<\/p>\n
The average small business owner wears five \u201chats\u201d on any given day,\u00a0according to new research<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 and not all of them fit.<\/p>\n A survey of 1,000 American small business owners found that today\u2019s entrepreneur is simultaneously playing customer service representative (54%), marketer (44%), bookkeeper (43%), social media manager (41%) and creative director (35%), often with little idea of how much each role would demand.<\/p>\n With all of those \u201chats,\u201d the average entrepreneur is working over 200 bonus hours annually. One in four small business owners surveyed admit that they carry the burden of tasks they don\u2019t feel qualified for without seeking outside help.<\/p>\n More than half (54%) said they spend more time on creative and marketing tasks than they anticipated when they launched and 56% reported that those tasks pull them away from core business operations at least once a week.<\/p>\n Commissioned by\u00a0Adobe Express<\/a>\u00a0and conducted by Talker Research, the survey found that only one in five (20%) felt fully prepared to handle the creative and brand marketing demands of today\u2019s marketplace when starting their business.<\/p>\n The \u201ccreative cluster\u201d tasks \u2014 spanning design and branding, social media and marketing \u2014 top the \u201chats\u201d small business owners want off their plates.<\/p>\n With confidence lacking in the creative and marketing fields, 69% would prefer to outsource creative work in some form.<\/p>\n And for most owners of small to medium businesses, outsourcing the marketing hat to someone else isn\u2019t an option. While many (41%) cite cost as a barrier, 37% also reported wanting to stay close to the process and 33% reported having concerns about maintaining quality.<\/p>\n Half of small business owner respondents (50%) say they use AI tools regularly or occasionally.<\/p>\n They most commonly turn to AI for research (56%), with design and visual content creation a close second (46%). When asked where AI delivers the most value, 30% of respondents find design and visual content creation most valuable when it comes to AI tools \u2014 ranked second after research (33%).<\/p>\n \u201cI opened Treeline Coffee because I love coffee \u2014 but running a business means wearing a lot of hats. Managing branding, marketing and everything else made it hard to focus on what matters most,\u201dsaid Natalie Van Dusen, founder of Treeline Coffee and Adobe Express community member. \u201cBut now AI and creative tools are giving me that time back, so I can focus on my customers and do what I love \u2014 make coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n Forty-six percent of the small business owners surveyed described themselves as capable of handling creative and marketing tasks, but wish they could focus on other parts of their businesses instead.<\/p>\n Among respondents who use AI, nearly three-quarters say it has increased their confidence in handling tasks outside their expertise.<\/p>\n Thirty-eight percent of those at least remotely familiar with AI said its availability played some role in their decision to start a business, and 40% pointed specifically to AI\u2019s ability to help in areas where they lacked confidence.<\/p>\n \u201cSmall business owners have always had to do it all \u2014 but for the first time, they don\u2019t have to do it alone,\u201d said Parimal Deshpande, Global Head of Product Marketing, Adobe Express. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing that AI isn\u2019t replacing founders, entrepreneurs and small businesses\u2019 voice or vision; it\u2019s removing the friction that gets in the way of it. When a coffee shop owner can produce on-brand social content in minutes instead of hours, that\u2019s not just time saved \u2014 that\u2019s confidence built,\u00a0and energy redirected back into the business they actually set out to build.\u201d<\/p>\n Research methodology:<\/strong><\/p>\n Talker Research surveyed 1,000 American small business owners who have access to the internet;<\/strong>\u00a0the survey was commissioned by\u00a0Adobe Express<\/strong>\u00a0and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between\u00a0April 29, 2026 and May 3, 2026.<\/strong>\u00a0A link to the questionnaire can be found\u00a0here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n To view the complete methodology as part of AAPOR\u2019s Transparency Initiative, please visit the Talker Research\u00a0Process and Methodology page<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nThe Creative Cluster Hat<\/strong><\/h2>\n
AI Is a Creative Sidekick for Smbs<\/strong><\/h2>\n
AI Is Boosting SMB Confidence<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Top Five Tasks Small Business Owners Most Want to Hand Off:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n