Small business owners have more technology at their disposal than ever before. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re saving time.
As AI tools and automation platforms multiply, it’s becoming increasingly easy to add another app, subscription, dashboard, or process without stopping to ask whether it actually makes running your business easier.
Entrepreneur Todd Katcher has spent nearly two decades building businesses across industries including hospitality, digital advertising, automotive technology, SaaS, and AI. Despite his enthusiasm for technology, he believes new tools need to earn their place in a business.
His advice to small business owners is to start with the problem, not the technology — and automate the work that gives people more time to do the things humans still do best.
I asked Katcher how small business owners can distinguish genuinely useful technology from the latest shiny object — and how to tell whether AI is removing friction or simply creating a more technologically advanced version of it.
What Should Small Businesses Automate?
Rieva Lesonsky: How do you decide what should be automated and what should remain human?
Todd Katcher: For a small business, I think the first question is: Is this task taking time away from something only a person can really do well?
If someone is spending hours every week moving information between systems, building the same report, scheduling repetitive tasks, or doing administrative work that follows a predictable pattern, that’s where automation can be incredibly valuable.
But I wouldn’t rush to automate the parts of the business where trust and relationships matter.
Customers still want to feel heard. Employees still want access to a real manager. People know when they’re being pushed through a system. And AI still makes a lot of mistakes.
My general rule is: Automate repetitive tasks that will buy back time for your day. The best technology should create more time for what only humans can do.
Lesonsky: Where are small businesses currently overusing AI?
Katcher: I think one of the biggest risks right now is using AI simply because it’s available.
Small businesses already have limited time and limited resources, so adding another tool should solve a very specific problem.
Content is an easy example. AI can help you create 10 times more emails, blog posts, social posts, and marketing materials. But if those things aren’t helping the customer or moving the business forward, all you’ve done is produce more noise faster.
AI makes it very easy to become more efficient at work that may not need to exist.
I’d rather see an owner ask, “What am I doing over and over again that takes me away from customers, employees, or growing the business?” That’s the place to start when it comes to AI and automations.
Start With the Problem, Not the Technology
Lesonsky: What kinds of operational friction should owners look for before choosing a technology solution?
Katcher: I would pay attention to the things everybody complains about — and especially the things they’ve stopped complaining about because they’ve accepted them as normal.
That’s where a lot of opportunity lives. The challenge is just getting people to accept that their normal isn’t good enough just because it’s become normal. People have to be willing to upgrade and embrace change.
Maybe an owner spends every Friday night putting together reports. Maybe employees are entering the same customer information in multiple places. Maybe everyone is constantly texting each other asking for updates. Maybe customers have to call just to find out what’s going on.
When the answer to why a process or operation exists is “That’s just how we’ve always done it.” That’s the red flag.
Sometimes a gem might pop up when you’re not looking for it. But generally, shopping for technology should happen after identifying the friction first, not “just because.”
What is taking too long? Where are mistakes happening? Where are employees getting frustrated? What creates unnecessary calls or questions from customers?
Once you understand the actual problem, it becomes much easier to judge whether a piece of technology is useful or just interesting.
Lesonsky: How can they tell whether a new tool is actually saving time or simply adding another layer of technology to manage?
Katcher: The answer to this one requires an accurate evaluation of the current method, testing the tool, and then comparing the output.
Before you buy the tool, figure out what the current process costs you.
If something takes four hours a week today, write that down. If three employees are touching the same process, understand why. If customers are calling 10 times a day because they can’t get information another way, know that number.
Then look again after you introduce the technology.
- Did the four hours become one?
- Did a five-step process become two?
- Did people stop having to enter the same information twice?
- Did customer questions decrease?
If the new system creates another login, another dashboard, another subscription, and another thing the owner has to manage — while the old process is still happening — then you probably didn’t remove friction.
You just added more technologically advanced friction.
Use AI to Give People More Time
Lesonsky: Where can AI give owners back time they can spend with customers, employees, or growing the business?
Katcher: For a small business owner, there are always more ideas to execute than you have people, time, or expertise for.
AI tools bridge the gap.
It can help with research, organizing information, summarizing data, drafting communications, developing ideas, preparing for meetings, analyzing problems, or learning something you previously would have needed another person to help you with.
That’s a pretty accurate summary of how I use most AI tools and agents. The important part is what you do with the time you get back.
If AI saves an owner five hours a week and those five hours just become five hours of additional administrative work, I’m not sure much has been accomplished.
If those hours become time with customers, coaching employees, developing a new opportunity, thinking strategically, or even getting home earlier, that’s real value.
For me, the goal of AI is to remove the tasks or the skill gap that slows people down or keeps them from doing their best work.
Lesonsky: You came from running bars and other businesses rather than from a traditional technology background. Has that shaped the way you evaluate technology?
Katcher: I’ve never approached technology from the perspective of, “This is impressive, so how do we use it?” I find the opposite approach to be more effective.
Something in the business is frustrating me, costing time, creating mistakes, or making life harder for employees or customers, and I start asking why it still works that way.
That happened when I was running bars. It happened in fitness. It happened in automotive. It still happens today.
Businesses are full of workarounds that become permanent.
Somebody creates a spreadsheet to fix a problem. Then somebody creates a process around the spreadsheet. Then another report gets created to keep track of the process. Ten years later, nobody remembers why they’re doing any of it.
So, my filter is pretty basic:
- What problem are we actually trying to solve?
- How much is that problem costing us in time, money, or frustration?
- Does this technology remove the problem, or does it simply give us a more sophisticated way to manage it?
I’m very optimistic about technology and AI. My perspective is that new technology is the worst it will ever be, so if I learn it at this stage, it will only improve from here. However, new tech still has to earn its place. Being the newest and shiniest isn’t enough.
There are a lot of billion-dollar companies whose tools and resources are full of glitches. If I’m going to add any tool to my workflow, it has to provide a meaningful improvement for myself or my team.
My Takeaway
The question small business owners should ask about AI isn’t “What can I automate?” It’s “What problem am I trying to solve?”
Before adding another tool, establish what the current process is costing you in time, money, mistakes, or frustration. Then measure what changes after you introduce the technology. If a four-hour task takes one hour, employees stop entering the same information twice, or customers no longer have to call for routine information, you’ve solved something.
But if you’ve added another subscription, login, and dashboard while everyone continues doing the old work, you haven’t automated much of anything.
And don’t overlook what may be the most valuable return on your AI investment: time. If technology gives you more of it to spend with customers, employees, growing your business — or simply living your life — that’s a return worth measuring.
Rieva Lesonsky is the founder of Small Business Currents, a content company focusing on small businesses and entrepreneurship. You can find her on Twitter @Rieva, Bluesky @Rieva.bsky.social, and LinkedIn. Or email her at Rieva@SmallBusinessCurrents.com.
