CEO Cut His Own Pay, Drastically, So He Could Afford to Raise His Employees to a Minimum of $70K Per Year

Since our $70k min wage was announced 6 years ago today:
*Our revenue tripled
*Head count grew 70%
*Customer base doubled
*Babies had by staff grew 10x
*70% of employees paid down debt
*Homes bought by employees grew 10x
*401(k) contributions grew 155%
*Turnover dropped in half

— Dan Price (@DanPriceSeattle) April 13, 2021

We started our $70k min wage with about 130 employees in Seattle.
It worked so well we expanded it to a new Boise office, where the cost of living is lower but people deserve good pay all the same.
We now have about 200 employeeshttps://t.co/0eJxdZYape

— Dan Price (@DanPriceSeattle) April 13, 2021

What helped inspire our $70k min wage?
An employee was secretly working a 2nd job at McDonald's. It was clear I was an awful CEO who was failing his employees. I gave her a raise to quit that job. No one should have to work two jobs to make ends meet.https://t.co/hrgDYUDXYB

— Dan Price (@DanPriceSeattle) April 13, 2021

Our success with a $70k min wage isn't some fluke.
A Massachusetts biotech recruiting firm raised its min wage and saw revenue and headcount grow 50%, while retention rates doubled. Profit held steady despite the $500,000 cost of raiseshttps://t.co/AnJR3xN6y4

— Dan Price (@DanPriceSeattle) April 13, 2021

People focus on the cost of paying employees well but not on its benefits.
For us: Our happy employees drove record sales and we now have 20,000 small business clients.
Our turnover is low and we spend $0 advertising openings since we get thousands of applicants.

— Dan Price (@DanPriceSeattle) April 14, 2021

We're doubling down on our mission to invest in employees. Our revenue (which comes from small busienss credit card processing) is still down slightly from pre-pandemic. But we're handing out raises of 5-6% and hiring to grow headcount by 10% to make workloads easier.

— Dan Price (@DanPriceSeattle) April 14, 2021

I made a lot of personal changes. But I still had savings and made a fair salary. I don't miss anything about the millionaire lifestyle. Money buys happiness when it gets you out of poverty but not when it gets you from well-off to very well-off.

— Dan Price (@DanPriceSeattle) April 13, 2021

a few small businesses here and there have. But not a single big corporation has followed suit. I thought if I set an example and proved that it worked, the "free market" would follow, but I realize how naive I was.

— Dan Price (@DanPriceSeattle) April 13, 2021

a few small businesses here and there have. But not a single big corporation has followed suit. I thought if I set an example and proved that it worked, the "free market" would follow, but I realize how naive I was.

— Dan Price (@DanPriceSeattle) April 13, 2021

How it all started, from the NYTimes in 2015, One Company’s New Minimum Wage: $70,000 a Year.