COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Small business is truly big business in Ohio, and while the vast majority of those businesses operate with local customers and local goods, the current economic climate and the threat of tariffs have a real impact on local owners.

“Small business owners, like any business, want predictability,” said Roger Geiger, executive director of the Ohio Small Business Council (OSBC). “And in today’s environment, that is tough to find.” 

According to data from the OSBC, nearly all businesses in Ohio are considered small businesses. Ohio is home to nearly one million small businesses, with 96% of those companies employing 20 or fewer people. Ohio typically ranks as a top 10 state in the nation for small business operations, with the state ranking highly in cost of living and tax incentives. 

Jerry Tsai is one of those Ohio small business owners who is navigating a changing economic world.

“There’s a lot of ups and downs with small businesses,” Tsai said. “Whether the market’s up or down, there’s always babies being born.”

Tsai is referring to his company, The Happy Start, which creates high-contrast photo books for babies to develop their vision and cognitive abilities. Tsai and his business partner sell their books online through Amazon’s small business platform. His books are manufactured in Asia, leading to concerns about tariff costs. 

Next week, he will travel to Washington, D.C., to meet with Ohio lawmakers and other government staffers to discuss the current economic climate for small business owners. He was invited by the National Retail Federation as a partner with Amazon and its public policy team.

“We’re going to share just our experience and look at the numbers and look at the data and say, ‘Hey, this is what it is. Here’s what we’re doing within our locus of control to try to mitigate certain things,” Tsai said. He added that his company has yet to pay a tariff because he has not received a new shipment of goods since tariff costs began escalating. 

Roger Geiger represents the 4,000 Ohio small business owners in policy matters at the Ohio Statehouse. He said tariffs are a divisive issue, not only for political reasons.

“Tariffs really cut across the business community depending on what kind of business you have,” he said, noting some agricultural business owners support tariff raises to promote market equality.

“A lot of this is driven by the president and I think we have a membership that is probably on all sides of that issue,” Geiger added. “Some who very strongly support the president, some who are in angst by what’s going on, but I think the general feeling I get from small businesses is let’s wait and see. So at some point, this does have to settle out.”

Tsai said the political side of the tariff debate is not of concern to him.

“The profit and loss sheet does not have an elephant or a donkey on it, it’s not political,” he said. 

Geiger said he advises other small business owners to be proactive with their local Chambers of Commerce and local elected officials to advocate for their long-term interests.

“There isn’t a business decision that you’ll make, not one single business decision that you’ll make that isn’t impacted by government,” Geiger said. “Government is your partner, whether you like it or not. And so just like any other partner, you have to engage it.”