‘we are fighting just to stay afloat’
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – A Las Vegas small business owner is writing President Donald Trump and the White House, daily, about the impact of tariffs on China on small businesses like hers.
As of Thursday, tariffs for goods from China rose to 145%.
Jana Hajiyerou, a former police officer in Colorado, decided with her mother, a long-time hair stylist, to live the American dream: launching her own small business, Pop In Hair Extensions, selling extensions directly to hair stylists.
Like many small businesses, she relies on a manufacturer from China for her products; she cannot afford the shipping costs for another batch of products.
“Businesses like ours need help. We need help surviving in the interim, otherwise we’re going to have to close our doors,” Hajiyerou said. “I love our country and I’m always happy to buy American-made products. But at the end of the day, there are no hair manufacturing companies here,” she said.
In an effort to get her message to the White House, she has emailed a letter, almost daily, explaining the overwhelming challenges her business now faces.
The letter states, in part:
“The tariffs your administration has implemented have placed an overwhelming financial strain on our business. Like many small businesses, we now face the painful reality of raising our prices—something we never wanted to do. Pop In Hair Extension Bar was founded to help stylists grow and expand their own businesses, and we have always prioritized fair and accessible pricing. These tariffs are forcing us into a position where we may no longer be able to uphold that mission.
Every press conference and policy discussion rarely seems to address the struggles of small business owners like myself—women trying to provide for their families and build a future. We voted for you with the hope that you would champion small businesses, yet now, we are fighting just to stay afloat. I urge you to listen to small business owners who are being directly impacted by these policies. We need solutions that protect American entrepreneurs, not policies that make it harder for us to survive.
I sincerely hope you will consider the unintended consequences these tariffs are having on businesses like mine.”
Hajiyerou showed FOX5 copies of receipts from a shipping company, showing a surge in fees caused by tariffs: a $30,000 order generated a $2,700 bill.
“We were shocked, and honestly thought it was fraud in the beginning,” she said, learning it was caused by a then-10% tariff.
As tariffs surged, Hajiyerou had to pause the latest order.
“Our inventory is dwindling at a very rapid rate. And so in order for us to restock our inventory and continue to have funds coming in, we need those orders to come in,” she said.
In an effort to get lawmakers to take action, Hajiyerou also reached out to the office of Congresswoman Dina Titus, who released this statement:
“I have always been a strong supporter of women-owned businesses, making sure they get their fair share of Small Business Administration loans and other federal aid. Women-owned businesses comprise nearly one half of the small businesses in Southern Nevada, and I am deeply concerned about the impact of tariffs on these businesses. With the exception of China, the Trump administration has paused tariffs on all nations for 90 days. But this does nothing to relieve the uncertainty women-owned businesses face as they decide whether to hire more employees or make new investments in their businesses. Furthermore, businesses that source their materials from China now are faced with having to raise their prices significantly. The Trump administration’s trade policy driven by high tariffs will only hurt small businesses and their consumers.”
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