As inflation hit another 40-year high this week and gas prices rose nearly $1.00 per gallon since last month, small business owners are grappling with how to make ends meet.
Brandon Brown, owner of Brown’s Heating and Air in Virginia, said his business used to raise prices only once or twice a year, but now, it can happen every month.
“Prices are rapidly increasing,” Brown told the Washington Examiner. “We increased prices four times last year. Now, we’re getting notices that prices of equipment will go up 8-10% with only a month’s notice. Before, it was 6-8 months’ warning.”
Brown said that one of the most difficult parts of the rising prices is how they affect small businesses’ ability to support their local communities.
“Small businesses are the backbone of local communities,” Brown added. “We support local teams, and one of the first things that could be cut from budgets is cutting sponsorships and donations to support local kids’ sports and activities. [The rising costs] could also cause employees to see fewer raises.”
Brown joined two other small business owners on Fox & Friends First Sunday, saying customers bear the ultimate burden of higher costs.
“Between [gas costs] and the supply chain and our equipment that has gone up 30-40% since July, it’s compounding our issues with trying to pass down the best price and the best service to our customers.”
Chad Olsen with Camelback Moving in Arizona said he is struggling to honor price quotes issued before fuel costs soared.
“We’re honoring those rates,” Olsen said. “It’s the right thing to do, but there’s a sacrifice, and we’re absorbing that.”
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Another small business owner in Arizona, Blanca Mondragon of Amazing Flowers, added that she has no choice but to cut the reach of her flower deliveries.
“For the last three years, we offered free delivery two miles around,” Mondragon said. “We no longer can offer free delivery, and unfortunately, it’s not just affecting the delivery fee, but also it is affecting the fees we have to pay extra for flowers, vases, and products.”
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Brown told the Washington Examiner that this is the first time in his 17 years as a small business owner that he is seeing customers affected so severely by the rising prices.
“I’ve never seen a customer having to choose between putting gas in their car, buying groceries, or fixing their heating unit,” Brown said. “It’s affecting everyday decisions.”
