We will pay you 250K if you are willing to clean the pools

My friend and I have a pool building business. At first, we were losing money and employees during the off-season, spending half a million on a commercial proposal, couldn't hire specialists, and constantly arguing with customers about shortages.

And now we have established processes: we fixed seasonality, warehouse, employees and started earning 17 million per year. In the article I will tell you what we did for this.

How to bypass seasonality

The main problem of the pool business is seasonality. In season – clients, sales, movement. In the off-season – a complete lack of money. This harms the team. Sales fall, salaries decrease. Employees do not survive on piecework and quit.

The seasonality problem was solved as follows:

Began to attract more attention, so that clients don't forget us in winter. For example, we installed a swimming pool on the roof of the shopping center where we had an office:

We also marked ourselves on maps, made a website, and added information about us to our partners.

Expanded the business and added new areas: pool maintenance, sales on marketplaces, wholesale and retail. Now we have different sources of income in any season.

The flow of customers began to grow, word of mouth worked. Now demand depends not on the air temperature, but on the economic situation in the country.

Improved the construction department: We purchased tools, organized a warehouse, and moved to a larger office.

Previously, we hired contractors. Now we believe that it is more profitable to have our own:

Instead of renting trucks for 200K per month, we leased a Gazelle for 100K and hired a driver for 80K. We save money and get more control.

Same with forklifts. We used to pay 40K for rent, now 20K for leasing.

Now we can quickly respond to orders at any time of the year, and as a company we inspire more trust.

How the problem with employees was solved

Hiring in Sochi is a separate pain. Experienced craftsmen do not want a permanent job:

Why complicate things? You get the orders, I do the work. I'll do everything in the best possible way.

Some pool installer in Sochi

This doesn't suit us: it's important that a person works according to our technology, drives a branded car, wears a uniform and works only for us. If we invest in an employee, and he earns extra money on the side, we lose uniqueness for clients.

We even tried to bring workers from other regions. They were hungry for work and had experience. But this is more luck than a permanent process.

As a result, we started hiring people from related professions without experience in swimming pools: plumbers and mechanics. We train them ourselves.

But there are nuances here too: if suddenly an employee leaves – he doesn't like something and it doesn't work out – then we lose time and money. We have to start all over again with a new person.

We solved this by creating an online platform for training sales managers, accountants and purchasers. For fitters, the theory is still in the format of cloud documents.

On the platform: videos, tests, answers to frequently asked questions. The office has a schedule of training for each day. We see what the employee watched, and what he missed, rewound. We see from the tests what he understood.

After the online course, the newbie is taught by an experienced manager. Then he starts working with the head of the department. The fitter is further trained by the head of the construction department and the foreman engineer.

There are currently 21 people in our team. There are builders, fitters and decorators – they make swimming pools. Managers sell and consult in stores. An accountant, a driver and a storekeeper help all departments. I manage the company and am responsible for wholesale and retail.

About 25 million ₽ were spent on salaries in 2023

How the warehouse operation was set up

There are several stages in building a pool, a lot of materials. And we need to control all of this. Previously, when everything was shipped manually, the balance did not match the actual quantity of goods. Employees spent a lot of time on assembly.

Another difficulty is the huge number of small parts. They cannot all be included in the estimate, otherwise there will be 500 items. It is impossible to calculate down to the last bolt.

We have made the process semi-automated. Now in MyWarehouse we display a set of materials for each stage of construction based on previous projects.

The foreman simply selects a ready-made set and transfers it to the warehouse. The human factor is minimized. If something is missing, we add it to the set for the future.

Now, if a client asks:

Wait, what do you have there for 200 thousand?

We simply unfold the kit and show the entire list of materials and equipment.

How to get rid of disputes about shortages

The problem here is this: the customer says “bring it, build it”, he himself is not at the site. We will do everything, and then he says: “Something is missing”. According to our records, everything was shipped, but how can you prove it? We spent a lot of time looking for confirmation.

Now the system automatically divides the order into stages. We issue invoices to the buyer. When the buyer pays, we collect and ship the goods. The storekeeper collects the goods according to the document, takes a photo of it and confirms the assembly. Then the driver delivers the goods to the site, takes photos and signs the documents with the customer's representative.

This is what the task looks like for the driver:

And here is a photo report:

How to stop losing half a million on a commercial offer

It all starts with a customer's request. We try to invite them to our showroom and discuss the details.

After talking with the client, we prepare a commercial proposal. Previously, we did it in Excel. The partner manually entered prices in euros, converted them to rubles, and put them in folders. Something often broke. Once, due to an error in the formula, instead of 3 million, the proposal turned out to be 2.5. We had to pay extra at our own expense.

We are currently using it MyWarehouse. It calculates prices in rubles for each supplier itself. Our equipment is from Europe and China. Prices are in dollars and euros. Each supplier has its own exchange rate. It may differ from the Central Bank rate by 1-2%. MoySklad takes this into account and forms exact amounts for each stage of work.

In the final commercial proposal, we describe in detail the stages of construction, prices, equipment and installation services. We discuss with the client. If he agrees, we sign the contract.

We specify all the details in the contract. For example, who will represent the customer at the site. This is important because the customer himself cannot be at the construction site around the clock. And we need someone to bring materials, sign acts, accept the work:

How much do we earn on swimming pools now?

We build 35-60 pools per year. Pool construction takes 2-3 months after the concrete bowl is poured. But the process often drags on. For example, you can't immediately finish the pool if the house is still being renovated. Dust and dirt can damage the new finish. That's why we wait until the customer finishes the main work in the house.

Approximately 10-15% of one project goes towards fixed costs:

The net profit from the project remains about 20%.

Our main focus remains construction. Wholesale, retail, marketplaces and service are additional.

Retail

In our retail stores we sell chemicals, accessories and equipment for swimming pools.

At first, we opened the stores for advertising. We wanted passersby to notice us and contact us for construction. We did not expect to make a profit from the stores.

We sell at recommended retail prices, without markups. Previously, it happened that suppliers' prices changed, and we sold at the old ones. We lost on this.

We always know how much money is in the account. The information is updated automatically. This is important because prices often change. We have 20 thousand products. We made it so that prices from the supplier's website are automatically updated in the product card.

Wholesale

We sell building mixtures wholesale to shops and construction companies. We buy from the Litokol plant, we are its official representatives. About 100 orders per month. One order is on average 80K.

Ozone

We sell dry mixes on Ozon. The margin on cheap goods is 10%, on expensive ones – 20%.

We used to sell on Wildberries, but then we stopped. They banned storing our products in their warehouses due to the risk of fires. Now you can only sell from your own warehouse, but that's inconvenient for us.

Swimming pool maintenance

In addition to construction, we also service pools. We monitor the water quality, clean the bowl, check the equipment. If necessary, we add chemicals or make minor repairs. In general, we do everything to ensure that the water is clean and the pool works without failures.

Fixed maintenance costs are 280-300K, revenues are from 200 to 400K. In the off-season, the business operates at zero or at a loss. But maintenance is not only about profit. It is more about trust and customer retention.

We work in Sochi, and there are often “guest performers” here — companies from other cities. They come, build pools and leave. If problems arise later, clients have to wait a long time for someone to come and help. But we are always nearby and ready to quickly resolve any issue. For this, we have a rapid response team — three people. They help not only our clients, but others as well.

Conclusions

• Look for ways to work all year round. Think of ways to attract customers in the off-season. Add new services or products that will be in demand at any time.

• Owning your own equipment is often more profitable than renting. Calculate how much you spend on rent and compare it with leasing. This will give you more freedom in your work.

• Can't find ready-made specialists? Look for people from similar professions and teach them yourself. Create your own training system.

• Automate routine. There are many programs for calculations, accounting and work with clients. They will save time and reduce errors.

• Document all stages of work. Photo or video reports will help avoid misunderstandings with clients and partners. Fewer disputes – more satisfied clients.

The material was prepared for the blog MoySklad based on an interview with Alexey – co-owner of the company “Formula of swimming pools”.

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