A supplier raises prices. Freight jumps. Your margin shrinks. Cash gets tight. What do you do next?Caught in the Crossfire: A Small Business Survival Guide is a practical guide for U.S. small-business owners dealing with tariffs, rising input costs, supply-chain disruption and sudden changes that can quickly affect profitability and cash flow.This is not a political book and it is not an economics textbook. It is a hands-on business resource built around the decisions owners and managers actually have to make when costs change faster than selling prices.Inside, you'll learn how to: - identify which suppliers, products, customers and contracts create the greatest exposure- calculate the true landed cost of what you buy- measure how higher costs affect gross margin and operating profit- decide whether to absorb, share or pass through a cost increase- communicate price changes without damaging important customer relationships- determine when buying inventory ahead makes sense - and when it creates a cash trap- build and use a 13-week cash-flow forecast- renegotiate, replace or diversify suppliers- reduce customer, supplier and market concentration- strengthen quotes, contracts and cost-escalation processes- identify relevant U.S. business, financing, manufacturing and export-support resources- build practical 30-day and 90-day resilience plansThis is more than a book. It includes a working small-business toolkit: - Tariff Exposure Worksheet- Landed Cost Calculator- Gross Margin Impact Worksheet- Supplier Comparison Scorecard- 13-Week Cash Flow Template- Government Assistance Readiness Package- Customer Price-Increase Templates- 30-Day and 90-Day Action PlansWhether you manufacture, import, build, sell online, operate a retail or service business, or simply depend on suppliers whose costs are changing, the goal is the same: Understand the impact early, protect margin and cash, and make disciplined decisions before uncertainty becomes a crisis.You cannot control the next tariff, freight disruption, supplier failure or cost shock.You can build a business that is better prepared for it.
