For several years, a key initiative at the federal level has been to encourage and work with states to increase the minimum wage. According to whitehouse.gov, “Since the President’s call to action in 2013, 18 states and Washington, D.C. have passed laws to raise their minimum wage — benefiting millions of American workers. …
At the federal level, the Obama Administration has expressed support for the Raise the Wage Act proposed by Senator [Patty] Murray (D-WA) and Representative [Robert] Scott (D-VA), which would increase the minimum wage to $12 by 2020. … Raising the minimum wage nationwide will increase earnings for millions of workers, and support the local economies where they live, work and spend their earnings.”
While this is certainly good news for workers and can filter out benefits to the overall economy, businesses such as carwashes are now on the clock to figure out how to handle these cost increases. With some carwashes expected to pay north of $12 per hour by 2020 for entry level positions, there are few options to consider.
Absorbing the increases, lowering your wash’s profitability, may or may not be practical for many small and mid-size businesses. However, raising the cost of services is most likely what many carwashes will be forced to do in combination with other measures, such as incorporating automation, adjusting business hours and lowering operating costs to name a few.
In an upcoming issue of Professional Carwashing & Detailing, we are planning to reach out to carwash professionals to understand how wage increases and price increases in general affect a carwash business.
How do you shift with these trends? Let us know on our social media channels or email me at [email protected].
On another note, included in this issue are several stories that can help new investors as well as all carwash owners and owners. In addition to those tech and business tips, this issue also features are widely popular Top 50 U.S. Conveyor Chains.
