The pandemic forced Freed Bodyworks, a wellness center offering massage therapy, yoga, acupuncture, mental health counseling and other services, to shut down for four months.
But while clients returned when it reopened in the summer of 2020, workers did not.
Almost two years later, owners Frances Reed and Jessica VonDyke were forced to shut the business’ doors.
“I couldn’t hire anyone,” said Reed. “We never had trouble with our demand for services. It was 100% a supply issue for us.”
Before the pandemic, Freed Bodyworks had 20 practitioners booking up to 550 clients a month. It reopened with a skeleton crew of eight.
Moreover, the shutdown of in-person instruction at massage schools dried up what had once been a dependable pipeline of emerging talent.
“In the entire time period from when we reopened until closing, I managed to hire three people, and that was with full-time recruiting.” (CNN)
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