Automation before artificial intelligence — the approach that is changing small businesses in St. Louis
Automation is on everyone’s lips, but does everyone actually understand the difference between automating processes and using real artificial intelligence?
While the market keeps buzzing with promises that AI will solve everything, an entrepreneur in St. Louis is swimming against that current — and getting solid results.
Alex Ward, founder of Automate My.Co, stands behind a simple but powerful idea: before rushing to hire expensive and complex AI tools, small businesses should first look at process automation.
The logic makes sense when you stop and think about it.
Many businesses still lose hours every week on repetitive tasks that could be handled with simple automated workflows — no coding required and no fortune spent.
That is where Ward’s work comes in, and the story behind it is definitely worth knowing. 👇
How it all started: from bike delivery to automation consulting
Alex Ward’s journey into the world of automation did not start in a corporate meeting room or a tech lab. It was born on top of a bicycle — literally. In 2019, Ward purchased Food Pedaler, a pedal-powered restaurant delivery service that operates in St. Louis. It was while managing the day-to-day operations of that business that he realized how much time was being wasted on manual, repetitive processes that could run on their own with the right tools.
In Ward’s own words: My first business, the Food Pedaler, that is how I taught myself to automate. That self-taught learning led him to master platforms like Zapier and discover the potential of so-called no-code tools — the ones that let you build complete workflows without writing a single line of code. The time savings were so significant that Ward decided to turn that expertise into a new business dedicated entirely to helping other entrepreneurs do the same.
That is how Automate My.Co was born, a consulting firm focused on small businesses across a wide range of industries. Among the clients Ward has already worked with are a sleep technology company, a coworking space, a consumer packaged goods brand, a fitness studio, and several others. The common thread is always the same: businesses that need to do more with less and were spending way too much time on tasks that could run on autopilot.
The problem nobody wants to admit
Most small businesses come to Alex Ward with a problem in common: they think they need artificial intelligence to grow, but in practice what they really need is to stop wasting time on manual processes that drain energy, money, and their teams’ attention. That diagnosis might sound too simple, but it is exactly that simplicity that makes all the difference when choosing the right solution for the right moment in a business. Before any advanced technology, you need to understand which parts of your operation are holding back growth — and many times the answer lies in routine tasks like sending emails, scheduling, generating reports, and updating spreadsheets.
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Ward tends to use a pretty straightforward approach with his clients: there is no point in investing in sophisticated tools if the internal processes are broken or inefficient. If the basics do not work, no artificial intelligence tool is going to fix that — it will just accelerate the chaos. This perspective positions automation as a prior and essential step in the technology journey of any business, especially smaller ones that do not have the margin to waste resources on solutions that fail to deliver real returns in the short term.
What many entrepreneurs discover throughout this process is that a good chunk of their operational problems can be solved with tools that already exist, are affordable, and are easy to set up. There is no need to hire a developer, build systems from scratch, or sign up for pricey enterprise plans. Sometimes, all that is missing is the ability to see the workflow through a different lens — and that is where Ward’s consulting comes in as a map to guide that perspective in a more strategic and objective way.
The discovery phase: how the consulting works in practice
Ward explains that the work with each client always starts with a discovery phase. During this stage, he has in-depth conversations about the day-to-day reality of the business — what the daily, weekly, and monthly processes look like, where the bottlenecks are, and which tasks eat up the most of the team’s time.
According to him, most companies already come in with some idea of what they would like to tackle first. Ideally, it is going to be something that is really time-consuming, Ward explains. But he also shares that some clients underestimate the possibilities and feel almost embarrassed asking for help with things that seem small.
Sometimes I have clients who act like they do not want to overwhelm me, and they say something like: hey, is it possible to do this? And usually it is something small that takes me just a few minutes to set up, he says. That accessibility is one of the pillars of his approach — the idea that no project is too big or too small to benefit from good automation.
No-code tools as a gateway
One of the big bets at Automate My.Co is on so-called no-code tools, platforms that let you create full automations without writing a single line of programming. Names like Zapier, Make (formerly Integromat), and n8n are at the core of this approach, and they allow anyone with a bit of logic and a willingness to learn to connect apps, create automatic triggers, and build workflows that would have previously required an entire IT team. For small businesses, this represents a pretty significant turning point: technology stops being a privilege of large corporations and becomes something tangible and applicable in everyday operations.
Ward describes tools like Zapier by comparing them to a visual flowchart. An initial event — like receiving an email — triggers a chain of actions, all automatically and without any manual intervention. That conceptual simplicity is what makes no-code tools so powerful: the logic is intuitive, visual, and can be quickly adjusted as the needs of the business change.
In many cases, the solution lies in integrating tools the client is already using — like Google Sheets, Gmail, WhatsApp Business, Notion, or Trello — so they start talking to each other without human intervention. That kind of connection might seem small, but the cumulative impact over weeks and months is enormous in terms of operational efficiency.
The real differentiator of no-code platforms is not just the technical ease, but also the speed of implementation. While a traditional software project can take months to get off the ground, a no-code automation can be up and running in a matter of hours. This allows the entrepreneur to test, adjust, and validate quickly whether that solution actually solves the problem — and if it does not, reconfigure it without losing time or money. It is that agility that makes Ward’s approach so attractive to businesses that need fast and concrete results.
Real-world case: automatic lead screening
One of the examples Ward mentions most often involves lead management, one of the most common challenges among small businesses. Imagine a company that has a contact form on its website and receives hundreds of messages a day. Without automation, someone on the team has to read every message, decide whether it is a potential customer or a support request, route it to the right person, and log everything manually. That eats up an absurd amount of time and opens the door to errors and delays that can cost sales.
Ward shares that he worked with one client over the course of a few years to solve exactly this problem. He set up an automated workflow that analyzes the content of each incoming message, identifies what kind of contact it is, and takes the appropriate action: if it is a sales opportunity, it creates a deal — meaning an opportunity in the sales system — and assigns it to the right salesperson. If it is a support request, it automatically generates a ticket and routes it to the responsible team. All of this happens without anyone having to lift a finger.
And this is where Ward’s argument gets even stronger: the faster you respond, the higher the chance of closing a deal or making a sale. Automation is not just about saving time — it is about capturing opportunities that would be lost in slow and manual processes.
When artificial intelligence enters the picture
Once the processes are at least minimally organized and automated, that is when artificial intelligence starts to make sense as a next step. Ward is not against using AI — on the contrary, he recognizes that the technology has valuable applications. The core of his philosophy is that AI should be used to amplify what already works, not to try to fix problems that have simpler roots and that automation solves with much greater efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
Ward draws a very clear distinction between two types of tasks. On one side, there are deterministic tasks — those that follow a fixed set of rules like if this happens, do step one, then two, then three. For those, traditional automation is more than enough. In practice, it is like running a simple software program, with no need for artificial intelligence.
On the other side, there are non-deterministic tasks, where AI truly shines. One example Ward gives is reading and interpreting a block of text to determine the priority of a response. That kind of analysis requires contextual understanding that goes beyond simple rules, and that is where language models and other AI tools add real value.
The problem, according to Ward, is that many companies are using AI to solve purely deterministic tasks — a waste of resources, energy, and money. AI is a buzzword, a hot topic right now, and it also consumes a lot of energy, as most people know, and I do not feel great about that, he says. So I try to use it quite sparingly.
Ward also points out that the cost of entry for artificial intelligence tools is still a real barrier for many small businesses. Enterprise plans for generative AI, advanced integrations, and specific customizations can require investments that simply do not fit the budget of a growing business. On the other hand, no-code automation tools have free or very affordable plans that already deliver real value from day one — and that makes a huge difference for anyone who needs a return on investment that is both fast and sustainable.
Productivity without hiring more people
One of the most impressive results Ward shares is from a client who managed to boost productivity significantly without needing to make new hires. With automated processes in place, the existing team was able to handle a larger workload, eliminating bottlenecks that would have previously required extra hands.
Ward acknowledges that this means some jobs were never created, but argues that the money saved can be redirected more strategically. Instead of hiring people for repetitive operational roles, the company can invest in higher-impact positions — like a chief technology officer or someone who brings strategic vision to the business.
This is a point that sparks debate, but the reality for many small businesses is that the budget is limited and every hire needs to generate as much value as possible. Automation allows human resources to be allocated where they truly make a difference, while repetitive tasks are left to the machines.
What small businesses can do right now
The core message Ward brings to the market is pretty straightforward: you do not need AI to be efficient — you need well-structured processes and the right tools to automate them. This perspective goes against the tech hype that dominates business conversations right now, but that is exactly why it stands out. In a landscape where everyone is talking about large language models and AI-powered automation, talking about operational fundamentals sounds almost revolutionary — and the results from Ward’s clients prove that this approach works.
Ward also makes a point of emphasizing that even when a company feels its processes are already running well, it is worth looking at new tools. As technology evolves, there are always tools that can help you work more efficiently and save time, he says. That mindset of continuous improvement is what separates businesses that grow sustainably from those that fall behind.
Among the most common cases that come up in Automate My.Co consulting engagements are situations like:
- Sales teams that were losing hours every week manually updating CRMs and now have everything automatically synced between forms, emails, and spreadsheets;
- Small e-commerce stores that used to send order confirmations and invoices manually and now have that entire flow running on its own, without human intervention;
- Service providers who were scheduling meetings through WhatsApp and email in a scattered way and now use automated workflows integrated with Google Calendar and payment systems;
- Marketing agencies that used to generate monthly reports by hand and now receive those reports automatically compiled into dashboards updated in real time.
Each of these examples represents hours saved every week — hours that can be redirected to what truly matters: growth, customer relationships, innovation, and strategy.
Building community: the automation Meetup in St. Louis
Beyond his consulting work, Ward is also investing in building a local community around the topic. He created a monthly Meetup for professionals interested in process automation and everything related to no-code and low-code solutions. The first gathering happened recently on a Monday and brought together about half a dozen participants — a modest start, but a promising one for someone planting the seeds of a community that could grow significantly.
The idea behind the group is to create a space for sharing among people who are exploring these tools in their day-to-day lives, whether for their own businesses or to help other entrepreneurs. In a world that often seems obsessed with complex and expensive solutions, having a place to talk about the power of simple and accessible ones is a differentiator that makes a lot of sense.
Why this conversation matters right now
The movement Alex Ward represents goes far beyond a technical consulting practice. It reflects an important mindset shift for the small business ecosystem: technology does not need to be complex to be powerful. Sometimes, the biggest efficiency leap a business can take comes from something seemingly simple — a well-configured automated workflow, two tools connected the right way, a process that used to depend on someone remembering to do it and now just happens on its own.
At a time when the term artificial intelligence dominates headlines and business conversations, Ward’s message serves as a valuable reminder: fundamentals matter. Before chasing the next tech trend, it is worth stopping and asking whether the basics are running well. Most of the time, it is in those basics where the biggest opportunity for gains lives.
That is the true power of automation, and it is available to any company willing to look inward with intention before looking at what the market is selling out there. 🚀
