San Diego or Bust Company

My big idea is to enter the pool service industry. I know it sounds crazy—and it’s even crazier than you think. But first, let me say that I ultimately believe the pool service business will turn out to be an excellent investment. However, there are aspects of the industry that have given me second thoughts.

I entered the business by purchasing two pool routes; that is, I acquired a number of pools from two different pool service providers. In one case, the owner was exiting the business to move to Florida. In the other, it was a company selling off pools they no longer wished to service for their own reasons.

I had been warned by many that companies tend to sell the “problem” pools. Now that the sale is underway, I’m beginning to worry that this might be true. After just one week in the business, it appears that half of the pools are not well-maintained. Neither of the routes kept thorough records, and we’re lacking sufficient training time.

To complicate matters, I’m unsure about how the billing transition is supposed to be handled, and I doubt that the original service provider has even notified their customers of the change.

I’m also concerned about our ability to attract new customers. Without any current 5-star ratings, why would anyone choose us on the various sales platforms? This is the most critical time for our startup—our first 90 days. My fear is telling me that I cannot afford to lose any of the accounts I’ve purchased. If that falls apart, I won’t have much of a foundation to build on.