Below is just one section from the 2023 Small Business Inflation Impact Study from biz2credit that I think is of interest to everyone.
Implications For Small Businesses In 2023
Inflation during the post-vaccination recovery period led to significant changes in small business activity. This was especially seen when inflation accelerated in 2022. In 2023, there is considerable uncertainty about the prospect for continued inflation, further interest rate hikes, weaker economic growth or spikes in gasoline prices. The inflation study offers valuable insights for small businesses in such circumstances.
With continued macroeconomic uncertainty around inflation, growth and interest rates, small businesses need to be exceptionally cautious about cash flow management. This involves careful timing of cash outflows to match projected cash inflows. Small businesses accomplished this in 2022 by spending less on each expenditure transaction, while increasing the number of transactions to preserve overall activity levels.
On the revenue side, small businesses need to gauge their ability to pass on cost increases to their customers (what is known as pricing power) without excessively hurting demand. Such pricing power is likely to be diminished as consumers also confront inflation, so ongoing revenue management will be critical.
Small businesses need to assess whether their operations require additional financing to manage cash flows and whether their projected cash flows can support such borrowing. A disciplined historical track record showing prudent cash flow management can be very helpful in obtaining such financing from banks and online marketplaces, should they choose to apply for it.
Full Report Here:
https://www.biz2credit.com/research-reports/biz2credit-inflation-impact-research-report-2023
Unfortunately, this does't apply at all in the MCA industry as those merchants may know their products but don't know how to run their businesses.