vague ones, go with what we know when possible, document everything thoroughly, and test for failure by introducing chaos into our systems. By doing so, we'll build more robust and resilient software that can withstand the inevitable failures and learn from them."

Dropbox has added a new feature that allows users to sync other folders, including Desktop, Downloads, and Documents, in addition to their Dropbox folder. This feature is currently available as a beta test for some users, but most users have access to it. To set up this feature, users need to go to their Dropbox settings, select the folders they want to back up, and save them. The backed-up files will be synced across devices and can be edited on other devices, with changes syncing over. However, there are some limitations to this feature, such as not being able to use it for two-way synchronization between computers and not being able to share backed-up folders via email invitations. This new feature also opens up opportunities for automation using services like Zapier, allowing users to trigger custom automations by moving files into a folder on their desktop.

When a construction company in Silicon Valley, founded by Tom Sagi in 2008, struggled with tracking its employees' time and wages, Sagi envisioned a mobile-friendly platform that made it easy to track time and run payroll from the convenience of your smartphone. This vision led to the founding of Hourly in 2018, a platform designed for small businesses that uses GPS and geo-fencing to track time spent working and automatically calculates overtime based on local labor laws. Hourly aims to make time tracking, payroll, and workers' comp the easiest part of any business owner's day by combining all three and automating functions that aren't core to its business. To streamline its own business, Hourly uses Zapier to create an easy, intuitive onboarding workflow, which has reduced the time spent on onboarding from days to hours and kept mistakes to a minimum. As Hourly continues to evolve, Sagi is confident that Zapier will remain an important tool in improving processes and discovering new software tools. The company plans to add Hourly to the Zapier marketplace, opening up opportunities for its customers to create workflows relevant to their businesses.