www.montereycountynow.com november 28-december 4, 2024 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 23 leap from business dreams to actual business owners. During the State of the Region event, Small Business Administration Deputy Administrator Dilawar Syed said 19.5 million new small businesses have been formed across the country in the last four years, calling it a record for a time period, including 2 million in California. Syed credited a “simplification” of lending through the SBA as one reason for the surge, with loans under $150,000 to start up businesses 47-percent higher compared to 2023. According to the SBA, while the pace of new business applications has eased from its heights in 2023, it still remains well above the pre-pandemic rate. “We are clearly on a path beyond recovery,” Syed said. ✦ With so many new businesses forming, the economy must be booming, right? It depends on who you ask. A report released in September by Beacon Economics, commissioned by the County of Monterey and Monterey County Business Council, showed that in general, wages and jobs are up since the pandemic in the county. From 2022-2023, the average wage in the county rose by 4.4 percent, outpacing the state’s 0.4-percent increase. The report also noted that small businesses increased their workforces, whereas large businesses shrunk. Meanwhile, the Small Business Optimism Index, compiled by the National Federation of Independent Business Research Foundation by surveying its more than 325,000 members, reported in October that its “Uncertainty Index” rose to its highest reading ever recorded in the 51 years of the index. “With the election over, much of their uncertainty will be resolved as the new administration reveals their new management team and policy priorities,” the NFIB wrote in the report. “As detailed policies are revealed, owners will have more certainty about what might happen to taxes and regulations in 2025. “The economy looks OK at the overview level, but the details are a bit worrisome,” the report continued, noting that government borrowing and spending is “most troublesome.” “The economy cannot continue to finance its growth by borrowing more money.” Some economists say that while inflation has eased and the economy looks good on paper, prices for various goods still remain high, resulting in people curbing spending and having an overall feeling that things are headed in the wrong direction—a key factor pundits say helped Donald Trump win the presidential election. That election has given rise to what is known as “doom spending,” according to multiple studies, where people hit the stores as a way to temporarily alleviate worries about what the future may, or may not, hold. This kind of self-soothing buying spree isn’t a new phenomenon. In the aftermath of 9/11, President George W. Bush urged Americans to “go shopping” as a way to get back to their normal lives. Adrianne Jonson, co-owner of Artisana Gallery in Pacific Grove, remembers that time well. She was operating a store in the Sierra foothills, and recalled having the “very best Black Friday” sales-wise in her career that year. “My mouth was on the floor,” she says, remembering when the profits were counted that day. Jonson says she sees something similar shaping up this year. “Given the results of the election, I feel that people are going to be a little more serious about shopping locally this time,” she says. Sales at Artisana are up about 10 percent over the year prior, Jonson says, with only one month that was lower when compared to 2023. At The Quill in Pacific Grove, owner Stephanie Loftus says business is about the same as it was last year, although in the weeks leading up to the election, sales plummeted. But after Nov. 5 passed, things picked back up again. “Because of the election this year, I was very unsure about what people were going to be comfortable doing spending-wise,” Loftus says. “We’re finding that people are shopping and they’re ready. “They were nervous, stressed, anxious. Now that [the election] is over, I think people are feeling a little relief. We’re seeing increases in spending. People just want to be festive.” A snapshot of county-wide data generally backs up what many business owners are seeing. According to the City of Salinas’ Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, released Oct. 4 and looking at numbers through the fiscal year that ended in June 2023, sales tax receipts were $91.6 million, ending $2.7 million higher than the previous year. For the County of Monterey, sales tax revenues increased by 10 percent over that same time period, according to a financial report. ✦ In 2010, credit card company American Express founded Small Business Saturday, an effort to direct some of those dollars consumers were spending on Black Friday at big box stores to small, local shops. Since then, consumers across the country have spent $17.9 billion on that day, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, according to a survey commissioned by American Express. Jonson, meanwhile, reports that her shop generates about 40- to 50-percent more in sales on Small Business Saturday than on Black Friday. Ally Wieland is the owner of The Vague Collection in Pacific Grove. The business, which celebrated its grand opening at the beginning of November, specializes in women’s clothing sourced from small, California-based vendors. The Quill is decked out in full holiday flair. In addition to stationery, the downtown Pacific Grove store offers various decorative items—many that celebrate the Monterey Bay’s sea life.
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