By Nicholas Merl and Cecilia Buzzalino
Vacuums R Us, a small business selling vacuum cleaners and sewing supplies, has withstood significant challenges in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Vacuums R Us, founded in Fort Collins in 2003, has operated a store in Boulder since 2020. The company, like many small businesses, has faced complications stemming from rising property costs, gentrification and big business competition.
Joshua Wolcott, operational manager at Vacuums R Us, identified his company’s struggles as part of a wider crisis for small businesses in Colo.
“What we’re seeing today isn’t even a glimmer of what was happening ten years ago,” Wolcott said. “We’re seeing an extinction-level event for small businesses,” Wolcott said.
Wolcott designated Boulder as particularly acidic to small business success. His attitude is shared by many local businesspeople: a 2021 study commissioned by Boulder’s municipal government found that only 33% of local business owners thought the town was business-friendly. This is a drop from 61% in 2012. The same study found that 43% of firms in Boulder did not plan on renewing their leasing contracts for 2022. Subsequently, a survey by the Colorado Group found that the office vacancy rate in downtown Boulder had jumped almost 10% during the third quarter of 2022, reaching 29% in the fall. Additionally, data released by the Colo. secretary of state revealed that the rate of new business registrations had fallen by 21.7% statewide in Q2 of 2024. Vacuums R Us’ survival in these circumstances has given Wolcott a unique perspective of the problems small businesses face, and how to adapt.
One key challenge faced by Vacuums R Us is the massive increase in property costs. “Property tax across Colorado has gone up exponentially,” Wolcott said.
Colorado’s property taxes have increased drastically as property values skyrocketed during the pandemic. According to the Bell Policy Institute, Boulder’s property tax rates increased by an average of 33% from 2022-23 alone. According to Wolcott, Vacuums R Us was forced to downsize to cope with the increased cost.
“Our Arvada location, which has been operating for 20 years, is currently up for sale and, specifically, we’re selling it because the property tax has reached $40,000 per year alone,” Wolcott said. “It was $14,000 six years ago.”
While it’s been more expensive to maintain properties in Boulder, the main challenge for Vacuums R Us has come from larger, competing corporations. Online shopping companies, especially Amazon, present an especially large threat.
“There have been mounting pressures on independently owned businesses, local businesses and small businesses from companies like Amazon for a long time. And we’ve been aware of that,” Wolcott said.
The pandemic added another element to the equation; demographic change. Wolcott stated that many longtime Boulder residents had departed, shrinking Vacuums R Us’ customer base.
“There has been massive turnover of the population of Boulder, most [residents] haven’t been here for more than a decade,” Wolcott said.
The city’s population saw dramatic shifts during and immediately after the pandemic. Between 2020 and 2021, Boulder county’s population dropped from 330,922 to 327,075, according to U.S. Census bureau data. Rising costs of living caused thousands of residents to leave, with Boulder’s net migration being -4,081 in 2021 according to U.S. Census data. Simultaneously, Boulder received a massive influx of wealthier residents attracted by a lucrative real estate market, according to the Colo. Department of Local Affairs.
Isabella Paul, manager of Vacuums R Us’ Boulder location, described Boulder as a “shining example“ of gentrification.
“[People who used to live in Boulder] have been driven out, the property tax — they can’t pay it, and now we have an entirely new wave of people in,” Paul said.
According to Wolcott, this change in clientele has been a major challenge for Vacuums R Us. Many of the newer residents are more likely to shop online for vacuum supplies, increasing competition from large corporations. Boulder, in particular, had become “addicted to Amazon“ in Wolcott’s view.
“When you see a big turnover in population, you lose all of the people that knew where to go to get stuff done,” Wolcott said.
Sage Siegel, event manager at Vacuums R Us in Boulder, said that online shopping services have caused many to “expect things that aren’t humanly possible“ from Vacuums R Us.
“Somebody will come in and be like, ‘I need a vacuum bag for a seventy five year old vacuum,’ and I’ll be like, ‘I actually have that in my Arvada store, I can get it here tomorrow,’ and they’re like, ‘you know what? I’m just going to buy it on Amazon, I don’t know why I wasted my time here,’” Siegel said.
With physical sales declining dramatically, Vacuums R Us in Boulder was able to survive by offering repair services for machines bought on Amazon.
“We have more warranty claims and warranty repair for machines purchased on Amazon in Boulder, and the Arvada store has three times the foot traffic,” Wolcott said.
Wolcott ultimately identified his team’s discipline as the main reason why Vacuums R Us had managed to survive.
“You can’t just be 5% better, you have to be 10 times better. It’s the only reason we’re [still] here,” Wolcott said. “What we found is that when we were put under pressure and had to make difficult decisions, our team ended up being stronger and more efficient as a result.“
Wolcott also advocated for a more active response from lawmakers to the difficulties facing small businesses. In particular, he underlined the need to limit large corporations’ capacity to outcompete local firms.
“I think on a federal level, we need to start enforcing monopoly law again,“ Wolcott said.
He additionally advocated lowering the financial pressures on small businesses at a local level.
“We’re more than happy to give tax incentives to monopolies to come into our communities and set up warehouses and distribution centers. I think it would make sense to assist locally owned, independently owned companies with property tax,“ Wolcott said.
According to Wolcott, Vacuums R Us’ Boulder location will likely continue operating for at least five more years. However, he predicts the future for small businesses in Boulder more broadly as far more dire.
“I think Boulder is a microcosm of what is taking place nationwide, vastly accelerated. I think it’s gone too far at this point to come back. I think nationwide we can get it back, but I don’t think Boulder actually wants to. I don’t think they care,“ he said.
Regardless, Paul still expressed optimism for the future.
“I do think there is hope, I really do,” she said. “I think people should be entrepreneurial, and they should start up small businesses. And if they want to rage against the machines like Amazon or Walmart, absolutely. Because we’ve done it and been pretty successful. We’re still here.“