Give your company a stress test Some people would call me a planner. I like to have everything mapped out from work tasks and family vacations to weekend projects around the house. I’ve got my life organized in various spreadsheets and other planning tools. I take comfort in having an idea of what is supposed to…
Dan Cunningham gets paid to expect the worst. The companies that rely on his business analysis services are grateful for his insistence that troubled times are never far off. Why? Because history has proven him right, and in Cunningham’s experience, misplaced optimism is a business killer. “The biggest mistake people make is overextending themselves when…
Swimmers and the environment bring all sorts of things into the pool with them: skin oils, dirt, sunscreen, bird waste, debris, bacteria — you name it, it’s probably in the pool water. As a service professional, you see the worst of it in poorly functioning pool filters, water chemistry frustrations and the cumbersome ring that…
For Brian Quint of Seattle-based Aqua Quip, the regional labor pool has talent, high expectations and plenty of options. Washington state, after all, is home to global juggernauts like Microsoft, Starbucks and Amazon, all of which are famous for generous benefits packages and employee-centric work cultures. But if Quint’s company sells hot tubs, swim spas,…
2017 was an extraordinarily active year for hurricanes and flooding in America. Texas-based risk insurance specialist Jeannette Blanton-Monnat of Blanton Insurance focuses on coverage for the construction trade. “Everybody lives and works in a flood plain,” Blanton-Monnat says. “The difference is how likely a flood will impact where your home or business is located. That’s…
Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Instagram — the internet is crawling with social interaction between consumers and businesses. With so many platforms available, it can be hard to determine whether one is a viable option for your showroom over another. Instagram’s 700 million active monthly users make it a force to be reckoned with, and moreso…
Technology has invaded the equipment market, and many service firms are finding better efficiency — and an increase in customer satisfaction and loyalty — through the use of automatic pool cleaners. The team at All Seasons Pools, Spas & Outdoor Living in Orland Park, Illinois, handles just about everything. In addition to a brick-and-mortar retail…
[This product has been discontinued by Hayward as of December 20, 2021] We’d discussed writing a story on ConnectedYard’s pHin product for awhile, so when they got in touch and offered to let us test it*, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to see if it lived up to the company’s claims. Our publisher,…
Making sales presentations in the home of potential customers is a different environment compared to the customer coming to your store. At their home, you’re on their turf. You’re probably also one of many salespeople the homeowner has lined up to make a pitch. This is wrought with minefields, unless you know how to set…
photography by Brad Zimmerman Brian Lee Miller started Hilltop Pools and Spas, Inc., after moving from his native upstate New York. Brian initially only did pool construction in summers as a way to earn supplemental income while not teaching school. He eventually opened pool construction company Hilltop in 1976 in the tiny town of Jonesboro,…
Shock Alert This summer, there were so many reports of deaths from electrical shock in water that the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals issued a special statement. The majority of those accidents happened around boat docks, not in swimming pools, but tragedy can occur anywhere water and electricity meet. While you may follow all…
Going to trade shows is always so exciting. You get to preview new product lines from suppliers, and discover many new products and services. As you walk the show, it is easy to think this or that product might increase your sales in the coming year. And it might! However, before you start placing orders,…