Keith Zars has been building pools for over 30 years. Since the early 1990s, the veteran pool-builder in San Antonio has built his company into one of the top pool construction firms in the industry. The award-winning pool company that bears his title, Keith Zars pools has been a constant in high-quality pool building in the Alamo City.
Keith Zars was recently interviewed on the Pool Magazine Podcast. We discussed what made them successful, and took a look at their most recent beautiful backyard custom pools which have already started turning heads on social networks.
Pool Magazine Q&A with Keith Zars
PM: Keith – Your business in San Antonio has been thriving since 1985?
KZ: KZ (Keith Zars), yes, that’s right. It wasn’t as strong in 1985, but now it is.
PM – What inspired you to launch your pool business and how did you start?
KZ: Since I was a young child, I have been working in the industry. Gary Pools was started by my mom, and I worked for them until 1985. So I have been in the pool industry for a long time.
PM: Over the years you’ve overcome many obstacles to become one of the best builders in your area. What are the biggest challenges that you have faced as a pool business owner?
KZ: My biggest challenge is to hire people who share the same culture as our company. It’s difficult to indoctrinate people, especially when you hire at the top end. That’s what I am trying to do. I am 78 and trying to pass on the torch in as many ways as I can.
PM: Are you looking for people with the right experience or heart conditions?
KZ: Experience is good, but we have three landscape architects who work full-time and do the majority of the design. What’s most important to me is that they have a positive outlook and are willing to help others. It’s teamwork. We are looking for salespeople with great ability.
How has pool design changed since 1985? How does your company stay on top of the latest design trends?
KZ: I try to get out of the industry. I always look at home magazines, and other things like that. Look at new styles of home construction. You can also look at the pools being built but, I think I get more ideas from other people than the pool industry.
Traveling is good because you can see how different things are made in other parts of the nation. Your various lifestyle magazines are what I look at most, as they inspire my design process.
PM: Keith Zars has become the leading name in San Antonio. What advice would give someone just starting out a pool business in 2023?
KZ: Focus on a specific type of product and market. You should start small. You can’t please everyone, so you have to identify your strengths. It’s crucial to know your strengths, what you are selling and how you present yourself.
Cash flow and other factors make it difficult to grow more than 10% per year. You do not want to overextend yourself, but you also need to be in control of your business.
PM : Does it take a different approach to be a luxury builder compared to a pool builder who produces?
KZ: I believe that is somewhat true. It’s not wrong to be a producer. By building a brand on a product that is mass produced, they are trying to control the costs, the quality and other things. Our vision is slightly different. Although we’re in a higher-end market you have to follow the same procedures to reach your goal.
PM: Tell us about the other factors that you believe set you apart from your competitors.
KZ: For one thing, I’d say we have, like, five hundred and twenty-five employees. You can’t expect high-quality work and pay attention to details if you have different subcontractors. When you run it in-house, like we do it, you can achieve it much better. You want to train your crews to know what is expected of them and to perform. We’re obligated to deliver a high standard of service because my customers know what they can expect.
PM: What are your methods for ensuring customer satisfaction during the entire pool building process?
KZ: You wouldn’t believe it, but our payment schedule is the main reason for this. We won’t collect your final payment until you are 100% satisfied. This puts the onus of proof back onto us, as a business. We are aware that we must perform in order to meet the expectations of our customers.
PM: You’ve definitely established yourself as the go-to person for high-end, custom luxury pools in San Antonio. We’ve seen some sneak peeks at one of your most recent projects, and the pictures look amazing. What can you tell about this pool for us?
KZ: The pool was complex, but we wanted to make it look simple, so that it would reflect the landscape and vision of the owner. This pool looks more like an art piece. Although it’s not the most practical pool, we did what our client wanted.
We tried to maintain the existing landscaping as much as we could. The pool is located right next to the Pedernales river. The pool is like a jewel in the middle the Hill Country.
The vanishing edges all around were beautiful and had a lovely reflective quality. You had a spillover on one side. There was a vanishing-edge and a trough all around, with the spillway at the other end.
Keith Zars Pools
| Photo Credits:
Jimi Smith Photography
I like the way that we managed to keep the view as well as the house. We tried to blend the feeling of the house with the architecture of pool. I thought we did an excellent job.
Listen to the entire conversation we had with Keith Zars in the Pool Magazine Podcast.
The post Keith Zars One on One With Pool Magazine first appeared on PoolMagazine.com. Get the Latest Pool News.