ST. LOUIS, Missouri — When Jim Van Iseghem opened his first storefront small business in 1989, the minimum wage in Missouri was $3.35 an hour.
Over the years that followed, he expanded Van’s Hallmark stores and opened another four retail locations where he sold greeting cards, mementos, holiday ornaments, and other small household items to help families preserve their most cherished memories.
“It’s just getting more and more difficult,” he said, in between carrying loads of new freight from the back of his 2016 Ford Expedition into the back office of his store in Crestwood.
Van Iseghem says his staff includes four full-time managers, who he says are paid well above minimum wage, and another 15 to 20 part-time workers who pick up a few hours here and there. He says many of the part-timers are retirees who take the job as a way to stay active.
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