They are interested in keeping wages low, not necessarily for their own overhead, but because of people had money, they wouldn’t choose things based on price. They may choose it based on artistry, health, service, quality or any other quantity that isn’t easily scalable for a big business.
There is a huge amount of room in the world to compete on something other than price, but not if you are taking notes from a huge company.
I’ve been lucky to work in a mix of companies spanning the range from tiny to huge. Then from there, to work with hundreds of other companies as a consultant. I’ve seen the spectrum and can tell you, doing things on your own terms is possible, but you have to know what the term is. You have to communicate it. You have to link it to the customers problems.
You don’t have to compete on price, but if you don’t it better be super clear about what benefit is being provided that a cheaper option wouldn’t.
None of this is Right 