Should I Buy or Build a Pool Route?
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
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Should I buy or build a pool cleaning route?
I have built and sold pool accounts giving me experience in the building of a client base as well the the sales/finance side of the business. There are pros and cons to each method, I will go over each option.
Building a Route:
Pros:
-Low up front investment
-You can ease yourself into the business, and if you don't like it you can easily move on to something else
-You can make mistakes and learn the in's and out's on a smaller scale
-By building your own route you understand the sales process for further, future growth
-Can be a side hustle while you are growing it
Cons:
-Because you won't have full time income right away you will likely have to work two jobs for a period of time before your pool business can sustain you.
-No systems will be in place for you
-No name recognition
-You will have to self teach
Buying a Pool Route:
Pros:
-Immediate cash flow
-Can replace a full time job if you purchase a large enough route
-Return of investment is high. If you're cleaning pools yourself you will get an 80%-90% annual ROI. 40%-50% if you are hiring out the cleaning services.
-If quality is high most accounts will stay. Customer's generally don't care who is cleaning their pool as long as it is done well.
-Old owner will generally train you in on cleaning and the route specifics
Cons:
-Larger upfront investment
-You may be training on accounts you paid good money for
-You may not know what you're getting into until you start.
Bio: My name is Max Maher and I am a lifelong learner and businessman. I document myself leaning new skills, tackling challenges, and give business advice. If there is a skill or challenge you would like to see me attempt feel free to comment below or reach me on
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I’ve been in the software business most of my life and you’re the first pool guy I’ve met who has a brain for business and how to satisfy customers. Millions of $$$uccess to you !!!
Thanks David!
Amazing video Max!! My husband and I are looking for swimming pool routes to buy in the USA, so we can relocate there. He's been in the swimming pool industry for almost 40 years now. Your video has been UTMOST interesting and helpful. Thanks A LOT for sharing your knowledge and expertise! Greetings from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
I love the fact that you just drop knowledge on everybody while chilling in a pool Great video man
Hahah
Love your videos man!! Quality every time!
This is the most valuable pool route video I have seen
I LOL'ed at the end
Haha
Hey Max. Thanks for the video, very informative. I do have a question regarding some of the numbers you mentioned. I’ve been doing research over the last few months regarding buying a pool route in my area and my numbers seem to be quite off from yours and I want to see if I’m missing something. I would be buying a route and hiring a tech. I’m in Florida so let’s say I buy a 100 pool route with $150k in yearly revenue. I ran my numbers backing out 20% for expenses, which is what I have seen as a good number in my research, and then $40k for a full time tech which is pretty accurate based on Indeed searches I’ve found for open tech positions in my area. So...150k minus 30k for expenses (20%) minus $40k for the tech that leaves me, as the owner, with $80k of the $150k I bring in. That’s roughly 53% profit margin and you mentioned that someone could expect 25% if hiring out the work. What am I missing?
Well there are always other expenses that come up things like vehicles, maintenance, fuel, etc all add. I can't forsee hiring it out and still making 50% margins but up to around 30% is probably doable with a very lean operation.
Been thinking about buying a route, I know nothing about the business, this video was very informative. Thank you so much for providing some great content! Where do you find your people to work the route and how do you vet them (ensure they know what they are doing and get the job done)?
This is what I’m interested in as well. I’d like to buy and hire out a small route and see how scalable it could be.
Just hire me I’ll take care of them , I’m looking for an investor
Do not buy a route. Get out and cold call people. Customers do not like a sudden change. I had a guy that had a pool business as a side job and was leaving town and wanted to give it to me, he knew I had a great reputation. Out of the 15 pools he had, that he gave me, I lost all but 3-4. One reason, he did not do a great job of transitioning the business, no intros, notice, etc and left a bad taste for his customers. Another reason was that he was taking on any work he could find and the pool clients were not a good fit for my company. Customer personality is also a key. I like to meet my clients before I ever do business with them. He also did not have good routes. Pools were all over town and hard to fit into existing routes. Some were not anywhere near my existing clients.
Great information!
Build. Nuff said.
That ending was fantastic,
Does pool cleaning still offer these margins in areas with less than ideal climates? I live in Western Washington and pools seem like a bit of a rarity around here. I can't imagine pool owners would want to be paying for cleaning services for the 7-8 months out of the year where pools aren't swimmable in either.
Thanks! Hmm, I'm not sure exactly what's commonly done in Washington. I assume there's some way pool companies offset the winter months. Potentially offering an incentive to be cleaned all year round or they offer landscaping services as well. There has to be a creative solution.
@@MaxMaher I'll look into it, thank you for your interactivity with your audience, it makes you seem incredibly personable and has definitely made me a loyal viewer!
That means a lot! I try to make it a point to respond to everyone ✊
Profit should not be considered as income. You need to pay yourself and earn profit for your business
Is it common practice to charge customers for any chemicals used. Or is that usually factored into their cleaning bill?
I factor into the cost of the monthly service for regular service. Issues that pop up are charged for accordingly.
@@westtexasprepper something I just finished dealing with, would like your opinion on.
One of your clients, someone who's been a consistent customer for 2 years asks you to put their cover on their pool a month before closing, and they specifically don't want to close the pool till the end of the month.
Do you charge to put the cover on? And do you apply that charge to their closing fee? Or is that going to be a separate charge for you?
@@SeanLaMontagne typically, I put the cover on when I winterize and close the pool. They just want to keep the equipment running for another month with the cover on? I would have two separate charges. Because of the 2 separate service calls. And there is the possibility that the cover might have to be pulled back for additional chemicals during winterization.
How do you give a proper estimate on a quote for a customer?
You have to know and understand the business first of all. Know what it takes to make a profit. do you even clean pools?
Thanks Max for the good information. I am currently looking into a career change and a pool route is one I am considering. I most likely would cash purchase about 30 accounts to start with and hope to grow it to 60 accounts asap. My concern is how long it would take to do this. I live in Texas with a lot of pools in the area. Can you tell me how long it took you to grow to 80 accounts? Also sounds like flyers is your preferred method of marketing. Did you mail or hand deliver on doors?
Just starting out I would expect it to take at least a year to grow to 80. We would hand deliver them.
What part of Texas are you in? Why not get out and start cold calling pool owners? Google maps is a great tool for that. Know what your competitors are charging helps as well. Do you just want to clean pools or get into equipment repair, install, etc? I run my own pool business in Texas. I did not buy accounts, just went out and cold called. February/March/April is a good time to get into peoples minds about their pools for the Spring. Mid June is also a great time, this is when other companies start messing up...
Oops looks like I replied my question to another comment Max. Sorry about that but would still be curious to get your thoughts...
Don't know how to clean pools? No problema. Buy a pool route upon the condition that you work for a while with the route seller and he teaches you how to clean.
I have some money I want to invest, and I’ve been wanting to buy a route and have someone run it and willing to give a piece of equity… What are your thoughts?
Poor choice
Where Would you be located? I’m looking to start my own or buy a business. Have gotten my hands on and enjoying it 👀
I’m a Canadian. I’m 40 years old and in good shape. I want a career change. I want to move to Florida.
Would it be difficult to work in the pool cleaning business until 60? Would I be able to save for retirement in only 20 years?
I’ve owned a pool service and repair company for 15 years… many routes, many employees over the years. I’ve had employees over 60 that can run the route just fine… “if” they are good Pools.
So the Best advice I can give you is start small and stay the hell away from pools with no screen.
Get 30 pools - “screened-in” … tight route. After you’re comfortable with 30, move to 50.. then 60. 60 screened in pools per week is an easy route that you can handle even in your late 60’s.
If you’re in good shape, 75 pools is considered a full route. Stay away from trash pools - makes all the difference 👍
Thank you so much for the reply!
I have a question I hope you answer it, what you doing on winter time with pool services does it still work on winter time please let me know thanks
As a pool business owner, I still have some pools that stay open. I cut service in half, 1 time a week visits and charge about 60% of the monthly service fee. Some I still have to service 2xs a week because of landscaping, trees, etc
I’ve owned two businesses in the past and looking to get into the pool service business. Any recommendations on where to buy a route?
Do not buy a route. Do you have any experience?
I never respond negatively to videos intended to educate viewers, and I apologize if what I'm about to say comes off as flippant or mean spirited, but this is full of bad info. Routes through brokerages are typically priced at about 10X to 12X the monthly revenue, many states require you have a contractor's license before you even think about performing repairs, and the returns you're promising are... generously optimistic. Someone's going to watch your video, get excited about starting a pool business, and lose their shirt.
The average lifespan of a pool account is 2 years. Some you might have for the life of your business and others can peter out in months for any number of reasons. The average is about two years. I don't know how the 90% ROI was calculated, but If you pay $50k cash for a route, then you're working to fill a $50K hole you just made in your savings account, minus expenses. That's money you had that suddenly, you don't. If you borrow from a lender (and let's assume you get a fantastic rate), at least a full third of your income is paying back the loan... for 1.5 to 3 years. And that's if you're working the route yourself and don't hire help. Then factor in expenses: Invoicing programs, CC fees, fuel, equipment, uniforms and safety gear, chemicals, taxes on earnings, business licenses and tax certificates, any and all costs associated with your vehicle, advertising, etc. Expect 10%- 20% in expenses if you're doing everything right. The number may decrease the longer you operate and refine the business. There are markets where pools average $75 to $85 per month. Non-autopay customers are NOT more likely to cancel, and many prefer the option of paying with cash, check, or by clicking a link via an emailed invoice.
There is some good general info in this vid, but also some potentially dangerous info.
Thanks for your comment, I welcome any constructive criticism. I believe your comment is more aligned with what I was saying than not.
10X-12X price is usually attributed to re-occurring cleaning revenue only, not including repair revenue.
I make no claims of the lifespan of a pool account BUT if they're perfectly satisfied with service most people seem to stay indefinitely. If you're doing a good job word of mouth referrals should more than make up the gap of lost accounts.
The 90% return number is based off a multiple on cleaning services only, so you get repair revenues right away and if you're doing the cleaning yourself profits are quite high.
I in no way intended to make the pool industry sound like a get rich quick scheme, this was simply me explaining my experiences. There are risks associated with any business and pools are no exception. Risks are mitigated or amplified by how and owner manages his or her business.
I actually agree with him on the fact that Auto-pay customers stick with you longer. I have 120 accounts, and I do virtually no repairs, my average monthloy rate is 125 (includes filters). The best thing I EVER did was start charging my customers using auto-pay by credit card IN ADVANCE (1st of the month, or at least 1st week of the month). Customers dont want to be reminded every month by recieving a paper invoice or email, that they have to write a check or go through some hassle making a payment. With autopay, they are never reminded, their pool is clean and ready to use all the time.
I tend to agree with you. Buying is not the way to go. I had a route given to me. Guy was leaving town, did not want the hassle, wanted out. He know my reputation. There were about 15-20 pools that he had. At the end of the summer, I was able to keep 3-4. Still have 3 after 8-9 years.
Multiple reasons for the high turn over.
1. He did a poor job of communicating with his clients of what was happening, some did not even know, then I showed up...
2. Some just did not fit with my company
3. Customer personalities
4. Slow Pay
5. Locations of the pools
6. Customers moved. new owners did not want service
7. Just bad pools, access, equipment, landscaping, etc
8. Etc.....
I would have hated to have paid for those customers and then that have happened. Better to build the business from scratch.
I have been in business since 1984, and have lost count of the number of pool service companies that have come and gone.
Saw 2 go out of business this summer, they just did not want to work. Got paid, did not show up...
How often would you flier the same neighborhood? I am of the mind to build a very tight route right now mine is more spread than id like. I have a solid amount of neighborhoods around me and mostly just post to facebook but the process has been very slow. So again how often should i pass to the same neighborhood?
Hey did you ever find any tips on this??? I had one pool last summer and I’m wanting to go full time into this this summer any tips???
Where do you find routes?
I built mine. But if you search on Google for pool route brokers there are a few options
Can you help with the purchase of a route?
What about sellers who sell per accounts? I'm looking to buy accounts at a small growth while I build my other businesses
I wish I could find someone to do that for here in AZ
I sell 1 to 3 accounts (pools) every week or 2, any job that we do that doesn't fit into main routes
in Peoria, az
Just get out and call on people
How do I find new routes, what has been your most effective?
Since I was in Arizona at the time and it seems like every other house has a pool, I would print off a map on Google Earth. Next, I would simply walk through each neighborhood with my map and put a flyer on each front door that has a pool. You can see into their back yards from the satellite images. Not creepy...
This way, you can be selective about the exact neighborhoods you want to service. Another thing that helps you to keep your pool route within a small area is to offer a discount to neighbors if one of your clients refers them. My main goal was always to minimize the amount of drive time between houses.
I hope this helps a little!
@@MaxMaher What would you do when you had a pool that has problems and needed repairs, whether it was a leak or needed something replaced?
@@Favfn I would do the repairs. That is one of the things these people do not tell you, just buying route is not the answer.
if you make 100 per customer month
how many times do you service it and what do you include in the service?
We service one time a week. It's a basic brush, baskets, skim, and chemicals.
@@MaxMaher No vacuuming?
Where are you located?
🔥
No
I’m just glad you didn’t walk out naked.
Really?! You got customers from just sticking flyers in doors every week??! 🤩
Yes, cold calling works...I actually like to talk to people
What do you do when most of the block has no soliciting signs?😂
Haha, that's a good question! In such cases, I'd suggest focusing on other marketing strategies, like online advertising or direct mail 👍
@@MaxMaher awesome thanks man!
2:37 $30,000 per year extra in repair work off 50 pool accounts? Keep dreaming.
Sooooo why is the pool you're in so, so dirty? Like.... really dirty. The jeans in the pool was funny, but why the dirty pool? Doesn't that cancel out your whole speech?