We recently sat down with Kelly Goss, a Zapier Certified Expert, published author and founder of Solvaa (an agency that helps businesses increase productivity using streamlined systems and automated processes), to learn how Zapier has impacted her career and what advice she has for women entering the automation field.
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Kelly, you’ve done a lot of things! Tell us a bit about you and how you got turned on to automation?
I co-founded a vet practice just for cats on the south coast of England. At the time, "cat-only" was not well known and we were one of 3 dedicated cat practices. If you're a cat lover, you'll know how important going to a cat-friendly vet is for the stress levels of the kitty.
I ran all aspects of the business with my many hats (as most start-up business owners have to do); this was where I experienced first-hand how unproductive businesses can be - working 70+ hours a week and doing tax returns the day before they were due.
Zapier was in its infancy at this time and not many small business people knew anything about automation.
“I was frazzled, struggling and needed to find a better way- I discovered Zapier and the many benefits that business process automation brings. Since that epiphany moment I have transitioned into a full-time Zapier and Business Process Consultant.
In many situations, businesses don't know where to start, don't have the time because they are already bogged down, and feel overwhelmed with the learning curve.”
Some might say you found Zapier to be the cat’s meow!🐱
Since then, you’ve worked on tons of workflows, is there one that sticks out as the most interesting?
Oh there are so many fun ones to choose from but the coolest is a series of workflows which allowed a training business to run cohorts of their courses while their LMS was under construction. So simple yet highly effective and saved hours of time every time they ran a cohort.
These workflows connected their:
- Sales and invoicing process in Pipedrive and Xero
- Onboarding and cohort management in Trello
- Presentation generation and storage in Google Drive using Google Slides
- Program emails in ActiveCampaign
- Communication in Slack for the students and internal team
- Course completion certificate generation and delivery via Google Slides and Gmail
Tell us more about what doors you have opened since becoming an automation professional?
As a one of less than 100 Zapier Certified Experts in the world and one of only a few women-led expert companies, myself and my team at Solvaa Automation Academy & Consulting have helped hundreds of businesses become more productive with the right systems, better processes and automation, using our methodology and tried-and-tested framework.
“I have published my first book, Automate It with Zapier, with a companion book in the works. It’s been incredible to speak at worldwide events, inclusive of ZapConnect, sharing my love and passion for automation with the world.”
As a woman myself, I am so excited to see more folks who identify as female entering and succeeding in the automation space. Do you have any tips for women considering automation as a career?
⚡Learn the right principles of how to implement automation effectively. We teach our tried and tested trademarked 4-Step Solvaa Automation Methodology®.
⚡Decide if you will be a specialist or a generalist i.e. find a niche or work on troubleshooting (not saying that a generalist is not a specialist in their own right).
⚡Join a supportive community where you can ask questions and bounce ideas off each other.
“Most importantly, believe in yourself, and don't give up. It can be hard making a name for yourself but stay strong and true to yourself.”
Finally, when you’re not automating, creating academies or writing multiple books, what are you up to?
I love spending time with my partner Dawn and our friends and family in London, I'm passionate about travel and animals and I'm a self-taught artist (pet portraits and animal art). I also have a little obsession with collecting indoor plants.🌵
Don’t we all have a small obsession with indoor plants? What’s not to love?!
Thank you, Kelly!