As things are slowly returning back to normal, the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic still affect many aspects of life, especially small businesses. These businesses are facing these effects by losing large sums of money due to production shortages.
Small businesses struggled to stay open during the pandemic due to the lack of consumers. Since then, they have continued to struggle with rising inflation and the continuing lack of customers. They have also seen production shortages for various reasons such as a lack of employees in factories and less truck drivers for transportation since the pandemic.
One local company that has been greatly affected by these shortages is the popular Atomic Coffee Bar. Atomic employee Reagan Glaus shared what a work day looks like when they are experiencing a shortage of Rockstar, an ingredient used in their energy drinks. “When Rockstar is in stock, all shifts are typically really busy with continuously long lines. Since we have been experiencing a shortage, there are hardly any customers at all. We also notice a huge decrease in the amount of money we clock out with at the end of the night. It is having a great impact on the business,” shared Glaus.
Not only are production shortages affecting small businesses across the country, but the financial aid from the government has also decreased in the last year. Consumers are hesitant to pay the increasing prices, leaving businesses to struggle with the financial hardships.
Inflation not only affects the prices for businesses, but many other aspects as well. It increases the price of rent and utilities and causes businesses to be more conservative in their spending, meaning buying cheaper materials. For businesses to avoid these effects as much as possible, they can cut back on costs that won’t affect the quality of their products, make reasonable price increases when necessary and budget to meet the increased costs.
As businesses begin to recover from the pandemic, they are still struggling with continually rising prices. Despite these hardships, they hope to see positive changes take place in order to continue the trend of success in their businesses.
