It’s an odd economic time. Whether the federal government officially “declares” the economy in a recession has little impact on the day-to-day operations of business – you know it costs more to do business. Whether we are in a recession now or will be in 2023 impacts business planning, particularly planning for growth and making investments in a company, employees, leadership, and interest-holders.

Whether the federal government “declared” a recession doesn’t seem to have made a difference in the cost of capital over the past six months – the cost of money continues to increase thanks to the Federal Reserve increasing interest rates. Interest rates were historically low and cash was flowing (pre- and post-pandemic) for most businesses. The greatest operational concern for almost all businesses was finding labor. The labor market issue is still a big concern, and now we can add on what it costs to get the money to grow and expand. Commercial loans and lines of credit interest rates are still “not bad” (I remember double digit interest rates back in the day), but when the cost of money has doubled in 2022, its difficult for owners to not think twice about making that planned investment for growth.

Times like these are why its important to have a good relationship with your banker and with our office. Local community banks thrive on helping customers prosper and want to see businesses succeed. That is the goal for economic development also. We have programs that supplement traditional lending programs. We also have a network of alternative lending partners that support smaller businesses. Finally, we have a partnership with state agencies that having a business lending portfolio.

It’s a new world in business, and we want to help you navigate it toward success.

For updates on any future business support, please visit carolinebusiness.com, sign up for our newsletter, and follow Caroline County Economic Development on Facebook.

Caroline County Economic Development and Tourism is an office within Caroline County government. Its mission is to help businesses of all sizes thrive in the community. Debbie can be reached at 410-479-4188 or info@carolinebusiness.com