Pool Chasers Podcast

Episode Summary:   Today, we speak with Brandon Reed, owner of Pool Volution. He sits down to talk about what drives him to provide insight and education to fellow pool pros and why he believes that business ownership is the key to making a serious living out of a career in this industry.   Brandon then explains what led him to establish Pool Volution. He admits that the brand began simply as a wa...

Episode Summary:   In this episode, we recap all the episodes that came out in 2021. We have had another amazing year on the Pool Chasers Podcast where we once again navigated pandemic-related challenges and reached over 300,000 downloads!    To our awesome guests, thank you for sharing your valuable time to record with us and sharing your knowledge with the industry. To our sponsors and Patreon s...

Episode Summary:   Today, we speak with Bob Spacy of the family-owned Superior Pool Solutions, which he has operated alongside his wife Sheri since 2014. Superior offers full-service, repairs, tile cleaning, and remodeling.   Bob discusses his inspiration behind his “Truck Talks” series on Instagram and how it blew up in ways he never expected, including getting him seen as a mentor to pool guys e...

Episode Summary:   In today’s edition of Business Tip of the Month, we’re joined by Jessica Janiszewski, Vice President of Human Resources at National Pool Partners.   In these unprecedented times, a phenomenon known as “The Great Resignation” has emerged. As a result, companies need to adapt their hiring and retention best practices to be able to stand above the noise amid today’s shaky economy....

Episode Summary:   Today, we speak with electrical automation and programming specialist Pat Burke. He is the owner of Poolin’ Around, LLC, which offers pool and spa mechanical services in the Phoenix Metro Area.   We kick off the conversation discussing Pat’s first love before he got into the world of pools: BMX racing and, funnily enough, pool riding (which actually became the inspiration behind...

Episode Summary:   Today, we sit down with Megan Kendrick to talk about the most exciting products featured at the recently held International Pool | Spa | Patio Expo™.   We kick things off by sharing our experience of finally seeing each other in person a few days back at the expo. We follow that up by running through the most recent acquisitions in the pool industry before jumping into our main...

Episode Summary:   Today, we speak with Walt McKinley, a generational trauma coach, motivational speaker, and author.   He is a retired Naval Intelligence Officer and former Fortune 500 Corporate Executive who made the pivot to become “a generational trauma coach focusing primarily on helping men learn how to break the generational cycle of abuse and fight to be the heroes of their own family.” Wa...

Episode Summary:   In today’s edition of Business Tip of the Month, we’re joined by Hal Denbar, President of Texas at National Pool Partners.   When is it time to fire a customer? Hal says that there are a number of reasons, the top three being issues related to payment, misaligned expectations, or the abusive treatment of his team members.   Ultimately, you have to be quick to fire bad customers...

Episode Summary:   Today, we speak with Lorne Sederoff of SearchKings, a lead generation company primarily in the paid Google space with a focus on home service businesses, including pool construction and service. Lorne discusses the Google Guarantee platform and how pool companies can take advantage of the program to hit the top of the search engine’s rankings.   “What Google is introducing into...

  Episode Summary:   Today’s special episode is the November edition of our “News & Notes” series, in partnership with  Pool Pro Magazine .   After Megan’s quick update on how she has been successfully delegating and outsourcing tasks that leave her more time to devote to working  on  her business rather than  in  her business, we hop into pool-related news stories from around the world.   Meg...

Episode Summary:   Today, we speak with Bryce Sirrine and Zach Singer of Beyond Pool Cleaning and Sun Pool and Patio. Recently, the two became brand ambassadors for Skimmer.   Having been business partners since their schoolboy days, Bryce and Zach share the path that led them to the swimming pool industry and developed their drive to become a “resource” for pool professionals and serve them in a...

Episode Summary:   In today’s edition of Business Tip of the Month, we’re joined by Eddie Skehan, Vice President of Operational Excellence for National Pool Partners.   Our discussion today is all about  fleet management . In particular, he speaks on the advantages of GPS tracking, which include heat mapping, using  gamification  to promote good driver habits, performing preventive maintenance, re...

Episode Summary:   Today we speak with Mark Jones, Owner of the New Orleans-based Blue Street Pools. Mark has been immersed in the world of sales from a young age, but never imagined himself touching the pool industry until quite recently when he decided to look for better opportunities as a new father.   Not long after losing his job in Corporate America, Mark found his first account in a neighbo...

Episode Summary:   Today’s special episode is the October edition of our “News & Notes” series, in partnership with  Pool Pro Magazine .   The news stories we cover include a new mobile app out of Austin, TX called “ATX Swims”, through which users can directly purchase tickets to the city’s swimming pools; an accident involving a falling tree branch at a resort in Honolulu; an initiative to te...

Episode Summary:   Jim Conti is the Head of Sales at Sutro. The brainchild of founder Ravi Kurani, Sutro began with a focus on ORP technology before the company made the pivot to reagent-based testing with photometry, resulting in Sutro’s flagship product, the Sutro Smart Monitor.   Jim explains the limitations of ORP and what led the team at Sutro to home in on incorporating Reagent Cartridges by...

Episode Summary:   In today’s edition of Business Tip of the Month, we’re joined by Justin Kuperberg, Chief Development Officer at NPP.   Our discussion centers on what we believe are the three things that owners should consider when thinking about the future of their business:  legacy ,  net worth , and  intangibles .   Listen in as Justin speaks on the common factors that sellers overlook when s...

Episode Summary:   Today we do a deep dive into AquaStar Pool Products. Founded in 2000, AquaStar grew to become a vertically integrated company that offers a variety of products such as spa jets and fittings, skimmers, ozonators, chlorinators, cleaners, and—as we talk about at length in today’s episode—VGBA drains.   In this conversation, we sit down with AquaStar Pool Products COO Todd Pieri and...

Episode Summary:   Today’s special episode is the second in a new series we’re calling “News & Notes” in partnership with  Pool Pro Magazine .   With the NFL season kicking off soon, start things off with an interesting pool story connected to Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott. We talk about a couple in Virginia Beach that turns out to be the tenth of a series of customers unsatisfie...

Episode Summary:   Chad Christensen is the Group Vice President of Wholesale at Leslie’s. Today known as “The World’s Largest Retailer of Swimming Pool Supplies”, Leslie’s had a humble start when it was founded 54 years ago in March 1963 as a small pool supply operation working out of a backyard shed in North Hollywood, California.   Leslie’s pool professional customers have always had access to t...

Episode Summary:   Today’s special episode is the third in a new series we’re calling “Business Tip of the Month” in partnership with  National Pool Partners .   Listen in as Chad offers his thoughts on nurturing a growth mindset as a pool professional. He explains why it is important to constantly be working at refining your customer base and why market saturation gives you an edge over your comp...

Episode Summary:   Mike Farley founded Farley Pool Designs in 2013 and exclusively serves the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex in partnership with construction team Claffey Pools. As a designer, Mike has produced over 300 YouTube videos where he offers information on the design and construction process of one-of-a-kind swimming pool and outdoor living projects.   He is the co-founder of the Million Dol...

Episode Summary:   Today’s special episode is the first in a new series we’re calling “News & Notes” in partnership with  Pool Pro Magazine .   We kick things off by sharing our thoughts on some notable pool-related stories—from the recent success of the company known as the “AirBnB” for pools to Will Smith trying out the world’s deepest swimming pool in Dubai, to an arrest made in Florida of...

Episode Summary:   Today we do a deep dive into the recently established National Pool Partners. Officially launched in January 2021, the multi-regional pool service company has changed the game by partnering with local businesses to provide them the scale and resources of a national enterprise to better serve their customers, teammates, and partners.   In this conversation, we sit down with Natio...

Episode Summary:   In today’s edition of Business Tip of the Month, we’re joined by second-generation swimming pool company owner Bryan Banta of B & B Pools.   With labor and many products in short supply and skyrocketing prices, it’s more important than ever to know your costs, including on a per-client or even a per-visit basis.   Listen in as Bryan gives his take on tracking and optimizing...

Episode Summary:   Today, we sit down with Pentair’s Aftermarket Program Manager James Roberts, Program Manager of Energy Initiatives Jeff Farlow, and Associate Product Manager for Pool Pumps Kevin Harms.   Vital to the pool industry is the Department of Energy, which among other things promotes the raising of energy efficiency standards in every sector throughout the country. Pools are identified...