How to Start a Pool Cleaning Business

If you enjoy early mornings, working outside, having a flexible schedule, and being your own boss, starting a pool cleaning business might be right for you. With steady projected growth in this field, you might be ready to make a splash and start servicing your town’s pools!

However, there’s a lot to consider—managing clients and technicians, staying on top of chemical and industry knowledge, planning your business strategy, quoting and invoicing, maintaining a good reputation and communication between all parties, and more! How do you know where to start? We’ve got you covered.

Quick Links:

• Current Pool Business Industry Outlook
• How to Start a Pool Cleaning Business
• Common Pool Cleaning Business Challenges & Solutions

Current Pool Business Industry Outlook

The swimming pool cleaning services industry is valued around $6 billion in the US, with nearly 80,000 businesses nationwide. Between 2016 and 2021, the field grew nearly 7% – and in the year 2021 alone has grown 3.3%, so this industry is indicating promising growth for the future ahead.

How to Start a Pool Cleaning Business

The first real step, of course, to starting a pool cleaning business is to decide you want to start a pool cleaning business. But what do you do after that? Follow these foundational steps to start your company off on the right foot:

Gain Pool Cleaning Experience

Before diving in head-first without having any background in the pool cleaning industry, work for another company or take up an apprenticeship with a pool cleaning service in your area. This will empower you to learn the tips and tricks of the trade without having to learn them by yourself. Working with someone who can mentor you in the field will prove invaluable as you ask questions and have a safety net for mistakes before breaking out on your own.

During this time, you’ll be networking with local partners and perfecting the art of pool chemistry. Both will be critically important for the time when you open your own pool cleaning business, as you’ll be a trusted face in the community and will have developed experience with knowing how to utilize pool chemicals.

Make a Business Plan

You’ve gained a solid foundation of what it takes to work in the pool cleaning industry and you’re committed to starting your own business – now what? You need to work out a business plan. This includes doing industry research about future projections, checking in on your competitors in the area to see how much competition there is, determining how much money you’ll need to start up, and more.

One of the most crucial components of your business will be in how you distinguish yourself from the competition in regards to your customers. How will you accept payment? What can you do to ensure clear communication across all parties? Will you work alone or have technicians hired to help serve your community? Customer satisfaction is the top priority for thriving in nearly any industry, so be sure to think through that side of your business in addition to the typical paperwork associated with starting your own company.

Licenses, Insurance, and Registrations

When you’re starting a pool cleaning business, make sure to knock these tasks off your to-do list:

• Get a business address or a PO box
• Register your business with your local government
• Establish as an LLC to protect your personal assets
• Get business insurance
• Open a bank account for your pool cleaning business income and expenses
• Set up an accounting system
• Get any required federal, state, or local licenses

Customers will appreciate that your business is all squared away with the appropriate paperwork that certifies your business is legitimate. While not the most glamorous part of starting a business, these registrations are important!

Common Pool Cleaning Business Challenges & Solutions

As with any industry or any new business endeavor, there are bound to be challenges and obstacles along the way. These challenges give you ample opportunity to prove your adaptability and demonstrate your steadfast commitment to providing fantastic pool cleaning services.

Challenge: Inefficient Service Routes

Since you and your technicians are going out into the field to perform pool cleaning services, you’ll want to make sure you’re not criss-crossing all over town with service routes. Inefficient driving routes waste time, money, and precious resources; optimized routes ensure you’re set up for success in terms of meeting all clients,

Challenge: Miscommunications Between Customers, Technicians, and Home Base

Do you have absolute faith in your system that involves mountains of paperwork, random email threads, and sticky notes scattered around the office? Probably not. You don’t want to make mistakes or suffer miscommunications between your customers, technicians, or dispatch since that could damage your reputation and result in upset customers. Not to mention, it’s hard to follow-up on anything if you’re not sure where to start in the first place.

Solution: ProValet

With this easy-to-use management platform, all of your routine manual tasks between you, your technician, and your homeowners are automated for one seamless, efficient solution for optimal communication, transparency, and customer service. With our management app – featuring GPS tracking capabilities – you can track your team’s progress, respond to and invoice customers, and schedule out services while receiving updates in real-time! It’s time to ditch pen and paper in order to embrace modern management. Contact us today to learn more!

‍