Getting involved
There was a time in the pool and spa industry when a majority of firms applied certain sets of standard factors to come up with prices. For example, charging a standard cost for a certain square footage of pool-surface area, deck or landscaping. It can be argued this approach is now obsolete. Not only is it ultimately the lazy way to go, it does a disservice to the work and the workers. In today’s market, especially in custom work, ‘ballparking’ a price can never accurately reflect both the true costs and appropriate profit margin for a given project.
There are several different formulas pool and spa professionals can use to calculate a final selling price. Whatever method one chooses, the key is to consider the full cost of what is being done for the client and how much the builder wants to make. When costing and pricing are based on hard data and confirmed with real numbers, pool and spa professionals can approach the often grueling challenges of the business with an increased sense of tranquility.
Brian Van Bower has more than 40 years of professional experience in the swimming pool and spa industry. He is president of Aquatic Consultants Inc., a Miami, Fla.-based international consulting/design firm specializing in upscale and unusual pool and waterscape designs. Van Bower is also president and co-founder of Genesis 3 Design Group, an international company specializing in instructional and educational schooling for those involved in the design, engineering and construction of swimming pools, spas, water features and outdoor living areas. He has won more than 100 industry design awards and his work has been featured in many national periodicals, magazines and television shows including Bob Vila’s Home Again, CNN News, NBC News and CBS News Sunday Morning Show. In addition to being a featured speaker at the International Pool Spa Patio Expo each year in Las Vegas, Nev., he has also done speaking engagements at the Canadian Pool & Spa Conference & Expo, as well as various international shows in Australia, France, Germany and Indonesia. He can be reached via e-mail at bvanbower@aol.com. For more information, visit www.aquaticconsultantsinc.com.
