Learn how to scale your pool business with clear intent
Scaling a pool service company requires more than growth—it demands clarity. This guide breaks down what happens when your business reaches the seven-figure mark and how to decide your next move. You’ll learn how to define your Owner’s Intent—whether that means building a lean, profitable operation, a scalable enterprise, or a business that gives you time freedom—and how to align your team and systems around it. Real-world examples show how two similarly sized pool companies take very different paths based on their goals, helping you choose the future you want for your business.
Other pieces in this series
- Solopoolneurs and the leadership leap that changes everything
- Three drivers that fuel real growth in the Small Team stage
- From Driver to Delegator: How to build a team of leaders
When your pool service company breaks through the seven-figure barrier, everything changes. You’ve built something that has real momentum—customers, systems, technicians, and a team that keeps the engine running.
But now comes the hard part: deciding what kind of business you actually want to build. Because if you don't decide, the business will decide for you.
Why this stage is different
By the time you get to the Scaled Company Stage, a lot has shifted within your business.
For one, you now have a team of leaders that helps solve the daily problems that pop up. You’ve also shifted from task management to strategic alignment. You spend more time looking at data, setting targets, and deciding which bets to make next.
In other words, your role is mostly about making big, strategic decisions. At this level, what holds owners back isn’t effort—it’s indecision.
The danger of this stage is that most owners never make a clear decision about where they want their business to go. They say they want freedom, but keep answering customer calls. They say they want to grow, but hesitate to invest in the right people. They say they want profitability, but keep spending like a startup.
But the decisions you make right now are more critical than ever. They impact more people, more customers, and more dollars, and if you're not clear, your team won't be either. That creates friction, burnout, and wasted opportunity. That’s why you need a vision that informs your execution.
The Owner’s Intent: Your compass for your business
Where you take the business from here is up to you. You can keep growing if you want to. You can build a national brand if you feel like it. Or you can keep the business exactly where it is. No matter what, you do have to get clear on where you're aiming to go.
You’ll do that by creating your Owner’s Intent. This is a statement that will act as your compass. It’s a sentence you can revisit as often as you need, to remind you where you’re ultimately steering the business. At this level, we see three common Owner's Intents:
1. Build a cash cow (optimize for profit and Llifestyle)
- Goal: Create a lean, profitable business that funds your lifestyle.
- Focus: Maximize efficiency, maintain high-margin routes, and minimize overhead.
- Team: Small, experienced crew. Fractional financial and HR support.
- Owner role: Involved in strategy and relationships but not in daily operations.
2. Build a scalable enterprise (grow to sell or expand)
- Goal: Build a company that runs without you and could be sold one day.
- Focus: Invest in leadership, marketing, and growth infrastructure.
- Team: Department heads for operations, sales, and finance.
- Owner role: Chief recruiter and culture carrier.
3. Build for time and freedom (prioritize balance and sustainability)
- Goal: Achieve flexibility and a predictable workload.
- Focus: Delegate leadership, automate operations, and stabilize revenue.
- Team: Balanced structure with clear accountability.
- Owner role: Visionary oversight with strong boundaries on time.
If you’re not sure what your Owner’s Intent should be, you can get there by asking yourself some practical questions:
- What does success look like in three years?
- Do I want to grow top-line revenue or maximize bottom-line profit?
- How involved do I want to be in the business 12 months from now?
- What kind of leadership team do I need to reach my goals?
- What am I willing to invest (time, money, attention) to make it happen?
Leadership exercise: Get clear on the type of business you’re building
Use these prompts to define your Owner’s Intent and get clear on what kind of business you want to build:
- What kind of day-to-day involvement do I want in 12 months?
- What’s more important to me right now: profit, growth, or time freedom?
- Am I building this business to sell one day, keep forever, or pass down?
- Who do I need on my leadership team to achieve that?
- What is one decision I’ve been avoiding that I need to make this month?
Decide, then align
Once you're clear on the kind of business you're building, your job is to align the company around that vision. This could mean:
- Reorganizing the team structure to match your future goals
- Updating financial plans to reflect your investment choices
- Setting clear priorities for sales, marketing, and customer success
- Meeting consistently with your leadership to communicate direction
Common traps at this stage
Even with the best intentions, you can lead your business astray in the Scaled Company Stage. Be aware of these traps so you can avoid falling into them:
- Promoting loyal doers into leadership roles they aren’t ready for. Loyalty doesn’t equal leadership. That’s how you fall into the Peter Principle (which we discussed in our Steady Operation article).
- Hesitating to invest in true leaders because of cost. Cheap hires cost more in the long run. You need people who’ve done it before.
- Trying to play both games. You can’t scale and optimize for lifestyle at the same time. Pick one.
- Avoiding personal growth. At this level, your business will only grow to the level that you do.
Overall, you want to be making decisions that are in the best interest of your Owner’s Intent. When in doubt, refer back to that statement.
Final word: The decision is yours
Without clarity, you risk drifting for years without moving the business forward. You’ve done the work. Now make the decision. Decide what kind of business you want to build, then align your team and your actions to that vision.
There is no right answer. Only your answer.
About the creators
At Skimmer, we believe pool service professionals deserve better tools, stronger support, and better business outcomes. That’s why we built the leading software platform for pool and spa service companies.
Today, more than 30,000 pros across North America use Skimmer to streamline routes, get paid faster, and scale their operations—all while delivering consistent, professional service. Our mission is simple: modernize the industry and empower the people who keep it running.
Casey Graham has built and grown companies across multiple industries, including Yummy Pools, which rapidly expanded in the Atlanta market before being acquired by Trivest. Now, as VP of M&A for the Yummy Pools platform, he helps other pool companies grow through acquisition and operational excellence.
We partnered on this ebook because we share a belief: success in the pool service business isn’t only about profit—it’s about purpose, consistency, and the right systems to support your goals. Whether you’re starting out or leading a growing team, we hope this guide helps you align your “why” and move forward with clarity.
