Tariffs just hit 14.3% – the highest level since 1939, according to a recent Marketplace analysis. 97% of US importers are small businesses, and they’re getting crushed from multiple angles. Product-based businesses relying on imported materials like fabric, specialty paper, and art supplies are watching costs climb month after month. Some categories have seen wholesale price jumps of 50% or more.
We’re advising clients to do three things immediately: First, re-price now. If costs went up 15%, prices go up 15%. Frame it around value, not apologies. Your best customers will understand. Second, audit your entire supply chain. Trace every input back to origin. Domestic alternatives exist for more products than you think. Third, cut everything that doesn’t directly drive revenue or protect margins. Subscriptions, services, overhead you justified two years ago, if it’s not keeping the lights on, it’s gone. The average small business has 4.26 months of cash reserves. The businesses that survive aren’t waiting for tariffs to drop in Q2 or Q3. They’re acting now