Itzik Levy is the CEO and founder of vcitathe partner-focused SME business management platform.
Starting a small business is a lifelong dream for many, and becoming successful is an even bigger dream. But success usually comes only at the end of a long journey, fraught with significant pressures and challenges.
Small businesses often start as sole proprietorships – one-man operations – with their owners handling everything from marketing and finances to operations, regardless of how proficient they are in those tasks. Many solopreneurs tackle these challenges using nothing but their passion.
But passion goes only so far. Small businesses have limited resources, with 54% of small businesses owners start their businesses with personal funds and 12% rely on friends and family.
The responsibility that comes with these investments weighs heavily on small business owners, often compounding stress, burnout, and feelings of loneliness. A stunner 91% of small business owners have experienced work-related stress in the past 12 months.
Fortunately, AI can help greatly.
More than just a useful tool, AI can be a strategic aid and extension of the business owner’s team, alleviating their problems with smarter, more personalized assistance.
Overworked and underprepared
Unlike large companies that can hire specialist employees or pay for advice from a consultancy firm, SMEs generally find it difficult to offload tasks. For example, many small businesses don’t have the budget to outsource accounting, marketing, recruiting, etc.
Thus, small business owners must be jacks of all trades, handling various aspects of their business on their own, whether they are adequately prepared or not. Since they are not experts in Across all areas of their business operations, there is a significant opportunity for AI to step in and help them execute tasks faster and to a higher standard.
However, there is an accessibility issue; The people who would benefit most from this technology are often not technologically savvy enough to use it effectively. Forty-six percent of small business owners say they have only a basic understanding of the benefits AI can bring to their business.
AI can help you with everything from streamlining customer communication to analyzing the market and identifying growth opportunities. All of these tasks are essential and time-consuming, requiring skills that many small business owners have not yet mastered. Executing them accurately and efficiently using AI will save small businesses two of their most valuable resources: time and money.
AI Challenges and Opportunities
For many small business owners, AI still seems like something out of a science fiction movie: abstract, intimidating, and with no application to their lives. Although there are many AI business tools available on the market today, most of them are not accessible or intuitive enough for the average small business owner.
In theory, AI can help some SMEs in the areas of marketing, product adjustment, accounting, decision-making, etc. However, these tools rely on aggregate data found across the web and ignore company-specific data. Therefore, they do not take into account important parameters such as location, industry and size of the small business.
To harness the true potential of AI and gain truly valuable insights, AI systems need detailed information about the SME’s business history and future goals. This tailored approach ensures that AI tools are not just functional but are strategic assets that significantly contribute to business growth and decision-making.
Another challenge is that many SMEs simply don’t know when or where to use AI, and actively turning to AI may not be obvious. For AI to be useful to SMEs, it must be integrated into the solutions they already use for their daily business tasks and appear where relevant. When provided in context, AI solutions are able to deliver greater value, allowing SMEs to take full advantage of this technology.
Finally, AI must be actionable. Suggestions and ideas are great, but many SMBs need help translating them into concrete actions they can take to make an impact on their business. This is why AI solutions must guide SMEs through all the steps and provide the necessary infrastructure to take action. In some cases, AI can even apply automation to act on behalf of the SME.
The Dream Team: AI as an advisor
By enabling AI to take on key roles in the business, such as marketing, finance, logistics and customer service, small businesses can take advantage of a “dream team” that they don’t have. cannot afford to hire. By building the virtual team they never had, AI allows them to excel as a jack-of-all-trades.
Harnessed in this way, AI can offer new perspectives, professional advice and even emotional support. Additionally, by offloading many of the tedious tasks from small business owners, AI can help them improve their business results, as well as their work-life balance. In fact, 1 in 3 people say they lack time to lead a healthy personal life. If AI can get rid of a few tasks, these entrepreneurs will have more time to rest, spend time with family, invest in hobbies and much more.
Some practical applications of this “AI dream team” include AI personal assistants that remind owners of meetings and help schedule tasks, or AI financial advisors that can help with accounting, file storage, and tax calculations. . Additionally, AI marketing experts can analyze market trends and optimize advertising strategies, while AI copywriters generate engaging content that improves brand presence and customer engagement.
The ideal AI dream team should be easy to use and tailored to the historical data and goals of any given company.
Making sense of AI
AI can be more than just a tool: it must drive tangible business results by providing the expertise, guidance and extra hands that small businesses need.
Not only is it high time for AI vendors to create solutions suitable for small businesses, but it is also time for small businesses to adopt and integrate them easily and successfully. By adopting the AI solutions they need and more of them reaching out to SMBs and offering solutions integrated with their other business tools, the most passionate entrepreneurs can have the chance at success they deserve.
Technology leaders must seize this opportunity and work diligently to make these advanced solutions more accessible, allowing small businesses to thrive.
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