AI Essentials for Entrepreneurs & SMBs

Master AI Before It Masters You

The AI marketplace is expected to grow to $407 billion by 2027, more than four times the size it was in 2022.1 That’s not surprising, considering a survey from Visa found that 84% of small to midsize business leaders believe AI can help them refocus human skills and talents to be even more effective and efficient.2

Here at TopAITools, we feel this in a very personal way. This newsletter has been a long time in the making, reflecting our experience, knowledge, and expertise running multiple start-ups. But our creative use of AI has made it faster, easier, and more fun to put together than any of our previous projects!

We’re excited to bring you AI Essentials, your small business owner’s guide to “Mastering AI Before It Masters You.” We hope it’s that little spark of knowledge, insight, and entertainment you’ll look forward to seeing in your overflowing inbox. (And hey, we have a few tools to help you deal with inbox overload as well!)

Can AI Help Make Your Employees More Productive?

In today's fast-paced business world, small and medium-sized businesses are always seeking ways to save money and boost productivity.

That’s why we love technology so much — it can streamline operations, amp up efficiency, and make us (and our employees!) look and feel more productive. However, technology can also expose challenges like employee disengagement, which can severely impact productivity.

Take, for instance, the Big 4 financial services firm Wells Fargo, which recently fired more than a dozen employees for “mouse jiggling.”

The term may sound funny but it’s serious business for remote workers who use technology to simulate keyboard activity while they perform other tasks not related to work. Sometimes, these workers are holding another job. Or they could be doing laundry. Or napping. Essentially, they’re doing anything but the work they’re paid to do.

If it can happen to a big company like Wells Fargo, it can happen to your business. And it’s just another challenge in the same vein as quiet quitting that employers face today.

“Employee disengagement can cost a median-size S&P 500 company between $228 million and $355 million per year in lost productivity.”

–McKinsey & Company3

Across the board, roughly one-third of the workforce is said to be disengaged, while 11% are “actively disengaged.” That’s just a buzz-y way of saying their behavior could diminish your organization’s morale.

So, what’s at the heart of the problem?

Mouse-jigglers notwithstanding, many SMBs lack the ability to adopt new technologies that could boost engagement and foster innovation within the company.

According to stats from the World Economic Forum,4 SMBs struggle with adopting new technologies because of:

• Limited expertise

• Financial constraints

• Resource limitations

The results could be fatal to your business….

67% of SMBs are fighting for survival.

But there’s hope: Eighty-five percent of organizations recognize the adoption of new technologies as a key driver for transformation.

By addressing these issues and leveraging AI’s cost- and time-saving benefits, small business owners can turn the tide to not just survive, but thrive.

More and more, we’re seeing AI tools that can swiftly streamline repetitive tasks, offer valuable insights that drive better decision-making, and ensure that your team remains productive and focused on what truly matters.

At TopAITools.com, we employ AI tools every day to help us work smarter, not harder. This newsletter seeks to give you a peek into our world, insights to help you leverage AI in your business, and practical, actionable tips you can implement right now.

FOCUS:

This AI Tool Provides Our Roadmap For Success

Notion is an essential productivity partner at TopAITools.com. We used it to create a launch checklist for our free, online AI Crash Course. We use it to find or craft better ChatGPT prompts for business plans, hiring, and strategizing.

Notion serves as a virtual assistant, sounding board, accountability partner, and muse all in one, helping us create outlines for editorial content and manage workflows to ensure tasks get done.

Find out how you can use Notion to boost productivity

in your start-up or established small biz.

SPONSOR:

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