For service-based pool businesses that have demonstrated growth and success, adding a brick-and-mortar location often tops the list of natural next steps. But even if the bottom line can absorb the associated overhead costs, long hours and extra staff that comes with a physical location, it can be tough to know whether it will prove…
In the history of the pool industry, there have been few franchise businesses. Pinch A Penny, a swimming pool retail and service franchise, started in 1976; it was the lone franchise for years. So for an industry that hasn’t seen a new franchise company since 2012, adding three in the last five years seems like…
Photos by Tom Weinstein Mark Howard’s neighbors were pool guys. While growing up in Phoenix, during his high school summers and on weekends during the school year, Howard worked for two brothers who lived near him. After graduating, Howard briefly worked at a print shop but found it insufferable. “I couldn’t stand being cooped up,”…