25 to 55 Pools Solo

Today I'm talking to Nate of Blue Splash Pool Service and Repair in SoCal. Welcome, Nate, to the show.

Thanks, Parker. Thanks for having me on.

I'd love to hear a high-level perspective of where you're at with your business currently. How many techs do you have? How many pools? How long have you been doing this?

I'm currently a one-pool guy. I've been taking care of everything myself, and I have fifty-five pools as of right now. I'm actively growing it. I'm trying to get to a point where I can hire someone full-time. I've had a couple of part-time guys, and they were great, but they ended up wanting something more full-time, and I just wasn't in a place to give them that. I've been in the industry for about three years almost now. I started by buying a route, and then just been growing it from there.

What turned you on to pools originally? What got you into the industry?

I'm kind of like an entrepreneur at heart. I've always had different businesses. Prior to the pool industry, I'd been working a lot and saving up as much money as I could. As I started saving more money, I would go online and look for businesses to buy for cash flow on the side. I came across a pool route that was for sale - I think it was like a hundred thousand dollars for about ten or eleven thousand dollars it was making. I thought, "Wow, that's pretty good compared to a standard business."

My best friend at the time was looking for work, so I figured maybe I can get him a job and make some passive income. He had a pool his entire life, so I figured that's good. In hindsight, I'm glad that didn't work out. Knowing what I know now about the industry, it's a little risky to just throw someone into sixty pools right off the bat. That fell through when he got a different job.

Fast-forward a couple of years, I was looking for supplemental income. There had been some life events and my income had decreased. I remembered the pool industry and thought maybe I can get a little route on the side. I was helping a guy for six to eight months, and then there were two routes in my area. I ended up getting one of them. Real quickly, I learned that this is more than just a little part-time thing. I also learned that there's a high ceiling in this industry - you can grow this thing as big as you want. So I dove in and have been doing it full time.

So you bought a twenty-five pool route and you've been growing it since?

Right. It's been growing steadily. I did take ten more pools from another guy pretty recently, but outside of that, I've just been growing it organically. Just recently, I'm trying to push the growth a little bit more, so I'm actively advertising.

For people listening who bought a route or are considering buying one versus actively growing from the start - where did you buy it from? Anything you wish you would have known?

There was two routes I was looking at in my area. I really wanted the first one, but he kept going back and forth and ended up wanting to keep it. So I went with the second one. I'm really glad I did because that guy had five hundred pools and ten employees - a big operation. I learned the professional way of running a route from him, whereas the other guy was old school with no real organization.

He was great - gave me three months of guarantees. Throughout those three months, anytime I called him, he was quick to answer and took care of any needs I had. But I learned real quick that you gotta really know the numbers. I knew some pools were underpriced going in, but you really learn the overhead and cost to you of each pool.

He had a lot of long-term customers, which is good because they're stable. But he didn't raise their prices as everything doubled and quadrupled after COVID. After he sold me the route, he was actively doing that with his business, but I already had the route. I didn't want to jump in with these new customers and immediately raise prices. I wanted them to see their pool would stay clean, that I'm there every week consistently.

After about a year, I started raising prices. Even then, some were so low I couldn't raise them to market - I had to raise them slowly, fifteen, twenty dollars. Then again the next year, and this summer I'm gonna raise again. I'm kind of catching up. All my new clients are at market, and I'm not afraid to charge higher than my minimum. Knowing what I know now, I would have told those clients right off the bat - maybe not immediately, but after four to six months when they've seen the pool through warm months.

It sounds like raising prices sooner than one year would have been better?

Yeah. It's an uncomfortable thing when you start getting personal with them and building relationships. It's a tricky conversation to have - "Hey, I need to raise your price."

Did you use a route broker?

Yeah, it was through Springboard Brokers. They're still around. It was a great experience.

For someone who hasn't raised prices before and is worried about it - any words of advice?

It's always a little bit uncomfortable. But when you're doing all the numbers and taking care of the business yourself, you see the ins and outs. You understand that to survive, you have to raise prices. No matter what, the big companies are going to raise their prices. Last year, prices were raised two different times. If every year they're raising prices and you're not, you're gonna be left behind and start losing money on pools.

For pools that were significantly under market price, I go back to COVID and explain that things drastically came up and never went back down. They totally understand. I only had one guy who gave pushback - and it's funny because he drives a Ferrari. He was at a hundred dollars and my minimum was one sixty. I explained I'm not making money on this pool. He's free to get other quotes. He knows he's underpriced. He said he'd do it but asked me to promise not to raise it next year. I said, "No, I can't make that promise. You're still underpriced."

Were these conversations in person or over email?

All email, but if I saw them in person the following weeks, I would talk to them. He's the only one that gave pushback. Everyone else was like, "Hey, I got your email. Thanks for letting me know. No problem." That first time before emailing, the fear is you're gonna lose customers. But as you grow, your energy matters more. If they're not willing to pay what I'm worth, I don't really want that customer. I'll find another who's willing to pay market price.

You're at fifty-five pools now, started at twenty-five, got ten from another guy. How have you grown the other twenty pools? Marketing? Word of mouth?

Another reason I'm glad I went with that route - the guy had five hundred pools and was still marketing in my area. Every lead he got in my area, he would kick to me for a couple months. I think he kicked me seven or eight pools, and I landed every single one. That was free marketing.

Outside of that, it's been organic growth - customers referring other people. Whenever I get a conversation with a customer, I let them know: if you get me a new pool, I'll give you a free month. Some people get excited - "Oh yeah, I have a neighbor with a pool, let me talk to them." I've gotten a few pools that way. It's really been word of mouth through my current clients.

What services do you offer? Weekly pool service and repairs? Do you do bi-weekly? Commercial pools?

Mainly pool maintenance and repairs. I also offer leak detection. I learned that from a guy who was getting out of the industry. He had all the equipment and sold it to me for a good deal. He did the first few leak detections with me to teach me and was on call if I had questions. Not too many guys do leak detection, so it's a good niche.

Do you do bi-weekly service?

I don't actively offer it. But for pools in really good condition - maybe they have a robot running every day - I have a few that are bi-weekly. Usually it's a pool that was weekly and they asked to switch. I kind of weed out as I go, but it's not something I push.

How does the route look week to week? How many pools per day? How many days a week do you work?

I work Monday through Thursday. Technically I try to keep Fridays open for repairs or catching up. I'll do anywhere from twelve to sixteen pools a day. Really the magic number depends on how far apart they are. If they're tight, I can do more. Sixteen is usually the max - after that, I'm burnt out and quality drops.

What does a typical day look like?

I wake up around 6:30, start at my first pool by 7:30. I'll work until about 4:00 or 5:00. Then I go home, take care of administrative stuff - invoicing, customer communications, ordering parts. I try to batch as much as I can. Sundays I usually spend planning the week.

What software do you use?

I use Skimmer. It's great for routing, invoicing, customer management. The guy I bought the route from used it, so it was an easy transition. I also use QuickBooks for accounting. Between those two, I can run pretty much everything.

What are your future plans for Blue Splash?

I want to get to about eighty pools before I hire someone full-time. That way I can split the route and still make good money. Long-term, I'd love to get to around two hundred pools with a couple techs. I want to stay involved in the field - I actually enjoy the work - but have enough help that I'm not burnt out.

Any final advice for someone getting into the industry?

Don't be afraid to ask questions. The pool community is really helpful. Join Facebook groups, talk to other pool guys. And don't undervalue yourself - charge what you're worth. The customers who appreciate quality service will pay for it. The ones who just want the cheapest option aren't the customers you want anyway.

Thanks so much for your time, Nate. How can people find you?

You can find me on Instagram @bluesplashpools. I'm also on the pool Facebook groups pretty regularly. Thanks for having me, Parker!