If 2025 has taught business owners anything, it’s that stability can vanish in the blink of a headline. Tariffs come and go, trade policies shift mid-shipment, and no one seems to know what next month’s costs will bring.
But in his 27 years, Ricky Hartman’s No. 1 rule for dealing with a dodgy economy has never changed.
“I try to have very clear, very open, very transparent communications with our customer base,” says Hartman, the Chattanooga-based vice president of sales for his family’s company, Duo-Fast of Knoxville.
These days, that means talking tariffs. He says Duo-Fast imports 70% of the pneumatic tools and fasteners it sells.
“There’s no running from a 50% tariff,” he adds.