As concerns rise over the impact of President Trump's upcoming tariffs, small business owners are feeling uneasy about future growth.
Elizabeth Gore, Hello Alice co-founder and host of Yahoo Finance's upcoming podcast the Big Idea, joins Asking for a Trend host Josh Lipton to share her insights, noting that small business owners are especially concerned about how tariffs will impact their unit costs.
To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Asking for a Trend here.
Well, as liberation day tariff worries mount we're looking into concerns among the small business space. Elizabeth Gore, co-founder of Hello Alice and host, of course, of Yahoo Finances upcoming new podcast, the big idea, joins us now to discuss. Elizabeth is great to see you. So, listen, we're we're waiting on Wednesday here, Elizabeth. That's when, of course, we expect President Trump come out and announce this this slate of reciprocal tariffs, Elizabeth. Ahead of that, I'm curious, how are small business owners feeling Elizabeth? You're talking to them, of course, all the time. What's the vibe out there?
Yeah, Heidi, it's good to be with you. So there there's a real sense of of nervousness. Folks are unsettled. They're worried about the cost of goods sold. Um, we're seeing a lot of folks hold back on growth plans. They're not hiring that next person. They're not buying that next oven. They really want to understand how this is going to impact their unit cost.
Are they, Elizabeth? I'm curious. Do you detect any differences when you're talking to small business owners? Listen, there's a lot of small business owners. Are there differences in terms of sentiment and how they feel right now, Elizabeth, between, you know, different different verticals, different industries, different sectors?
Yeah, you know, um, the sentiment that is the same is the sense of uneasiness that there's so many changes, whether it be the Small Business Administration, the the tariffs, um, the capital still expensive that they're going after. So there's a real sense of uneasiness there. There are different verticals of folks that are nervous. If you look at agriculture, if you look at anyone in the in the food services industry that are buying food stuffs every day, those folks are starting to get a little bit nervous more so about both export and import of cost of goods sold. So that's where I'd keep my eye on is there going to be growth or not and there's definitely a sense of unease.
Also, Elizabeth, uh, changes at the SBA, uh, Small Business Administration. What do you hear in there? How are folks feeling about it?
You know, um, there's there is confusion is there's a lot of folks in this country with SBA backed loans, grants, and they utilize the Small Business Administration for education, for business planning. So the fact that there are being cuts there, there are being jobs that are closing down, there's certainly a confusion and a wait and see on are those resources still going to be available, critical resources to small business owners.
Elizabeth, always great to have you on the show. Thanks for joining us.
Good to be with you.
