Small businesses are an important part of communities, commerce, and are beneficial to society. Since President Trump took office, he’s imposed a 25% additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% additional tariff on imports from China according to a fact sheet on whitehouse.gov. This makes it harder for them to stay in business and the stock market crash that’s ensued created more challenges for business owners.” The economic burden of these tariffs can fall on either domestic consumers or businesses, depending on factors such as the elasticity of supply and demand for each product and businesses’ ability to pass on costs to customers.” According to a study from the University of Pennsylvania The economic burden of these tariffs can fall on either domestic consumers or businesses, depending on factors such as the elasticity of supply and demand for each product and businesses’ ability to pass on costs to customers. The founder, owner and sole worker of Bittersweet Farm and Tea Company Kristy Benson-Amarante spoke on the increasing difficulties she faces running her business since Trumps presidency. “I source a lot of my tea from Asia and China specifically, I get cinnamon from Sri Lanka, and there’s a lot of concern there for me. Some herbs have gone up in the last 2 months by over 1 dollar a pound, and one specific herb I use often went up a dollar and 30 cents for 1 pound in the last 2 weeks.” And that’s just the consumable products. The packaging she uses for her tea, simmers, car fresheners, etc. are next in line for price increases. When asked if she will be forced to raise her own prices or edit her selection of products she said, “My plan if necessary is to stop offering certain teas that have gotten wildly expensive for the time being and wait it out. I don’t expect where I buy it from to absorb all the extra cost and I will not charge as much as I should for what I’m buying the ingredients at.”
When asked about her concern for other small businesses either starting up right now or in the early stages Benson-Amarante said, “I wouldn’t start a business right now because of the uncertainty in the world with tariffs and the changes being made at all different levels of government. Consumers are watching their spending, and the lower and middle classes aren’t buying extra things right now.” But her main advice was to do research on your product and marketing, so you know the demand for it. “Something I see a lot because of events I run like a Christmas market I hosted this past year with 65 businesses are that people are making or selling things that people don’t need or want to buy, there’s no demand for it.” When asked if her advice 5 or 10 years ago would differ she said, “5 or 10 years ago I wouldn’t have said to wait it out because it wasn’t a concern. Another thing that happened was covid, I saw as someone running farmers markets and events that there was a huge boom in people starting their own businesses because so many people lost or quit their jobs and it was all they could do, now 5 years later is when they’re starting to drop off.” The hardest part of owning a small business according to her is figuring out what is legally required of you, “small business owners are expected to know what to do but there’s no roadmap; there’s no way to know how to start a business.”
Roger Williams University student and owner of Lark and Cosmos Jewelry Madilyn Tomaszewski (larkandcosmosjewelry on Instagram) started her business when she was 13 at an agricultural school, “I grow and forage flowers and turn them into jewelry.” After high school it simply stuck. When asked about her goals for her business she said it’s more of a side hustle for her, “I focus more on it in the summer, but I don’t see it become a career, for the most part it’s sharing something I enjoy with others and profit is more of a benefit.” Tomaszewski doesn’t directly import many goods from other countries as far as the flowers go and she tries to support other small businesses, “Prices have gone up a bit to compensate from what I can tell, there’s the flux of prices which makes it harder to know how much money to set aside.” Tomaszewski has had to increase her prices for materials and time to around 50 cents, “I want it to be affordable but reasonable.”
Celeste Robertson (celrob.art@gmail.com) started her art business this past semester at Roger Williams University, “I knew I could make things I could sell and at Hawk the Block I had the opportunity to.” Her goals for her business aren’t specific as it’s more of a “passion project” other than a small sentimental goal, “I hit the goal of selling necklaces and seeing people wearing them on campus.” The materials Robertson uses are clay and glaze, “Prices on glazes are going up because the materials aren’t produced here.”
Caroline Toli (carolinetoliartwork@gmail.com) started her small business her freshman and sophomore year at Roger Williams University, but junior and senior year, “I started making more meaningful art pieces and posting it on TikTok, and I opened my Etsy shop at the beginning of last semester after I gained attention on social media.” When asked if she has goals for her business profit wise or other she said, “My dream is to work for myself and do this full time, so I’ll get a job relating to it so I eventually can.” When asked about products she gets from other countries and if she’s been affected by price increases, she said, “I’ve noticed paint prices have gone up and I charge by the hour and have had to raise my prices because of the cost of materials.” Toli’s sales have gone down because the price of everything else has gone up, people aren’t inclined to buy art right now.
Supporting small businesses right now is more important than ever, especially student run businesses in their early days. Being mindful of every purchase now is necessary and supporting those in your community when you can be rewarding in many ways.