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February Fiberglass Pool Dealer Spotlight: Burton Pools and Spas, Springdale, Arkansas
Every month, we chat with Thursday Pools dealers to learn more about their business and what’s trending in their area. This month, we talked to David Burton, co-owner of Burton Pools and Spas in Springdale, Arkansas. Tell us a little about yourself and about Burton Pools and Spas My brother Dan and I started our business in 1978. At the time, I was 22, working at Kroger and at the fire station. But while all the other guys I knew were sitting around the fire station reading magazines, I was looking for a business opportunity. I knew I wanted to own my own business. My brother was working construction. Somebody sent me an article about the pool business, and I thought, “Yeah. This is something we could do.” It made a lot of sense to me. Gas prices were high, and people were looking to entertain themselves at home. So we created a business called Tallman Pools of Fort Smith. We started out in my garage with a truck, a couple of tools and $7000 in working capital, installing vinyl pools. Dan did all the pool construction, and I took care of the business end of things. Since Dan and […]
Read MoreJanuary Fiberglass Pool Dealer Spotlight: W.E.T. Pools and Spas, Effingham, Illinois
Every month, we chat with Thursday Pools dealers to learn more about their business and what’s trending in their area. This month, we talked to Doug Thoele, owner of W.E.T. Pools and Spas in Effingham, Illinois. Tell us a little about yourself and your business. We were originally in the pressure washer business. I started the company with a couple of partners in 1996. When the economy went south, around 1999, we switched gears. We had named the company Water Equipment Technologies (W.E.T.) so that we could go in more than one direction with the business if we needed to. It seemed at that time like there weren’t too many pool and spa companies around here, so we thought we’d work our way into that market. It turned out pretty well. And now, as far as the ownership goes, it’s just me. What geographic areas do you serve? We serve most of southern Illinois, and we’ll go as far as 75-100 miles away. Our primary service areas for fiberglass pool installations are Effingham, Charleston, Marshall, Mattoon, Shelbyville and Vandalia, Illinois. What do you love about being in the pool business? I like that it’s seasonal, and I like to work […]
Read MoreDecember Fiberglass Pool Dealer Spotlight: Raft to Rafters Pool and Spa, Columbus, Indiana
Every month, we chat with Thursday Pools dealers to learn more about their business and what’s trending in their area. This month, we talked to Matt Miller, owner of Raft to Rafters in Columbus, Indiana. Tell us a little about yourself and your business. Our business goes back a very long way! Here’s the story: In the 1960s, my grandfather, Lorin Johnson, who was a delivery man for Wonder Bread, was trying to convince my grandmother to move from town out into the country. She refused, because the kids loved to swim in the town pool, and they wouldn’t be able to get themselves to the pool if they moved to the country. He made her a deal by saying, “If I build us a house with a pool in the country, will you go?” She said “yes”. And so my grandfather built the house and set about the task of finding a kit to build a pool. But everyone he talked to would only sell to him if he bought more than one kit. He finally found a place called Imperial Pools in New York state that agreed to sell him a single pool kit, so he bought it […]
Read MoreNovember Fiberglass Pool Dealer Spotlight: Easy Living Pools, Plain City, Ohio
Each month, we enjoy learning more about a member of the Thursday Pools dealer family for our dealer spotlight. In November, we chatted with Chris Matthews, president of Easy Living Pools, which sells and installs both vinyl liner pools and inground fiberglass pools in Plain City, Ohio. Easy Living Pools is located in Union County, Ohio and serves the central Ohio region, including the areas in and around: Columbus, Bellefontaine, Springfield, Marysville, Delaware, Granville and Marion, Ohio. Tell us a little about yourself and your business. Our company, Builderscape was founded by my father Ron Matthews in 2003. We built our business on design/build commercial construction. I joined the company full-time when I graduated from college. My dad dabbled in the pool business on and off over the years but was frustrated by the unreliability of suppliers. But the pool business has changed a lot over the last 20 to 30 years. We dipped our toes in the water again about ten years ago. We were selling just a couple of pools per year. Pretty soon, we realized we needed to have the word “pools” in our name if we wanted to really penetrate the market. So we created a […]
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