Pool Cleaning and Maintenance Franchise Pool Scouts Doubles Footprint in Northern Dallas, Eyes Houston, Austin and San Antonio for Additional Growth

Initially launching in 2016, pool cleaning and maintenance franchise Pool Scouts has seen steady expansion, growing to 43 territories sold in its first two years of business. One area in particular in which Pool Scouts has seen quite a bit of recent growth: Northern Dallas.

The Northern Dallas market includes Plano/Allen, Frisco, McKinney and Richardson, Texas— each with a sizeable population of residents who utilize pool cleaning and maintenance services. Thanks to this demand, Pool Scouts has doubled its overall footprint in the market since the start of 2018 and is looking to continue its expansion throughout Texas. Pool Scouts currently has franchisees in Northern Dallas, Houston and Austin, and is looking to expand its footprint in those markets, in addition to developing in areas such as San Antonio, Corpus Christi and El Paso.

John Breton, Pool Scouts franchisee who opened in McKinney and Prosper, Texas in May of 2018, grew up in a family of entrepreneurs. His grandfather worked in textiles, designing patterns for clothes and his father, Maurice Breton, is the founder of Comfort One Shoes, a footwear company that now has 17 retail locations and more than 120 employees. After a successful career in marketing, working on projects for TV and radio stations, tech startup companies, Super Bowl commercials and Disney, John is now continuing the family’s entrepreneurial spirit by running his own Pool Scouts in the Northern Dallas area.

“I didn’t always envision working in the pool industry,” said Breton. “I grew up with a pool as a kid, and loved having all the family reunions and graduation parties at our house. The pool was always the home base; because of this, I wanted to start a business I felt would help bring families together. Ensuring families have a fun and safe pool environment to enjoy those moments is what drives me and my team.”

Breton knew that Pool Scouts was a great fit for the area when he first decided to join the brand, and now has his sights set on expanding in the Plano/Richardson area this spring. This new territory will bring the acquisition of another pool service truck, three new technicians and a Director of Operations, Elsie Porter, a customer service expert, formerly with Chick-Fil-A and Ritz Carlton.

“10 months out of the year, Texans can enjoy their backyard, barbecues and pools, so it’s the perfect state to start a Pool Scouts franchise,” said Breton. “Outdoor living spaces are huge here, and it’s rewarding to be able to make sure families can enjoy that time together with peace of mind that their pool is clean and safe to use.”

Breton isn’t the only one who felt the Northern Dallas area was a great fit for the business. Mike Blake spent four years as an independent business owner of a pool cleaning and maintenance company before deciding to tap into the support of a franchise system with Pool Scouts. Blake purchased three territories including Frisco, which opened in March of 2018, and North Plano/Allen.

“I grew my pool cleaning and maintenance business, Sapphire Pools, to the best of my abilities, but I wanted to scale the business and I wasn’t sure how to do that,” said Blake. “That’s when I started looking for opportunities in franchising and when I discovered Pool Scouts, I knew they’d be the right partner for me.”  

Blake has serviced more than 100 residential pools over the years, and now, with the support of the Pool Scouts franchise model, can tap into the 20,000 pools in need of service in his territories.

“We’ve seen a lot of success in the first year with Pool Scouts and have doubled to two trucks in order to fully service all areas within our territories,” said Blake. “The number of pools within the area just continues to grow, with roughly 1,000+ new pools opening each year. The weather also allows for us to operate as a year-round territory, which is great from a revenue standpoint.”

Both Blake and Breton work to offer residents in their markets with quality customer service and services including pool cleaning, maintenance, and opening and closing assistance. Utilizing the brand’s proven marketing strategies, both franchisees are confident that they will be able to continue growing further within Northern Dallas.

“It’s an exciting time for Pool Scouts growth, and Texas is one of our key targets for expansion, with 470,000 households with pools throughout the state,” said Director of Franchise Development for Pool Scouts Timothy Holadia. “We plan to expand to another 15 territories in Texas in the next two years, with 16 territories still available in Dallas, another 14 in Houston and two in Austin. Each territory could bring anywhere from five to seven jobs apiece, meaning 170-plus new jobs in those three cities alone. Residents of Texas are hard working and dedicated to great customer service, and the state as a whole is very business-friendly. We are excited to see what this year has in store for Pool Scouts.”

Typical startup costs for purchasing a Pool Scouts franchise range from 57,600-108,375, with an average initial investment of $95,000.