Artificial intelligence is no longer the domain of tech giants; it’s now a powerful tool helping small business owners dream bigger, create faster, and compete smarter. According to LinkedIn’s AI & Global Policy Report, 61% of US small businesses using artificial intelligence say they leverage it to boost innovation and creativity. From fashion designers and florists to café owners and inventors, entrepreneurs are using AI to turn ideas into tangible products with greater efficiency and precision.
To explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping creativity for entrepreneurs, we sat down with two Lenovo Evolve Small grant recipients, Bentley and Lace, a custom gown design studio and Bloomhouse Flowers and Coffee, a creative floral and café concept. Both shared powerful lessons on how small businesses can harness artificial intelligence to streamline operations, strengthen creativity, and stay true to their craft.
Their experiences reveal five key takeaways on how small businesses can use AI not to replace artistry, but to enhance it, helping founders think smarter and serve their customers more meaningfully.
The Rise of the AI-Creativity Partnership
Across industries, entrepreneurs are discovering that AI doesn’t replace creativity; it amplifies it. Small business owners are using AI to extend their imagination, streamline production, and connect more deeply with customers. A meta-analysis of 28 creative studies found that humans collaborating with generative AI outperform those working without it, evidence that AI acts as an accelerator for human imagination, not a substitute.
For Bentley and Lace, AI has become an indispensable creative partner. “We use AI to bring our creative process to life, from sketching new gown designs to showing clients how a fabric or concept will transform into a finished piece,” says Elizabeth Copeland, founder of Bentley and Lace. “It’s eliminated guesswork and built trust with clients before a single stitch is made.”
AI also supports its marketing and design workflows, helping them brainstorm campaigns, generate visuals, and refine content faster, without sacrificing their brand’s artistry. According to the Adobe Inc. State of Creativity Report 2024, generative AI is “democratizing creativity,” allowing more people to bring their ideas to life without being limited by technical skills. This shift is especially evident in how entrepreneurs are reimagining everyday work through AI-driven tools.
AI is Reshaping Small Business Workflows
AI tools are transforming how small businesses operate, simplifying complex tasks, improving accuracy, and freeing entrepreneurs to focus on creativity and customer experience. At Bloomhouse Flowers and Coffee, AI and Lenovo technology have turned daily operations from chaotic to seamless.
“Before, we didn’t even realize how much of our process was holding us back,” says Amanda Hoyle, owner and founder of Bloomhouse Flowers and Coffee. “Now, every designer works with digital tools that keep our designs consistent, accurate, and profitable.”
Bloomhouse uses AI to manage pricing, track costs, and evaluate margins in real time, allowing it to make data-informed decisions while staying creative. Recent industry surveys show that 38% of SMBs are actively using AI across multiple functions, indicating growing confidence in AI’s operational impact.
“AI has made the overwhelming parts of running a business feel manageable,” says Hoyle. “Instead of spending hours stuck on the small things, we’re free to focus on creativity, serving customers, and creating joyful experiences.”
The impact is measurable, according to the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, 76% of small business owners say AI frees up time for both the owner and employees to focus on high-value tasks—a benefit clearly felt at Bloomhouse.
For Bloomhouse, what once felt overwhelming now feels strategic. With Lenovo’s technology powering their operations, from desktops that double as checkouts to tablets serving as digital menus, and laptops at each designer’s station, every aspect of the workflow has become more efficient and intuitive. The team can now manage multiple customers at once, maintain design consistency, and deliver a smoother experience. Lenovo’s technology hasn’t just improved efficiency; it’s given Bloomhouse the confidence to scale and serve every customer with care, even during the busiest seasons.
AI-enabled Technology is Empowering Creativity
The integration of AI into personal computing is revolutionizing how creative entrepreneurs work, enabling faster ideation, smarter decision-making, and smoother collaboration. A survey of over 2,000 U.S. creative professionals found that the top benefits of generative AI tools are time savings and enhanced brainstorming. With the rise of AI PCs, which now feature built-in neural processing units for local AI tasks, access to this technology is more seamless than ever.
Across industries, Lenovo’s AI-powered technology is helping small business owners reimagine what’s possible. From fashion to education, these tools are meeting creators where they work, enabling them to move faster, stay consistent, and scale with confidence.
“AI has allowed us to move faster and show clients the magic of their gowns before they even arrive,” says Bentley and Lace’s Copeland. “What once took hours now takes minutes.”
In fact, research firm Canalys reported that 14% of all PC shipments in Q2 2024 were AI-capable machines, signaling a major shift toward edge-based computing, where data is processed locally on the device rather than relying solely on the cloud. That means creators like the team at Bloomhouse Flowers and Coffee can tap into powerful artificial intelligence features directly on their Lenovo desktops, laptops, and tablets without needing complex setups or constant connectivity.
Today, creative software can suggest design variations, flag inconsistencies in voice or tone, or generate rapid prototypes without manual setup, letting creatives spend more time thinking, not tinkering. By embedding intelligence into the tools themselves, creators can move more fluidly between vision and execution.
The result: workflows where ideation, experimentation, and iteration become faster, smoother, and more intuitive, empowering small business owners to turn inspiration into impact.
Turning bold ideas into achievable realities
AI is redefining creativity for small businesses. Rather than taking the place of human ingenuity, it extends it and empowers entrepreneurs to bring their visions to life.
Entrepreneurs combining imagination with innovation are proving that small scale no longer limits ambition. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce unveiled a comprehensive nationwide analysis showing that 98% of small businesses use at least one AI-enabled tool, and 91% say it’s helping them grow. Similarly, according to the Small Business AI Adoption Survey, 75% of small businesses say artificial intelligence frees up owner and employee time so they can focus on high-value, creative work.
These statistics show that “doing more with less” can truly mean “doing more with vision,” resulting in workflows where ideation, experimentation, and iteration become faster, smoother, and more intuitive, empowering small business owners to turn inspiration into impact.
With Lenovo technology like the hands of creators, like the secure and adaptive ThinkPad X9, innovation and imagination become inseparable. Whether through smarter workflows, faster iteration, or better decision support, artificial intelligence becomes a trusted co-pilot, guiding, enhancing, and accelerating what humans do best.
Milo Speranzo is the Chief Marketing Officer of Lenovo North America.
Focused on a bold vision to deliver Smarter Technology for All, Lenovo has built on its success as the world’s largest PC company with a full-stack portfolio of AI-enabled, AI-ready, and AI-optimized devices (PCs, workstations, smartphones, tablets), infrastructure (server, storage, edge, high performance computing and software defined infrastructure), software, solutions, and services.
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