You may have heard the news – state governments consider swimming pools to be an essential part of our human life, and pool service to be an essential service.
Pool service is also something that can be fully compliant with social distancing, so it makes sense that this industry is still working during coronavirus lockdowns.
But that’s good news for people who are investing in a pool service business. That takes a lot of risk out of the equation when you’re trying to start or grow a swimming pool business.
So what risks do you have to look out for?
Well, there’s always the risk of financial outlays that come back to you over time. When you’re buying the route, it’s going to take a while to break even, before you start making money. So you want to minimize any chance of volatility in your customer account list.
Buy Pool Routes Strategically
Many seasoned entrepreneurs suggest that you have to start slow with this, or nearly any kind of business. Instead of maxing out on your credit with a long list of bought accounts, it’s best to wade in slowly and see what you can handle before you take more advanced steps in this market. Go slow, and steady, don’t race. You’ll have a better chance of successfully building your business over time.
Get Appropriate Customer Information
As some experts point out, when you buy on Craigslist or elsewhere on the web without a dedicated third-party to implement a fair deal, you’re kind of flying blind. You may get a bunch of accounts that are not active long-term accounts, and lose a lot of money. Some people refer to these as “duds” – maybe the customer likes to switch up a lot, or the people who own the property don’t really have long-term financial ability to pay, etc.
How do you know how long the customer has been with the company that’s selling the route? You don’t, unless you get some data from the seller or a third party making these deals transparent.
Know Your Counterparties
In the finance world, there’s something called Know Your Customer (KYC). In the pool business, we’d call it “know your counterparty.” At Sealey Business Brokers, we facilitate these particular kinds of deals with an eye toward the art of the pool deal and quality of contract. That helps us to decrease your risk as a buyer and make everything more transparent for both parties.
Talk to us about a plan to buy or sell a pool route – we make this process easier, from start to finish, and help you with any questions that may come up along the way.
