We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Larry Parnell. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Larry below.
Larry, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about your team building process? How did you recruit and train your team and knowing what you know now would you have done anything differently?
First of all, thank you for the opportunity to share about Canyon Oak Pools and how our team developed. Although we conceptualized and opened Canyon Oak Pools, LLC in 2017, the next several years would be spent carefully laying the groundwork for the business and deciding who could help us get the initial pieces in place. April 8, 2022 was our official launch date. Canyon Oak Pools was really built by family and true friendship. We began with no employees – just me, my wife Susan, my brother-in-law David, and our longtime family friends Mike and Audrey Woodfin… along with a vision to deliver a beautiful product to our clients while ensuring they had a positive experience with the construction process. Behind the scenes, we had a few secret weapons. Austin Shover, our dear and trusted friend – who also happens to be an incredibly intelligent engineer and a wizard with mathematical formulas – made sure our product calculations were, and are, on point for every pool we sell. Matt Battle and Monica LeBansky, two other decade-long friends of Susan’s, built us a phenomenal website and set-up our social media accounts. Our first employee was Kristen Wilson – who is my right hand when it comes to keeping the job schedules on track. Kristen plays a huge role in our ability to complete projects quickly. Matter of fact, we recently finished two different projects in 31 calendar days – which is almost unheard of in the pool business. The start of any new venture is an exciting but scary time. Bringing on new team members and selecting which key specialty subcontractors we work with are decisions we don’t take lightly. The people we choose to work with must operate with integrity and intuitively understand how to treat our clients. Ethics and morals are of paramount importance to us. I wouldn’t change a thing.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Of course, I’d be happy to tell you a little bit about me. Susan and I live in wonderful Blue Ridge, TX (population 1,200) where we have the most supportive neighbors and church community. Our daughters have both recently graduated college and are gainfully employed (every parent’s dream!) Katherine works at BDO as financial auditor and Alex is in the Executive Management Program for Macy’s department stores. In the early 90’s, I read a classified ad in the San Antonio Express News that said, “Sell pools, have fun!” I called the number, interviewed, got the job, and the rest is history. Almost 30 years later, I am having more fun than I ever could have imagined. That’s not to say many of those years weren’t fraught with difficulties, but experience with those situations is what sets me apart from other builders today. Our collective goal at Canyon Oak Pools is to make sure that every client that chooses to build their pool with us will leave the process with a true sense that they matter to us…. because they do. We do all types of custom residential pools, outdoor living projects, and commercial jobs. We recently completed a pool remodel project at the DFW Hyatt hotel.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Well, all the credit in this area goes to Monica. Monica is a social media guru of sorts. She takes a very authentic, organic approach to building an online presence. Susan runs around all the job sites taking project pictures and videos. Monica then uses that footage to tell a visual story of what Canyon Oak Pools is doing on a near-daily basis. Clients, their friends, and family can follow along with the build process and usually see a video wrap-up once the project is finalized. I know social media is a lot of work behind the scenes, but Monica sure does make it look easy. Monica is another example of us only having the tightest-knit group of people along for the ride with us. Her genuine care and love for us and Canyon Oak Pools comes through in each post. We are beyond grateful to have her on our team.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
Hands down the best source of new clients for us is referrals from our current and past clients. Once we finish the build, we deploy our final secret weapon, Ryan Curtis, to get the pool up and running. Ryan is the professor of pool chemistry and all things equipment related. Ryan dots all the I’s and crosses all the T’s to finalize the build and ensure the homeowners can confidently operate their new pool. Ryan’s knowledge is the cherry on top of every beautiful pool project we complete. When we deliver what we promise and communicate effectively with our homeowners throughout the process, they are usually more than willing to share their experience with neighbors and friends that might be considering purchasing a pool. We have been blessed beyond measure thus far. We are working hard every day to make sure every homeowner gets a spectacular product in a good timeframe at a fair price. As far as the growth of our company goes… God is handling that, and His pace is perfect.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.canyonoakpools.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/canyonoakpools/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/canyonoakpools
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larry-parnell-263951223/
- Other: https://www.bbb.org/us/tx/mckinney/profile/swimming-pools/canyon-oak-pools-llc-0875-91307524 https://www.linkedin.com/company/canyon-oak-pools/