Main Street Operator

Allie Trela-Jones runs Bruised Boutique, an independent skate shop in Nashua, NH. The skateboard helmet that retailed for $35 when she opened now retails for closer to $100. Drew tells the story of how she has navigated 18 months of tariff cost compounding, the playbook she has run, and the lesson for any independent operator dependent on imported inventory. Plus: this week's tool — Buffer, what it costs, what it takes to set up, and what one operator reported getting back.

The federal tariff refund portal opened. AI adoption inside trades and retail crossed sixty percent. And the labor market just gave you a small but real opening on skilled hires. Drew walks operators through three numbers from the past 72 hours and the one decision each one demands this week.

Dana Spears built her HVAC company in Florida the slow way — one truck, hand-picked techs, the kind of operation buyers want. Now they keep calling. Drew tells the story of why she keeps saying no, what she does instead, and the lesson for any operator in a consolidating industry. Plus this week's tool: Make.com (formerly Integromat), what it costs, what it takes to set up, and what operators have reported getting back.

The labor market is softening and your refi window is open. Drew walks operators through three stories shaping the week ahead — NFIB's March jobs report, private equity's expansion into new verticals, and where SBA 7(a) rates land in April — each translated into one decision an independent owner can make in the next thirty days.