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Small Businesses Optimistic Despite Predicted Downturn Small Business Owners Optimistic In Face Of Recession

By John Licinio

The SOHO Small Business Fair in Syracuse looks like an ordinary convention. Businesses owners from all over Central New York connect with each other and try to show others what makes their company special. However, these small businesses could be facing a lot of trouble in the near future.

According to a report issued by the International Monetary Fund yesterday, global economic growth is projected to be at just 3.0 percent this year, which is downward from projections in April 2019. That’s going to be the lowest rate of economic growth since 2009 at the height of the recession, and the IMF predicts that on top of that, there is going to be an additional slowdown in 2020 for developed countries like the United States. So I’m here at the SOHO Small Business Show in Syracuse to talk to small business owners and to investors and to see how this potential upcoming recession will affect the economy of Central New York.

Most of the attendees at the fair were confident in the local economy despite these predictions. Steve Becker, who is the event manager for the Small Business Fair, believes that there are always new opportunities for small businesses, although it might take some out-of-the-box thinking.

“Yeah, some businesses might fall by the wayside, but because of the challenges out there, you’ll see new industries popping up.”

One attendee went even further. Steve Gerlach, an account executive at IMS Barter, thinks that a recession wouldn’t necessarily hurt small businesses.

“I think that, you know, small businesses will probably stay strong even if there is a downturn in the economy.”

Local businesses seem determined to continue growing regardless of what happens with the larger economy, which is a good sign regardless of whether the IMF’s predictions hold true. This is John Licinio, N-C-C News.

By John Licinio, Syracuse, N.Y. (NCC News) — The annual SOHO Small Business Fair kicked off this Wednesday in Syracuse amid a background of economic uncertainty in both the United States and the rest of the world. The International Monetary Fund reported yesterday that global economic growth is projected to shrink to just 3.0 percent in 2019, marking the lowest growth levels since 2008-2009.

Despite this uncertainty, fair attendees with intimate knowledge of both local and national economic trends remained relatively optimistic about the prospects of small businesses in Syracuse. One event attendee, Steve Gerlach, represented IMS Barter, a company that works helps small businesses engage in trade. He believed that the economy would stagnate rather than decline.

“I don’t think it’s gonna be growth, but I don’t think it’s gonna be a downfall,” he said. “I think it’s  gonna kind of stay flat.”

Steve Becker, the fair’s event manager, remained confident that small businesses that weathered the 2007 recession would be able to remain stable through any other economic uncertainty.

“I think there’s an ebb and a flow,” he said. “We saw what happened in 2007 with the recession, but guess what, we’re still here. It might take longer, but I think for the most part we’re doing okay.”

The optimism of these attendees was mirrored by the event itself, which saw dozens of small businesses from Central New York attend the event even though social media might make the event seem redundant – concerns that were addressed by Becker.

“That’s why we still do this show, because we feel that even though you have a social media presence, it’s great to shake a hand and talk with somebody,” he said.

The International Monetary Fund predicts that, while investment in the United States has decreased as a result of ongoing trade tensions with China, domestic employment and consumption remain robust.

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