E-247 Pool Nation Podcast - Build Systems: The Pool Nation Roadmap to a Profitable, Scalable Pool Business

From Overwhelmed Owner to Strategic Systems Builder

Picture this: It's 6 AM, your phone is already buzzing with customer complaints, equipment breakdowns, and staff issues. You're running from one crisis to the next, making every decision, and putting out fires all day long. Sound familiar? If so, you're not alone—and more importantly, you're not stuck.

In episode 247 of the Pool Nation Podcast, hosts Edgar De Jesus and Zach Nicholas tackle one of the most critical yet overlooked aspects of building a successful pool service business: systems. As Edgar puts it:

If your entire business lives in your head or depends on you showing up every day to make decisions, decisions and put out fires, let me tell you this, you don't own a business, you own a job.

— Edgar De Jesus, Pool Nation Podcast

This reality check hits hard because it's true for most pool service professionals. You didn't start your business to trade one boss for a dozen demanding customers and overwhelming daily chaos. You started it to build something sustainable, profitable, and eventually independent of your constant presence.

The Foundation: Why Systems Matter More Than Service Routes

The pool service industry has a dirty little secret: most businesses fail not because of technical incompetence, but because of operational chaos. When everything depends on the owner's presence, growth becomes impossible, burnout becomes inevitable, and the business becomes unsellable.

Zach Nicholas shares his current experience with this challenge:

It seems like most of this year, going into 2025, we've made a plan of, okay, this year we're not focused on trying to grow a bunch or any of that. What we're focused on, we call it our fine tuning year, is really dialing in some of these things that we're talking about.

— Zach Nicholas, Pool Nation Podcast

This "fine-tuning year" approach represents a mature understanding of business development. Instead of chasing more customers and revenue, successful pool service owners eventually realize they need to build the infrastructure that will support sustainable growth.

Systems create predictability, efficiency, and scalability. They ensure that your business delivers consistent results whether you're on-site or on vacation. More importantly, they transform your business from a personal services operation into a valuable asset.

The Business Education Revolution in Pool Service

One of the most exciting developments discussed in this episode is Pool Nation's comprehensive business education program. Unlike technical training that focuses on equipment repair and water chemistry, this program addresses the business skills that separate struggling service routes from thriving enterprises.

The curriculum includes several critical areas:

• Financial Mastery: Understanding metrics, cash flow management, and profitability analysis
• Team Development: Building high-performing teams and fostering collaboration
• Strategic Planning: Creating exit strategies and long-term financial planning
• Operational Excellence: Time management and accountability systems

Edgar emphasizes the practical nature of this education:

And if you could take one nugget out of each class that you can go back and apply in your business immediately, it is going to be game changing. It doesn't matter what stage or phase you're in. There's going to be something for you to take away from the course and apply to improve your business.

— Edgar De Jesus, Pool Nation Podcast

This approach recognizes that business skills, like technical skills, can be learned and improved through proper education and practice.

Financial Intelligence: Beyond Profit and Loss

One of the most crucial yet misunderstood aspects of running a pool service business is financial management. Many owners focus solely on revenue growth while ignoring the financial fundamentals that determine long-term success.

The podcast highlights several critical financial concepts:

Cash Flow vs. Profit: Understanding that profit on paper doesn't pay bills—cash flow does. You can be profitable on paper while struggling to meet payroll or purchase equipment.

Cost Analysis: Knowing exactly what it costs to service each pool, including direct costs, overhead allocation, and profit margins. Without this knowledge, pricing becomes guesswork.

Financial Planning: Moving beyond month-to-month survival to strategic financial planning that supports growth and eventual exit strategies.

As the hosts note, there's an important distinction between making money and keeping money:

And that's again, I'm currently on a lot of these journeys. As you know, Edgar, I'm currently working on that because we spend so much time chasing money. Right. How do we make the next dollar? That's not the whole picture. The other half of that is how do we keep our dollars?

— Zach Nicholas, Pool Nation Podcast

This shift in perspective—from revenue generation to wealth preservation and growth—marks the transition from business owner to business builder.

Building High-Performance Teams in Pool Service

As pool service businesses grow beyond owner-operator status, team development becomes critical. However, many technical experts struggle with leadership and team building because these skills weren't part of their original training.

The podcast addresses several key team development areas:

Talent Lifecycle Management: Understanding how to recruit, develop, and retain quality team members throughout their career progression.

Collaboration Systems: Moving beyond simple task delegation to create true collaborative environments where team members contribute ideas and solve problems together.

Accountability Culture: Establishing clear expectations and creating ownership at every level of the organization.

Edgar makes an important point about leadership development:

And I think a lot of people, there's a misconception that like people are just naturally born leaders. And I think that's so far from the truth. And we keep talking about skills and this is a skill as well. And skills can be learned.

— Edgar De Jesus, Pool Nation Podcast

This perspective is liberating for technical professionals who may feel intimidated by leadership responsibilities. Like learning to balance water chemistry or diagnose equipment problems, leadership skills can be developed through education, practice, and feedback.

Time Management and Operational Efficiency

Time management in pool service goes beyond scheduling routes efficiently. It involves strategic thinking about how to maximize productivity, minimize distractions, and focus energy on activities that drive business growth.

The operational efficiency discussion touches on several important concepts:

• Distinguishing between being busy and being productive
• Identifying and eliminating time-wasting activities
• Creating systems that reduce decision fatigue
• Building processes that ensure consistent service delivery

For businesses like Pool Nation that manage multiple complex projects simultaneously, these time management principles become even more critical. The ability to plan, execute, and deliver consistently across multiple initiatives requires sophisticated organizational systems.

The Path Forward: From Technician to Business Owner

The transformation from skilled technician to successful business owner doesn't happen overnight, but it follows a predictable pattern. The businesses that succeed in making this transition share several common characteristics:

Systems Thinking: They view their business as an interconnected system rather than a collection of individual tasks and customer relationships.

Continuous Learning: They invest in business education with the same commitment they once applied to technical training.

Strategic Planning: They work on their business, not just in their business, dedicating time to planning, analysis, and strategic decision-making.

Team Development: They recognize that sustainable growth requires building capable teams, not just acquiring more customers.

Financial Discipline: They make decisions based on data and financial analysis rather than intuition or competitive pressure.

The Pool Nation approach to business development recognizes these realities and provides structured education and support for pool service professionals ready to make this transition. Through comprehensive business courses, practical workshops, and peer collaboration opportunities, they're creating a new generation of pool service business owners who understand both the technical and business sides of the industry.

Building a successful pool service business requires more than technical expertise and hard work. It requires the same systematic approach to business development that you would apply to any other professional endeavor. The good news is that these skills can be learned, systems can be built, and the transformation from overwhelmed owner to strategic business builder is entirely achievable.

The question isn't whether you can make this transition—it's whether you're ready to invest the time and effort required to build something bigger than a job. For those ready to take that step, resources like Pool Nation's business education program provide the roadmap and support needed to succeed.

Episode Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction and Systems Overview
• 05:30 Pool Nation Events and Awards
• 12:00 Business Course Curriculum - Financial Management
• 20:00 Team Development and Leadership Training
• 28:00 Matrix Group Advanced Classes
• 35:00 Upcoming California Training Event