Speaking from a small biz perspective: supply is not greater (lots less imports for fear of not being able to clear customs exorbitant payments) AND consumers are fearful that inventory is an issue so they're buying early when they find something in stock. so sales are happening - at higher prices
This, businesses don’t even know what the tariff rate is going to be on a particular product or component. It can change any day and they are not giving out in transit exemptions (for stuff already on the way here!). It is a complete asinine way to conduct government.
People are creative though.. We just made a shopify link to another small biz site where they DIDN'T bring anything in because they couldn't plan or pay & we are sitting on large 2024 inventory. They get a cut so sales r still happening & we get more exposure/sales. but this isn't a future plan....
I’ve stored enough inventory to get through 2026. My broker says I was not alone. A lot of the doom scenario that will happen is getting kicked down the road with delays, extensions, and what not. But like I tell everyone: Everything was fine until it wasn’t.
How far into the future do you think this turns catastrophic? A year, two years ?
well, depends on what you mean by catastrophic. I don't think everything falls apart but there will be a slow building malaise. The 1st will be small biz failures where they're over extended (have debt they can't service) which leads to job losses. Higher prices only means most people buy less.
if 2008 taught me anything is that not everyone suffers equally. There will be a large amount of people who just carry on. what makes this special/different is the strength of the dollar (which is declining) and that will affect everyone; your assets devalue/things get expensive
I don't know if it's right to look for the exits or plan for calamity. I still believe more in their incompetence than anything.
SMBs are the largest employers in the country. Hard to say but eventually the dam will break.
we talk to small biz people in distress every week. it's frustrating that no one is really talking about this.
You’d think the media would highlight the conservatives basic hypocrisy when it comes to their treatment of small businesses.
they'll probably run around farm country next & record farmers crying about their crops rotting in silos. that's maybe easier to show.... nobody cares when one small biz goes ~*poof*~
Part of the reason beef is going through the roof right now is that small cattle ranchers have been pushed out of the market by monopolistic companies that service them like fertilizer and grain distributors. It’s no longer profitable to be a small business cattle rancher.
it's a pure supply & demand scenario. small herd + rising input costs. demand hasn't gone down so prices will be high. forks over knives? stop buying meat? 🤷♀️
I remember when Amazon came to my state in 2009 and we were constantly hearing these ads about how small businesses were not getting the same tax breaks as Amazon. Turns out this ad campaign was being paid by Walmart, but the ads were presented from the perspective of SMBs.