There’s a big market for your services if you’re looking to start a pool cleaning business. According to the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals, there are over 10 million residential pools in the United States.
How to Start a Pool Cleaning Business
Here’s how to start your own business cleaning them.
Decide How to Begin
There are two big choices for starting a pool cleaning business. You can either start your own company from scratch or buy an existing route. If you’re starting from scratch, the cost can be under $2000 for everything like pool skimmers and the other equipment you’ll need.
Choose to Start From Scratch
If you are starting with nothing, printing up a few business cards and leaving them with local pool supply stores works. Leaving these cards with local pool builders is another excellent idea. Make sure to tell them to refer you to their customers. You can work out an arrangement for these referrals.
Or Consider Buying a Route
Buying an existing route is a ready-made solution, but the upfront costs are quite a bit higher. There’s already an industry of people who will sell you a route, but you need to pay for these established businesses.
In fact, Pool and Spa News reports you can expect to pay up to 12 times the monthly service rates you’ll charge. Some routes will set you back $60,000 at first.
Either way, you should consider joining an association that provides you with insurance and other coverages.
Get the Right Equipment
Getting the right tool for any job can always be the difference between success and failure. In the case of your own pool cleaning business, you’ll need a series of different ones.
Talk to Industry People
Talking to people who work in the industry and suppliers can help point you in the right direction. There’s several broad categories like skimmers, brushes, vacuums and hoses and accessories and you’ll need something from each to get started.
Telescopic pool cleaning poles and brushes to scrub the floors and walls of your client’s pools are some of the staples. For the telescopic pole, you need to consider a few factors like strength. Remember you’ll be using this and pushing it underwater to clean the bottoms and sides so it needs to be able to stand up to the pressure.
For this standard piece of equipment, two-piece construction is a good idea. Don’t forget the other must haves like a water testing kit.
Check Out the State and Municipal Requirements
It’s important to make sure that everything about your pool cleaning business is aboveboard with your local and state governments. Different states can have different routes to take and even your municipality might have a few boxes you’ll need to check.
Depending on where you live, you might need a few years of experience before you apply. You’ll more than likely need to pay a licensing fee which will expire after a few years. On top of those extra payments, there’s usually a one-time application fee that you need to open your wallet for.
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This article, “How to Start a Pool Cleaning Business” was first published on Small Business Trends