Introducing The Manual Weekly
Welcome to The Manual Weekly, the can’t-miss-newsletter for small business leaders. You’ll find snackable bits of news highlighting emerging trends, actionable resources, and proven best practices that can help take your business to the next level.
Now, as an SMB owner or employee, your time is tight. We get that (after all, we’re an SMB, too). So don’t worry about having your inbox flooded with anything that isn’t useful or relevant to your purpose. Actually, we promise not to flood your inbox — period. We’ll see you here every Wednesday. And in the meantime, you can get your SMB fix on The Manual’s home site.
Now, on to the news.?In this week’s edition:
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LIFE’S A STAG
The ‘70s are back in the form of… stagflation
Great. Another “flation” to worry about.
Give your stress ball a couple of squeezes and then breathe. Cool? Good, because another relic of the ‘70s is looking to make a comeback, and it’s not as sexy as roller disco. We’re talking “stagflation,” a delightful combination of “stagnant” and “inflation,” where the economy falls into recession while prices increase. The last time the economy saw stagflation was in the late 1970s and early ‘80s, when the Bee Gees topped the charts, inflation reached over 14%, and the U.S. GDP declined.
We’re not used to these kinds of inflationary pressures, it’s been a lifetime since we’ve experienced that. — Ana Corrales
I’m going to need more than a stress ball.
Well, we’re not quite there yet, but some experts have serious concerns. A recent report showed an increase in the Consumer Price Index of 8.6% year-over-year — rates we haven’t seen since MTV played actual music videos.
“Most of our adult lives, we’ve been at 2% or less,” says Ana Corrales, an economics professor at Miami-Dade College. “We’re not used to these kinds of inflationary pressures, it’s been a lifetime since we’ve experienced that.” Currently, production hasn’t fallen enough to say the economy is in a recession, though many predict it.
So, how can I pull my business through this?
On a micro level, Corrales says small businesses can look at a period of stagflation much like they did the pandemic — as a chance to innovate. “You can shift from buying new things to fixing things before buying a replacement. Look to expand buying in the secondhand market, too — buy used computers [and] printers instead of buying a new one.” She also suggests looking into longer-term contracts with suppliers to lock in prices and ease concern over fluctuations.
Stagflation isn’t here — at least not yet. Still, understanding its causes and having a plan in place are wise strategies for helping your SMB ride out the storm.
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RULE BREAKER
Don’t let your SMB stumble on overlooked business laws
What? What laws?!
It’s okay, there’s no need to panic. You’ve probably already researched what applicable laws and regulations could affect your small business.
It’s just that sometimes, SMB owners can overlook laws that are generally (and erroneously) attributed to larger businesses. Ones that can catch you off guard if you’re not careful.
Thankfully, Claire Fountain, business analyst and Trainual partner, compiled a list of some of the most commonly overlooked business laws that small business leaders should be aware of:
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Sharing time: This is our lite version of The Manual Weekly. A nibble, if you will. Want the whole dish? There’s more where that came from. Sign up here to unlock our full weekly content. (Written while anxiously awaiting our Grubhub delivery.)
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TL; DR
This week’s highlight reel