Most Small Businesses Have No Plans to Adopt AI

But growth-minded small businesses, the Harvard Business Review reports, are moving forward aggressively.

Good Morning!

Here are today’s highlights:

• Lou Mosca explains how one business found a way to survive the tariffs.

• President Trump collected nearly $30 billion in tariffs in July. Is that a good thing?

• In the age of Ozempic, restaurants are re-thinking their business models.

• Gene Marks suggests some ways to save money on shipping.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

The vast majority of small businesses have no plans to use AI: “Despite the proliferation in accessible AI applications, relatively little research exists on perceptions about the adoption of AI among small-to-medium-sized businesses. One of the few available surveys indicated that only 21 percent of small businesses use AI or plan to use it in the next two years. However, our Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data reveals a clearer picture: ambitious entrepreneurs—those projecting hiring at least 20 new employees in the next five years—place much greater emphasis on AI. More specifically, 87 percent anticipate that AI will be critical to their business model and strategy in the next three years. Over 90 percent expect positive impacts on revenue and growth, with most citing benefits like innovative product and service development, improved productivity and efficiency, enhanced customer personalization, and better risk and compliance management.”

• “AI is also transforming industries not traditionally seen as tech-forward. Stuccco, a real estate virtual staging company, is increasingly adding AI capabilities to its renderings of staged properties. ImagineInteriors.ai, for example, is a product trained on human-generated designs that will provide real estate professionals with product visualization and virtual staging.”

• “Another offering allows consumers to create their own stagings with ‘shoppable’ products they can actually buy. What once required furniture and weeks of setup will now be done in hours with photorealistic AI renderings—allowing small firms to compete with luxury agencies. These tools don’t replace human judgment—they extend it.”

• “Entrepreneurs don’t need to build internal AI expertise right away. Many start by working with companies that embed AI into tools designed for their industry. Netic, for example, is a solution provider for HVAC, plumbing, and electrical businesses. It offers AI to automate and predict customer engagement, scheduling, and marketing. By streamlining these operational tasks, Netic helps itself and its small service firm customers improve efficiency without adding headcount or technical infrastructure.

• “Tools like these give entrepreneurs a low-risk way to validate AI’s potential. For entrepreneurs juggling multiple roles, they free up time to focus on growth. While relying on external AI vendors may not yield immediate competitive advantage, it builds organizational confidence and paves the way for more strategic, in-house experimentation down the road.” READ MORE

Alan Pentz will be our special guest at Wednesday’s Founding Members mastermind. Alan believes that owners need to have a fundamental understanding of AI’s capabilities so that they can make sure their employees are keeping up. In our conversation, Alan will talk about stepping back from his government-contracting business to start OwnerRx, which he is building to help owners better understand what AI will mean for their businesses. He’ll tell us what’s gone right, what’s gone wrong, and how his vision continues to evolve.

• If you’d like more information about the Founding Members virtual group, just reply to this email. If you’d like to join us (or renew your membership), you can upgrade here: