WACO, Texas (KXXV) — Downtown Waco small business owners say summer brings steep revenue drops and that surviving the slow season requires months of advance planning.
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With school out and summer break underway, some downtown Waco businesses are entering their leaner months. For shops and studios that rely heavily on Baylor University's student population, the seasonal slowdown is a financial reality that demands preparation well before the season begins.
Be Kind Coffee owner Alex Sanchez recently took to social media with a message for customers: don't forget about the small businesses that stay open when students leave town.
"Nobody talks about this, but summers almost break small businesses in Waco," Sanchez said.
Since opening in 2021, Be Kind Coffee has typically seen revenue fall by about 40% during the summer months.
"People don't think about it, you know. Whenever you leave town and you go on vacation and stuff, you don't think about what that means for the place that you call home," Sanchez said.
Sanchez says owning a small business is both deeply rewarding and deeply demanding.
"Owning a small business is the most rewarding and hardest thing that you will ever do, uh, just because you put your entire life into it," Sanchez said.
Across town, Power Core Pilates owner Jenny Bradford is facing a similar challenge. Bradford opened her studio in 2023, and says roughly 70% of her members are Baylor students, making the end of the academic year a significant financial hit.
"Right now I am down 45% in membership and revenue," Bradford said.
Now in her third summer running the studio, Bradford says experience has helped her shift her mindset heading into the slow season.
"This is my third summer, and I was prepared last summer. I was scared, but I was prepared and I was like, oh, OK, this summer I'm looking forward to slow time off," Bradford said.
Both owners say the key to getting through summer is planning, managing debt, and adjusting expectations.
"Plan, control your debts, any major expenditures that are on your mind, take care of them before that hits and then enjoy, enjoy a break. Enjoy a little bit of peace and quiet," Bradford said.
Still, even careful preparation doesn't eliminate the sting of the revenue drop.
"But no matter how much money that you have saved and prepared to weather it, it still hurts, um, and so like I feel like even if you're prepared for that revenue drop, it's still, you're going to feel it no matter what," Sanchez said.
Baylor University is a major part of Waco's local economy, with around 19,000 students total, including 14,000 undergraduates.
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