How much does higher fuel costs hurt small business? Can most small businesses simply pass on the costs of the higher fuel costs to customers? Well sometimes they can and sometimes they cannot. What if delivery service of new patio barbeque is wrapped or bundled into the price so they can compete with the larger retailer box stores? All of a sudden they can no longer use this little advantage as a selling point. What if the company is a day care center and there is a competitor closer to the families home, then the higher fuel prices change the customers buying behavior and routing to work and therefore they lose the business? What if the small business is a service business like a mobile dog groomer, auto detailer or pool sweep and cleaning company? Then what? Well then their costs go up $10 to $18 per day thats what. If you consider a company with lets say 5-10 units on the road working 21-working days a month then that is $1050.00 to $3780.00 per month and no one can say that such numbers would not make an impact on the small business person who is in the service business. And realize that small businesses employ 75% of our population base and the service sector in many areas employs over 35% or more. Some economic development agencies and chambers of commerce that I have discussed this with show there numbers upwards of 45% of their regions employment base. I hope you will have a little empathy for the small businessperson in the future over these outrageous fuel costs. Consider all this in 2006. |
