Small Businesses are Under Pressure

Five Things To Know This Week:

1) Small Businesses are Under Pressure
2) Retail Sales are Rising
3) Hiring? Stop Looking for a “Rockstar”
4) Savannah Bananas: Making Baseball Fun
5) Resource of the Week: Celebrating AAPI Month

We chose five excellent items for this week’s newsletter. I liked them all so much, I couldn’t decide which one to highlight–and that includes our podcast quote of the week from IFEL’s CEO Jill Johnson.

Thanks for your encouraging comments on our newsletter and your suggestions. Please keep them coming. I read every email and will reply to you.

Small Businesses are Under Pressure

That’s one of the conclusions in the latest Well-Being Index from Principal Financial. Some highlights:

• 80% of small businesses say they’re comfortable with their current cash flow, but 35% have a “cautious” economic outlook for the next 12 months. Their top concern? Inflation.
• 63% of businesses feel the pressure to increase employee wages and benefits.
• 34% of businesses currently have higher job vacancy levels than they did this time last year. As a result, 42% are spending more time on employee recruitment and retention and taking action to hold onto top talent.
• 70% of business owners and managing partners say they’re more stressed than a year ago.
• 34% of small business employees say their workloads are higher, and 28% say they’re more stressed as a result.

Changing Consumer Behaviors

The latest Consumer Pulse survey from McKinsey & Company shows that consumers are embracing new habits and reverting to old ones. Here are some highlights:

The “loyalty shake-up” continues. More consumers say they switched to different brands and retailers this year—more than at any time since the COVID pandemic began—and most will continue to incorporate that behavior into their routines. Price is their primary reason for switching—they’re looking for value.

Omnichannel shopping is becoming the norm: 75% of consumers say they’re researching and purchasing both in-store and online. And 45% say social media influences their purchases.

Not surprisingly, social-media influence is heaviest among younger people and is most relevant in appearance-related categories such as cosmetics and sports apparel. Social commerce is still emerging, with 10% of omnichannel shoppers saying they’ve made purchases directly via social media.

Hiring? Stop Looking for a “Rockstar”

As businesses continue their hunt to fill job openings, Preply surveyed American workers to find out how the language used in job postings affected them.

Key takeaways:

• 70% of workers say the use of trendy language in a job posting has influenced their decision to apply for a job
• 20% decided not to apply for a job due to business-related buzzwords
• The terms most likely to be red flags for job seekers: 1. Rockstar 2. Wear many hats 3. Thick skin 4. Work hard, play hard 5. Schedule TBD
• The phrases least likely to be red flags: 1. Proactive 2. Empower 3. Leverage 4. Perks and benefits 5. Proven track record.

Savannah Bananas: Making Baseball Fun

I love baseball. As a life-long NY Mets fan, I have experienced a lot of highs and lows. But, whether the Mets win or lose, I enjoy watching (or listening on the radio) to every game. That is also true for fans of the Savannah Bananas. Never heard of them? You will. The Bananas play in the Coastal Plain League and they are shaking up the game of baseball.

I met the owner of the Bananas, Jesse Cole, when we both spoke at a conference a few years ago. To me, Jesse is the BEST kind of entrepreneur, or as the Los Angeles Times describes him—“equal parts P.T. Barnum and Walt Disney, with a bit of Saturday Night Live.” If you know baseball, think of him as an even more outlandish Bill Veeck—and you can see why even Major League Baseball has their eyes on the Savannah Bananas.

Small Business Resource: Celebrating AAPI Month in May.

The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders who have enriched America’s history and are instrumental in its future success.

Original Post: Small Businesses are Under Pressure