10 Manual Business Tasks You’re Wasting Time On (and How to Automate Them)
This post is part of a paid collaboration with HoneyBook, a proud sponsor of The Reelies. As always, I only partner with brands I believe truly support small business owners like you.
Raise your hand if you’ve ever spent a Sunday night copy-pasting emails, manually updating invoices, or digging through your Notes app to remember who you need to follow up with. 🙋♀️
Manual business tasks are one of the biggest hidden productivity drains for entrepreneurs — especially women running creative, service-based businesses. Sure, it feels “fine” when you only have a few clients or projects, but as soon as you scale? Chaos.
And the worst part? The time you spend on repetitive admin is time you aren’t spending on creative work, marketing, or growth.
That’s why automation tools for women entrepreneurs are more important than ever. Smart systems save you hours, cut out busywork, and make your business run like it has a full-time assistant behind the scenes. If you’re serious about scaling without losing your sanity, automation isn’t optional — it’s essential.
Below, I’m breaking down 10 common manual tasks that are wasting your time — and how you can automate them with platforms like HoneyBook, the best CRM for creative business owners who want to grow without burning out — we have been recommending them for years!
The Hidden Cost of Doing Everything Manually
Let’s be real: running a business with sticky notes, random spreadsheets, and your Notes app isn’t a long-term strategy. Manual processes don’t just eat up your day — they cost you real money.
Slow responses = lost leads. A hot lead might choose someone else simply because you didn’t reply fast enough.
Missed follow-ups = missed income. Manually tracking who you emailed and when often means some prospects just slip through the cracks.
Admin overload = burnout. You didn’t start your business to spend every Sunday night sending payment reminders.
Time-saving tips for female small business owners almost always come back to automation. Imagine if you could cut half of your admin tasks out each week. That’s where automation comes in — and why tools like HoneyBook are so popular with women entrepreneurs.
10 Manual Tasks You Can Automate (Right Now)
1. Following Up with Leads
The problem: Manually sending “Just checking in!” emails is exhausting — and easy to forget.
The fix: Create an automated follow-up sequence. With HoneyBook, when someone inquires on your site, they get an instant thank-you email, a questionnaire, and even a gentle nudge a few days later — without you lifting a finger.
2. Scheduling Calls and Meetings
The problem: Endless email ping-pong (“Does 2 PM Tuesday work?”).
The fix: Use a scheduler that syncs to your calendar and lets clients book a time. HoneyBook’s built-in scheduler automates this step, so you can ditch the back-and-forth and look 100% professional.
3. Sending Contracts and Proposals
The problem: Designing contracts in Canva or Word, exporting them, attaching PDFs… ugh.
The fix: HoneyBook lets you send a branded, interactive proposal that includes the contract and payment link all in one flow. Clients can sign and pay in minutes.
4. Invoicing and Payment Reminders
The problem: Forgetting to send invoices (or chase late payments).
The fix: Automate your invoicing and reminders. HoneyBook automatically sends invoices and follow-up payment reminders for you. No more awkward “just checking if you saw this” emails.
5. Client Onboarding
The problem: Piecing together welcome emails, forms, and timelines every time you sign a new client.
The fix: Create a pre-set onboarding workflow. With HoneyBook, once a contract is signed, you can automatically send a welcome email, client questionnaire, and next steps — all triggered automatically.
6. Follow-Up on Unopened Proposals
The problem: You send a proposal, then… crickets.
The fix: HoneyBook automates proposal follow-ups if a client hasn’t opened or signed it, so you don’t have to remember who to nudge.
7. Tracking Project Deadlines
The problem: Manually updating spreadsheets and calendars.
The fix: Use automation to trigger reminders for milestones. HoneyBook can send check-ins or prep emails at specific times (e.g., 1 month or 1 week before a project deadline).
8. Gathering Client Feedback or Reviews
The problem: You finish a project and forget to ask for a testimonial.
The fix: Set up an offboarding workflow to send a thank-you email and request a review automatically. HoneyBook’s automations make this simple.
9. Answering Common Client Questions
The problem: Writing the same email over and over again.
The fix: Create saved email templates or let HoneyBook’s AI draft responses to FAQs. This saves you from typing the same thing 20 times a week.
10. Managing Multiple Apps and Tools
The problem: Using 6 different tools for contracts, payments, scheduling, and emails.
The fix: HoneyBook rolls all of these into one platform. Proposals, contracts, invoicing, and communication all happen in the same place — no messy integrations or extra logins.
Why Women Entrepreneurs Love Workflow Automation
How women entrepreneurs can automate their business often comes down to having one all-in-one platform. Many creative business owners — from coaches to designers — use HoneyBook to get their backend organized so they can focus on what matters: client experience and creativity.
Ready to Automate Your Chaos?
If you’re ready to stop running your business out of your Notes app, HoneyBook is a total game-changer. From proposals and contracts to scheduling and payments, it automates the stuff you hate so you can focus on the work you love.
Start your 7-day free trial of HoneyBook here
It’s free to try, takes minutes to set up, and might just give you back your brain cells (and Sundays).
Manu Muraro is the founder of Your Social Team, which helps small entrepreneurs grow their business through content marketing, especially email and Instagram.
In 2021 Manu launched Your Template Club, one of the first Canva Template for Instagram subscriptions in the world to provide social media managers and small business owners with content templates designed for engagement.
Manu has also more recebtly started the first Instagram Reels Award Show, The Reelies Awards and an email marketing membership, Your Inbox Team.
Born and raised in Brazil, Manu moved to the U.S. in 2000 right out of college to work for Cartoon Network, where she made an award winning career in creative and strategy.