Despite the doom and gloom in the headlines, the overall small-business outlook is still fairly positive, says Lindsay Weichert, senior VP and commercial-banking group manager at Community Bank, N.A., a DeWitt–based commercial bank serving customers in upstate New York, northeastern Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Massachusetts. While the Federal Reserve is still working to cool down the […]
Despite the doom and gloom in the headlines, the overall small-business outlook is still fairly positive, says Lindsay Weichert, senior VP and commercial-banking group manager at Community Bank, N.A., a DeWitt–based commercial bank serving customers in upstate New York, northeastern Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Massachusetts.
While the Federal Reserve is still working to cool down the economy, experts are split as to whether there will be a recession, she says.
“So far, the economy has been really resilient,” Weichert notes, with many experts predicting any recession will have a “soft landing” and not be anywhere near as damaging as previous recessions. However, that doesn’t mean small businesses aren’t feeling the effects of economic conditions and the Fed’s efforts, she adds.
“Any time you have one of these inflationary environments, expenses can tick up,” Weichert notes. In particular, interest expenses have nearly doubled in the past year, meaning businesses should keep a close eye on their borrowing.
Another area to watch is the cost of shipping. With news of trucking giant Yellow Corporation’s bankruptcy and UPS workers in the midst of negotiating a new contract, shipping costs are likely to rise further, she says.
Yellow’s bankruptcy is also a warning to businesses to make sure they are monitoring the health of the businesses with which they do business. From suppliers to vendors to clients, make sure those companies are healthy and able to deliver the goods or pay on time, Weichert says.
The most successful business owners are the ones that stay on top of their own finances as well, she notes. Focus on finances at least once a month, she says. “Make sure you’re surrounded by a really good team,” Weichert says. That team of advisors should include a banker.
Finally, she recommends that new businesses, or people just thinking about starting a business, focus on building a banking relationship before they even need to borrow money.
“There’s definitely a lot of capital out there,” she says. “Banks are ready to lend.” However, it might be easier for an established business to tap into that funding than it is for one just starting out. That’s where having a banking relationship is key, she says.
“If I was someone trying to start up a small business, I think that would be something I would focus on,” Weichert says of cultivating a banking relationship.
More new small businesses than ever are starting these days, especially as the area continues its transition from a “rust belt” to a “brain belt” ecosystem with companies like Micron coming in, Weichert says. “That’s very exciting to me.”
Community Bank considers Syracuse a growth market with Micron and ancillary companies expected to create around 50,000 new jobs.
The year-old CHIPS and Science Act — which sets aside about $50 billion to boost the domestic production of computer chips — coupled with the state’s own investments into developing a chip corridor from Syracuse to Albany are key factors to the development of that new business ecosystem, Weichert says.
“That is a real area of opportunity for some businesses in New York,” she says. “We’re really poised to take prosperity here to the next level.”
