18 Crucial Pieces of Advice for Small Business Owners Hesitant to Invest in Technology
Unveiling the pivotal advice from seasoned professionals, this article demystifies the trepidation small business owners often feel towards tech investments. It breaks down practical steps to harness technology for growth, efficiency, and a competitive edge. Discover how strategic tech choices can significantly impact your business’s trajectory without getting lost in the tech jargon.
Look at Technology as a Force Multiplier
Buy Back Your Time with Technology
Can You Afford Not to Invest?
Calculate Break-Even Point with Time Savings
Automate One Manual Task to Start
Start Small and Upgrade Gradually
Leverage Technology for Business Growth
Embrace AI for Efficiency
Consider Long-Term Benefits of Technology
Invest in Technology for Exponential ROI
Focus on Strategic Tech Upgrades
Automate Customer Communications for Loyalty
Address Operational Pain Points First
Consider the Cost of Staying Stagnant
Unlock Momentum with the Right Tools
See Technology as an Investment in Stability
Use Technology to Win
Invest in the Right Technologies
Look at Technology as a Force Multiplier
My advice: Don’t look at technology as a cost—look at it as a force multiplier. The mindset shift from “expense” to “investment” is crucial, especially for small business owners navigating limited budgets and competing priorities. Technology, when chosen and implemented wisely, doesn’t just streamline operations—it unlocks new opportunities, reduces long-term costs, and helps scale the impact of every employee on your team.
Here’s why this advice is vital when evaluating return on investment (ROI):
1. Time Saved = Money Earned
One of the biggest hidden costs in any small business is wasted time—manual processes, data entry, chasing down approvals, or fixing repeated errors. Whether it’s automating invoicing, setting up a CRM, or switching to cloud-based collaboration, tech solutions reduce friction and free up your team to focus on value-driving work.
2. Scalability Without Overhead
Technology allows you to grow without adding headcount at every turn. For example, a ticketing or helpdesk platform for internal IT, or a project management system for your team, ensures that a small group can manage a growing workload without burning out. That scalability is where ROI compounds quickly.
3. Improved Customer Experience
Modern customers expect fast, seamless, and digital-first interactions. Whether it’s online scheduling, self-service portals, or real-time updates, technology helps you meet those expectations—building loyalty and trust that directly drive revenue.
4. Measurable Metrics
One of the best parts of tech adoption is the data. You can track exactly how much time was saved, how many leads were converted, or how many fewer mistakes occurred after implementing a tool. This makes it much easier to evaluate ROI with real numbers instead of gut feeling.
5. Competitive Edge
In almost every industry, your competitors are looking for ways to deliver faster, cheaper, and better. By hesitating on tech, you risk falling behind—even if you have the better product or service. Technology is the great equalizer, giving small businesses the tools to compete with much larger ones.
Ultimately, technology amplifies your effort. You still need strategy, service, and execution—but with the right tools, each of those becomes more powerful. Don’t wait until inefficiency costs you a key customer or opportunity. Start small, measure impact, and scale up wisely.
Adrian Ghira, Managing Partner & CEO, GAM Tech
Buy Back Your Time with Technology
If I had to give just one piece of advice to a small business owner who’s hesitant about investing in technology, it would be this: don’t think of it as a cost. It’s a way to buy back your time.
When we were building our platform, we weren’t just solving a payment problem. I was solving for time; mine and every other business owner’s who’s ever stayed up late chasing payments, fixing manual errors, or trying to piece together cash flow.
Time is the one thing you can’t scale. If a piece of technology saves you hours every week and makes your payment process smoother, that’s not just ROI but your sanity, your focus, and your ability to seize more business opportunities.
Start small if necessary, but don’t procrastinate. Inaction could be costing you more than you realize.
Nick Chandi, CEO & Co-Founder, Forwardly
Can You Afford Not to Invest?
From my experience, the real question isn’t whether to invest in technology—it’s whether you can afford not to. In today’s world, staying stagnant is the fastest way to fall behind. Technology isn’t just about gadgets or software; it’s about making smarter decisions, reaching more customers, and protecting what you’ve built. A business that hesitates to evolve risks inefficiency, missed opportunities, and vulnerabilities that competitors are more than happy to exploit. Instead of viewing technology as a cost, see it as a growth multiplier. The right investment doesn’t just maintain operations—it elevates them.
I believe the key to evaluating return on investment is understanding that technology pays dividends in ways that aren’t always immediate but are absolutely essential. A small business owner who resists change may feel safe in the short term, but that comfort comes at the expense of future success. Whether it’s improving customer experience, automating tedious tasks, or strengthening cybersecurity, each step forward creates momentum. The businesses that thrive aren’t necessarily the biggest or the most well-funded—they’re the ones willing to adapt. The real risk isn’t in adopting technology; it’s in refusing to evolve while the rest of the world moves ahead.
Oliver Aleksejuk, Managing Director, Techcare
Calculate Break-Even Point with Time Savings
My advice is to calculate the break-even point with time savings. Think of tech investments as labor-saving devices. If a $50/month tool saves you 10 hours a month, and your hourly rate is $30, you’re gaining $300 worth of time. I would point out that understanding when a tool pays for itself, often much sooner than expected, helps make investment decisions clearer. According to a Harvard Business Review survey, 63% of companies that invested in technology recorded an increase in productivity within just three months.
For example, if a software program costs $500 upfront and can save you 5 hours per week, that’s equivalent to approximately $1,000 of labor saved every month. This means that the break-even point for this tool is just over two weeks. After that time, any additional time-saving benefits are pure profit. This approach also applies to outsourcing tasks. If it costs you $50 an hour to complete a task yourself, but you could outsource it for only $25 an hour, then outsourcing makes sense and saves your business valuable time.
Kevin Baragona, Founder, Deep AI
Automate One Manual Task to Start
One piece of advice I’d give to a small business owner hesitant to invest in technology is to start by identifying one manual task that takes up time or causes frequent issues—then look for a simple tool that can automate or improve that specific area. For us, adopting online booking and automated billing made a huge difference. It saved us hours of admin work each week and gave customers a smoother experience.
This advice is crucial because it shifts the focus from seeing technology as a cost to seeing it as an investment that frees up time, reduces errors, and improves service. Once you see real results from one change, it becomes easier to justify further investments. Even small upgrades can deliver a strong return by helping your business run more efficiently and allowing you to focus on growth.
Cameron Barsanti, Owner, Paradise Storage
Start Small and Upgrade Gradually
If you’re a small business owner hesitant to invest in technology, my advice is simple: start small but start now. Many people think upgrading their systems or adding new tech is an all-or-nothing deal, but that’s not the case. When we first looked at streamlining our booking process, we didn’t jump straight into an expensive, complex system. We started with small automation—online reservations, digital contracts, and automated reminders. The impact was immediate. Customers loved the convenience, and our team spent less time on paperwork and more time focusing on service.
Technology isn’t just an expense; it’s an investment in efficiency. It will pay for itself if something saves you time, reduces errors, or improves customer experience. The key is to look at where your biggest pain points are. Is your team spending hours manually scheduling? Are you missing out on bookings because your process is outdated? Identify those gaps and find solutions that fix them without overcomplicating your operations.
Hesitation comes from uncertainty, but technology evolves with your business. Start small, track the results, and grow from there. Businesses that embrace tech early stay competitive and keep customers coming back.
Joe Horan, Owner & CEO, Jumper Bee
Leverage Technology for Business Growth
If you’re hesitating to invest in tech, ask yourself this: Are you trying to grow a business or babysit a to-do list?
I get it. Tech can feel like a black hole of spending. But the right tools aren’t about bells and whistles; they’re about leverage. I always tell other business owners not to ask, “How much does this cost?” Instead, ask, “What’s it costing me not to have it?”
ROI isn’t always a neat number on a spreadsheet. Sometimes, it shows up as the time you get back, the fire you put out before it starts, or the customer you keep because your system didn’t drop the ball. That’s what scales. That’s what sticks.
Cody Jensen, CEO & Founder, Searchbloom
Embrace AI for Efficiency
For most small business owners, the biggest obstacle holding you back isn’t passion, product quality, or customer service—it’s time. You’re wearing too many hats and don’t have the budget to hire more help. That’s precisely why embracing technology, specifically AI, isn’t just smart. It’s necessary.
Certainly, it’s a buzzword that’s ubiquitous right now, but when you cut through the hype, AI is simply a way to accomplish more, faster, without expanding your payroll. Tools like Zapier can automate tasks you’d otherwise spend hours on, such as extracting data from your CRM to build real-time sales dashboards. Want to know what customers are genuinely saying about you? ChatGPT can analyze your Google reviews to identify common trends, highlight what you’re doing well, and even flag that one team member who might be costing you business. On the marketing front, AI can handle the heavy lifting: generating social media post ideas, creating content calendars, and even writing and sending database emails that actually get opened.
The best part is you don’t need to become a tech wizard to benefit. Though many find joy in learning this new skill set, you can simply hire one person—or an agency—who already knows how to implement AI successfully. They’ll do the work of many, keep your overhead low, and you can hold them to the kind of performance metrics that actually ring the cash register.
At the end of the day, ROI isn’t just about saving money. It’s about freeing up your time to scale, make faster decisions, and finally get out of the weeds to focus on the big picture. AI gives small businesses the kind of firepower that used to be reserved for big corporations. Just like the internet in the ’90s, this technology isn’t a fad. So let it become your competitive advantage.
Kyle Senger, Founder & Lead Strategist, Unalike Marketing
Consider Long-Term Benefits of Technology
One piece of advice I would give to a small business owner hesitant to invest in technology is to consider the long-term benefits and scalability that technology can bring to their business. Investing in technology is not just about the immediate costs; it’s about the potential for growth, efficiency, and competitive advantage that can be achieved over time.
Why is this advice crucial for evaluating potential return on investment?
Scalability: Technology enables businesses to scale operations efficiently. As your business grows, technology solutions can adapt and expand to meet increasing demands without proportionally increasing costs. This scalability ensures that your business can handle growth smoothly and continue to operate effectively.
Value Addition: Investing in technology can significantly enhance the value you provide to your customers. Whether it’s through improved customer service, faster delivery times, or more personalized experiences, technology can help you meet and exceed customer expectations, leading to higher satisfaction and loyalty.
Increased Time to Market: Technology can streamline processes and reduce the time it takes to bring products or services to market. Faster time to market means you can capitalize on opportunities more quickly and stay ahead of competitors.
Profitability: By automating routine tasks and optimizing operations, technology can reduce operational costs and increase profitability. The initial investment in technology can lead to substantial savings and higher profit margins in the long run.
Focus on Core Tasks: Technology allows you to automate repetitive and non-creative tasks, freeing up time for you and your team to focus on more important and strategic activities. Similar to how AI enables people to concentrate on productive and creative tasks, technology can help you prioritize high-value work that drives business growth.
In summary, investing in technology is a strategic decision that can transform your business. It provides the tools needed to scale efficiently, add value to your offerings, accelerate time to market, increase profitability, and focus on core tasks. By embracing technology, you position your business for sustainable growth and long-term success.
Plamen Nakov, Managing Director, DSS – Digital and Software Solutions
Invest in Technology for Exponential ROI
My advice would be to recognize that investing in technology isn’t just an expense; it’s the most important investment you can make because the return on investment is exponential. Think of it this way: high-quality technology that’s seamless, easy to use, and powerful can automate many of your routine tasks, give you clear visibility into your cash flow, and generate meaningful reports that are invaluable for making informed decisions.
For example, we’ve seen how features like automated invoice tracking and customizable notifications can help companies get paid faster. This directly impacts your bottom line. Hesitation often comes from the perceived cost, but the lost time and inefficiencies from sticking with outdated methods are far more costly in the long run.
By embracing the right technology, you’re not just keeping up; you’re equipping yourself to ‘run circles around the chaos’ of running a business.
Alok Chanani, Co-Founder & CEO, BuildOps
Focus on Strategic Tech Upgrades
My advice to any small business owner hesitant to invest in technology is this: start with a focused, strategic upgrade that solves one specific pain point in your business. Technology doesn’t have to mean a complete overhaul—sometimes, the biggest gains come from small, well-targeted improvements. Whether it’s enhancing cybersecurity, streamlining communication with a VoIP solution, or improving file access through cloud services, the key is to align the investment with a clear business objective.
This approach is crucial because it creates a direct connection between the technology and measurable results. It also reduces risk, builds confidence, and sets the stage for evaluating ROI in real time. We specialize in guiding business owners through these early steps—helping them prioritize, budget smartly, and see quick wins without the overwhelm.
John Marta, Principal & Senior IT Architect, GO Technology Group Managed IT Services
Automate Customer Communications for Loyalty
We learned early that technology isn’t a cost center—it’s an investment that directly builds customer loyalty and drives scalable growth. My advice to any small business owner hesitant to invest in technology is to start by automating your customer communications. We implemented a system that sends automated appointment reminders, real-time service updates, and personalized follow-up messages throughout the customer journey.
This simple change not only saved our team valuable time but also significantly boosted customer satisfaction and retention, creating a steady stream of repeat business and referrals. Evaluating ROI isn’t just about operational savings; it’s about the lasting impact on customer experience that ultimately transforms your bottom line.
Zachary Fleming, CEO, iFix
Address Operational Pain Points First
My advice to small business owners hesitant about making investments in technology is this: start with solutions that directly address your most pressing operational pain points rather than chasing the latest trends.
Too often, I see businesses investing in technology because it’s cutting-edge or because competitors have it, without considering whether it genuinely solves their business’s specific challenges. We’ve invested in comprehensive tracking systems for our trade show booth shipments, for example, to make our processes more efficient and reassure our clients that we can account for their packages at every step. This technology more than paid for itself with the improvements we saw in client satisfaction and our own operational efficiency.
When evaluating technology you may want to invest in, consider these three questions: What specific problem in my business will this technology solve? How will it enhance our customer experience? Can we measure its impact on operations? You should invest in technology that will help you either reduce costs, increase revenue, or improve the customer experience—ideally, all three.
Remember: the most valuable technology investments often aren’t the flashiest. Sometimes, a simple customer relationship management system or inventory tracking software can deliver greater results and ROI than a more expensive solution.
Thomas Samuels, President, Cardinal Expo
Consider the Cost of Staying Stagnant
My advice to small business owners is this: think about the cost of staying where you are.
It’s not just the price of new technology—it’s the time, money, and effort wasted with outdated systems. I’ve seen small teams struggling with manual tasks that technology could automate in seconds, which ends up costing them more in the long run.
When you approach tech as a tool to streamline operations and improve the customer experience, the ROI becomes clear. Start with one solution, track the impact, and scale it up as you see results.
Rauno Rüngas, CEO, Qminder
Unlock Momentum with the Right Tools
Don’t view technology as a cost; instead, see it as a means to unlock momentum. When you empower your team with the right tools, they transition from reacting to anticipating. This shift alone can transform your operations.
I’ve witnessed firsthand how even simple tools—shared dashboards, basic automation, or cloud-based systems—help teams move faster, make decisions quicker, and stay aligned. ROI doesn’t always immediately appear on the balance sheet, but you feel it in reduced friction and improved focus. If you’re hesitant, start small and track the impact. However, don’t stand still, as your competitors won’t.
Christopher Wells, Business Development Manager
See Technology as an Investment in Stability
My advice? Don’t view technology as an expense—see it as an investment in stability, efficiency, and precision. Technology saves you money by reducing human error, streamlining processes, and automating repetitive tasks so your team can focus on growth, not grunt work. It’s like building a foundation that keeps your business running smoothly even as you scale.
If you’re evaluating ROI, consider this: Every dollar you invest in tech is a step towards consistency and reliability. It’s not just about making things faster—it’s about making them work flawlessly, over and over again.
Hanna Adynets, Founder, Adnsol LLC
Use Technology to Win
When someone hears “technology,” the first thing that comes to mind is usually complicated software or pricey systems. Technology is simply leveraging smart tools to simplify your job. For a small business owner, it may equate to using apps or platforms to monitor products, manage orders, or engage customers better.
We depend on technology to remain fast and agile. We promise to get a product from idea to store in 6-8 weeks. We achieve that speed by using systems that provide instant feedback for ingredients, packaging, timelines, and everything in between.
If a person offered you a device that helped you get more done without stressing you out, you’d likely jump at it. An efficient technology system functions the same way. It informs you of what is going on in your business, detects issues beforehand, and keeps everything running smoothly.
Take stockroom software, for instance. It reports how much inventory you have and when to restock. An easy-to-read dashboard lets you know which products are hot and which ones are in trouble. It saves you time, minimizes errors, and lets you make better choices.
As a small business owner, don’t view technology as simply an expense. View it as a mighty ally, one that never sleeps, never forgets, and keeps every detail in check. Whether it’s streamlining your supply chain, completing orders, or enhancing customer support, the proper tools are what get your business to the next level. I’ve done it and I’ve witnessed firsthand how better tools equal better business.
Vincent Caballer, CEO, Medpak Solutions
Invest in the Right Technologies
The days of relying on pen and paper are long gone. Investing in the right technologies is crucial for small business owners as they launch and expand operations. Finding the right software with the core functions you need to operate and manage your business is key. Likewise, there are many software applications that can help make everyday tasks easier. The overall key is to recognize that investing in technology is truly an investment in yourself and your business—while making sure you pick the right technologies.
Like most aspects of business, being diligent is key. Demo products, opt for month-to-month, or short-term contracts to ensure you find the right technology for your business and aren’t locked into paying fees for software that either doesn’t perform or isn’t optimal for your business. If the software is overkill or isn’t meeting your needs, search for the right solution. Making the right investments in technology will help you gain a competitive edge, improve customer experience, and scale quickly.
Derek Colvin, Co-Founder & CEO, ZORS
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