Glad you enjoy this web site. Hopefully you can glean some useful information thta will help you in your endeavors.

And, yes, I was in your shoes at one time — it seems like not that long ago, actually. It is difficult to build a client base, but once you get a few pools in the ground, referrals will start coming in from your satisfied customers. For example, my first big project built from scratch was for a friend, done at cost. That led to referrals for the next two jobs, which led to five or six more referrals in the next couple of years. Now, over 90% of jobs are from referrals from happy customers.

Advertising is also important in the early going: a nice website — lots of photos and especially lots of information for potential clients. Maybe a yellow pages ad and/or a series of advertisements in the local newspaper. Plus many newspapers are eager for news and may welcome a release on a new customer-service oriented business.

As to making the leap into concrete pools … keep in mind that the only difference between a steel wall pool and a gunite/shotcrete pool is the vessel that’s holding the water. Most of the rest of the project is the same: plumbing, equipment, gas and electrical lines, decking, etc. If you get the basics of reinforced concrete construction down (know your standard structural plan inside and out), the rest is just refining things, adding innovative touches, responding to customer requests and so forth.

Besides learning all the intimate details of structure, you would be wise to learn all that you can about hydraulics. Pentair has an excellent manual that gets into the meat of hydraulics: calculating friction loss, generating a “pool curve” (similar to a pump curve, but allows you to see how a system would perform at different losses for different flows), and perhaps most importantly, figuring line velocities. Standards are for 7 feet per second on the suction side and ten fps on the return. Maximum. Six fps or less is better — especially on suction side to help prevent entrapment along with split suction. Lower is more efficient. Anyway, you get the idea.

Perhaps the most important thing though, is education. Never stop learning. Attend seminars at trade shows, or mini-classes that manufacturers offer at your local distributor or at other nearby locations. Subscribe to trade magazines: Pool & Spa News is decent, but their construction articles are often filled with fluff. Water Shapes offers more solid information in my opinion, plus it’s free. Aqua is another magazine, plus there are many more. Also, get the best (not the cheapest) subcontractors in the area and learn from them. The library and bookstore are invaluable, too: learn about architecture, color theory, landscape design, masonry, etc. Get manuals from national trade organizations (e.g., the Technical Manual from the National plasters Council, “Slabs on Grade,” from the American Concrete Institute, or “Specifications for the Installation of Ceramic Tile” from the Tile Council of North America). Learn, learn, learn.

Besides accumulating pool construction knowledge, educate yourself about how to run a business. A book called “The E Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It,” by Michael Gerber is, I believe, an essential for any small business person. Also get a good handle on your pricing. The reason most pool builders go out of business, in my experience, is that they price their product too low. You’re selling knowledge and service, so try to set yourself apart from other local builders who don’t know the stuff you do — structure, hydraulics, design — the guys that are merely selling on price.

But don’t get overwhelmed. You don’t need to know all this stuff before you get going. Just start educating yourself bit by bit, and as you learn, you’ll become a better builder, salesman and designer.

If you need an opinion on a specific subject yo come across, feel free to email me. Good luck.