National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) survey data shows small business owners are feeling more optimistic about the economy but increasingly concerned about inflation, which has consistently been cited as their top operating problem for over a year.FOX Business spoke with two Midwest small business owners Tuesday about their take on the economy, and both said that while their businesses are doing fine, many of their customers are not.Penny Olson, owner of Waukesha Antique Mall in Waukesha, Wisconsin, says her business is doing well overall, but she has noticed a slowdown in foot traffic and an increase in people selling their heirlooms.”I think that people are stressed out by politics and the economy, and this is kind of like their chocolate, you know,” Olson told FOX Business, “where they buy things for pleasure, to make them feel good.”INFLATION IS STILL A BIG CONCERN FOR SMALL BUSINESSES: CODIE SANCHEZWaukesha Antinque Mall has been in operation for 35 years, and Olson has owned the shop for the last 12. She said all of her business’s costs have gone up in recent years, from the electric bills to garbage pick-up to advertising, and that increase in expenses is “one thing that small businesses
