When the vaccine program started and businesses began to reopen, small businesses across the US were hopeful. But that hope didn’t last long. Why? Inflation.
Inflation is what happens when people want to buy more goods and services than are available. When there’s not enough of something but people still want it, the price goes up. This isn’t great for small businesses that don’t have a lot of money to spare. They need more money to buy the same things, which can be tough on the wallet. In fact, inflation just reached a 30-year high of 4.4%.
Many small businesses are feeling the pinch of inflation right now. A recent report from Goldman Sachs showed that 86% of small business owners are struggling with it. This report also found that 84% of small business owners are paying more to run their businesses, and 74% say inflation is hurting their bottom line.
In October, small business owners were feeling less hopeful than they had in seven months. Why? They couldn’t get the supplies they needed to keep their businesses running full steam ahead. And when they did find supplies, they were really expensive because everyone was trying to buy them. This is a big problem, especially with the holiday season coming up.
William Dunkelberg, NFIB chief economist, put it this way: “One of the biggest problems for small businesses is the lack of workers for unfilled positions and inventory shortages, which will continue to be a problem during the holiday season.”
The government has been trying to help by having ports in Southern California work around the clock. But for some small business owners, like Salas, a hairstylist in South Nashville, it’s too little too late. She’s still struggling to get the products she needs, and prices have gone up.
