Ten years ago, Tiffiny Consoli took a leap of faith on a franchise that had barely begun. Today, as Pool Scouts celebrates a decade of franchising, the brand's first franchisee is celebrating an anniversary of her own.
"I originally started looking at franchises and thought that would be a good fit for me because they pretty much give you a brand, a structure, a template of how to run a business," Consoli said. "Then you can really take it from there, but you get all this structure and support that they provide."
Consoli, a former retail manager, had previously explored another Buzz Franchise Brands concept before timing finally aligned with the launch of Pool Scouts. When the new brand opened its doors to franchisees, Consoli was first in line.
"When they started Pool Scouts, I was kind of the first one in the door," she said. "The things that I loved about it were that it was an outdoor business, somewhat seasonal, customer service-oriented, which I'm very passionate about. I also loved the brand and what we were bringing to the pool industry in terms of professionalism, communication and really great technical skills."
Joining a brand in its infancy meant there was no long-established playbook. Instead, Consoli and the corporate team built one together. "That was fun and interesting. Sometimes stressful," she said. "But the best part is that we were learning together."
During those early years, Pool Scouts was refining everything from service offerings to operational standards. Together, franchisor and franchisees tested ideas, identified best practices and built systems that continue to benefit today's owners.
"The thing I'm most proud about now is that franchisees coming on board today have a system that we helped pave the way for," Consoli said. “They can become successful much quicker because we had a lot to learn.”
The early focus centered on recurring pool cleaning and maintenance, but as the business matured, additional revenue streams naturally followed.
"We first had to ensure that we had a great customer base," Consoli said. "Once we had that, we could add repairs, replace filters and pumps, upgrade panels, move into liner replacements and now we're doing leak detection. It was definitely a process and an evolution."
Like many successful franchisees, Consoli discovered that scaling required making strategic investments before revenue fully justified them.
"We were always sort of ahead of the curve," she said. "We were making investments in our business to help us get to that next growth level. We might have been adding expertise or vehicles sooner than the revenue was dictating, but in order to get to that next level, we knew we needed to make those investments."
At the same time, Pool Scouts itself continued refining its operating model. Vehicle selections changed from vans to pickup trucks, staffing evolved from two technicians per vehicle to a more efficient one-technician model and marketing shifted from direct mail toward digital channels as consumer behavior changed.
"We learned what was going to be the best vehicle. We learned that one technician is sufficient and efficient. We learned where to market and how to market," Consoli said. "Digital became a much better way for us to grow our business."
According to Pool Scouts Franchise Business Coach Tiffany Bellamy, those changes were made stronger because franchisees like Consoli were willing to test new ideas and openly share results.
"With us being a franchise system, we learn a lot from each other's successes," Bellamy said. “Tiffiny has kind of been the guinea pig for a lot of different things that we've tried as a system. Her strength as an owner is that they're resilient, which is why she's still here 10 years later.”
Bellamy also points to the brand's increased focus on profitability over the past several years as another milestone.
"We started to realign our focus around 2023 and really started diving into every expense and everything that could be adjusted to increase profitability," Bellamy said. "She's seen a lot of positive momentum from that shift, along with adding new services like pool inspections, vinyl liner replacements and other offerings that have helped grow the business."
Consoli's role has transformed dramatically over the past decade. Like many first-time franchise owners, she began by wearing every hat imaginable.
"I was answering the phones, going out to pools, running around, doing invoices at night," she said. “The first three or four years, you're all in. It's almost 24 hours a day.”
Today, the business includes three managers and a general manager, allowing Consoli to focus less on daily tasks and more on long-term leadership.
"That has really changed my life in terms of work-life balance," she said. "Now it's the most rewarding because we have a great company with great employees. We can support them, pay them well and continue delivering on the promises we're making to our customers."
Bellamy says that transition reflects years of intentional leadership. "She's always been a leader," Bellamy said. "She wasn't asking anybody to do anything that she wouldn't do herself. She was doing invoicing, answering phones, ordering parts and being involved in every piece of the business. That's why it's now able to run without relying on her every single day."
After helping launch Pool Scouts into a national franchise system, Consoli believes the fundamentals behind success remain remarkably simple.
"Be ready to work," she said. "You've got to be customer service-oriented. You've got to be passionate about service and passionate about people. So many people have gone before and learned the best practices. Following the template that Pool Scouts has set out for us will definitely lead to success."
Ten years after becoming Pool Scouts' very first franchisee, Consoli's story reflects more than the growth of one business. It mirrors the evolution of an entire franchise system.
The startup costs for a Pool Scouts franchise range from $96,662 to $133,787. To learn more about franchising with Pool Scouts, visit https://poolscoutsfranchise.com.
Pool Scouts
SPONSORED
Over the past decade, Tiffiny Consoli has worked with Pool Scouts’ corporate team to strengthen the system while continuing to grow her own local business.
Ten years ago, Tiffiny Consoli took a leap of faith on a franchise that had barely begun. Today, as Pool Scouts celebrates a decade of franchising, the brand's first franchisee is celebrating an anniversary of her own.
"I originally started looking at franchises and thought that would be a good fit for me because they pretty much give you a brand, a structure, a template of how to run a business," Consoli said. "Then you can really take it from there, but you get all this structure and support that they provide."
Consoli, a former retail manager, had previously explored another Buzz Franchise Brands concept before timing finally aligned with the launch of Pool Scouts. When the new brand opened its doors to franchisees, Consoli was first in line.
"When they started Pool Scouts, I was kind of the first one in the door," she said. "The things that I loved about it were that it was an outdoor business, somewhat seasonal, customer service-oriented, which I'm very passionate about. I also loved the brand and what we were bringing to the pool industry in terms of professionalism, communication and really great technical skills."
Joining a brand in its infancy meant there was no long-established playbook. Instead, Consoli and the corporate team built one together. "That was fun and interesting. Sometimes stressful," she said. "But the best part is that we were learning together."
During those early years, Pool Scouts was refining everything from service offerings to operational standards. Together, franchisor and franchisees tested ideas, identified best practices and built systems that continue to benefit today's owners.
"The thing I'm most proud about now is that franchisees coming on board today have a system that we helped pave the way for," Consoli said. “They can become successful much quicker because we had a lot to learn.”
The early focus centered on recurring pool cleaning and maintenance, but as the business matured, additional revenue streams naturally followed.
"We first had to ensure that we had a great customer base," Consoli said. "Once we had that, we could add repairs, replace filters and pumps, upgrade panels, move into liner replacements and now we're doing leak detection. It was definitely a process and an evolution."
Like many successful franchisees, Consoli discovered that scaling required making strategic investments before revenue fully justified them.
"We were always sort of ahead of the curve," she said. "We were making investments in our business to help us get to that next growth level. We might have been adding expertise or vehicles sooner than the revenue was dictating, but in order to get to that next level, we knew we needed to make those investments."
At the same time, Pool Scouts itself continued refining its operating model. Vehicle selections changed from vans to pickup trucks, staffing evolved from two technicians per vehicle to a more efficient one-technician model and marketing shifted from direct mail toward digital channels as consumer behavior changed.
"We learned what was going to be the best vehicle. We learned that one technician is sufficient and efficient. We learned where to market and how to market," Consoli said. "Digital became a much better way for us to grow our business."
According to Pool Scouts Franchise Business Coach Tiffany Bellamy, those changes were made stronger because franchisees like Consoli were willing to test new ideas and openly share results.
"With us being a franchise system, we learn a lot from each other's successes," Bellamy said. “Tiffiny has kind of been the guinea pig for a lot of different things that we've tried as a system. Her strength as an owner is that they're resilient, which is why she's still here 10 years later.”
Bellamy also points to the brand's increased focus on profitability over the past several years as another milestone.
"We started to realign our focus around 2023 and really started diving into every expense and everything that could be adjusted to increase profitability," Bellamy said. "She's seen a lot of positive momentum from that shift, along with adding new services like pool inspections, vinyl liner replacements and other offerings that have helped grow the business."
Consoli's role has transformed dramatically over the past decade. Like many first-time franchise owners, she began by wearing every hat imaginable.
"I was answering the phones, going out to pools, running around, doing invoices at night," she said. “The first three or four years, you're all in. It's almost 24 hours a day.”
Today, the business includes three managers and a general manager, allowing Consoli to focus less on daily tasks and more on long-term leadership.
"That has really changed my life in terms of work-life balance," she said. "Now it's the most rewarding because we have a great company with great employees. We can support them, pay them well and continue delivering on the promises we're making to our customers."
Bellamy says that transition reflects years of intentional leadership. "She's always been a leader," Bellamy said. "She wasn't asking anybody to do anything that she wouldn't do herself. She was doing invoicing, answering phones, ordering parts and being involved in every piece of the business. That's why it's now able to run without relying on her every single day."
After helping launch Pool Scouts into a national franchise system, Consoli believes the fundamentals behind success remain remarkably simple.
"Be ready to work," she said. "You've got to be customer service-oriented. You've got to be passionate about service and passionate about people. So many people have gone before and learned the best practices. Following the template that Pool Scouts has set out for us will definitely lead to success."
Ten years after becoming Pool Scouts' very first franchisee, Consoli's story reflects more than the growth of one business. It mirrors the evolution of an entire franchise system.
The startup costs for a Pool Scouts franchise range from $96,662 to $133,787. To learn more about franchising with Pool Scouts, visit https://poolscoutsfranchise.com.
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