LUNA+EISENLA Makes the Cover of USA Today’s Small Business Month Magazine

Their message to America's small businesses: treat AI like a system, not a gadget

USA Today/Media Planet: Small Business Month Magazine 2026

During this year’s National Small Business Month, Mediaplanet launched its Small Business Month magazine — a national edition distributed inside USA Today newspapers across the country and online. The campaign brought together entrepreneurs, business leaders, and industry experts dedicated to helping small businesses stay competitive, scalable, and resilient in a fast-changing economy — including "Shark Tank" investor Robert Herjavec, who anchors the cover, alongside the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, SCORE, the Small Business Administration, and longtime LUNA+EISENLA client the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE).

LUNA+EISENLA co-founders Brad and Kris authored a bylined guest article for the edition exploring the tools, strategies, and mindset businesses need to compete in today's disruptive AI environment — and their perspective was featured on the magazine's cover:

"Adopting AI is like hiring a plumber. You don't want someone banging on pipes; instead, you want someone who understands the system.”

— Brad Luna and Kristofer Eisenla, Co-Founders, LUNA+EISENLA

Why the Plumber Analogy Matters

The line is memorable for a reason: it captures what separates the small businesses winning with AI from those spinning their wheels. AI is not a gadget you bolt onto your business — it's a system. And systems reward the people who understand how the pieces connect: your workflows, your data, your audiences, and the outcomes you're actually trying to move.

In their article, Brad and Kris make the case that the smartest AI adoption starts not with the technology, but with the business problem — then builds disciplined, repeatable workflows around it. It's the same philosophy behind LUNA+EISENLA's own SmartPowered approach and our AI Workflow & Digital Impact practice: strategy first, tools second, and every implementation tied to measurable results that extend beyond visibility and translate into real-world impact.

Small Business Is Part of Our Story

Small businesses and the self-employed have long been central to LUNA+EISENLA's work — from national campaigns that helped secure tax equity for America's smallest businesses to ongoing advocacy on behalf of the 27 million self-employed Americans who power the U.S. economy. Being asked to share that perspective on a national stage, in an edition reaching USA Today readers coast to coast, is a recognition we don't take lightly.

If you missed Small Business Month in USA Today this spring, the complete digital edition — including Brad and Kris's featured insights — is available online.

→ Read the full Small Business Month edition here

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