A New Era of Education

Since its inception nearly four years ago, Pool Nation has been driven by a desire for quality industry education. 

“I started by doing Instagram lives, and right off the bat, a lot of the pool pros were asking questions about business,” recalls Edgar De Jesus. “They asked for a podcast format to listen to while they work on pools.” 

De Jesus, along with co-founders and fellow pool pros John Chakalis and Zac Nicklas, decided to give the people what they wanted.

De Jesus explains that Pool Nation was built on three fundamental principles: helping pool pros achieve financial success, creating a safe space for training and education and making a positive impact on the industry.

“If something doesn’t meet those three criteria, then we’re not interested,” Nicklas says.

From the beginning, De Jesus, Chakalis and Nicklas dreamed big, with aspirations for a Pool Nation conference. However, they started small, offering business finance classes for pool pros and hosting Pool Nation boot camps, one- to two-day events featuring hands-on classes and networking opportunities. 

“We wanted to do hands-on training, but we wanted to do it differently than what’s done in the industry,” De Jesus says. “We really wanted pool pros to show up and cut wires, strip wires and connect equipment — connect with real hands-on experience to duplicate what they would see out in the field.”

After a few years of hosting these events and getting feedback, the team was ready to take the next step.

“[Pool pros] wanted to be more profitable,” Chakalis says. “They face issues such as turnover, scaling and organizational efficiency, coupled with rising costs. So we created the business courses and the tracks for the Pool Nation Conference.”

In November, Pool Nation will host a three-day conference with the International Pool | Spa | Patio Expo in Dallas, Texas, offering hands-on education and adding technical, business and retail tracks. Rather than a list of classes to choose from, Pool Nation built a curriculum for each track, ensuring pros can build upon what they are learning. For example, the business track is structured around the employee life cycle, beginning with classes on building a team and hiring, followed by instruction on coaching, communication, branding, scaling, profitability and even exit planning.

This structured approach prevents scheduling conflicts and allows training to be broken into smaller sessions. To do things right, Pool Nation partnered with industry experts, including speakers from BioLab, the National Plasterers Council, AquaStar, Raypak, Poolside Tech and more. 

Pool Nation also partnered with Heritage for the Heritage Pool Pro Appreciation and the Pool Nation Business Summit. The Business Summit is modeled after the Apple Bar concept, designed specifically for pool professionals looking to elevate their business acumen. It will serve as a hub for business owners to connect, exchange ideas and gain valuable insights from industry leaders. Experts in business scaling, HR, hiring, training, marketing, branding, profitability, customer acquisition and more will be on hand to provide personalized guidance and strategies. Additionally, there will be food and giveaways, creating what Chakalis describes as “a Disneyland for the pool pros.”

The Pool Nation team can make this happen for pool pros because they’ve been in their shoes. 

“We’ve all been on the service side,” De Jesus says. “It’s easy for us to relate because we are pool pros. A lot of our success has to do with listening to our target audience — listening to the pool pros and what it is that they need. And then creating the things they need.”

De Jesus hopes pool pros take advantage of this event, reminding them that you can’t just work in your business; you have to work on your business. 

“People who are really successful are people who are constantly getting educated not just about how to service a pool but how to run a more profitable business,” he says. “You need to get out of your comfort zone. You need to take those financial or employment classes that you might feel afraid of.”

Pool Nation has worked hard to make the conference affordable for any pool pro, regardless of business size, and encourages people to bring their whole team. 

“Get your team to take some of these classes and see how big and amazing our industry is,” Chakalis says. “It’s easy to get into that mindset of being in the backyard every day and just doing pools, but when you get to take your employees to this education and to the show and see all the things it has to offer, it motivates a lot of people.”

At the end of the day, the team at Pool Nation wants to build a better industry, starting with individual pool pros. 

“Our goal is to get the tools and the resources to those brand-new pool pros so they can be successful,” De Jesus says. “Listen to every podcast, take every education course you can, go to every show. It’s not about competing. It’s about providing different experiences and networking and growth.”

Pool Nation Conference Education

Hands-on

BioLab Retail Track

Sunday, Nov. 10