For this Michigan business owner, wage hikes are tied to price hikes

For Annie Lang Hartman, business has been a lot quieter this fall than during the summer.

“At least 75% of the people coming through the door in the summer are tourists, and this time of year, we are having a lot more conversations with locals,” said Lang Hartman. “That’s the name of the game. We’re in a tourist area.”

Lang Hartman runs Wild Lettie, a boutique and stationery company that includes three brick-and-mortar stores (one of which closes for winter and spring). All are located in Leelanau County in northern Michigan.

During the autumn lull, Lang Hartman is planning for the winter — and beyond. One of her biggest concerns is payroll. “Being able to give my employees raises and bonuses and hopefully benefits down the line, I will have to raise the cost of some of my products to cover that,” she said. “It’s going to be small changes. Our biggest sellers are still stationery, so maybe 25 cents a card is not gonna make a lot of people be like, ‘No, we can’t buy from them anymore.’ Hopefully.'”

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