Tariffs Aren’t the Problem. Here’s Why…

Here's why tariffs aren't the problem. Because there's always someone who's buying. Sometimes it's harder to find them. Sometimes it's easier to find them. So if, as a result of tariffs or anything else, it's going to be harder to find people, we understand that. But it doesn't mean that business is over and it doesn't mean that we can just sit and stew, because that just doesn't work. David: Hi. Welcome back. In today's episode, co-host Kevin Rosenquist, and I'll be discussing the fact that tariffs are not the problem. Welcome back, Kevin. Kevin: Good to to see you, David. How you been? David: Been doing great. Great to see you as well. Kevin: Yeah. We're talking about a topic that is in the news a little bit these days. You introduced the topic as tariffs aren't the problem. What do you mean by that? David: Yeah. I mean, if you're watching the media, you would think they are, but... Kevin: Yeah, I would say so. David: What I mean by that, and I'm not saying they're not a problem. What I'm saying is they're not THE problem. Okay, difference in the title. Tariffs aren't the problem. Okay? The reason this came up is I was having a conversation with someone in the promotional products industry who was talking about some of the issues that she was dealing with, and she mentioned the tariffs, and how the tariffs really had her very concerned. And I said, well, it's understandable because it creates a level of uncertainty that people are generally not happy with. I said, Kevin: Sure. David: How many orders have you actually lost as a result of the tariffs? And she said, well, none. I'm like, okay. Well that's a good start, right? If you haven't lost any orders so far as a result of it, that's a great way to start. And we just talked about the fact that everyone is dealing with this, everyone in the United States, anyone is dealing with this. And so, we're on an even playing field with any competitors, right? Because any competitors that we have are likely dealing with this as well. When we focus on things that are not the problem, like the thing that's actually keeping us from getting clients or getting reorders, or getting referrals, when we focus on those things, we're going to be a lot more productive in terms of being able to accomplish more things in less time, without focusing on the things that are not the immediate problem for us. Kevin: I mean, are business owners using tariffs or other external factors as as an excuse, if maybe they're having poor sales or things like that? David: Probably not consciously, I don't think they're consciously using it as an excuse. But it's easy to see it happen. And it's not just tariffs. Anytime anyone is concerned about the growth of their business, not being able to get enough new orders through the door, not able to get enough new customers through the door. Whenever they're not doing that, they're looking for reasons. And when you think of it logically, you'll look at the reasons that are actually happening. Well, what are the reasons this is happening? But when there are any sort of scapegoats in the market, people are likely to look at them, or point to them, or express concerns about them. Very often the concerns are about the things that could happen, that might happen, that could potentially happen, as opposed to what is actually slowing them down right now? Kevin: Mm-hmm. Yeah. And I think, it's dangerous to blame outside forces, like tariffs, instead of addressing in ternal issues. Because if you do that, you're going to potentially either ignore or downplay maybe some internal issues that you might have within your company. Is that a fair assessment? David: Yeah, and it's just not productive. When we're having interactions with clients, and let's say a client does raise the issue that they have concerns about pricing or they have concerns about how tariffs are going to impact their pricing and all that sort of thin...