Why You Should Consider Investing in a Pool Scouts Franchise

Pool Scouts, the 100 plus territory pool cleaning and maintenance franchise operating under parent franchisor Buzz Franchise Brands, is seeing growing success in the wake of the explosion in at-home pool installations during the pandemic. Pool Scouts offers franchisees a great opportunity that includes support and resources, a growing market with pool services in high-demand and the potential for impressive profitability. With 60% growth in their consumer base year over year, year-to-date, now is a great time to invest in the franchise.

Support and Resources

Regardless of your background – or lack thereof – in business ownership, a Pool Scouts franchise is a worthwhile investment thanks to the high level of support and resources provided to its franchisees.

One way Pool Scouts supports its franchisees is by managing the marketing for them. As the corporate team handles all of the direct mailing, digital marketing and targeted advertising, this allows franchisees to focus on building organic relationships within their community. 

“We're going to get the phone to ring for our franchisees,” explained Matthew Karahalios, Director of Franchise Development at Buzz Franchise brands. “We're going to drive people to your website. We can be very specific in our outreach, which makes our targeted marketing very effective.”

This offloading of marketing efforts particularly appeals to franchisees who do not have experience in that arena. Ray Marinaccio, a successful Pool Scouts franchisee, came from a professional background in criminal law, but he was drawn to Pool Scouts because of the support offered by the franchise. “I had no background in business at all,” admitted Marinaccio. “I really didn't know what I was doing in terms of starting a business, so I wanted something that would give me as much help as possible.”

Another avenue of support provided by Pool Scouts is access to training and on-the-job support. “We provide ongoing training that we do on a semi-annual basis,” said Karahalios. When a franchisee sends a technician out on a job, that technician is able to contact a team of people internally for support or a second opinion in real time, so the franchisee is not expected to field technical questions on their own. 

Working with Buzz Franchise Brands multiplies the avenues of support for Pool Scouts franchisees. While each brand has its own support team, there is an additional shared services platform that represents all four brands under the Buzz Franchise Brands umbrella.  

Existing under his umbrella allows franchisees opportunities to network with other franchise brands and fellow franchisees. “Every year we have our annual convention,” said Karahalios. “Each brand will have their own specific convention on site, but there are also general business sessions for all of the brands, and it's a great way to network with other franchisees and build those relationships.”

For Marinaccio, this support was crucial in his decision to select Pool Scouts as his franchise of choice. “I don't feel like a number,” explained Marinaccio. “I don't feel like I am being solely assessed for my revenue and royalty. They genuinely care about my success."

Growing Demand for Pool Services

During the pandemic, people spent a lot more time in their homes, which led to a skyrocketing demand for home upgrades and at-home entertainment. This demand, combined with the housing market at the time, led to a massive increase in the number of new pools. “In addition to people spending more time at home, their house interest rates were lower, and so they could leverage home equity lines and other financing routes to put a pool in at their house,” explained Karahalios. All of these new pools, of course, require upkeep, which means the pool service industry is in high-demand. 

“One in four homes built in the U.S. in the last few years included a pool,” Karahalios said. With this many new pools, and given the fact that many households contain two working adults who don’t necessarily have the time to clean and service their own pool, pool services are being hired out more and more.

Potential for Growth

Given the initial investment ranging between $87,490 - $109,625, and the fact that this is not a brick and mortar business, Pool Scouts has a fairly low entry point, which makes it easy to get off the ground quickly. 

Growing their business is something franchisees can look forward to with Pool Scouts, as well. “As you add more customers, your routes start to get denser, leading to less travel time between each home,” explained Karahalios. “Once you get a client’s pool to Pool Scouts’ standard, you are spending less time at each home, because once the pool is balanced and you are familiar with each location, you are more efficient, so that helps you scale. As you build up that customer base and expand from one vehicle to three or four vehicles, this leads to really nice long term growth.”

Pool Scouts is looking to continue its growth with committed franchisees in more key markets nationwide.

The start-up costs for a Pool Scouts franchise range from $87,490 - $109,625. To learn more about franchising with Pool Scouts, visit https://poolscoutsfranchise.com/.