As a result of inflation, 89% of small business owners have raised the prices of their products or services and nearly half have had to decrease their staff.
Gas, groceries, and so much more are all going up due to inflation, and smaller local businesses have to work twice as hard right now. "It’s really affecting the small employer, the mom and pop operations. Merchants have to pass on their increase cost to their consumers and that’s why we’re seeing an increase in every single thing we buy," says Mickey Cargile, Founder and Managing Partner of Cargile Investment Management.
“Just because you are being charged more, doesn't mean they're bringing in more money for themselves. Increased cost doesn’t mean the merchant is making more money they’re probably making less because they’re having to pay a higher cost for everything that they’re serving to you," he says.
With the surviving small businesses still bouncing back from the pandemic, inflation is what they have to battle with now. "There is no policy or magic switch to fix this. Only time can bring the supply levels back as prices go up, eventually they will destroy demand and so that will help the equation as well," says Cargile.
In Tech Connext’s first two years of business, we have very been fortunate to successfully navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic and the continuing challenge of adjusting to the higher costs as inflation rises. Through it all, we have managed to keep our product prices down to a minimum cost increase, even as we continue to slowly expand our business. With data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showing that approximately 20% of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 45% during the first five years, and 65% during the first 10 years, and only 25% of new businesses make it to 15 years or more, we are optimistic that Tech Connext will be one of those small businesses that does make it thanks to our strong customer base and continued growth in sales. Thank you for your continued support!