America's Swimming Pool

<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinretzlaff/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=how-justin-and-kimberly-retzlaff-built-an-americas-swimming-pool-co-franchise-and-a-routine-that-works-2731644" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Justin</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-retzlaff/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=how-justin-and-kimberly-retzlaff-built-an-americas-swimming-pool-co-franchise-and-a-routine-that-works-2731644" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Kimberly Retzlaff’s</a> franchise story started the way a lot of real-life decisions do: with a layoff, a late-night conversation and a growing sense that the corporate path was not taking them where they wanted to go.“During COVID times, Justin was laid off, and so we really started talking a lot about what our goals and priorities are,” Kimberly said. “My goal and priority was to be closer to family and to move back home. Justin had always wanted to run a business, so we kind of came to the agreement that we would start a company in Tucson.”<h2>A Late-Night ‘Light-Bulb’ Moment</h2>For Justin, the search did not start from scratch. He had spent years around franchise systems and knew what to look for, even if he did not always read every newsletter that landed in his inbox. “My previous jobs — a lot of them — were on the franchisor side of numerous national and international chains,” he said.“I always got the Franchise 500 newsletter in my box and very rarely read it,” Justin said. “One very late evening, I couldn’t sleep and decided to read the Franchise 500 newsletter. One company on the list stood out. It was a pool company.”They opened their&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aspfranchising.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=how-justin-and-kimberly-retzlaff-built-an-americas-swimming-pool-co-franchise-and-a-routine-that-works-2731644" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">America’s Swimming Pool Co.</a> business in September 2021 — a local franchise operation focused on pool cleaning, repair and renovation — but Kimberly did not step in full time at the start. She kept her job in scholarly publishing while they built the operation, then joined the business as growth made the split harder to maintain. “For the first 18 months, my previous life was in scholarly publishing,” she said. “So I stayed in publishing for the first 18 months of our business.”&nbsp;Justin said that transition came through a practical conversation. “I think the first conversation was whether she wanted to continue on with her career or not,” he said.<h2>Dividing the Work, Sharing the Mission</h2>Once they were both in, the Retzlaffs leaned into a structure that matched their strengths instead of forcing both partners into the same lane. Kimberly describes Justin as the outward-facing driver. “Justin — he’s a visionary,” she said. “He is focused on following the systems to grow our business, and he is very good at marketing and sales to bring in new customers while keeping our current customers happy.”Kimberly’s role is the systems side of the business, the part that keeps a service operation consistent when schedules change and the days get chaotic. “With my prior life being in editing — [I’m] very detail-oriented,” she said. “So I gravitated pretty naturally toward finance and marketing.”Justin said the division keeps the partnership from turning into daily friction. “It just kind of a yin-and-yang fit,” he said. “The things we needed to operate the business, one of us was good at.”<h2>The Hard Part Is Turning It Off</h2>A clear structure helps, but it does not solve the hardest part: work bleeding into everything else. Kimberly said the overlap shows up in the small moments that are supposed to be theirs. “I would say the hardest thing has been that it’s really difficult to turn it off,” she said. “Even when we go out to dinner after work or when we’re on vacation somewhere, we’re constantly talking about the business.”Justin’s take is less about balance and more about the pace of growth that comes with ownership. “Every day we’re learning things,” he said. “We learn so much more every single day.”<h2>Growth That Leaves Room for Life</h2>In 2025, the Retzlaffs earned an internal milestone that validated what they were building. “The one thing that happened recently that we’re extremely proud of is that we were named&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/america-swimming-pool/info">ASP’s</a> 2025 franchise of the year,” Kimberly said.They have learned what many service owners learn the hard way: growth only helps if it buys back time. “This year, our main goal is to restructure our team and bring on a little bit more management support so that Justin and I can start to step back — so it’s not like we have to have our phones on us 24/7,” she said.Justin said they are also building systems to prevent a common service business plateau. “We’ve noticed a recurring theme in development points of pool companies where they tend to plateau — hit a wall,” he said. “We’re trying to put a new system in place that will avoid us hitting that wall and allow us to keep scaling.”<h2>Advice for Other Husband-and-Wife Teams</h2>Kimberly’s advice starts with alignment before the first busy season hits. “Sitting down and having that discussion about who’s going to do what, and coming to some agreement on how you resolve differences of opinion,” she said.She also pointed to something simpler, but harder to remember when work is constant: reinforce the partnership, not just the operation. “Catch each other doing things right and compliment each other on jobs well done,” Kimberly said.Justin said he did not expect the role they would grow into within the franchise community, but it has become one of the more meaningful parts of the journey. “We are being asked to become leaders of our franchise network,” he said. “It is humbling and affirming to have franchisees from across the country looking to us for guidance and support. It's a great group, and we feel lucky to be part of it.”For more information on franchising with America’s Swimming Pool Co., please visit&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/america-swimming-pool/info">https://1851franchise.com/america-swimming-pool/info</a>.

America's Swimming Pool Co. Franchise - Retzlaff Feature - 1851 Franchise

Justin and Kimberly Retzlaff’s America’s Swimming Pool Co. Franchise Story

1851 Franchise

A move back to Tucson sparked the leap, but the real story is how they built a structure that let both the business and their marriage hold up under pressure.

This brand page has been paid for by AMERICA'S SWIMMING POOL. Content within this page that is paid will showcase a Sponsored icon. This means the brand has engaged 1851 FRANCHISE to write the content. Content without the Sponsored Icon is aggregated media placements the brand earned. Questions can be sent to editorial@1851franchise.com

How Justin and Kimberly Retzlaff Built an America's Swimming Pool Co. Franchise and a Routine That Works

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collaboration.For&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelawson/">Kevin Lawson</a>, the idea of owning a franchise had been sitting in the back of his mind for years.After decades in sales, including roles in the technology sector and later in the oil business with HF Sinclair, Kevin had long been interested in business ownership. The timing never quite lined up until his son,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-lawson-41aa97267/">Ben</a>, graduated from college and entered the workforce in the oil and gas industry.“My wife and I were talking about how fun it would be if we had a family business or something of that nature,” Kevin said. “We kept talking about it and thought, why not start a franchise and have him run it, then be mentors and guide him through what it takes to do that?”That conversation eventually led Kevin and Ben to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aspfranchising.com/">America’s Swimming Pool Co.</a>, an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.authoritybrands.com/">Authority Brands</a> company that provides swimming pool maintenance, repair, renovation, cleaning services and new construction. The father-and-son team now operates the brand’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.asppoolco.com/northwestoklahomacity/">northwest Oklahoma City franchise</a>, and while the location is still new, their plans for the business already go well beyond pool service.For Kevin, the business represents an opportunity to build something with his family while creating a foundation that can eventually support the next generation.<h2>From Competitive Sports to Pool Operations</h2>Before stepping into the family business full-time, Ben followed a much different path.A standout athlete growing up, Ben held football and baseball records at his high school and went on to play baseball in college during the challenging COVID-era recruiting landscape. After graduating, he worked repairing engines for natural gas compression systems in the oil and gas industry, a role that demanded long hours, technical problem-solving and a strong work ethic.Those experiences now carry over into the day-to-day realities of running an&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/america-swimming-pool/info">America's Swimming Pool Co.</a> franchise, where Ben handles much of the operational side of the business, including quoting, cleaning, service and repair work.Kevin said one of the biggest things he has noticed about Ben is his persistence when facing difficult problems in the field.“I told him the other day when he was having a problem with a heater he was installing, and it took him multiple hours to finally get it done, that the thing I loved about it was the fact that he never gave up,” Kevin said. “He will stay on it. I would be like, ‘I’m done. I’m going to shoot it and go down the road.’ But for him, that is one thing that has impressed me and been fun to watch.”That competitive mindset, developed over years of athletics, continues to shape how Ben approaches the business today. “Sports is something where, if you’re going to excel at it, you have to overcome and be resilient because sports is definitely challenging,” Kevin said.<h2>Building a Business Around Family</h2>Although Kevin still works full-time in the oil industry, the America’s Swimming Pool Co. business has quickly become a true family operation.Kevin focuses heavily on sales, relationship-building and mentoring, while Ben oversees much of the operational work in the field. Kevin’s wife, Ashlee, who works professionally as a bookkeeper, helps manage back-office operations for the business. Ben’s fiancée, who recently earned her degree in marketing, is also expected to become involved as the business grows.Their different personalities have strengthened the partnership. Kevin brings decades of sales experience and a comfort with ambiguity, while Ben is more process-driven and technically focused.“In sales, where I’ve spent my whole life, I would consider myself the gray area,” Kevin said. “I’m always trying to make lemonade out of lemons. My son is definitely more black-and-white, and he likes the operations a lot more than I do. He likes the details and the intricacies.”Kevin naturally focuses on conversations, networking and growing the business, while Ben prefers the technical side, where repairs, equipment and day-to-day service work require patience and precision.“That’s where we complement each other,” Kevin said. “We let our differences help us be a better team.”<h2>A Long-Term Vision Beyond Business</h2>For Kevin and Ben, the franchise is about more than creating another revenue stream. Kevin said the business has already brought the family closer together in ways he did not necessarily expect.“In all honesty, my daughter and I could talk every single day and be great. My son and I could go two weeks and not talk,” Kevin said. “But now that we have the pool business, it’s three, four, five, 10 times a day, and it’s so awesome. I think it’s bringing the family closer together, and we’re excited about that.”The family also sees the business as an opportunity to mentor younger generations while building something that can eventually outlast Kevin’s own career in oil sales. Though Kevin does not currently plan to step away from his full-time role immediately, he hopes the business can continue growing over the next several years while creating long-term opportunities for Ben and the rest of the family.The bigger goal, Kevin said, is to build a business centered around strong values, mentorship and relationships.“This business is for a bigger purpose,” Kevin said. “We are God-focused with our family, and we really want to put an emphasis on that versus just a financial thing. We want to make it long term. We want to do what’s right.”For more information on franchising with America’s Swimming Pool Co., please visit&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/america-swimming-pool">https://1851franchise.com/america-swimming-pool</a>.

America's Swimming Pool Franchise - Kevin and Ben Lawson - Oklahoma City - 1851 Franchise

After years in oil sales, Kevin Lawson teamed up with his son, Ben, a former college athlete, to launch an ASP franchise that has already become a daily family collaboration.

Father-and-Son Team Kevin and Ben Lawson Build a Family Future With America’s Swimming Pool Co.

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