AI Has Helped Me Create Jobs in My Business Not Get Rid of Them Says SME Owner

By Sam Dimond, Owner of Spotlight Sound, an AV installation and event hire and production company.

Every week, there seems to be another headline warning that artificial intelligence is coming for our jobs. Depending on who you listen to, AI is either the greatest threat to employment we’ve ever seen or the answer to every productivity challenge businesses face.

My experience has been very different. I own Spotlight Sound, an audio-visual installation and event production business. We’re not a technology company. We’re certainly not a software business. Until recently, if you’d asked me about building an operating system for my company, I’d have assumed it was something only large corporations with huge IT budgets could afford. However, I have built my own operating system with AI and the surprising part is that it hasn’t reduced our need for people. If anything, it’s given us the confidence and capacity to grow. I think that’s a story many SMEs and leaders need to hear. For years, smaller businesses have had to make do with disconnected software. One system for CRM. Another for project management. Another for stock. Another for finance and countless spreadsheets sitting in between. Every member of staff is spending valuable time moving information from one place to another. Those individual platforms are all good at what they do, but they don’t understand how your business actually works.

Our business is unique. The way we quote, prepare equipment, manage installations, deliver events, schedule engineers and communicate with clients has evolved over the years. Off-the-shelf software always forced us to adapt our processes to fit the software, rather than the software adapting to us. AI has changed that equation completely. Instead of trying to force our business into someone else’s system, we were able to create one designed around the way we already operate. The cost was a fraction of what custom software would have been just a few years ago, and the process was far more accessible than most people imagine. As I’m at pains to reiterate, I’m not a programmer. I don’t have an IT background. What AI has done is remove many of the technical barriers that previously stopped business owners from building tools that genuinely fit their organisations. The real value, however, is what the technology gives people back.

In our business, repetitive administration has dramatically reduced. Information is easier to find. Processes that previously relied on someone remembering to update three different systems will now happen automatically. Staff have far better visibility of what’s happening across the business, allowing quicker and better-informed decisions.

Most importantly, the team spends more time doing what they’re actually employed to do. Our technicians are solving technical challenges. Our creative team is focusing on delivering exceptional client experiences. Our project managers are managing projects rather than chasing paperwork and all that creates value.

I think one of the biggest mistakes businesses are making with AI is asking, “Which jobs can we automate?” Really a better question would be, “What work is preventing our best people from creating the most value?” They’re very different conversations. Every business has hidden inefficiencies that have just become accepted as ‘the way things are’. These manifest in small delays, duplicate data entry and repetitive reporting in some cases. It means endless checking and rechecking.  Individually, they don’t seem significant. Collectively, they consume hundreds of hours every year. AI gives us an opportunity to redesign those processes from the ground up. The result isn’t necessarily fewer employees. It’s more productive employees. That’s an important distinction because we know as business leaders, that growth rarely comes from cutting capability. It comes from freeing people to focus on higher-value work.

We’re already seeing that in our own business. As operational efficiency improves, we’re able to spend more time developing new services, strengthening customer relationships and investing in future opportunities. Those are activities that create growth, and growth creates jobs. I also believe we’re only at the beginning of what this means for SMEs. For decades, sophisticated internal systems were a competitive advantage reserved for multinational companies with significant development budgets. Smaller businesses simply couldn’t justify the investment. Now they can. Business owners no longer need to ask whether they can afford bespoke systems. 

Of course, AI isn’t a magic solution. Building better systems still requires understanding your business, challenging inefficient processes and being clear about what you’re trying to achieve. Technology won’t fix poor decision-making or unclear strategy. But it can remove huge amounts of unnecessary friction. For leaders, that’s where I think the real opportunity lies. The conversation around AI has become dominated by fear of replacement. I believe we should be talking more about augmentation, about building organisations where technology handles repetitive work so that people can focus on creativity, relationships, expertise and innovation. Those are the things clients still value most. Those are the things AI can’t replicate.

For businesses willing to rethink how they operate, AI offers the chance to redesign the business itself. That doesn’t mean replacing people. It means giving them the systems they deserve to do their best work. And for growing businesses, that may prove to be AI’s biggest contribution of all.