‘I am trying to stay alive.’ Jobs at mom-and-pop shops are disappearing

New York -Shirley Modlin started her manufacturing business 20 years ago in her garage with her husband. Now, she fears the company won’t survive.

Modlin’s tiny company based in Powhatan, Virginia, faces major delays on components and price hikes of up to 400% that she blames on tariffs. She is struggling to pass those costs on to clients and has fallen 90 days behind on payments to vendors.

“Everything is delayed or high-priced. The customer is screaming. It’s killing us,” Modlin, owner of 3D Design and Manufacturing, told CNN in a phone interview.

Mom-and-pop shops are under increasing pressure from a confluence of factors: tariffs, high interest rates, expensive health insurance and now surging energy costs.

Small businesses with fewer than 10 employees have cut jobs 13 months in a row, according to according to a new analysis by the Democratic staff at the US Congress Joint Economic Committee that was first shared with CNN.

That’s a big change from the spike in small business optimism that accompanied President Donald Trump’s 2024 victory.

Modlin already had to forgo raises for her workers this year. Now she’s being forced to contemplate what was once unthinkable: whether to sell the business or lay off any of her highly-skilled machinists.

“I am trying to stay alive. I can’t sleep at night,” Modlin said.