National Write Your Congressman (NWYC), an organization amplifying the voice of small businesses in the government, released its latest Quarterly Index, which found 90% of business owners citing disruption of services, operations, or manufacturing due to supply chain problems.
As per a press release, half of the business owners expect supply chain issues to ease in more than a year, and 31% believe that problems won’t ease for another two to five years.
“Inflation and supply chain issues have permeated every part of small business and every industry. Small business owners are having to make hard decisions on whether to stay open, grow, hire more employees, scale back and pass on the additional costs to customers,” said Randy Ford, president, and COO of National Write Your Congressman.
“Our members are motivated to connect with their member of Congress to share their concerns as they expect these problems will not be over for another two to five years.”
In addition, 74% of business owners are experiencing increased costs for inventory, products, and other materials. Only 4% of owners say supply chain issues aren’t impacting their business.
“Inflation and supply chain shortages have caused us to purchase and maintain higher inventory levels of many materials and supplies and have created the need for complex contingency planning. We are a strong company and will continue to be successful, but I fear many companies will not make it through these tough times,” Spencer Jorgensen, Co-owner, ADCON Signs in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Due to inflation and supply chain concerns, business owners have had to alter their business practices. Sixty-six percent of business owners pass on the cost to their customers, 11% save money by not purchasing certain items or stock that isn’t necessary, while 18% re-thinking how they do business.
High gas prices and supply chain issues have caused us to change how we do business. It affects every aspect of our business model,” said Tim Alderson, President, FarmPLUS Insurance Services in Keeling, Virginia.
Thirty-two percent of business owners who were surveyed claimed that their business was growing when asked about the general state of their company. Forty-six percent of small-scale entrepreneurs said that their businesses have remained stagnant. High inflation, followed by hiring qualified workers, and keeping up with rising costs of employee pay/salary were the top three concerns for business owners.
Supply chain issues, inflation, and now gas prices are making us adjust our prices so high that we are losing long-serving customers that can’t afford our services any longer,” said David Jacobi of Adventure Sports in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
“Rising inflation is hurting our business in several ways. The rising interest rates are driving up our costs of purchasing new equipment, and the inflation seems to have the consumers slowing down in the needs for our services,” said Gary Hoffman of Tow King in Waco, Texas.
About National Write Your Congressman
National Write Your Congressman (NWYC) is an organization that gives small businesses a voice in the American government. As the nation’s largest, privately held, nonpartisan membership organization made up of small businesses, NWYC is dedicated to the delivery of constituent opinions to representatives in Washington.
For more than 60 years, NWYC has provided small business owners and operators the tools necessary to connect with members of Congress and a platform to let their collective voice be heard.
NWYC’s team of experts provides unbiased, nonpartisan information and research on top issues and pending legislation relevant to small business owners today.