So you would either go without and do the job yourself.
Pretty much, yes. It's bottom line time.
There are many reasons to go into business: it allows the owner to call his/her own shots, do something s/he enjoys doing and earn a living at it, and it pays living expenses. You know, that horrific word, anathema to anybody left of center, 'profit."
At the end of the day, though, "profit' is the key word. If you don't make a profit, you can't stay in business. period. So, if hiring someone to help you means that you can't make a profit, you don't hire help.
Perhaps that 'help' isn't qualified, doesn't help that much, doesn't increase the profit of the store enough to cover his/her paycheck...then you don't hire help.
So, you do the job yourself. Which cuts into the time you can spend expanding the business. Which further reduces your ability to make a profit, which keeps you from hiring someone....you get the picture.
(shrug) Believe me, I'm not against a minimum wage. Companies have historically shown themselves to be unwilling to share their profits with their workers. However, I get nervous when the emphasis is more upon EVERY WORKER for any company being able to afford a 'typical middle class life style" on his wages alone than upon a fair compensation for the work done.