With two multi-territory franchisees in the Houston area, pool cleaning and maintenance franchise Pool Scouts is well-positioned to continue growth throughout the market.

The company has seen steady growth in the state of Texas over the last two years, with nine locations currently open across the state and a total of 17 territories sold.

Most recently, Dave Noblin, owner of Pool Scouts of Kingwood, Texas, signed for three territories within the Houston market and opened his Kingwood location earlier this month. Noblin began his career working for a rubber and plastics company called Greene Tweed, where he still works today, and decided he wanted the opportunity to run a business for himself.

“I discovered Pool Scouts about two years ago while exploring franchise opportunities online,” said Noblin. “After seeing first-hand all the support the company provides to owners I knew I wanted to open a location in the Houston market where I live.”

Noblin plans to open his other locations in the nearby communities of Woodlands and Spring, Texas in 2020. Beyond Noblin’s locations, Pool Scouts is looking to grow even further across Houston with more than 10 other territories still available.

“The Houston area is a great fit for Pool Scouts,” said Director of Franchise Development for Pool Scouts Timothy Holadia. “It is a good business-friendly area, but especially because there are lots of pools and target customers across the market. Each Pool Scouts location brings anywhere from five to seven jobs. This means that we could ultimately bring more than 70 jobs across the Houston area as we continue to grow here.”

Pool Scouts opened its first Houston location in May of 2018. Brent Berridge, owner of Pool Scouts of Sugar Land, Texas, has seen a good deal of success during his first year of business with Pool Scouts.

“Since opening a little more than a year ago, growth has been really good,” said Berridge. “We’ve grown the number of recurring customers by more than double this year so far and are hoping to end the year with more than triple the recurring customers we started the year with initially.”

For entrepreneurs looking to franchise in the Houston area, now is as good a time as any to build within the market.

“Houston is a huge pool market and the area is still growing rapidly,” said Berridge. “New housing is going up all over the area and with that, means new pool construction as well. Plus, with the weather in this market you have the opportunity for year-round revenue.”

In fact, Berridge opened a second territory this year with plans to open between one and two more in 2020. He is aiming to have all of his territories up and running by 2021 at the latest in order to work with as many residents in the market as possible.

Now having two franchisees with a combined seven territories in the Houston area, Pool Scouts is looking to continue growth over the next year.

“We now have locations in and around Sugar Land and in the northern part of Houston as well,” said Holadia. “The main heart of Houston is wide open and we are looking to continue building our presence within that area as well. Having our second franchisee in the market is great for brand recognition and for client coverage as the Kingwood market is in a completely different part of Houston than Sugar Land.”

In terms of overall growth across the country, Texas is second only to Florida when it comes to the number of open locations and territories purchased for Pool Scouts. With 470,000 households with pools throughout the state of Texas, there are many individuals who need assistance maintaining those pools and keeping them safe for use each swim season. The company plans to expand to another 12 to 15 territories in Texas over the next two years, with 16 territories still available in Dallas, 11 in Houston and two in Austin.

“Residents of Texas are hard-working and loyal to companies that provide great customer service, and the state as a whole is very business-friendly. We are excited to continue developing our presence across the state and to working with pool owners in each market we service.”

Typical startup costs for purchasing a Pool Scouts franchise range from $62,200-$121,475 with an average initial investment of $105,000