The first step in launching a successful enterprise is identifying a gap in the market, and for Aussie entrepreneur and Poolwerx founder John O’Brien, that meant seeking the disorganised.

In the early 90s, O’Brien travelled to California, in search of a service industry that offered high gross margins and strong growth potential but lacked the infrastructure to scale. Upon noticing the wealth of man-in-a-van swimming pool maintenance operators, the eagle-eyed entrepreneur knew he had found his business.

Since then, O’Brien has built Poolwerx into a global powerhouse, with more than 350 franchises operating across Australia, New Zealand and the US. The structured model allows new franchise entrants and existing independent operators looking to transition, to efficiently launch a world-class swimming pool maintenance business.

The Poolwerx model

The secret to Poolwerx’s success is in the formulated systems that provide a stable platform for franchisees to scale their business.

O’Brien said introducing a premium monthly service, backed with industry-leading technology and equipment had been critical to improving the profitability of Poolwerx franchise partners.

“We’ve changed the whole economic model for the pool industry,” O’Brien said.

The technology upgrade has not only boosted franchisees, but the public also. Poolwerx said the greater reliance on equipment automation had helped its customers to cut energy use in their pools by two-thirds, in addition to halving a pool’s chemical consumption.

The consistent approach to innovation and evolution has served as the hallmark for success, with Poolwerx founder John O’Brien revealing the latest initiative set to boost franchisees.

New platform

With network growth continually on the uptake, O’Brien and the Poolwerx team identified the need to bolster support from an accounting and financial standpoint.

A lengthy process led the team to cloud-based software package Oracle Suite, which offers a specialised franchise module.

O’Brien said the platform significantly improves an owner’s visibility over operations,  thanks to an immersive dashboard that tracks each franchisee’s retail, finance and service performance.

“We’re able to help build our franchise partners’ – whether they’re a young entrepreneur starting out, or a family business looking for an exit,” O’Brien said in an interview with Forbes.

“All of our franchise partners can log into their accounts and see their own average transaction value at any time, and then use those figures to forecast sales targets or calculate bonuses.”

According to the Poolwerx founder, real-time data was pivotal in helping the brand achieve revenue growth of 14 per cent in 2018.

As expansion across the US, Australia and New Zealand continues, O’Brien is confident Poolwerx has all the tools in place to help franchisees achieve their business goals. If there is one thing that can be assured however, is that the Aussie icon will never rest on its laurels.

If you want to join an industry-leading franchise with a forward thinking approach to business, visit https://www.franchisebusiness.com.au/brands/poolwerx/ and make an enquiry.