SMALL BUSINESSES SPEAK OUT ON INFLATION AND ROADBLOCKS

Small businesses make up 99.9 percent of businesses across the United States, accounting for nearly 50 percent of all American employees. The small business community is comprised of our nation's hardest-working individuals. Their tireless dedication to running a small business does not go unnoticed.

This month, the House Small Business Committee Republicans, heard from small business owners about how inflation, supply chain disruptions, and energy costs have impacted their businesses.  

Homeyer Precision Manufacturing

Marthasville, MO

“Homeyer’s main focus is providing their customers with the highest levels of service. Having the privilege to be a part of an industry with so much potential for innovation and growth is something we take very seriously. Of course, we’ve had some setbacks (supply chain, as have we all), but we’ve continued to look forward and preserve the strong partnerships we’ve built with our customers and vendors.

“Our team has done very well at both improvising and being proactive and efficient in adapting to market conditions. We’ve done this by partnering closely with our vendors and suppliers, being transparent with our customers and focusing on the pieces of the puzzle that we can control versus the obstacles that are out of our hands. It’s important to us to make certain we deliver quality parts to our customers as timely as possible.”

 

Sharp Image Homes

Alvarado, TX

“Inflation has put a huge burden on the home building industry and our U.S. economy. As inflation and the cost of labor continues to rise, it makes our jobs almost undoable. I have been very blessed to be building homes and be a great part of this industry for 13 years. My father has been in this industry since 1974. I am currently Vice President of the Johnson County Builders Association (JCBA) and Head Director of Government Affairs for Johnson County. We have never seen anything like this before in this type of market,” – Cory Murray.

Construction By Todd | Massey BBQ | M7 Arena

Alvarado, TX

“The construction business is struggling the most as it is hard to get supplies and materials. Materials coming from overseas is taking longer than normal to get to our suppliers plus prices are changing daily. I can bid a job and only guarantee my prices for two weeks. The current administration’s policies have caused our costs to skyrocket. Of course, those costs get passed on to consumers. Fuel costs are causing problems as those costs get passed onto the consumer. We cannot spend our way out of inflation. As a small business owner being creative is necessary.

"On the restaurant side of my business, rising food and product costs are affecting the number of customers that go out to eat. People are getting to a point where they can’t afford to go out and that is going to put us out of the restaurant business,” – Todd Massey.

Park Manufacturing Corp.

Cambridge, MN

“The instability of the supply chain and the extreme shortage of labor has been detrimental to our manufacturing business and in our ability to serve our customers’ needs.  Rising inflation and fuel costs are driving up material costs and shipping expenses at record speeds that we are not able to quickly pass along to our customers. As a result, we are absorbing these cost increases, in addition to higher labor rates as we try to compete with neighboring businesses in this shrinking labor pool. We are all desperate for labor help, forcing wages to levels we simply cannot afford. All of this is resulting in financial losses, which our company of 76 years has never experienced. It’s simply not sustainable for any of us small businesses. We need policies that get inflation under control and incentives that get the ‘able to work individuals’ back in the workforce versus staying at home and living off of government subsidies,” – Marlys Dunne, Vice President.

L&M Radiator, Inc.

Hibbing, MN

“L&M Radiator, Inc. manufactures custom designed cooling packages for mobile equipment in the mining and oil & gas industries, which includes the use of copper, steel, aluminum, and rubber products. In 2021 we saw most of these materials’ prices increase an average of 40% and we scrambled to eventually pass these increases on to our customers. At the same time, logistic issues are making receiving materials and shipping finished products to our customers a nightmare. Some of our copper comes from the Netherlands and the challenges of getting the material off the ship, onto a train, and onto a truck has caused months of delays, resulting in having to airfreight material to our plants in Australia and Chile. These challenges continue, and most recently we are seeing a severe shortage of our rubber and plastic parts, integral to every product we make. Beyond this, we have not even started to deal with the runaway inflation that is impacting everything from labor, materials, and transportation costs. It’s going to be another difficult year,” – Laura Eckholm, Executive Vice President.

Accurate Pest Solutions

Fort Myers, FL

“We began to believe that our business was booming, that is until the cost to fuel our vehicles soared well above $4 per gallon. Inflation and energy for transportation costs have forced our product cost to increase over 35%, which is beginning to cut into our ability to operate at previous market prices. This also added unexpected fuel costs to our fleet, forcing us to raise prices on customers to continue operation. We are beginning to see a loss in our customer base due to price increases, and even commercial accounts and restaurants. From the mindset of a local business, we strongly believe the best way to counter a lack of supply would be to increase production of needed resources. We believe it is necessary to begin drilling on U.S. soil once again to bring down operation costs for family business that are just trying to put food on their table,” – Alex Runco.

Bark Busters Home Dog Training of Southwest Florida

Fort Myers, FL

“Gasoline is the single largest expense in my business and this expense has shot through the roof! I go to people’s homes to help the owner’s train their dog. I average about 22,000 miles per year on my car and while the wear and tear on my car is one thing, the doubling of gas is quite another!  22,000 Miles at $2.00 a gallon is $44,000.00 versus 22,000 miles at $4.00 a gallon is $88,000.00. That is $44,000.00 I cannot use to expand and grow my business or to provide to my family. What solutions are being proposed by this administration? Of course, the power to charge these cars comes from fossil fuels meaning the price to charge the car goes up and up along with the price of energy and inflation. The government shut down small businesses, kept them closed, and by doing so essentially kneecapped every small business owner in the country. Now, the government wants us to rebuild the country with our legs broken while crushing us with inflation and high gas and energy prices. This madness must stop,” – Patrick Logue, Owner & Operator.

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