By Richard Miller
As of Jan.
1, 2025, the minimum wage in New York State has increased by 50 cents. For
those working in Buffalo, the starting wage has gone from $15 an hour to $15.50
an hour.
The wage increase was a part of an
initiative by Gov. Kathy Hochul to help the working class afford their everyday
needs. Per the New York State Department of Labor, the wage will increase
another 50 cents in January 2026.
West
Side small businesses tend to agree that the minimum wage increase is necessary
in order for people to keep up with the cost of living. Many were unfazed by
the increase because they said they already had been paying employees well
above the minimum wage to begin with.
Diane Lopes,
relationship manager for the microloan program at the Westminster
Economic Development Initiative, said her clients indicated in a survey that
the increase would have no impact.
“They already pay more than the
minimum wage, with salaries ranging from $16.50 to $17.60,." Lopes said.
"These clients own retail stores, including women's clothing and
bookstores.”
Dr. Fred Floss, economics professor
at Buffalo State University, said the increase in minimum wage would not result
in a decrease in success nor fewer workers for small businesses. Rather, small
businesses have to focus on restructuring funds elsewhere. |
| Professor Fred Floss |
“The vast majority of small
businesses that go out of business were going out of business before the
minimum wage was really a factor," Floss said. "We’ve seen small
businesses do things that have actually made some sense and made them more
profitable."
An example can be found in restaurants
that had menus of 10 to 15 pages in length, which Floss deemed as
"wasteful." A better, more profitable option is to have a shorter
menu with standard
Very rarely do wage increases such
as the one enacted this January result in businesses actually having to lay off
employees, sources said.
For many businesses, increasing
financial success just comes down to drawing in more customers.
Jonathon Welch, co-founder of the
Talking Leaves Bookstore, 951Elmwood Ave., said that bookstores are faced with a unique
challenge that other businesses don’t have to encounter.
“The only leeway that we have in
terms of margins is basically increasing sales because the prices are printed
on the books that we buy," Welch said. "We don’t have the ability to
just raise prices, which is what most people do when they want to change their
margins. For us, it’s always a question of trying to cut costs in other ways or
increase sales. We do that in all the traditional ways. We do sales by just
trying to be a good business that people can trust on rely on.”
This community-based business model
and willingness to adapt is what has kept Talking Leaves as a pillar in the
community for over half a century. Welch also is an adamant supporter of wage
increases and helping workers afford the cost of living,
While businesses elsewhere may blame
the increase for their shortcomings, many businesses in the West Side seem to
understand the importance of employee satisfaction, said Olivia Harbol, business
advisor for the Small Business Development Center.
“I am all for my clients pushing for
a higher wage," Harbol said. "That is how they become competitive and
get really great employees to stick around and really love the business that
they’re working for and want to stay for years.”
