Kelly Goss - Automate It with Zapier

Boost your business productivity using effective workflow automation techniques

Kelly Goss

BIRMINGHAMMUMBAI

Copyright 2021 Packt Publishing

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Publishing Product Manager: Pavan Ramchandani

Senior Editor: Sofi Rogers

Content Development Editor: Rakhi Patel

Technical Editor: Saurabh Kadave

Copy Editor: Safis Editing

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Proofreader: Safis Editing

Indexer: Manju Arsan

Production Designer: Jyoti Chauhan

First published: July 2021

Production reference: 1230721

Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.

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ISBN 978-1-80020-897-1

www.packt.com

To my father, Eugene, and in loving memory of my mother, Winnie, for their love, sacrifice, and wisdom. You taught me to work hard, challenge myself, and follow my dreams.

To my loving partner, Dawn, for always being present and supportive in our journey together. You are my rock.

To my mentors, David Feldman, Giuseppe Salvati, and Eric Wood, for their unwavering guidance, encouragement, clarity, and insight.

To my fellow consultants, contractors, and freelancers, who work tirelessly to help small businesses succeed and drive our economy.

To women in business, everywhere.

Kelly Goss

Here at Zapier, we're just some humans that think computers should do more work. This was the founding belief of our software, and today we see millions of people automating their tedious tasks with Zapier so they can spend more time on what they love.

Just like playing with Lego, Zapier will allow you to create anything. However, sometimes it is helpful to have a step-by-step guide to ensure you build what you want. That is why we are so excited about Kelly's book.

As one of our Zapier Certified Experts since 2018, Kelly Goss is at the core of what automation and process mapping can do for businesses. She makes it easy for readers to grasp the concepts of process and automation, enabling them to harness the power of Zapier for their needs. Whether businesses are just starting out or have established complex operations, this book will guide them through setting up their first "Zaps" all the way through building advanced workflows.

We appreciate how committed Kelly is to working alongside the Zapier brand and hope you enjoy her perspective on how to make automation work for you!

Cody Jones

Head of Global Partnerships & Channels at Zapier

Kelly Goss is a business process automation specialist and founder of Solvaa, an agency that helps businesses systemize and increase productivity with simpler, more efficient automated processes. She started her process improvement career as a microbiologist in pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing, leading projects that contributed to improving the quality and sterility of blood collection needles, syringes, tubes, and injectable vaccines. She then co-founded and ran a veterinary practice, and as managing director was responsible for overseeing marketing, sales, operations, and finance functions. This role gave her first-hand experience of the efficiency struggles small businesses can face, and how they can thrive by embracing the right technology. She thereafter founded Solvaa, and as a passionate advocate of business automation and continuous improvement, she helps businesses make light work of manual and repetitive tasks to achieve their productivity goals. Kelly is a Zapier Certified Expert, Pipedrive CRM Certified Expert, Xero Certified Advisor, speaker, and head trainer of the Solvaa Automation Academy. She is a self-taught artist, a lover of travel and adventure, animals, urban art, and ethnic street food.

To the amazing project team at Packt, thank you for your patience and dedication to make this book possible.

To the technical reviewers, Heather and Sergiy, thank you for your guidance and input.

To my family and friends, who have shown constant support during this writing process.

Sergiy Bondarenko is an experienced marketing and business operations professional. He has extensive experience in building, operationalizing, and automating processes at large multinational companies, as well as smaller high-growth start-ups. He is a Zapier and Adobe Marketo Engage Certified Expert with deep expertise in Salesforce and similar enterprise platforms.

Heather Satterley is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and founder of Satterley Accounting Services. She is also the founder of Satterley Training & Consulting, LLC a consulting firm focused on helping businesses define, design, and automate their processes by employing innovative strategy and cloud-based technology. Heather is an Advanced Certified ProAdvisor, member of the exclusive Intuit Trainer/Writer Network, and a Zapier Certified Expert. She holds a master's degree in innovation from Northeastern University in Boston, MA.

Heather is also the co-host of the QB Appy Hour with Liz and Heather, a webinar series devoted to building awareness in the accounting community about the latest technology trends and best practices in a fun, relaxed environment.