Simple Solutions: Top Business Stories of 2021

Welcome to the new newsletter from Business.org. Each week, we’ll bring you current events and business news, synthesizing what you need to know and offering simple solutions to your business problems. Let’s get started by looking back at 2021.

Today, as we begin the new year, we’re taking a look back at some of the news stories that impacted businesses in 2021. Let’s dive in.

COVID-19 continued to take over business news in 2021, with new vaccines, variants, and boosters dominating the conversation. But, we didn’t exactly get back to normal, and work environments may not ever return to the in-person level we expected.

COVID-19 has hit all areas of business—impacting supply chains, the labor market, and consumer spending—and the recovery is slower than most analysts predicted. A US Census Bureau survey of small businesses noted that 65% of small businesses report an overall negative effect from the pandemic on their business as of November 28, 2021.  Businesses are facing new challenges each day, and we’re here with solutions to help:

• We conducted an analysis of COVID-19's economic impact
• How have small businesses been impacted by COVID-19?

Supply chains took a significant blow this year. Business owners dealt with material shortages (like cobalt, magnesium, electronic components, and semiconductors) and delivery times. These issues directly contributed to rising inflation. Gas, food, shelter, and vehicle costs all rose in November 2021.

The Consumer Price Index for November 2021 noted a 0.8% inflation increase from October 2021 and a 6.8% year-over-year increase from November 2020. We are currently at the highest level of inflation since the 1980s.

You can draw a direct line from these supply chain and inflation issues to worker wages and consumer spending: The rise in COVID-19  cases “​​temporarily slowed progress this past summer, restraining previously rapid growth in household and business spending, intensifying supply chain disruptions, and, in some cases, keeping people from returning to work or looking for a job,” US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in November 2021.

So far, we don’t know what’s next, but we are watching for news from the Fed so you have up-to-date information for your business.

Read more:

• We surveyed business owners and have insights on inflation
• ​​We broke down five key steps to improving supply chain efficiency

• Labor disputes rose to over 970 labor protests and strikes across the country in 2021.
• Social media companies faced a backlash that could lead to broader changes in tech regulation.
• Climate change warnings led 140 countries to agree to the Glasgow Climate Pact.

We’ll be covering labor, social media, and climate change in detail in later newsletters.

You may have noticed that this newsletter looks different this week. That’s because this is the first edition of the Simple Solutions newsletter from Business.org. We’re excited to bring you current events and business news weekly along with the quality content you’ve come to expect from us.

My name is Alex Kerai. I’m a staff writer with Business.org, and I can’t wait to help bring this newsletter to your inbox each week. We know that it can be hard to understand all that’s going on in the world of business, so we’ll keep you informed and  help you find simple solutions for your business needs.

• Our review of best website builders was the top-read piece in all of 2021.
• Pennsylvania is the best state for teacher pay.
• We compared over 20 point-of-sale systems for small businesses.
• Here are the deadlines for business tax filing in 2021 and 2022.
• Lendio tops our list of the best small business loans.

Thank you for reading. We’ll see you next week.

     - Alex and the Business.org team

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