Nothing is more exciting than thinking about being the boss of your own business, especially in the pool service industry. You may be at this critical decision-making stage right now, trying to weigh the pros and cons of starting your pool route and becoming an entrepreneur. While you may be eager to hit the ground running as the new pool service in town, but let’s take a step back and look at the other option that may be right for you: purchasing an existing pool route.
Starting A Pool Route Service From The Ground Up
It is easy to think that starting your pool route service is primarily about quickly accumulating a bunch of accounts. However, amassing enough clients to get your business off the ground is more complex than many people understand. If your business is located in saturated markets in states like Florida or California, it can take quite some time to grow a robust list of clients organically. Since in all businesses, time is money, let’s look at another option that may be a good fit for you.
Purchasing Existing Pool Routes
Purchasing existing pool routes is essentially the act of buying accounts or entire routes of an established pool service company. But, just like any other business deal, it is vital to know precisely what you are purchasing before you sign on the bottom line.
Buying Pool Routes From Individuals May Be Tricky
Some people post pool routes for sale on local online job listing sites, leading to bad deals. This is not to say that all pool routes sold by individuals are inherently a bad deal, but that you are less protected as a buyer in that you are purchasing accounts blind.
When you buy accounts or routes off of online job listings, you have no idea what you’re getting into, what conditions the pools are in, or what the customers are like. You may end up with an entire list that doesn’t pan out, and all after you’ve paid good money upfront for it.
Buying Pool Routes From Professional Brokers
Fortunately, you have another option for purchasing pool routes, and that is using a professional pool route brokerage company. These companies specialize in selling reputable and quality pool routes broken down into residential and commercial categories.
Pool route brokers have the critical information on existing routes that you need to make an informed decision, and they typically have pre-qualifications for the pools they sell. You also have the added benefit of having your money held in escrow to protect you, as the buyer, for some time after the sale.
When going out on a limb and starting your own pool route business, consider all of your options before you sign on the bottom line.
