EllaNews

This is the first in a series about Ellaroo’s efforts at Business Sustainability.

While our staff is microscopic (currently just me and Kim - now Beverlyn, too!), this issue couldn’t be more relevant. Building a business loses all meaning for me if all of the people involved aren’t somehow being enriched by the endeavor. I realize this isn’t the prevailing corporate vision, but it’s glaringly obvious to me. No one is on this Earth to do my bidding at the expense of their own fulfillment. And if I’m not contributing to that fulfillment in my interactions with them, then perhaps I should leave them be.

There is not one jurisdiction in the country where someone working full time for minimum wage can afford a one-bedroom apartment, spending no more than 30% of their income [National Low-Income Housing Coalition 2006 Affordable Housing Fact Sheet]. The reality is that a “living wage” varies vastly by area of the country. So wherever we set up shop, we calculate the local living wage (ULW: State/City on the left), and set that as our minimum starting hourly pay. It may seem high at first blush (about $11 for our area in North Texas). But I maintain that better-paid employees are happier, better with customers, more loyal to the company, do the job better, and stay longer.

Building a company with people who care about the future of the company is also the only way to get out from under the small business cult of personality problem. Many (most?) small businesses are driven primarily by one or two owners who pour their souls into the company. That’s great. Until they want to grow, or move on. Only if they have invested heavily in their staff will there be anyone to whom they can pass the torch.

-Vesta