If it feels like everything costs more in 2026, it is not in your head. The goods you buy, the wages you pay, your rent, your insurance, and now the tariff-driven cost of the inputs you depend on are all climbing at once. And the big players can eat that or spread it across a million orders in a way you simply cannot.
I know how that pressure sits on your chest. But panic is expensive, and reacting blind is how good businesses quietly bleed out. Let me walk you through how I would steady the ship and protect what you have built.
You cannot defend a number you do not know
Before you touch a single price, get honest about your true landed cost, what it actually costs you to deliver one unit or one service, all in. Not the sticker price of your materials. The full cost after shipping, tariffs, fees, waste, and the hours it really takes.
Most owners are surprised when they run this. You may find a signature offer is barely breaking even while a quiet one carries the whole business. You cannot fix what you have not measured, so start here this week.
Go back to your suppliers before you go to your customers
Your first move is not raising prices, it is a conversation with the people you buy from. Ask for a better rate on volume, ask for longer terms so your cash has room to breathe, and ask what is coming so you are not blindsided next quarter.
And do not lean your whole business on one exposed input or one far-off supplier. Where you can, diversify or bring sourcing closer to home to soften the tariff hit. A second option is not just cheaper insurance, it is leverage in every negotiation.
Fix or fire your lowest-margin work
Not every dollar of revenue is worth having. Some of your offerings are eating time and money for almost nothing in return, and in a tight year those are a luxury you cannot afford to carry out of habit.
- 1List every product or service beside its true margin, best to worst.
- 2On the worst performers, decide plainly: reprice it, redesign it to cost less, or retire it.
- 3Protect the offerings that actually pay you, and put your energy where the margin already lives.
- 4Standardize the messy, custom work that quietly drains hours you never bill for.
- 5Recheck these numbers every quarter, because your costs are not sitting still and neither should you.
Raise prices on purpose, with a story
Sometimes you have to reprice, and that is not a failure, it is stewardship. The mistake is doing it quietly and hoping nobody notices, because they always do. Raise deliberately, and pair the increase with a clear reminder of the value you deliver.
People will pay more for something they believe in. Tell them what they get, tell them why it is worth it, and give loyal customers a little notice or a path. Most will stay. The ones who only ever wanted the lowest price were never really yours to keep.
You cannot control what the world charges you. You can always control how clearly you know your numbers and how calmly you choose your next move.
Protect the margin before you chase the growth
When money is tight, the instinct is to sell more to outrun the squeeze. But growing on a broken margin just loses money faster and at greater volume. Fix the profit on what you already do before you pour fuel on it.
I have built through lean seasons, and resourcefulness beats resources every time. Control what you can control, think clearly when everyone else is reacting, and you will not just survive a costly year, you will come out of it leaner and stronger than the competitors who panicked.
Key Takeaways
- Know your true landed cost per unit before you react to rising prices.
- Renegotiate with suppliers and diversify or near-shore your most exposed inputs first.
- Cut, fix, or reprice your lowest-margin offerings instead of carrying them out of habit.
- When you raise prices, do it deliberately and pair it with a clear value story.
- Protect your margin before chasing growth, because scaling a broken margin only loses money faster.
Marc D. Alexander
Motivational speaker, founder of Lite Raise, and author of Dreaming of Success. Marc helps entrepreneurs turn setbacks into momentum and pay it forward.