E-315 Pool Nation Podcast - How to Build a Pool Business That Does It All | Hot Springs Pools & PoolGoods.com

In episode 314 of the Pool Nation Podcast, Edgar De Jesus and Ryan Morson sit down with Jake Riggs and Stuart Lockhart of Hot Springs Pools & Spas and PoolGoods.com for a powerful conversation about building and scaling a swimming pool business, family-business succession, pool construction, service, retail, e-commerce, marketing, AI, leadership, and creating opportunities for the next generation.

Hot Springs Pools & Spas started in 1989 with Jake's father and uncle and has grown from selling hot tubs into a business spanning nearly every vertical of the pool industry. Today, the company has four locations with a fifth on the way, more than 100 employees, builds approximately 400 pools per year, and operates PoolGoods.com, an e-commerce platform shipping to 48 states. Today Hot Springs Pools & Spas has locations in Greenville, SC, Charleston, SC, Franklin, NC, and Arden, NC (Asheville area).

Jake and Stuart share how they're taking the foundation the previous generation built and combining it with new technology, better marketing, e-commerce, data, content, and new ways of thinking about the customer experience.

One of the biggest conversations in this episode is about the changing way customers find pool companies. Stuart shares how Hot Springs tracks marketing attribution across Facebook, Instagram, Google and other channels, and reveals that customers are already discovering the company through ChatGPT and other AI platforms, including a customer who purchased an approximately $25,000 hot tub after finding them through ChatGPT.

This episode is about more than growth. It's about building a business that creates opportunities for employees, serves customers for the entire life of their pool, and leaves something stronger for the generation that comes next.

IN THIS EPISODE

00:01:00 – Meet Jake Riggs & Stuart Lockhart and the Hot Springs Pools & Spas story

00:07:00 – Jake's journey from growing up in the family business to building his own path

00:10:00 – Stuart's path from commercial and residential sales to retail, service and marketing

00:12:00 – How PoolGoods.com was born and why convenience changed their strategy

00:15:00 – Building multiple pool business verticals: construction, service, retail and e-commerce

00:20:00 – Content, SEO, AI and why pool companies can't assume customers know who they are