‘Just pure uncertainty.’ Small businesses are hopeful and fearful ahead of Trump’s second term
CNN
Family-run furniture and barware maker Barrel-Art has now been through three US presidential elections. While the run-up to the 2024 race brought similar business patterns as those experienced in 2016 and 2020, it has also brought more unpredictability than previous presidential outcomes.
Family-run furniture and barware maker Barrel-Art has now been through three US presidential elections. While business before the 2024 race felt similar to 2016 and 2020, this year has also brought more unpredictability. Sales petered out in the months ahead of Election Day as businesses and shoppers paused their purchases while waiting for an outcome. Sales for their handcrafted products, made from whiskey and wine barrels, bounced back as soon as the race was called. However, the post-election environment is hitting different this time around for many small business owners, such as Barrel-Art’s Michael Prieto, and leaving them wondering what comes next. While President-elect Donald Trump will be a familiar face in the White House, his campaign trail rhetoric was amplified and ambitious, sweeping policy proposals have raised more questions than answers, said John Arensmeyer, founder and chief executive of Small Business Majority, a center-left business advocacy group. “I think business owners don’t know how much of what they’ve heard from the president-elect on the campaign is real, how much is going to actually happen and how much he can do,” Arensmeyer said. For business owners who already were unsettled about the economy or its direction prior to the election, navigating the months and years ahead could be even more precarious, he added.
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