The American backyard has been the place to be for several years now. As the weather warms up, homeowners are ready to dust off the grills and consider the possibilities of what that backyard offers.
“I definitely feel like there’s a great future in the design/build world,” says Sam Gembel, CEO and owner of Atlas Outdoor in Flint, Mich. “We’re now in an era where people aren’t worried about losing their jobs. We’ve had a lot of people who have come to us wanting to revisit a project we originally discussed last year or two years ago.”
Nick Berger, sales manager at Hidden Creek Landscaping, Columbus, Ohio, anticipates another busy pool installation season for his company. He says the market for pools went “bonkers” during the COVID-19 pandemic, and while he doesn’t expect that kind of volume of orders ever again, it’ll still be robust.
“During COVID, we had a two-year backlog of orders,” he says. “People were on a waiting list. We were able to work through those. Now, we’re on a six- to nine-month backlog of clients.”
Encourage education
Berger says before Hidden Creek inks a deal with a customer on a pool installation, he encourages the client to take some time to research who Hidden Creek is and what kind of investment they are prepared to make.
“The pool can be anywhere from $100,000 to $300,000 depending on the type of pool you’re building … it’s a major investment for anybody,” Berger says. “I want the client to understand who they’re hiring. Understand that the cheapest guy might not be the best guy to use. Make sure you hire someone who has done this day after day, time after time, year after year. It’s a cliché, but know that you get what you pay for.”
Gembel advises those considering entering the pool business to do all the work as a singular company — and make sure the client is aware of this — rather than contracting elements of the job to other companies. He says he’s won contracts 15 to 20 percent higher than the lowest bid.
“We used to work with pool installers, but there could be finger-pointing between the outdoor builder and the installer,” Gembel says. “Our clients love it that we sell ourselves as the installer.”
Though Gembel doesn’t love the process of the actual build itself, he does love the feeling he gets when one of his clients lets him know how the installation has impacted their family.
“There’s something about when you finish a job and whether it’s a month later, or six months later, a year later or five years later — when the client sends you a video of the kids cannonballing into the pool,” Gembel says.
“We’ve had families where their kids will get married in that backyard. We get to be part of those memories forever. If that doesn’t put wind in your sails to be in the business we are in, then I don’t know what does.”
