"But some people just have a shitty work ethic" is not the counterargument you think it is.
As for the difference in what a big business can afford vs a small one, that's tough. But if you fall behind on the expenses of doing business, you should simply be charging more. If you still can't afford something, while charging a fair (both to customer and proprietor) price, then you don't get just handwave it off and hire someone for less than they're worth.
A lot of "mom and pop" shops stay in business for decades and finally bite the dust because they refuse to adjust prices that should be orders of magnitude higher due the ever-decreasing worth of money itself.
Instead they try to match prices with giant companies, while providing three times better services because they actually care about both customers and employees in a way corposhits "optimize workflows" too hard to even afford considering.
If you're a boutique business, charge like one.