Ep. 32 Kajabi and Zapier Automations for Online Business w/ Nadiia Solo

If you’ve ever wondered where to start with automation or whether Kajabi is really worth it, you’ll love this chat with automations and Kajabi expert Nadiia Solo. We dug into the systems that actually save time for solopreneurs, how to decide if Kajabi fits your business, and a few easy automations you can set up this week — even if you’re not on Kajabi.

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Meet Nadiia

Nadiia’s path to online business wasn’t typical. She immigrated from Ukraine in her early twenties, learned English from scratch, and spent eight and a half years building a casino career… until a department switch handed her a truly terrible boss. That was the push. During pregnancy and maternity leave, she finally had breathing room to experiment, landed a role as a bilingual tech specialist for a blogger, and started learning the tools on the job. One client asked her to move courses from Thinkific to Kajabi, and she was hooked — not because Thinkific is “bad,” but because Kajabi felt more intuitive for both the admin and the student. Within a year she niched into Kajabi systems and automations full time.

Her favorite part of this story: she almost didn’t start because she was scared of the logistics — taxes, payments, the whole “am I doing this right” thing. If that’s you, take heart. You don’t need to know everything to begin. Learn as you go, get help when you’re stuck, and keep moving.

What’s Worth Automating First

Before we get nerdy about platforms, let’s talk about where owners lose the most time. Two places jump out: lead capture and client onboarding. Most people either spend hours manually emailing freebies and welcome packets or they “set it and forget it” with no follow-up, which bleeds warm leads. Put delivery and a short nurture on rails, and do the same for contracts, invoices, kickoffs, questionnaires, and scheduling. You’ll feel the difference immediately. Offboarding is another quiet win — send a tidy wrap-up, ask for a testimonial, invite referrals, and show the next step while the good vibes are high. And yes, you can also automate the internal housekeeping parts — think auto-creating a client folder or task list so your future self isn’t playing catch-up.

Why Kajabi (And When Not To)

Kajabi is a true all-in-one: website, courses, memberships, communities, podcasts, coaching, checkout, and email. If you sell — or plan to sell — anything digital, it’s incredibly nice to keep all of that in one login. Pricing is higher than a website-only tool, but when you replace separate email, course hosting, checkout, and landing-page software, it often evens out. The real test though is feel. Open a trial, click around for twenty minutes, and notice your gut. If you like being inside the tool, you’ll actually use it. If you dread it, you won’t — and no feature set can fix that.

If you’re a services-only business with zero plans for digital products, you may be perfectly happy on Squarespace, Showit, or another site builder paired with your favorite email tool. The “right” choice is the one you’ll use consistently.

The Magic: Conditional Automations

Ask Nadiia her favorite Kajabi feature and she’ll say automations — especially conditions and branching. That’s where client experience gets personal without adding work. A simple example: when someone downloads your lead magnet, a brand-new person gets a short nurture, while a past buyer skips straight to a more advanced invite. Clicks can add tags and unlock different paths. Course progress can trigger bonuses or a check-in. These little forks make people feel like you’re paying attention. That feeling translates to trust, conversions, and referrals.

Two habits help this work: tag and segment more than you think you need to, and stop reinventing manual steps that repeat. If you’ve done it twice, it wants to be automated.

Not on Kajabi? Zapier Still Helps

Every growing business ends up with a couple of extra tools. That’s where Zapier is the glue. It connects platforms that don’t integrate natively so your stack behaves like one system. A favorite “just for fun” zap: when a new lead or sale comes in, post a little celebration message to your private Slack. It’s tiny, but it makes the win visible without burying it in your inbox. More practical zaps handle things like creating client folders in Google Drive, syncing form fills to a CRM or spreadsheet, or kicking off tasks in your project manager. None of that requires Kajabi specifically — Zapier plays nicely with Squarespace, ConvertKit, Mailchimp, Calendly, and more.

How To Decide (Without Overthinking It)

Here’s the simplest framing. If digital products are on your near-term roadmap and you want fewer logins, try Kajabi. If you’re staying service-only and your current setup feels easy, you don’t need to move. And no matter what you choose, remember that your client’s journey matters more than your tool choice. The goal is a smooth, thoughtful path from “Hi, I just found you” to “That was amazing, how can we keep working together?”

Hiring Smart

If you bring in help, look for depth over “tool bingo.” You don’t need a VA who dabbles in ten platforms. You need someone who really knows the one you’re on, can show backend examples, and can explain the results they’ve created. It is absolutely okay to ask for proof and to see how their automations actually work. The best partners care about client experience, not just the tech.

A Tiny Automation You Can Ship Today

Pick one flow — lead magnet delivery, onboarding, or offboarding — and map three steps on paper. Build it in your current tool, add one tag or condition to personalize the path, send yourself a test, and turn it on. Done beats perfect. If you want a little dopamine, set up that Slack celebration zap so you actually notice when the system works for you.

How To Work With Nadiia

If you’re curious about Kajabi, start with her extended 30-day free trial so you can explore without the 14-day rush. Already on Kajabi but not using its full power Join Kajabi Thrive Club for office hours and ask-me-anything support, or grab a focused VIP Hour to map and fix what’s blocking you. If you want someone to build it end to end, she also does full done-for-you Kajabi sites, products, funnels, and automations. And if you prefer to learn first, her YouTube channel Systems with Nadiia has clear, step-by-step tutorials (including platform comparisons and new feature walk-throughs).

🔗 Links & Resources Mentioned In The Episode:

➡️ Nadiia's YouTube Channel
➡️ Thinkific vs. Kajabi
➡️ Sign up for Kajabi & Get Extra Bonuses
➡️ Join Nadiia's Kajabi Thrive Club
➡️ Book a VIP Call with Nadiia
➡️ Sign Up for Zapier

🎧 Listen to episode 32 of The Six Figure Brand Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and YouTube