Why Most Brisbane Business Owners Get Automation Wrong
I’ve sat down with hundreds of business owners from Chermside to Logan, and they all say the same thing: "I’m working 70 hours a week, but half of that is just pushing paper and chasing invoices."
When they hear the word "automation," they usually think of two things. Either they think it’s some sci-fi robot stuff that costs fifty grand, or they think it’s a total waste of time because they tried one "app" once and it didn't work.
Here is the blunt truth: If you aren't using basic automation in 2024, you are voluntarily donating your weekends to your business. You are paying yourself $5 an hour to do data entry when you should be out on-site or closing deals.
But there is a trap. Most people go out and buy five different pieces of software because a salesman told them to. They end up with a mess of tools that don't talk to each other, and suddenly, they're spending more time fixing the software than they were doing the work manually.
This guide isn't about the "tech." It’s about how to make your business run itself so you can actually go to your kid's footy game on a Saturday without your phone blowing up.
Mistake #1: Automating a Mess
I worked with a landscaper in Samford who wanted to automate his lead follow-ups. He was frustrated because people would call, he’d forget to write it down, and he’d lose the job.
He bought a fancy automation tool, but his "system" for tracking leads was literally a pile of sticky notes on his dashboard.
Adding automation to a mess just gives you an automated mess.
Before you spend a cent on software, you need to know exactly what happens from the moment a customer finds you to the moment they pay the invoice. If you can’t draw it on a piece of paper, you can’t automate it.
What to do instead:
Write down the five steps of your most common job. 1. Customer calls. 2. You book a quote. 3. You send the quote. 4. They approve it. 5. You do the work and invoice.Once you have that, you can look at what to automate and what actually requires your personal touch. Hint: The "quote sent" and "invoice reminder" parts should never involve your manual effort again.
Mistake #2: Buying Tools for Features, Not Results
Software companies are great at selling you "features." They’ll tell you their tool has 500 integrations, a custom dashboard, and AI-powered analytics.
As a business owner in Brisbane, do you care about a "custom dashboard"? No. You care about whether the phone rings and whether the money hits your bank account.
I’ve seen tradies spend $300 a month on complex CRM systems that are built for massive corporations. They use about 2% of the features, and the rest just confuses their staff.
The Cost of Getting it Wrong
If you buy the wrong tool, you lose: The subscription cost: $50 - $500 per month. Your time: 20+ hours trying to "set it up." Staff frustration: If it’s too hard, your team will just go back to using paper diaries.The "Will it make me money?" Test
Before buying any automation tool, ask these three questions: 1. Will this get me a quote out faster than my competitor? 2. Will this stop me from forgetting to invoice a client? 3. Will this save me at least 5 hours of admin a week?If the answer isn't a dead-set "Yes" to all three, put your credit card away.
Mistake #3: Ignoring the "Bridge" Tools
Most small business owners think they need one "magic" software that does everything. These rarely exist for small businesses. Usually, you have one tool for your accounting (like Xero), one for your bookings, and maybe one for your emails.
The mistake is trying to manually move data between them.
If you are copying an email address from your contact form and typing it into your email list, you are failing. There are "bridge" tools (like Zapier or Make) that act as the glue. They tell Tool A to talk to Tool B.
When we help businesses with AI and marketing automation, we focus on these bridges. It’s about making sure that when a customer fills out a form on your site, they get a text message instantly, and their details are already sitting in your diary. That’s how you win jobs before the other bloke has even checked his inbox.
Mistake #4: Forgetting the Customer Experience
Have you ever called a local business and been trapped in a "Press 1 for Sales" loop that goes nowhere? That is bad automation.
Automation should make your customer feel like they are getting
better service, not like they are talking to a brick wall.For example, if a customer books a quote for a kitchen renovation in Indooroopilly, they should get an instant text: "Hi [Name], thanks for booking! I’ll be at your place at 10 am Tuesday. Here is a link to some of our recent work while you wait."
That makes you look like a pro. It builds trust. It makes them less likely to call the next guy on Google.
Mistake #5: Trying to do it all at once
I see this all the time. A business owner listens to a podcast, gets fired up, and tries to automate their entire office in a weekend. By Monday, everything is broken, the staff are angry, and the owner gives up on tech forever.
Start small. Pick the one thing that annoys you the most.
Is it chasing unpaid bills? Start there. Is it booking appointments? Start there.
Realistic Timelines
Week 1: Map out your process. Week 2: Pick one tool and set up one automation (e.g., auto-reply to new enquiries). Week 3: Test it. Make sure it doesn't send weird messages to your mum.- Week 4: Roll it out to the whole team.
The Real Cost of Doing Nothing
Let’s do some quick Brisbane math.
If you spend 5 hours a week on basic admin—sending "just following up" emails, booking quotes, and moving data—and your time is worth $100 an hour, that’s $500 a week.
That is $26,000 a year you are burning on tasks a computer can do for $50 a month.
Even worse, think about the leads you lose. If you take 4 hours to respond to a website enquiry, that customer has already moved on to the next person. In a competitive market like Brisbane, speed is everything.
You can actually get leads on autopilot if you set the system up correctly. While you're on the tools or at lunch, your website is working, qualifying the customer, and putting them in your calendar.
What Should You Do First?
Stop looking for the "perfect" tool. It doesn't exist.
1. Audit your time: For the next three days, write down every time you do a task that feels like "paperwork." 2. Pick the low-hanging fruit: Usually, this is lead response or invoicing. 3. Get help if you need it: You wouldn't try to wire your own switchboard if you're not a sparky. If setting up software makes your head spin, hire someone to do it for you. It’ll save you a fortune in the long run.
At Local Marketing Group, we don't care about fancy tech for the sake of it. We care about whether your phone rings and whether you have more time to actually run your business.
We’ve helped everyone from local plumbers to professional services firms stop being slaves to their admin. If you want to see how automation can actually grow your profit without adding to your workload, let's have a chat.
Ready to stop wasting time and start growing? Contact Local Marketing Group today