The Winning Franchisee | Former BYU Ballroom Dancer and Steel Company Territory Manager to Open First Pool Scouts in the Salt Lake City area

Stephanie McAllister graduated from Brigham Young University, where she participated in competitive ballroom dancing. Upon graduation, she began teaching dance at Mountain View High School from 1993–1998. She left the classroom to raise four amazing children and now works for Paylogics, processing payroll for small and medium businesses. Brent McAllister also graduated from BYU and found a home in the steel business, working with Western Tube as a contractor for 20 years until it was acquired by Zekelman Industries, where he continued on as an employee for the company until transitioning to his role as Pool Scouts* franchise owner. Now, the McAllisters are looking to make a shift in their careers and start something new by opening the first Pool Scouts location on the Wasatch Front. 

They are currently accepting customers with hopes of expanding to additional Utah territories beyond the Wasatch Front.

1851: What did you do before franchising?

Stephanie McAllister: I went to Brigham Young University and participated in competitive ballroom dancing for four years on the touring team. Upon graduation, I worked in the public school system teaching dance at Mountain View High School in Orem, Utah and Pleasant Grove High School in Pleasant Grove, Utah. Currently, I work for Paylogics processing payroll.  

Brent McAllister: I worked for over 20 years as an independent contractor for Western Tube, a steel company located in Long Beach, California. 

1851: How long from the first time you learned about franchising until you inquired on the franchisor’s website?

Brent: We learned about Pool Scouts over a year ago and requested information on their website. Within 20 minutes, a team member reached out to us to answer any questions we had. We spoke with them for several months while building enough runway which allowed us to sign an agreement and fund business operations.

1851: How did you perform your research/due diligence?

Brent: We accessed several online services, studying opportunities, looking for something that felt right. We spoke at length with several existing Pool Scouts franchisees who willingly shared their experience during the onboarding process.

1851: How many brands did you look at? 

Brent: We looked at well over 30 brands over the course of a few years. 

1851: What made you say yes to Pool Scouts?

Brent: The Pool Scouts team members are highly experienced professionals and patiently answered all of our questions. They recognize that there may be apprehension about making career changes. They didn’t ask us to just believe them; they provided us with names of existing franchisees who were in our shoes not long ago; we were allowed to talk to them at length. This high level of openness and communication was key in our making this decision. We were also enthusiastic because we had both been in our niche businesses for so long that we recognized the need to have access to a broad range of business expertise. Pool Scouts outlined a path and provided a system that we could follow. Pool Scouts provides the marketing, contracts, data analytics and other business arrangements. The franchisee provides the willing heart, the enthusiasm and a lot of elbow grease. During our “meet the team day,” both Stephanie and I were so impressed with the quality of people working at Buzz Franchise Brands/Pool Scouts. Everyone we met is an expert in their field with broad experience. They have created a culture of accountability and success which we wanted to be a part of. 

Stephanie: I liked the depth of the leadership team and the marketing support. We didn’t have time to learn everything we needed to know to start a business on our own. We are 56 years old, so trying to figure out how to do digital marketing while learning how to run the business would be difficult. It is great that there is a team that we can turn to for every aspect of the business.

1851: What could have scared you away? 

Brent: Lack of visibility to the investment. The Pool Scouts team was very open about what the total cost of doing business would be and included those costs in the franchise agreement. With Pool Scouts, a large amount of the initial investment is allocated to growing your business; they also help you track and achieve the best ROI on the dollars being spent.

What makes you stand out as a unique business owner in the local community?

Brent: We were both born and raised in Utah and have strong historical and family ties to the state. We are passionate about serving and, like so many others in this area, have been quite involved in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We are both passionate about teaching and helping the next generation learn and figure out who they are. We have enjoyed many amazing experiences serving in the Boys Scouts of America. The name “Scouts” has so much meaning for us. When you think of the Scout Oath and Law, those are principles and guidelines we strive to incorporate into who we are and how we do business. Stephanie was a Cubmaster, and I was Scoutmaster and Unit Commissioner for many years. While we love working with young people, we also participated in several Wood Badge courses together, where amazing adult leaders come together for a week-long leadership experience in team building, project planning and goal setting, with the end goal being to help the next generation do those same things in their lives. 

What do you hope to achieve with your business? Plans for growth? 

Brent: We love the name Pool Scouts of Salt Lake City and plan to grow to be known as Pool Scouts of Utah. Our hope is that those we hire will learn and grow into their best selves. That may mean they move on and pursue their education or other dreams. If we can help them do that, we will be successful. That said, Pool Scouts will also be a wonderful career opportunity with lots of room to grow within the company. As we expand within our current territory and look to acquire other territories, we hope to create a culture of personal growth and success for all. We anticipate that with a single territory, we will need 20–25 people in the next two to three years.

What do you do in your personal time (hobbies, family, sports, etc.)

Stephanie: We are involved in our local church and love to spend time outdoors, taking care of our garden and fruit trees. We also enjoy fishing, hiking in the local mountains, golfing and playing pickleball. We have two sons and two daughters. The girls are ages 24 and 18; the boys are 26 and 22. Three of them are still local, so we get to visit them often. We have one son who lives in Texas, who we enjoy seeing as often as possible.  

What is the one thing about your story that you want us to know?

Brent: We recognize that there are other people who offer pool services. Pool Scouts has the systems in place to offer consistent and timely communication with our customers. All of our employees will have background checks, be in uniform and drive branded vehicles. Our customers will know when we are coming and who is showing up to clean their pool. We are easily recognizable. The customer will never have to wonder who that person is walking around their backyard. After the service is completed, the customer will receive an email detailing their service, the results of their water chemistry test, what we did to resolve issues and before and after pictures of their pool.