These Women Are Leading Pool Scouts Into the Future in a Historically Male-Dominated Industry

Pool Scouts, the pool-cleaning and maintenance franchise that now has over 100 territories nationwide, has had a lot to celebrate lately. From crossing the 100-location milestone, to enjoying its best year ever revenue-wise in 2021, to cracking Entrepreneur’s 2022 Franchise 500 list, it’s an exciting time to be a part of this growing franchise.

Now, for Women’s History Month, Pool Scouts celebrates those women – both the franchise owners and corporate executives – who are helping the brand stand out in a traditionally male-dominated industry.

“I’m so inspired by these women who go into business for themselves as franchisees. Not only have they chosen to enter a predominantly male industry, but they have excelled at it. Our top-performing location is woman-owned, proving there is very much a place for women in this business, ” said Pool Scouts Director of Marketing Lynlea Rudell. “It’s exciting for me to be a part of a company that provides these opportunities for women by creating an inclusive culture that empowers them to achieve their goals and supports them in every way possible.”

One of those women who bet on herself by joining Pool Scouts is Tiffany Glascock, who became general manager of local operations at the corporate-owned Virginia Beach, Virginia, location in November 2021. After more than 17 years in restaurant management, she says she felt some trepidation not only about leaving a familiar industry for one she knew little about, but also in taking a leadership position in a male-dominated industry.

“There’s always some apprehension when you’re in a position of leadership as a woman, because it’s something you don’t see as much as you’d think,” said Glascock. “You sometimes see women in supervisor positions, but when you get into management and operations, it’s mostly men. But it’s different at Pool Scouts. I’m very blessed to be here and work with some amazing women. It’s a great support system.”

A recent report from Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 shows that the percentage of women franchise owners has risen for five consecutive years, going back to 2016. According to Glascock, Pool Scouts is seeing the same trend.

“Because I work at a corporate-owned location, we have a lot of potential franchisees come to our office,” she said. “We’ve seen more women franchisees than men, and I love that they get to see me here running this location. I hope it gives them the confidence that they can do it as well.”

With the current trend of increasing female franchisees and with Pool Scouts making it a point to empower female business owners and executives, we may be witnessing a shift in the industry’s gender gap. Heather Pontius, a Pool Scouts franchise owner in Columbus, Ohio, says she barely notices it.

“It doesn’t even dawn on me that it’s a male-dominated industry,” said Pontius, who opened her Pool Scouts franchise in 2020. “I don’t really think about it at all. There are a lot of female franchisees joining; I see women owners on our team calls all the time, and I have several customers who picked us because we’re woman-owned. I think it provides a nice opportunity.”

With the landscape changing and with Pool Scouts looking to build on its tremendous momentum in 2022, it’s women like Rudell, Glascock and Pontius – among many others – who will help lead the brand into the future.

The startup costs for a Pool Scouts franchise ranges from $85,400 to $138,300. To learn more about franchising with Pool Scouts, visit https://poolscoutsfranchise.com/.

ABOUT POOL SCOUTS

Virginia Beach, VA-based Pool Scouts is a premier pool service franchise focused on delivering a quality, consistent brand experience while providing pool cleaning, maintenance and minor repair services at residential properties. Technicians are trained in testing, monitoring, treating and servicing pools and can provide ongoing service as well as help at the beginning and end of the summer season. With 110 territories awarded across 17 states, Pool Scouts offers a great opportunity as a low-cost franchise in the pool services industry with available territories across the United States. For more information or franchising opportunities, visit http://poolscoutsfranchise.com.