NEW YORK — More than 1,000 miles from Washington, D.C., Marie DeNicola’s small business is already experiencing the consequences of lawmakers’ inability to compromise on the budget.

If Democrats and Republicans don’t come to a consensus soon, billions of dollars in tax increases and budget cuts will take effect Jan. 1. This fiscal cliff is hurting DeNicola’s company, Mainstream Boutique, a Minneapolis chain of 23 franchise stores that sell women’s clothes. DeNicola recently got a painful e-mail from a prospective franchisee who changed her mind about opening a store because of the economic and political uncertainties.