We Need To Support Small Businesses Now More Than Ever– With Raising Costs And Squeezing Margins, These Businesses Are Fighting To Keep Prices Steady And Doors Open

As Trump-era tariffs continue to reshape the economy, small businesses across the country are reaching a breaking point. Many entrepreneurs say rising import duties—especially on goods from China—are forcing tough decisions: raise prices, cut labor, or shut down entirely. Yet a growing number are digging in their heels, refusing to pass the cost burden to their customers.

Jeremiah Chamberlain, who runs Corvidae Creations in Hammond, Louisiana, said his 3D-printed toy business was blindsided by steep tariff increases. “We didn’t expect to have this type of panic arise,” Chamberlain said. With bulk filament prices jumping from $14.99 to $17.99 per roll, he abandoned Chinese suppliers in favor of American and Canadian ones. Though the shift meant sacrificing some color variety, it kept prices down. “Nothing’s going to make me raise prices unless it’s a matter of me having to shut the business down totally,” he said.

Main Street Adapts to a Volatile Trade Environment

It’s not just Corvidae Creations. Across America, businesses are being squeezed by duties that have swung wildly—from 10% to 145% and back to 30%—under the Trump administration’s shifting trade strategy. Advocacy group Main Street Alliance reports that 81.5% of surveyed small business owners said they would have to raise prices due to tariffs, while 31.5% feared layoffs.

“Small-business owners are operating on such thin margins,” said Richard Trent, executive director of the alliance. “The least that we could do is give them a modicum of stability.”

Some are using promotions to offset losses. Others, like Carla Minervini of All Fired Up pottery studio in South Carolina, are standing firm. “I would sell everything off and close my business and make a new life for myself before I would increase my prices,” she said. Instead, Minervini has scaled back product offerings and stocked up on materials in anticipation of supplier hikes.

Cost-Cutting Hits Workers and Wages

For Dan and Ashley Jones of Jeans Day Apparel in Indiana, tariffs have already taken a toll. Increased material costs forced them to lay off their part-time student staff. “We have to be able to cut costs somewhere, and labor is the easiest place,” Dan said. The couple now shoulder the full workload, pushing back plans to move the business out of their garage and into a storefront.

“It’s the unknown that’s very scary,” he added.

Product Shrinks, Not Prices

Other business owners are trying to innovate around the problem. Amy Grows of Camas Creek Soap Company in Idaho is reducing her soap varieties by 25% and replacing expensive oils with affordable alternatives. “I’m trying to make a little money for me and give people a good product that they can afford,” she said.

Some Can’t Hold Out Forever

Amelia Morgan, who co-owns Recognitions Awards and More in Illinois, said all four of her U.S. suppliers raised prices by 20% last month. She’s held out as long as she can—but she knows change is coming. “We have to make sure that we stay profitable,” Morgan said. Her company employs six workers who depend on the business to pay their bills. A price hike is now inevitable.

While large corporations like Nike and Walmart have the flexibility to raise prices or shift supply chains, small businesses remain on the front lines of the tariff war. Many say they’re willing to absorb the costs—until they can’t anymore.