A POOL CLEANING PROFESSIONALS JOURNEY
Hello, and thank you for taking the time to read the Aquablog. Your one stop site to find all things swimming pool related. I'm really exited to start this project and I hope you will get value from my professional endeavors in the pool cleaning/ maintenance field. In this post you can learn about my Pool Cleaning Professional Journey and how it has lead me to write the Aquablog in order to help pool owners and new technicians on their own journey in this practice. But I would like to tell you a little about myself and my business.
My name is Rhett Blackwell. I’m 37 years old and grew up in the high desert area of Southern California. Since the age of 19, I’ve always worked in Blue Collar trades ranging from my first job in a major Aerospace fastener company to various construction and installation trades. I exceled in most of the fields I worked in, most of them, but with constant market fluctuations, I usually found myself without a consistent amount of work to sustain. Eventually, I began working for a leading Swimming pool service company and I began my Pool Cleaning Professional journey.
For two years, I struggled to learn this trade, having very stressful failures both pool related and in my personal finances and life. But with the support of my Spouse, my parents and inlaws, I was able to rise to the daily challenges and eventually became a Certified Swimming Pool Maintenance Technician in Los Angeles County. Each day I worked, I had my eye on learning this ever-changing trade and intended to go into business for myself when the time was right. It’s within this landscape that I eventually created my first, and so far, my only company with the blessing and support of my former employer.
I began this company in North Hollywood, Ca in late 2014 after learning everything I could from seasoned professionals. When I struck out on my own, and eventually moved back to Lancaster, Ca, I had enough expertise to keep my pools clean, but have found over and over again that there is always more to learn, and keeping my current skill set sharp is just as important. Part of my blogging goals here are to reevaluate and correct my assumptions and understanding of this trade so that I may constantly improve and learn more.
Around the same time I started my business, I was blessed with my first born son in late 2015. This came as an early Christmas present as he was 1 month pre mature due to my spouse having ," Placenta Previa " throughout most of her pregnancy, a condition that is life threatening to both mother and child and must be monitored. After 3 major in stay hospital visits due to this medical condition, we suddenly found ourselves staring into the eyes of our first, and so far, only child. Theres at least on picture of him on the main Aquadoc website. But I digress, lets get back to pool stuff.
After nearly 3 years of running Aquadoc Pool & Spa Care, as the owner/ operator, I have faced a myriad of hurdles, as any small business owner would. From mistakes, underpricing, general burnout from working 50 to 60 hours per week in the field, negative customers, etc., I've faced my share of defeats and accomplishments. As I've only done hands on work, I had zero clue what administrative tasks were, let alone how to do them. Fortunately, my spouse has a solid working background in record keeping, billing and tax requirements. When she's not handling these administrative tasks for me or running her own Forwarded By Amazon business, she's helping teach me these fundamental basic skills. I certainly plan to blog about the challenges we have faced as business owners and hope to inspire and teach those interested in maybe one day having their own start up through this project.
Ultimately, the primary goal of writing this blog is to help convey the acquired knowledge I’ve gained over my nearly 5 years in the pool/spa maintenance industry to you, the reader, with a sharp focus on giving you a clear understanding of the subjects I plan to discuss and getting you answers to the questions you may have.
I’ve looked at a few pool forums and found them very confusing, especially when it came to technical knowledge. The problem I’ve uncovered is that many of the answers given in these forums are expressed in a way that only a pool professional would understand. The fact that the contributors choose to write far above the heads of your average pool owner is both disheartening, and ineffective at helping people solve their pool issues. I know we can do a better job, and that’s why I’m here.
I want to tackle every subject I’ve dealt with over the course of my career as well as the challenges I've faced as a small business owner in this field. I’m also going to review products I use, ranging from water test kits to pool pumps and everything in between. It’s my sincere hope that the Aquablog becomes a valuable resource that you will return to each time you run into an issue. Pools and spas are seldom easy to deal with, so me lending a hand with this blog is my way of paying it forward to all the people and resources that’ve helped me advance in my pool professional journey and helping alleviate many of the frustrations that come with owning and maintaining a swimming pool or spa.
Whether you’re a DIY pool owner or a new service technician just getting their feet wet,(pun intended), I want you to get the most from the Aquablog. Thank you for taking the time to read about me and my Pool Cleaning Professional Journey. Please contact me if you have any suggestions on topics you would like for me to cover, or if you simply have a question.
Thanks,
Rhett Blackwell
Aquadoc Pool & Spa Care, LLC
