Page 23 - BusinessWest January 10, 2022
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OUTLOOK 2022/SMALL BUSINESS >>
 pany’s president, has largely been able to avoid, and he’s one of the few who can really say that — to inflation, production, and supply-chain issues, caused in large part by that soaring demand and a workforce crisis that no one in his sector has been able to avoid.
And that’s why large orders of grass seed, bird food, and other spring items will be arriving at those stores in a few days or a few weeks, rather than in mid-March, as is customary, because Ras- er’s team ordered well in advance to make sure the shelves would be stocked. And that’s also why
there are common threads for most all small- business owners in the region. For many, business has been good, although in most cases still not
as good as before the pandemic. But there have been — and will continue to be — headwinds, like inflation, shortages of products that con- sumers want, lingering workforce issues, and the impact of all of the above on the bottom line.
Kris Houghton, a partner with the Holyoke- based accounting firm Meyers Brothers Kalicka, said 2021 was a time when her small-business clients were looking to put COVID behind them.
she explained. “And, of course, paying more leads to two things: they either increase prices to their customers, or there is less profit for them in the end. It’s a compounding problem, and the biggest issue is employees.”
But there are others, including supply chain, she said, adding that businesses in many sectors could have done better in 2021, if they only had product to sell or produce. That’s true of auto dealers, obviously, but also hardware chains, res- taurants, and manufacturers.
“Supply chain is also a big problem because, if businesses can’t get the product, they can’t sell it,” Houghton noted. “And if they want the product bad enough, they pay increased shipping costs to try to make product available; all this is leading to diminished bottom lines.”
And these dynamics become even more criti- cal in the months ahead, she went on, because most federal support programs, from PPP to the employee-retention credit, have expired or soon will.
“Those were lifelines to try to restore a little bit to their bottom lines,” she said. “So there is con- cern about the future. In New England, we’re resil- ient, and some businesses were fortunate enough to have some reserves that can help them carry on. I don’t know about the other businesses. Are they going to be able to borrow? Are they going to run up costly debt? Are business owners going to be relying on credit cards, which come with 18% interest? These are some of the questions that will be answered in 2022.”
As noted, 2021 was a solid year for many small
      KRIS HOUGHTON
“Supply chain is also a big problem because, if businesses can’t get the product, they can’t sell it. And if they want the product bad enough, they pay increased shipping costs to try to make product available; all this is leading to diminished bottom lines.”
he’s predicting it will be very difficult to buy a new lawnmower come April, and those forced to do so will pay a steep price for that item.
“Lawnmowers for spring look tricky — really, really tricky,” he told BusinessWest. “Some of the big manufacturers got out, and ... there will be fewer choices and significantly higher prices.”
Raser’s story has its own specific nuances, but
That didn’t happen, obviously, and as they contin- ued to battle the pandemic and many new chal- lenges emerged or escalated, especially the work- force crisis and the rising cost of everything from labor to health insurance.
“There’s definitely an employee shortage, which is causing employers to have to pay more than they would otherwise have paid in the past,”
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    ECONOMIC OUTLOOK 2022
JANUARY 10, 2022 23
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