{"id":429,"date":"2022-11-15T21:09:11","date_gmt":"2022-11-15T21:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thrusttech.com\/blog\/?p=429"},"modified":"2022-11-15T21:23:59","modified_gmt":"2022-11-15T21:23:59","slug":"navigating-new-challenges-in-late-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thrusttech.com\/blog\/navigating-new-challenges-in-late-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Navigating New Challenges in Late 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"
How a small business prepares and reacts is crucial to its future success and business prosperity<\/em><\/strong><\/h5>\n

Earlier this year we issued an article warning of a looming recession \u2013 and now, as we approach Thanksgiving Day, there are even stronger indicators that it is truly drawing near.<\/p>\n

Take for instance this recent report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), that an average 8- to 16-pound turkey is currently priced at $1.99 per pound in 2022, compared to $1.15 in 2021. That\u2019s a major 73 percent increase. Factors blamed for the increase includes rise in fuel cost, housing, and many other cost of living requirements.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn fewer than eight months, the Fed has raised interest rates four times \u2013 and they\u2019re not done yet. These measures, coupled with rising prices and inflation, are impacting U.S. businesses, large and small, and companies now must pass much of their higher expense costs on to consumers at the checkout counter,\u201d says Stanley Kowlessar, president and general manager, Thrust Tech Accessories (TTA), an FAA 145 and EASA Certified repair station provider of MRO services in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.<\/p>\n

In just one short year, people are now looking for jobs, as opposed to companies looking for workers.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIn another tell-tale sign of a weakening economy, people are now looking for jobs, as opposed to companies looking for workers,\u201d Kowlessar emphasizes. \u201cTake what\u2019s happening in Silicon Valley for instance, as many of the biggest names in tech who were fighting to fill jobs just last year are now overseeing massive layoffs.\u201d Reports are also coming in from Wall Street that Barclays, Citi Group, and JP Morgan Chase have either started downsizing or are soon expected to. \u201cThat said, as evolving issues such as inflation surface, other challenges ebb a bit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe good news is that as U.S. businesses approach the end of the year, the supply chain challenges plaguing the marketplace have begun to dissipate. Thankfully, we have been able to mitigate the issues to movement of parts and equipment, although such unpredictable forces continue to impact our operation and others at times,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Still concerning to Kowlessar, though, is that \u201cmany economic indicators show that \u2018the tide has turned\u2019 with the slow but continued approach of an all-out recession.\u201d In fact, rising prices are now impacting everything in life \u2013 from home purchases and apartment rental costs to gasoline and aviation fuel prices, food prices, and all types of consumer products.<\/p>\n

Along with rising prices, there\u2019s an unfriendly atmosphere in the global energy market, too.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Adding to more inflationary pressure is that \u201cthere\u2019s an unfriendly atmosphere in the global energy market too,\u201d he adds. For example, the war in Ukraine shut down that country\u2019s major agricultural production of grains, which impacted global food prices. Sanctions against Russia also cut off Europe from Russian oil, resulting in less supply and higher fuel prices across the globe.<\/p>\n

To counteract soaring prices, this year the U.S. Federal Reserve has aggressively raised interest rates in an effort to corral inflation. But it\u2019s worth noting that the pace of those increases is the fastest in decades. In addition, many small businesses depend on U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loans to fund and support their operations, and Kowlessar says the loan rates have risen 4 percent recently \u2013 and are expected to increase even more.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd now that the midterms are behind us, we can expect to see fuel costs increasing again as the federal government removes cost-saving measures employed during the election,\u201d he said, noting that the change in the government\u2019s policy toward energy continues to be the source of great angst among many American businesses, big and small.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea that we have gone from energy independence to energy crisis in just two years \u2013 coupled with the ongoing war in Ukraine \u2013 is fueling rising costs for businesses across nearly every sector of the U.S. economy,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Many experts believe the recession is not likely to happen prior to year\u2019s end.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Timing-wise, many experts believe the recession is not likely to happen prior to year\u2019s end, given consumer spending for the annual holiday shopping season. One recent survey of more than 100 top retail and brand executives revealed that most have \u201ctempered optimism\u201d for the holiday selling season. They expect sales to surpass pre-pandemic 2019 levels but probably not reach 2021\u2019s record-breaking levels, given inflation and other factors.<\/p>\n

From Kowlessar\u2019s perspective on timing, \u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019ll feel the major impact of the recession until after the holidays, perhaps four to six months out. But all of us in small businesses need to get ahead of any impending recession.\u201d Many experts believe the recession is not likely to happen prior to year\u2019s end. IMany experts believe the recession is not likely to happen prior to year\u2019s end.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shore up your business by ensuring financial stability and to be resourceful in delivering solutions to your customers.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

How so? He believes that having a strong business plan and steady financial reserves remains critical now more than ever. \u201cOver the decades, each economic downturn in this country has been different but, for whatever the future holds, it\u2019s important to \u2018shore up\u2019 your business by ensuring financial stability and being resourceful and creative to deliver solutions to your customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the pandemic era, Kowlessar says Thrust Tech thrived by having a prudent approach to finances, innovation in business operations, and expansion of services to assist clients during their supply chain woes. For instance, when others were cutting back, TTA hired more employees and built a strong inventory of aviation parts. That kept customers\u2019 planes in the air and strong revenue flowing to TTA too.<\/p>\n

Thrust Tech has been under new ownership and management for five years \u2013 building on 35 years of aviation MRO experience by growing our product and services to a larger customer base with innovative solutions and services \u201cWe\u2019re adept at proactively assessing customers\u2019 future needs, pivoting quickly as needed and continuing to innovate,\u201d Kowlessar stresses.<\/p>\n

Yes, new challenges including a recession will likely arise. But how small businesses prepare and react, believes Kowlessar, is crucial to their future success and business prosperity. \u201cThat\u2019s why we see many great opportunities ahead to do good business.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven in challenging times, new opportunities present themselves, which can \u2013 and will \u2013 allow the business community to emerge victorious.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How a small business prepares and reacts is crucial to its future success and business prosperity Earlier this year we issued an article warning of a looming recession \u2013 and now, as we approach Thanksgiving Day, there are even stronger indicators that it is truly drawing near. Take for instance this recent report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), that an average 8- to 16-pound turkey is currently priced at $1.99 per pound in 2022, compared to $1.15 in 2021. That\u2019s a major 73 percent increase. Factors blamed for the increase includes rise in fuel cost, housing, and many […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post--single"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thrusttech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thrusttech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thrusttech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thrusttech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thrusttech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=429"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thrusttech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":432,"href":"https:\/\/thrusttech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429\/revisions\/432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thrusttech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thrusttech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thrusttech.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}