Marketplace · Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Small business owners are experiencing mixed feelings about the economy, with uncertainty about the future tempered by generally optimistic sales. However, rising inventory costs due to factors like tariffs are forcing businesses to frequently adjust customer prices.
“His only complaint is he's paying a lot more for inventory.”
“It's hard to keep up, honestly. But, you know, out of the country, tariffs go up, this goes down, everything's kind of you have to keep an eye on it really closely.”
“Small business owners are generally optimistic. Uh, you know, are feeling fairly supported as far as sales.”