Building a $1.4M Home Service Empire

From Pool Cleaning to Multi-Service Success

In an enlightening interview, two young entrepreneurs shared their journey of building a highly successful home service business empire that generated $1.4 million in revenue within just 19 months.

Starting with pool cleaning and expanding into multiple service verticals, their story offers valuable insights for aspiring business owners. Here are the key takeaways from their remarkable journey:

From Marketing Agency to Service Provider

The founders began their entrepreneurial journey running a social media marketing agency, charging clients $900 monthly retainers. However, they noticed a crucial gap – while they excelled at generating leads and building systems for their clients, they weren’t capturing the full value of their marketing expertise. This realization led them to transition from marketing service providers to full-service business owners.

The First Venture: Pool Cleaning Service

Their entry into the home service industry began with a pool cleaning business, starting with just $1,000 in equipment and one truck. Key aspects of their success included:

Customer Acquisition Strategy:

• Started with NextDoor organic marketing for free initial customers
• Expanded to Google Ads as the primary lead source
• Utilized Yelp advertising as a supplementary channel
• Maintained a 30% website conversion rate
• Achieved customer acquisition costs of $80-120 per new client

Operational Structure:

• Weekly service at $150 per month per customer
• Each technician handled 60-80 pools per week
• Generated approximately $10,000-12,000 monthly revenue per truck
• Maintained 30% profit margins
• Scaled to 12 trucks and 600 accounts within 16 months

Technology Stack:

• Go High Level for lead management and automation
• Skimmer app for route optimization and service documentation
• Unbounce for landing page creation
• Stripe for payment processing
• GPS tracking systems for fleet management

Building a Sellable Asset

Within 19 months, they built the business to $1.4 million in annual revenue and successfully sold it for approximately $900,000. The sale was structured uniquely:

• Divided the business into smaller route packages
• Sold to multiple buyers over three months
• Achieved 8-12x monthly revenue multiples
• Maintained better control over the transaction process

Expanding into Pest Control

Following their success in pool cleaning, they’re now acquiring a pest control business, highlighting several advantages:

• Higher margins due to lower chemical costs
• Better customer lifetime value (16-17 months vs. 8 months for pools)
• Each technician can handle 300+ accounts
• Monthly recurring revenue of $50 per customer
• Less visible service, resulting in fewer customer complaints

Key Lessons for Entrepreneurs:

1. Start Simple: Begin with basic marketing on platforms like NextDoor before investing in paid advertising.
2. Focus on Systems: Implement proper technology and automation from the start:
   • Lead generation and nurturing systems
   • Customer communication protocols
   • Service delivery tracking
   • Payment automation
3. Hire Smart:
   • Look for personality over experience
   • Target younger workers (19-24) willing to learn
   • Provide clear career progression
   • Offer performance-based compensation
4. Build for Scale:
   • Standardize operations
   • Document processes
   • Create training systems
   • Maintain quality control measures
5. Think Exit Strategy:
   • Focus on building sustainable revenue
   • Maintain clean financial records
   • Create transferable systems
   • Build strong customer relationships

This success story demonstrates that traditional service businesses, when combined with modern marketing and operational systems, can create significant value in a relatively short time.

The key is to focus on building scalable systems, maintaining quality service, and creating a business that can operate independently of the owners.

For aspiring entrepreneurs, especially those with marketing expertise, the home service industry presents an attractive opportunity to build substantial equity while generating healthy monthly cash flow.