WEBVTT

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<v Speaker 1>Let's say good morning to the chief executive officer of

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<v Speaker 1>the Women Business Collaborative. It's Gwen Rece. Good morning, Gwen.

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<v Speaker 1>So I'm sorry, it's Gwen.

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<v Speaker 2>Ye morning Amy when Yeah, no problem, good morning, Hell,

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<v Speaker 2>I'm good.

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<v Speaker 1>We're talking to Brenda Reese a little bit later, so

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<v Speaker 1>I just mixed you guys up. So, Gwen, before we

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<v Speaker 1>get started and jump in and talk about these the tariffs,

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<v Speaker 1>tell us a little bit about what your organization, Women

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<v Speaker 1>Business Collaborative does. So we have a frame of reference.

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<v Speaker 2>Absolutely, So we are a collaborative, which means we have

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<v Speaker 2>eighty seven organization, sixty seven sponsors, and three hundred individuals

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<v Speaker 2>that are committed to growing women in business. And related

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<v Speaker 2>to this conversation, about forty percent of our collaborative is

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<v Speaker 2>women own businesses. So we are there to support and

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<v Speaker 2>grow these businesses and help continue to grow the economy.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, awesome, So let's talk about tariffs. A lot of

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<v Speaker 1>focus has been on the car makers and things like

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<v Speaker 1>lumber and steal. We just had a story about Ford

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<v Speaker 1>sent on a memo to its dealership saying, hey, if

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<v Speaker 1>the tariffs take hold, prices are going to go up.

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<v Speaker 1>But as the tariffs take hold. If they do, they

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<v Speaker 1>could have a huge effect on small businesses. So what

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<v Speaker 1>kind of things are the small businesses experiencing?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, i'm the small businesses which are about either you know,

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<v Speaker 2>forty four percent of economic activity and actually have small

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<v Speaker 2>businesses and all businesses women are about forty percent. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>what we're seeing is these are mass market goods, these

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<v Speaker 2>are necessities, these are consumer goods, These are toys, these

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<v Speaker 2>are clothing, apparel, makeup, and so forth. So it's a

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<v Speaker 2>really interesting, you know, group of businesses. And these are

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<v Speaker 2>businesses and have smaller profit margins, right, which means that

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<v Speaker 2>any disruption in their supplies if they put into their

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<v Speaker 2>business or their outputs, you know, they just don't have

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<v Speaker 2>that ability to weather a shock, right, So that means

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<v Speaker 2>can they pass it on to the consumer? Do they

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<v Speaker 2>have to shutter? Do they have access to financing? And

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<v Speaker 2>unlike those those bigger companies, they have less access to

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<v Speaker 2>financing an opportunity, So they're really being impacted by you know,

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<v Speaker 2>what may or may not happen in the shifts in

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<v Speaker 2>what the tariffs are going to be.

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<v Speaker 1>And have they already started to feel the effects. Are

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<v Speaker 1>we still sort of in a holding pattern since almost

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<v Speaker 1>everything's been passed, well not China though, but pretty much

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<v Speaker 1>everything else has been paused for ninety days. But those

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<v Speaker 1>tariffs are still in place for China. So are people

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<v Speaker 1>feeling the pinch already.

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<v Speaker 2>They are peeling the pinch already, and they're already starting

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<v Speaker 2>to advocate, you know, describe what that what that effect

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<v Speaker 2>looks like if you're a business that regards on a

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<v Speaker 2>supply that you would, you know, bring from China. Clothing

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<v Speaker 2>is one of the biggest things. Where the world's biggest

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<v Speaker 2>importer of clothing, so they're starting to fill at effect.

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<v Speaker 2>Prices are going up and I think it was last

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<v Speaker 2>week we saw an article that said you can expect

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<v Speaker 2>prices to raise by ten to twenty five percent right now,

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<v Speaker 2>and things like toys by about twenty three percent. So

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<v Speaker 2>the impacts are immediate and it's impacting. Also, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>local businesses are people that we're going to start a

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<v Speaker 2>business because where are you going to get those supplies?

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<v Speaker 2>Where are you going to find that financing?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and then even if they can whether the storm,

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<v Speaker 1>like you said, they've got a lot of decisions to make.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, like do they cut hours for their workers,

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<v Speaker 1>Do they increase prices, do they offer fewer items. So

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<v Speaker 1>there's a lot of decisions that are going to have

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<v Speaker 1>to be made.

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<v Speaker 2>Absolutely, And part of it too is, you know, like

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<v Speaker 2>I said earlier, you know, we get packaging things for

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<v Speaker 2>packaging manufactured outside of the United States. So if you

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<v Speaker 2>don't have somewhere to buy that, that changes your financials,

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<v Speaker 2>It changes your you know, investment and money that you need.

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<v Speaker 2>And women still access only two percent of all available capital.

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<v Speaker 2>So you're making immediate decisions about what you can do

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<v Speaker 2>and how you can operate.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and so you mentioned women, and I know you

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<v Speaker 1>work with a women business collaborative. What extra challenges do

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<v Speaker 1>women owned businesses have?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I think they say, you know, they say, sort

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<v Speaker 2>of two extra challenges, right, myn owned businesses is one

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<v Speaker 2>is they don't have the same networks and they are

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<v Speaker 2>not represented in some of these larger industries at the

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<v Speaker 2>same rate as men are, which means what they don't

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<v Speaker 2>have the type of partnerships, they don't have access to

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<v Speaker 2>capital and finance, and then definitely probably don't have that

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<v Speaker 2>sort of advocacy power or that flexibility to figure out

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<v Speaker 2>where to absorb those prices or how they can raise

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<v Speaker 2>the prices. Plus many are manufacturing you know, many of

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<v Speaker 2>our consumer goods and the goods that we use every day,

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<v Speaker 2>so you know, passing that price along to the consumer

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<v Speaker 2>really is going to impact their business and what they're

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<v Speaker 2>going to be able to sell. So they really do

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<v Speaker 2>facing new challenges.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, Gwenn, is there anything that we wake up call

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<v Speaker 1>listeners can do to help out the small businesses?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I think a couple of things. I mean we

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<v Speaker 2>always say, you know, by local, you know, and that

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<v Speaker 2>sort of thing, and try to do what we can do.

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<v Speaker 2>But you know, the advocacy right now is let's get

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<v Speaker 2>some exemptions for those small businesses. Let's look at the

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<v Speaker 2>impact on the small businesses, and let's find where big

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<v Speaker 2>companies you know and local, national, and federal government can

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<v Speaker 2>support those small business So if we can continue to

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<v Speaker 2>make that drum week drumbeat call for that action and

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<v Speaker 2>support those small businesses, that's what we can do to

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<v Speaker 2>help them stay alive.

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<v Speaker 1>Local and small is always good. Gwen Young, the CEO

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<v Speaker 1>of Women's Business Collaborative, thanks so much for helping kind

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<v Speaker 1>of sort through this with us today. Go small business,

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<v Speaker 1>Thank any goo.

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<v Speaker 2>Small business looks working together take care