The Surprising Ways AI Can Help Small Businesses Start And Grow – Forbes

Report on Artificial Intelligence as a Driver for Sustainable Development Goals in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Introduction: Aligning AI Adoption with Global Sustainability Objectives

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents a transformative opportunity for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to enhance growth and operational efficiency. This report outlines how leveraging AI can directly contribute to the achievement of several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities). By adopting AI, businesses can expand their reach and impact without proportionally increasing their resource consumption, fostering a more sustainable and inclusive economic environment.

Promoting Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8) through AI-Powered Efficiency

AI serves as a catalyst for sustainable economic growth by augmenting the capabilities of entrepreneurs and small teams, allowing them to operate with the efficiency of much larger organizations.

• According to Dr. Michael Housman, founder and CEO of AI-ccelerator, AI functions as a “force multiplier.” It automates repetitive operational tasks such as drafting emails, generating marketing assets, and analyzing customer feedback.
• This automation frees human capital to focus on strategic, high-value activities including innovation, relationship-building, and vision. This shift promotes more engaging and decent work.
• The result is accelerated business growth without a corresponding increase in operational overhead, enabling SMEs to scale sustainably. Dr. Housman notes that AI facilitates personalized client engagement at a scale that would be manually impossible.

Fostering Innovation, Resilient Infrastructure, and Gender Equality (SDG 9 & SDG 5)

AI is a cornerstone of modern industrial innovation, providing SMEs with access to powerful tools that build resilient business infrastructure and create new opportunities, particularly within creative industries. The leadership of female entrepreneurs in this space underscores AI’s potential to advance SDG 5.

Transforming Creative Industries

• MeiMei Fox, CEO of Your Bestselling Book, demonstrates AI’s application in the publishing sector to streamline editing, design, and financial management. This innovation supports the growth and resilience of creative enterprises.
• AI enables the creation of new revenue streams and expands global reach by facilitating the production of audiobooks and translating content for international markets, thereby strengthening the economic viability of authors and publishers.
• Tools such as Google’s NotebookLM function as advanced research assistants, drastically reducing the time required for content creation and making the publishing process more accessible.

Advancing Visual and Digital Communication

• Drue Kataoka of Drue Kataoka Art Studios emphasizes that visual AI offers a significant competitive advantage. It allows for the creation of high-quality visual assets at unprecedented speed, which is critical for building a strong digital infrastructure.
• Business leaders are advised to develop skills in this area, or what Kataoka terms “The Vision Muscle,” to effectively direct these powerful tools.
• Experimentation with a range of visual AI tools is recommended to build capacity and shape a business’s visual future. Key tools include:
• Google’s Nano Banana
• Pomelli
• Mixboard
• Imagen on Vertex AI
• Google AI Studio
• Veo
• Midjourney
• Descript

Reducing Inequalities and Ensuring Market Access (SDG 10)

A primary contribution of AI is its potential to “level the playing field,” reducing inequalities by empowering smaller economic actors to compete with established corporations. This democratization of capability is crucial for achieving SDG 10.

• AI allows solo founders and small businesses to execute tasks that would traditionally require a full department, providing equitable opportunities for market participation.
• A new discipline, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), has emerged to address digital inequality in the age of AI-powered search. As noted by Svetlozar Kazanjiev, Managing Partner of Eleg.AI, customers are increasingly asking AI for information rather than using traditional search engines.
• GEO ensures that SMEs can maintain online visibility and be cited by AI tools. Without a GEO strategy, businesses risk being excluded from this primary channel, which would exacerbate market inequalities.

Strategic Framework for SDG-Aligned AI Implementation

Svetlozar Kazanjiev provides a clear, actionable framework for businesses to implement a GEO strategy that ensures their expertise is recognized by AI systems, thereby securing their place in the future digital economy.

1. Map Key Customer Inquiries: Identify the 20 to 30 most important questions your customers ask before they purchase.
2. Analyze Current AI Performance: Evaluate the responses and sources cited by major AI tools when asked these critical questions.
3. Develop Authoritative Content: Create or enhance website pages to provide clear, in-depth (3,000+ words) answers. Structuring content with clear headings and Q&A sections makes it easier for AI to understand and reference, positioning the business as a source of expertise.

Conclusion: AI as a Key Enabler for Sustainable Entrepreneurship

AI is a pivotal technology that will redefine entrepreneurial achievement. Its adoption is not about replacing human ingenuity but augmenting it. The businesses that will lead in the future are those that begin integrating AI now to unlock sustainable growth, contribute to a more innovative and equitable industrial landscape, and actively advance the Sustainable Development Goals.

Analysis of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

The article primarily addresses issues related to economic growth, innovation, and the development of new skills, which connect to the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – The core theme of the article is leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a “growth engine” for startups and small businesses. It discusses how AI enhances productivity, allows for business expansion without increasing team size, and enables entrepreneurs to achieve more, faster. This directly relates to promoting sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth.
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure – The article is centered on technological innovation (AI) and its application across various industries. It highlights how businesses can upgrade their technological capabilities to gain a competitive advantage, foster innovation, and reshape their operations, from marketing and content creation to product development.
• SDG 4: Quality Education – While not a primary focus, the article implies the need for new, relevant skills to effectively use AI. It mentions the emergence of new disciplines like “Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)” and the necessity for entrepreneurs to build new competencies, such as Drue Kataoka’s “The Vision Muscle,” which aligns with the goal of promoting lifelong learning opportunities and acquiring skills for entrepreneurship.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Based on the article’s discussion of AI’s impact on business, the following specific targets can be identified:

1. Target 8.2: Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation.
   • The article provides multiple examples of this. Dr. Housman states that AI allows him to “operate with the efficiency of a much larger team,” directly pointing to increased productivity through technological upgrading. MeiMei Fox explains how AI “cuts the time it takes me to ghostwrite a book from a year to about three months,” a clear metric of enhanced productivity through innovation.
2. Target 8.3: Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises.
   • The entire article is a guide for “startups and small businesses” and “solo founders” to leverage AI for growth. It explicitly supports entrepreneurship by showing how AI “levels the playing field” and allows small entities to “execute like a full department,” thereby encouraging the growth of small enterprises.
3. Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries…encouraging innovation.
   • The article advocates for the adoption of advanced technology to upgrade business capabilities. Drue Kataoka’s advice to “start now, by trying 20 to 50 tools in the next two weeks” is a direct call to action for businesses to upgrade their technological capacity and foster a culture of innovation to gain a “competitive advantage.”
4. Target 4.4: By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.
   • The article implies the necessity of acquiring new skills. Svetlozar Kazanjiev introduces “Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)” as a “serious, ongoing discipline.” This highlights the emergence of new technical skills required for entrepreneurs to succeed in an AI-driven market. Drue Kataoka also emphasizes the need to “hone your artistic and directorial skills” for visual AI, pointing to the development of new, relevant competencies.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

Yes, the article mentions and implies several qualitative and quantitative indicators that can measure progress:

• Indicator: Increased operational efficiency and time savings. The article provides a specific example: reducing the time to ghostwrite a book “from a year to about three months.” This is a measurable indicator of productivity gains (Target 8.2).
• Indicator: Business growth without proportional overhead increase. The article describes AI as a tool that “expands their reach without expanding their teams” and allows a business to “grow faster without adding operational overhead.” This can be measured by tracking revenue growth against headcount or operational costs (Target 8.3).
• Indicator: Creation of new revenue streams. MeiMei Fox mentions that her clients use AI to “turn their books into audiobooks, translate content for international markets, and create social media assets by opening new revenue streams.” The number and value of these new streams are a clear indicator of innovation-led growth (Target 8.2).
• Indicator: Rate of adoption of new technologies. Drue Kataoka’s recommendation to experiment with “20 to 50 tools” suggests that the number of AI tools adopted and integrated into business processes can serve as an indicator of technological upgrading (Target 9.5).
• Indicator: Development of new, specialized skills. The emergence and mastery of disciplines like “Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)” can be seen as an indicator of the workforce acquiring new, relevant technical skills for entrepreneurship in the digital economy (Target 4.4).

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: forbes.com