Small business optimism hits a 2-year high, but still below average – Marketplace

The National Federation of Independent Business’ newest small-business optimism index is out. The good news? The index rose more than two points in July, and small businesses feel the most optimistic they have since February 2022. The less good news? Optimism is still below the survey’s 50-year average.

Small-business owner Nicole Panettieri said, simply, she isn’t sure how she’s feeling right now. She owns two boutiques in New York City, The Brass Owl and The Tiny Owl. One is for women, one is for kids.

This year she had strong Mother’s Day sales. But this summer has been one of her worst. “And that’s even accounting for 2020,” she said.

Panettieri is constantly strategizing. For instance, she stopped carrying some hand-poured candles because inflation and tariffs have hiked costs for her suppliers.

“Customers are not really accustomed to paying $40 for a candle,” she said.

There has been a lot of focus on how consumers have been experiencing once-in-a-lifetime inflation. Well, business owners are too. Holly Wade, executive director of the NFIB Research Center, said a quarter of owners surveyed said inflation is their biggest problem.

“So for most small-business owners, this is an environment that is incredibly new, very stressful, and they’re having to figure it out as they go along,” she said.

It seems there’s been a bit of a lag in how long it’s taken business owners to get used to rising prices.

Overall optimism had increased, though it’s still below average. There was a not-so-distant time when business owners felt above average: December 2021, when consumers were spending like crazy.

Shane Gottwals, who owns a chain of bookstores in Georgia, said as a business owner, you just can’t expect that party to last forever.

“There’s been a kind of honeymoon period. I mean, there was just so much spending,” he said.

He said customers have adjusted to price increases, and people still seem to be “gung-ho” on small businesses.

All things considered, he said, business is quite good.