PHOENIX — The inflation pinch continues to be felt across the Valley, with small businesses being the hardest hit.
Robert McKiernan, the owner of We Hang Holiday Lights knows inflation isn’t going anywhere so he’s tackling it the best way he knows how: by planning ahead and hanging one strand of lights at a time.
“Grab them, I’ll show you what to do,” he could be heard saying while on the job with his team.
“So we’re wrapping trees right now. People always want their trees and cactuses lit up,” he told ABC15.
It is more than clear McKiernan loves what he does. The veteran founded We Hang Holiday Lights 20 years ago.
“We provide all the lights. We maintain them if something happens. We’ll come out and fix them and then remove them. And then store them for next year. And then repeat, repeat every year,” he said.
Due to inflation, though, he’s lost 15% of his clients, because they just can’t afford it.
Here’s another big challenge he has to overcome… “Now I’m having the dankest time hiring people. Finding people to work, good people, is next to impossible,” said McKiernan.
Fuel prices also aren’t helping, forcing him to raise his prices all while watching his profits go down.
“Because I mean I have to pay higher labor, higher fuel, higher insurance, higher everything,” he added.
Even after all the additional expenses are paid, he still has bills of his own to pay off.
“My rent doubled. It was crazy. It’s kind of a letdown because it’s like… I’m trying so hard and then it’s like boom, boom, all of a sudden prices keep going up, so that’s taking more of my money,” McKiernan told ABC15.
McKiernan had plans to expand his business this year, but the rising costs have made it impossible to do.
Despite all of the challenges that come his way, McKiernan continues to keep his head up, working double duty at times, to put up millions of lights per season.
“It’s a lot of houses we do. We have about 750 clients in the books,” he added.
And through his work, he continues bringing happiness and illuminating the community, at a time when joy is needed most.
“I just have to keep going. It is what it is,” told ABC15 McKiernan.
