Growing your business

Hey everyone,I’m curious to hear how other pool professionals approach billing for plaster startups. Do you typically charge a flat fee, base it on square footage, gallons, or go time and materials?Personally, I charge by the square foot of water surface area, with the rate varying depending on the type of interior finish. I stay on the pool for at least three weeks, and I usually try to wrap up the startup during the last week of the month so it transitions smoothly into normal maintenance billing. I’ll often discount the startup if the customer hires me for ongoing service — and in some cases, like a pebble pool with no salt system, I’ll even include the startup at no additional charge, since my costs are minimal.That said, I’m not always sure if I’m giving away too much on the startup when they sign on for maintenance, so I’d love to hear how others handle that balance.How do you all handle it? What’s your philosophy on pricing, timeline, and transitioning into regular maintenance?

This is Part 4 in a series of posts looking at how to stop managing and start managing as a leader. In this series we are exploring are the critical aspects of effective leadership.THEY ALLOW THE FUTURE TO SHAPE THEIR ACTIONSPowerful leaders take action for the future instead of allowing the past to hold them back. Most of us take action based on our limited beliefs and perspectives in our business. For example, if you had a poor first quarter, it’s easy to feel discouraged. However, a powerful leader keeps recommitting to his or her vision, and they begin to succeed one step at a time.The only thing we can say that is the truth about the future is that it is unknown. And therefore it existsas pure possibility. Instead of working from their past, extraordinary leaders work backwards from their vision to create the future they desire. LEADERSHIP QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER: Identify one result/breakthrough that you wanted to achieve at the beginning of 2025? How are you doing with ach

Hi Everyone!My husband and I own Pure Blue Pools. For more than a decade, I have been in the software and web design industry before I was introduced to the world of pools. During my time as a web designer and co-pool business owner, I have learned a few SEO tricks that allow customers to find your website faster without spending any money on ads. For those who don’t know, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It’s a long, technical sounding phrase that simply means you should add certain keywords to your website, so the right people find you. As you know in the pool industry, when you know certain tips and tricks -- that non-pool industry people don’t know -- it can make your life a whole lot easier. The same goes for websites. All you have to do is make a few small changes to make a huge impact. Here’s what I’ve learned:1.) Before you upload or add images, make sure you rename them with your company name plus any other significant words. Be sure to add keyword-rich ALT tags to e

Hey everyone,I’m curious to hear from other pool service companies, when did you decide it was time to bring in a CRM tool to manage your business?A few specific things I’d love to know:Roughly how many pools/accounts were you managing when you made the switch How many employees or techs you had at that point What CRM features ended up making the biggest difference for your operations And of course, which company or platform you went withI’ve heard some people using Go High Level as a good budget CRM option, and it sounds like Skimmer might be planning an integration with them, which sounds interesting.Would love to hear your experiences, what worked, what didn’t, and what you’d do differently if you were starting over.

Hi Everyone - is there a pool app out there that can give you the gallon capacity of a current pool when looking to take on a new customer (maybe just an address to punch in to get the figure) - I understand how to calculate from the CPO course I just completed, but thought there may be a quicker way to get the figure - I’m sure alot of these pool owners don’t even know their gallon capacity or they think they do and the figure is incorrect - Just trying to save time and be accurate….. Thank you all in advance - hope you’re having a good work summer - brutally warm down here in SW Florida right now - take care and invest in some “poweraid” when it’s on sale…. Cheers from the rookie “Big Steve - BBG Pool Services”

Hi, I’m shopping around for general liability insurance and am looking for recommendations. 

This is Part 3 in a series of posts looking at how to stop managing and start managing as a leader. We are exploring are the critical aspects of effective leaders. THEY HAVE A DEEP CONVICTION TO SUCCEEDRegardless of how long it takes, these leaders hold a deep conviction that they will succeed in the end. They are tenacious. They don’t just give up after a short amount of time.In the book Good to Great, Jim Collins describes The Stockdale Paradox. Admiral James Stockdale was the highest-ranking U.S. military officer at the height of the Vietnam War. He was tortured over 20 times during his eight years at a prison camp. When he was asked how he made it through, he said, “I never lost faith in the end of the story. I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life.”Jim Collins and his team recognized this was one of the defining principles of good to great companies. Collins writes how Stockd

We try to purchase all of our replacement parts through distribution for various reasons. We also typically only buy the manufacturer replacement parts for warranty and quality. I stumbled across this today and it isn’t the first time I've seen something similar. I was quoting a salt cell power center for a customer and the price difference between the generic part, the amazon manufacturer part, and the distribution part is absolutely crazy. The generic power center is less than $100 a day and I can have it on my door step the same day on a Sunday. Distribution is over $600 and that usually requires me to go to distribution to get it. I know buying the $100 part on amazon is a risk but one I’m considering to start taking more. I can mark the amazon part up to a much higher margin than the other. I will make more on the part and the customer will pay less. Sounds like a win win to me. What are your thoughts on this? Has anyone ran across other parts with such big differences? 

This is Part 2 in a series of posts looking at how to stop managing and start managing as a leader. We are exploring are the critical aspects of effective leaders.THEY ARE COMMITTED TO A VISION.  Leaders inspire others. They spend time working on their business instead of just working in their business, and they are willing to embody their vision.John Yokoyama, the owner of the world famous Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle, appeared on my weekly Business Leadership radio show. People come from all over the world to watch the fishmongers at the Pike Place Fish Market as they toss fish to each other. They are drawn there because the fishmongers have created a playful, boisterous environment.When you enter, you are instantly greeted by the market’s energy. I asked Yokoyama how he supports his crew and creates such a lively and engaging workplace.“Each crew member has made a commitment to making a world-famous difference to each and every customer who walks through the door,” he says. “As

AS A YOUNG GIRL, I was fascinated with why some people had amazing lives and why others failed.Nearly 23 years ago when I began coaching entrepreneurs and business owners, I became intrigued by what distinguished a good business from an extraordinary business. In both growing my own business and coaching my clients, I’ve learned the secret lies in transforming yourself from manager to leader.Your business is either growing or dying; you can’t stay in one place. Building a successful business and team is about evolving. You’re either progressing and expanding, or stalling and contracting. This includes being a leader that focuses on the important things — even in the midst of your busy season.Many leaders struggle with managing (i.e., being a manager) vs. being a leading (being a leader) in their business and at work.I will be creating a series of posts in regards to this topic over the upcoming weeks...I would love to hear your thoughts, ideas (and in particular, actions) that support

One pool and spa/hot tub business client shared with me that a customer had purchased a sauna and was extremely unhappy due to multiple service calls. An employee then drove to the customer’s house before and after work multiple times to get it running the way it should be. Since then, the customer went on to buy a sauna and a hot tub! Studies have been done that prove that we have an opportunity to turn upset customers into raving fans when we are committed to having a heart of service. Teach your service department to resolve customer frustrations by following these simple steps:1) Acknowledge the problem instead of jumping to defend the company or the service tech involved.2) Empathize and apologize regardless of whether they are right or wrong.3) Accept full responsibility to fix the problem in a timely manner.5) Remain in communication with the customer until the issue is fully resolved. What are your personal success stories where you transformed an upset customer into a raving f

I received a phone call this week from an employer who is struggling with finding the right employees in today’s job market. I was thinking about some of the suggestions that I shared with him, and I wanted to pass my advice onto all of you! TAKE ON A POSITIVE MINDSET Good people are out there. You will find awesome candidates. If you have this mind-set, you will take more effective and empowered actions than the leader who believes all the good people are taken and no one is out there. Be the kind of leader who finds employees in unique, easy and effortless ways. Though you may have had a position open for a long time, don’t resort to hiring just anyone. You have an obligation to your current staff to hire someone who fits your culture and the job position. Doing otherwise can stir employee Take a moment to consider your ideal employee. Hire more people who fit those qualifications and speak to those ideal qualities in your job listing. MORE QUICK TIPS...  Use local job-servi

Hey Skimmer Community,I’m in Beaumont, California, planning a career change by purchasing a pool route next year. I’m researching costs and profit potential, leaning toward a service-plus-chemicals pricing model, and exploring products like PoolRx, BlueRay XL, and Orenda enzymes. As a newbie, I need help understanding wholesale chemical pricing (since many distributors only sell to established pros) and how to integrate these specialty products effectively. Your insights would mean the world!Here’s what I’m curious about:•  Wholesale Pricing: How do you find typical wholesale prices for chemicals like liquid chlorine, Cal hypo tablets, pH balancers, or algaecides? Are there beginner-friendly suppliers in Beaumont/Southern California or online options for new pros getting licensed? What’s a ballpark monthly chemical cost for a 10,000–15,000-gallon residential pool?•  Service+Chem Billing: How do you bill for the service-plus-chemicals model? Do you itemize service and chemicals separate

Recently we’ve been having some discussions about clients and their expectations. Some of our clients seem to think it is our job to deliver a perfect pool all week long. That is definitely our goal, but...is it reasonable?For weekly maintenance, it is our job is show up once a week, and with our expertise measure chems, balance water and if no lightning present net, brush and vacuum your pool. Inspect the equipment and leave your backyard secure. That’s pretty much it for your average week. Obviously notify is there is an equipment issue, etc.Once we’re done, if nothing significant changes in that pool in the next 167 hours until we return, the pool will still likely be crystal clear the following week. However, if the client hosts a huge pool party or just has 5-10 kids in it every dayor there are heavy rains or your lawn service puts a bunch of grass in the pool…you get the point. We cannot anticipate every eventuality and we can’t add so much shock or tabs on their service day to a