One Day Deals Are Gone, New Hiring Expectations and Staffing Demands Here to Stay.
Jerry Akers doubts life will ever return to the way it was before COVID.
At least, not the way he runs his small business. When it comes to owning and operating franchises, Jerry is a national model of success – a lifetime entrepreneur with 40 years of business experience opening two different franchise models, chair of the International Franchise Association, and mentor to not only his children, who now run one of the franchise stores, but a host of other young entrepreneurs eager to follow in his footsteps.
However, the challenges, roadblocks and damages from the COVID-19 pandemic were so severe and long lasting, it changed how small business operates. From employee expectations to hiring practices to Small Business Saturday, Jerry says many small businesses that couldn’t or refused to keep up are out of business.
Two decades ago, Jerry opened his first Great Clips location. Great Clips may be the biggest hair salon chain in the country, but each of the more than 4,000 locations are locally owned and operated, members of their community who hire locals, buy supplies locally and support their community schools and sports teams.
Two years ago, Jerry expanded into chiropractic franchising. He opened his first store, The Joint Chiropractic, in Cedar Falls, then expanded his reach by adding four more locations in Des Moines and Lincoln, Nebraska. Jerry chose The Joint in part because selling personal services is a pretty safe business model. According to Jerry, giant companies like Amazon can never compete – it’s impossible for them to offer hands on customer service the way he can.
The Joint specializes in fast, no frills chiropractic care. They don’t take appointments or health insurance and you can’t make an appointment. Instead, customers buy packages or monthly memberships and “drop in” and are seen almost immediately.
The idea is that everyone should be able to afford chiropractic care – even if they don’t have insurance. In fact, even if you do have health insurance, an adjustment at The Joint is often less than you’d fork out for the deductible you’d pay at a doctor’s office.
Jerry says growth has been slower than expected but is encouraged with what he’s seen in the past two years. His biggest post-pandemic challenge is the shift of demands from prospective employees.
“There are new expectations from the people I’m interviewing. They want shorter shifts, a more flexible schedule, and the ability to always have technology at their fingertips. Frankly, they’d love to work from home all the time but that’s not an option I can offer. Young people don’t understand the benefits of benefits. They are more focused on pay and flexibility. I’m trying to take that into account and hire more part time people to work 5 hours shifts, however, that’s a challenge because I’m open longer and need enough staff to cover those hours, “said Akers. “It’s a different workforce with different expectations and I don’t think that’s going away. Things will never go back to the way they were before COVID.”
That’s not all bad and in some cases, it’s beneficial, especially for Jerry’s customers. This year, Jerry is offering a “Back Friday” special that’s not just a one-day deal. From now until the end of the month, you can buy discounted chiropractic adjustment packages. A six pack will get you one free adjustment, a 10-visit package will get you 2 free visits, and if you buy a 20 pack you get 4 for free.
“Small Business Saturday has morphed into Small Business Week or Small Business Month. It’s better for everyone – it saves me the headache of processing a large volume of packages in one day and it gives my customers the ability to avoid fighting large crowds and getting burned out trying to fit all their shopping into a few hours. I want as many people as possible to benefit, not just the ones who can make it into our store on Small Business Saturday.”
At the family’s Great Clips locations, Jerry’s daughters, who have taken over the business, are running customers a “Great Card” deal. Through the end of the month, load your card just like a debit card with as many haircuts as you need for the year and save $3 per haircut.
Jerry’s daughters are still struggling to bounce back in the post-COVID landscape. Business is still down 20% from 2019 and Jerry doesn’t see that happening for a least another year. He’s noticed that people are still hesitant to purchase services that require close contact, and a hiring shortage has made it almost impossible to keep up with demand. Jerry has more customers than he can handle, but not enough people to fill all his job openings.
When Jerry advises young entrepreneurs looking to start a business, he emphasizes that the smartest thing they can do is choose a concept that isn’t heavily reliant on labor. The less you must deal with scheduling demands and training new employees after others quit unexpectedly the better. Ideally, a business that could mechanize with robots, cutting out the unpredictability of hiring and retaining humans.
As for the new normal of post-COVID small business, Jerry says it’s hard to say if it’s for the better or worse. He hopes for a light at the end of the tunnel for the years long problem of short staffing.
“It’s been painful and there’s more pain to come. That’s just the reality of owning a small business. But you problem solve, find the best fix, and push on. Sometimes it’s not pretty and you make do with less, even raise prices if necessary and in the worst-case scenario, close the doors. That’s life and you learn along the way. At the end of the day, I wouldn’t have it any other way. The ability to hire within my community and help local schools and sports teams makes up for many of the challenges that come with owning a small business.”
