How to open a swimming pool in your city. Business with large investments

Alexander Kaptsov

Reading time: 6 minutes

A A

Opening a swimming pool is a business idea that many entrepreneurs take up. As for its variety - the creation of a children's pool for visitors from 0 to 7 years old, then, on the one hand, it is promising, but on the other, it raises many questions. What are the nuances of such an enterprise? How profitable is it? What permits are required? Read in this article.

Swimming pool for kids - business features

Before you begin the process of organizing a children's pool, you should take into account several significant features of this business:

Firstly , working with children will require highly qualified instructors and trainers.
Secondly , it is advisable to have a pediatrician on staff who will monitor the health of the children and determine whether the load is sufficient for them.
Third , the pool works effectively when organized at a kindergarten or fitness center for adults (in the second case, parents can leave their kids for classes during their workouts).
Fourth , the cost of classes is determined depending on the time they are held, the type and duration of the sessions.

Important point: In the children's pool you can conduct both group and individual lessons (the latter at a higher cost).

Choosing a building for a children's pool

What are the ideal places to place a children's pool? Previously mentioned proximity or . However, is there a building in the surrounding space that meets the necessary parameters?

Essentially, there are three ways to get a structure for organizing a swimming pool for kids:

Build from scratch . This option is fraught with huge costs.
Rent a non-residential building . Finding one in a given place can be extremely difficult.
Rent a room in a fitness center . The most acceptable option is provided that the space here is properly equipped.

Important point: When renting a non-residential building or premises in a fitness center, it is important to clarify the issues of water supply, drainage, heating and ventilation, so as not to face serious costs in the future.

What equipment will be required?

Specialized organizations should be involved in the installation of the pool, which can monitor the issues of water drainage and filtration, the thickness of the walls and the depth of the bowl of the water tank. However, this is not the only acquisition for the future business.

For the full operation of the children's pool you will also need:

Efficient heating and ventilation system.
Paths, bedside tables and slides for the start.
Lockers for things, benches.
Administrator's desk.
Auxiliary devices for swimming - cylinders, wings, etc.

Important point: Particular attention should be paid to water purification. Since we are talking about sensitive children's skin, it is best to do this not by chlorination, but by ozonation.

Children's pool staff - number and composition

To operate even a small swimming pool for children, a fairly expanded staff will be required, namely:

2-5 instructors.
1-2 technical specialists.
Medical worker.
Cleaning woman.
Administrator.
Security guard.

At first, the responsibilities of a manager, accountant, and marketer can be assumed by the business owner himself.

Business registration and permits

Once the premises for the pool have been selected and equipped, it’s time to think about legalizing the business.

To do this you will need:

Register with the Federal Tax Service as an individual entrepreneur.
Obtain permission to operate from the regional committee for urban planning and architecture.
Submit certificates to the SES and fire service.

Important point: You should be prepared to be strict in your inspections since this is a toddler pool. Controlling authorities can check the composition and temperature of the water, the depth of the bowl, and the availability of auxiliary equipment.

Business promotion is the key to its success

Advertising of a children's pool can be carried out in kindergartens, developmental children's centers, medical institutions, sports clubs for adults, as well as through active activities on social networks and on forums for young mothers.

Important point: On the basis of the pool you can organize trade in swimming accessories, provide medical consultations, and massage services for children. However, these types of activities require special permits from regulatory authorities.

Financial plan for creating a children's pool - income and expenses

To organize a swimming pool for children 0-7 years old, you will need to incur the following types of costs:

Rent of premises – 80,000-100,000 rubles per month.
Purchase and installation of equipment – 2.5-3 million rubles.
Renovation of the premises - 250,000-300,000 rubles.
Personnel costs – 300,000 rubles.
Advertising events – 50,000 rubles per month (including expenses for maintaining your own website).
Registering a business and obtaining permits.

The total cost of creating a children's pool can be 3.5-4 million rubles. If the minimum bill for group lessons lasting 1 hour is 500 rubles, and for individual lessons - 700 rubles, then the payback of the business will be achieved in 1-1.5 years. The profitability of the project in this situation is about 18-20%.

All parents want their children to grow up healthy, strong, and active. For this purpose, there are various sports sections where mothers and fathers are happy to bring their kids. However, not all children want to engage in any particular sport, be it karate or dancing.

But everyone loves to swim! This is useful for general strengthening of the body, for the respiratory system, and for developing strength and endurance. And swimming is a very fun and active pastime. Therefore, swimming pools for children are in great demand among both adults and children. However, the offer in this segment is not so great compared to the same dance clubs. Well, this is something for budding entrepreneurs to think about.

Draw up a business plan for a children's pool that will operate in your city, calculating approximate costs and expected profits. You will see that this business is very profitable and is simply doomed to success. If you are interested in the idea, then read on to find out what you need to open a private pool for children.

Before starting work

First you need to decide how to open a children's pool - as a full-fledged independent complex or as an addition to an existing fitness center. In the latter case, the convenience lies in the fact that parents attending classes at a sports club will be able to bring their children with them. Kids will swim under the supervision of an instructor while adults sweat in the gym. For many, this is a huge time saver and an opportunity to solve the eternal problem of “who to leave the child with.”

However, a free-standing pool will also be in demand, since in most Russian cities the need for it is at least twice as high as the supply. The choice in this case depends on the ability to find a suitable location.

Things to consider

When drawing up a business plan for a swimming pool for children, it is important to clearly define the following points:

1. Find a room that meets all the criteria.

2. Purchase the necessary equipment.

3. Carry out internal repairs and installation of the pool bowl.

4. Hire qualified personnel.

5. Obtain the necessary permits.

There is a lot of work. Before opening a pool, you will need to invest a lot of time and effort, especially in implementing the last of the above points. However, the waste of labor and financial resources will pay off in full when the complex opens and begins to fully function. And you can advertise the project already at the initial stage, so that from the first day of work your pool will be filled with happy children.

Looking for a place

There are several options for placing a pool. Before starting the search, you need to decide on the approximate area of the complex. On average, the size of the room should be at least 1.5-2 thousand square meters. How can you get it?

1. Rent from a large fitness center.

2. Buy or rent a non-residential building and modernize it.

3. Build it yourself.

Opening a pool from scratch is the most difficult thing; it will require quite serious financial investments and a building permit. For construction, there are ready-made projects for physical education and recreation pools, which can be purchased to order. It should be taken into account that the immediate opening of the complex will have to wait a long time. Construction work can take up to 6-10 months or more.

Once the issue with the premises has been resolved, it is necessary to move on to work on its arrangement. Next, we will look at what this kind of physical education complex must include.

We equip the pool according to all the rules

Include in your children's pool business plan a detailed calculation of the costs of construction, repair and installation work. This article is very significant and requires a particularly careful approach. Each pool, both for children and any other, must have a high-quality water filtration system, heating it to a certain temperature, and the bowl itself. The cost of the latter depends on a number of factors:

size (the most popular options are 20-25 meters long; for sports purposes they can reach 50 meters);
quality and wall thickness;
waterproofing system;
manufacturer.

A medium-sized bowl (25*8*15) with heating and a filtration system will cost about two million rubles. In addition, dividing paths, lighting, and starting tables may be needed. Sometimes swimming pools are additionally equipped with various water slides - this is a pleasure for children, which, however, can distract them from classes with an instructor. Whether to install them or not depends on the focus of your complex (entertainment or sports).

Before opening a children's pool, you must ensure that all measures have been taken to ensure the safety and health of children. Here it is worth considering one important point regarding the water purification system. It is better to refuse chlorination by choosing a more modern and safer method - ozonation. It does not harm the skin, which will certainly appeal to caring parents.

We are hiring employees

The business plan for a children's pool should include the search for responsible and qualified employees: both those who will be in direct contact with children (coaches, instructors) and specialists who monitor the uninterrupted operation of the equipment, water quality, and maintaining order in the complex. The minimum staff composition looks like this:

1-2 administrators;
swimming coach and group lesson instructor (2-4 people);
cleaner, cloakroom attendant, security guard;
technician and nurse;
director and accountant.

They can work one shift or two depending on the pool schedule and workload for the day.

Recently, a healthy lifestyle and everything that is directly related to it has become very popular. Therefore, investment projects related to the development of various sports and the construction of sports facilities are quite relevant areas of business. Since this area has not been given due attention for a very long time, the country has developed a shortage of services from similar institutions that have a modern design and the necessary new sports equipment. These include swimming pools.

By preparing a competent business plan for a swimming pool, you can launch a fairly profitable project. The implementation of this idea will make it possible to create a sports and entertainment complex, on the basis of which consumers will be offered the following services:

health group;
sports training;
water games;
water aerobics.

If the establishment is successful, clients can be offered a sauna, massage, manicure and pedicure as additional services.

Main stages of the project implementation

I would like to immediately focus on the cost of building a swimming pool - the project is considered expensive and requires serious investment. Thus, a large modern swimming complex will cost a businessman $2-3 million.

Therefore, it is better to calculate a business plan-pool of this size for large cities, where the invested funds will pay off. As for regional centers, there is no point in launching serious construction here, since there is a risk of non-return of the invested funds. In such cities, it is better to build medium or small pools, which will cost $70-100 thousand.

According to experts, the payback for this business is about 3 years and is considered a medium-term investment.

A business plan for such facilities should consist of the following points:

market research;
business registration;
choice of location;
construction of the facility;
equipment;
staff;
marketing policy.

The first stage of opening a swimming pool is to research the market for such services; after a satisfactory result, you need to select a place for construction or rent a room of suitable size. The best option would be to purchase land and start construction, since such a project requires large investments, and starting it in a rented premises is too big a risk.

Return to contents

Construction and registration of the object

Since the pool is a service of mass consumption with periodic visits, suitable locations would be places near which there are many potential consumers, or the central part of the city. It would be a good idea to offer such services in residential areas where there is a large concentration of young families, since this is where there is a shortage of such establishments. Having decided on the premises, you should pay attention to the availability of access roads to it and the proximity of city routes.

To build such a facility, you need 50 acres of land and at least 3 years. You can reduce construction work by using a standard design for swimming pools. Such a ready-made complex is ordered in disassembled form. Its installation will take from 1 to 1.5 years and will cost much less than building from scratch - about $1-1.5 million.

Before starting the installation of the facility, it is necessary to lay out external networks and utilities, which includes in this process the installation of roads according to the project, the supply of pipelines to the site and their further distribution. The cost of such work is about 1 million rubles. The most optimal size of an artificial reservoir is considered to be a bowl with a depth of 1.5 m and three paths, the length of which is 25 m. Its cost, together with a filtration and heating system, is about $40 thousand. Facing work (tiles, mosaics, PVC film) will cost $ 100 per 1 m².

In addition to the above equipment, the pool will need lighting, dividing paths and starting stands. It is extremely important to stop chlorinating water, which will require the purchase of special equipment. The total cost of such equipment will cost at least $30 thousand. If you plan to additionally equip the pool with a sauna or bathhouse, you will need another $3 thousand.

To put the facility into operation, it is necessary to obtain permits from the SES and Gospozhnadzor. In addition, without concluding agreements with suppliers of water, electricity and heat, it will not be possible to open a swimming complex.

Good physical fitness, a toned figure and good health in general are all the result of regular swimming lessons. Indeed, this sport is actively gaining popularity among residents of large cities, who have the opportunity to visit swimming pools by purchasing a monthly subscription there. Some people are even prescribed swimming lessons by doctors, for example, to strengthen the vestibular system or work out certain muscle groups, and it works. In this article we will look at a business plan for opening a swimming pool, and indicate the main points that you will need to consider at the start.

Format and some business nuances

The first thing you need to understand is that investments in this business actually start from $100,000 and above. This is primarily due to the need for expensive construction and repairs with the supply of all communications and equipment. Thus, you must have a solid initial capital on hand or look for investors. This kind of business is not suitable for beginners, as there are a lot of risks, and you need to be able to attract clients, work with construction teams and understand all technical issues. All this is difficult, expensive and risky. But the popularization of this sport and the future prospects of this business attract experienced entrepreneurs who are ready to invest money in new complex projects.

The current situation is such that the demand for the services of complexes with swimming pools exceeds supply. Consumers have problems choosing a place to sail; there is no way to compare prices and service. If this is a provincial town, then there is only one way to visit the pool - this is to go to the nearest metropolis, which, by the way, is what many do. This situation in the market for these services forces entrepreneurs to still consider this area of activity for investment.

The next aspect is the target audience. This can include both young people, of whom there will be a majority, and the older generation who wants to keep their body in good shape. If you are considering a swimming pool as a business, then be sure to consider the paths for children, since it is known that parents do not skimp on the health of their children, and first of all they will sign up their child for the pool, and only then themselves. This niche can bring good income, which can reach 60% of the entire complex.

Well, where would we be without seasonality? Before you open a pool, you need to be prepared for the fact that in the summer the attendance of such complexes drops, but throughout the rest of the year, especially in cold weather, you will receive maximum income.

Documentation

In order for your business pool project to be complete, you first need to know about the documentation.

Here's what you'll need first:

open an individual entrepreneur or LLC.
indicate OKVED for the activity. For Russia it is 93. For Ukraine it is 93.11.
enter into a purchase and sale agreement for the premises and the land underneath.
recruit staff.
workers must have medical records.
obtain a work permit from the SES and fire service.
have quality certificates for the equipment and household chemicals used for cleaning and preventing the pool.

You are planning to invest serious money in opening a public swimming pool business, so we recommend contacting an experienced lawyer for advice on this issue. This way, you will be able to avoid fines in the future.

List of services

Even before choosing a room and searching for the necessary equipment, you need to decide on the list of services that you plan to provide in your complex.

Among the most popular destinations are:

aerobics in water.
sports training. This could include those who want to learn swimming techniques and professional athletes.
water games.
recreational activities for people recovering from injuries, pensioners, pregnant women and mothers with babies.

In the future, by attracting specialists, you will be able to organize a massage room, sauna or gym on the basis of your complex.

In the summer season, if the area allows, you can organize an outdoor pool and thus distinguish your business from competitors.

Children's swimming pool

I would like to place special emphasis on these target visitors to your complex. Many parents now bring their children to classes, including infants, from a very early age.

One of the main technical features of opening a swimming pool for children is its depth, which is usually less. Water purification should not be carried out using bleach-based products; this substance causes allergies in some children; it is better to purify water by ozonation; there are appropriate installations for this.

Decorating a pool with slides and inflatable water figures will decorate the activities themselves, and children will be happy to come to you again and again.

Experienced specialists who can create a swimming pool program for children and answer all the parents’ questions must be present on your staff. Parents go for the service and must be sure that experienced trainers are working with their children.

We have described the main points of opening a children's pool, but to study this issue in detail, you can search the Internet to see how such complexes organize all processes and decorate the premises itself.

Location and premises

You need to start implementing your business idea by finding or building a suitable size room for a swimming pool. In general, it is advisable to look for premises of 500 sq.m. You choose the size of the pool at your discretion. The most common format of pools is 25 meters long and 1.5 meters deep with three swimming lanes. They are standard and many developer companies already have experience in implementing such structures.

Next, it’s worth considering the construction and design of the bowl of the future pool. An average-sized bowl 25 meters long and 8 meters wide will cost about 50 thousand dollars. The price includes a cleaning system and a water heating system. Lighting, facing tiles and dividing paths are purchased separately. It is worth noting that the cladding will cost you another 7-10 thousand dollars.

In addition to the costs of the construction itself, you must go through the procedure of obtaining construction permits from the SES. In addition, it is necessary to conclude agreements on sewerage, energy networks and water supply. It is advisable to consult with inspection services before starting work and include their requirements in the construction project.

Don't forget about the ventilation and heating system. They must be implemented at a high level, since your premises will have high humidity and an appropriate microclimate must be maintained.

To find a suitable space option, you need to either buy an old building and carry out a major renovation, or build from scratch, which will require more significant cash costs at the start of the project and accordingly increase the return on investment.

The location should also be calculated, focusing on the target audience. If this is a large city, then you can look for options in residential areas where many young people live. If it is a small town, then you need to look for offers closer to the center.

Pool equipment

The second cost item that you need to include in the budget for launching your complex is the selection and purchase of equipment.

List of what you will need:

water filtration and purification system.
water heating and room heating system.
lighting.
pumps.
dehumidifiers. To ensure a comfortable indoor climate.
water vacuum cleaners.
rubber stairs, etc.

You will also need furniture: benches, lockers, staff workstations.

Include equipment for organizing bathrooms and showers. To maintain statistics and produce subscriptions, you will need computer equipment.

Staff

The next step towards building a business plan for a private swimming pool will be finding qualified personnel. The number of employees will depend on the size of your future complex. To maintain a small swimming pool, you will need a manager and an accountant, a medical worker and an administrator, cleaners, several instructors and swimming coaches. Gradually, as you develop, you will hire additional employees.

If you plan to provide rehabilitation swimming services, you will need doctors and a license to practice medicine. What is the essence of this service? You hire professional instructors who will help people restore their musculoskeletal system after accidents or serious injuries.

Advertising

To attract your first customers, you will need to budget for marketing campaigns. These can be standard methods of distributing leaflets, banners around the city and announcements in the media. But you can also use a more interesting approach: discounts and promotions for first visitors on subscriptions, excursions and trial classes.

It wouldn’t hurt to create a website with photos, a list of services and prices, as well as full contact information and a map of the location of your pool.

How much money is needed?

Building a swimming pool is a complex and quite expensive undertaking. Let's look at how much it costs to start a business in this niche. Opening a complex consisting of several swimming pools will cost you 1-2 million dollars, while creating a small hall with several swimming lanes will cost 70-100 thousand dollars. At the same time, keep in mind that a large complex should be opened only in cities with a population of over a million people, such as Moscow or Kyiv, and it makes no sense to invest in this business in small provincial cities, since your investment may not pay off. After all, such a business does not bring in quick and easy money; the average payback for a pool is 3–4 years.

How much can you earn?

Swimming pools in large cities are open 8–9 hours 270 days a year. The rest is weekends and sanitary days. Such a complex can be visited by about 250 – 300 people per day.

Business profitability is 10% – 30%.

Payback period is on average 3 – 5 years.

Conclusions. Opening a swimming pool in your city is a business that requires large financial investments, which go towards the purchase of a building, repairs and equipment. The demand for services is high, but the conditions for servicing this business as a whole are difficult. We recommend starting such a business only for experienced entrepreneurs.

Do you have experience in this market segment? We look forward to your feedback below.

Providing paid services in the entertainment sector is considered a risky, but very profitable business. If an entrepreneur manages to guess the wishes of clients, then the demand for such an offer remains stable.

During the hot summer season, an outdoor swimming pool as a business can become a completely successful project. We propose to evaluate the potential pros and cons of this business idea, as well as draw up a rough plan for its implementation.

Swimming pool as a way to earn money

What does it take to make money running a swimming pool? Not as little as it initially seems:

develop and offer clients various health and/or entertainment programs;
draw up a business strategy;
create a high-quality material base for providing services and doing business.

Obviously, opening a summer pool and using it only as a place where you can cool off and sunbathe is the minimum that an entrepreneur can offer clients. If you approach the operation of an outdoor pool more creatively, then on the surface you can discover a number of additional sources of income that will make your business more efficient.

Based on the existing swimming pool, it is possible to provide the following services:

rental of gaming and auxiliary equipment;
minibar contents;
conducting training and health courses.

If everything is simple with the issues of renting equipment and the functioning of a mini-bar: it is enough to plan the costs of developing these areas of activity, then educational and health work with different groups of clients raises a number of questions for a novice entrepreneur.

For example, how to correctly divide visitors into groups? The best option is based on age. Until five o'clock in the evening the pool is open as a children's pool, from seven to eleven o'clock in the evening the pool is open for adults.

Is it possible to ensure safe operation of a swimming pool for visitors of different age categories? Different service standards are required for children and adults.

For example, before opening a swimming pool for infants, an entrepreneur needs to take care of maintaining the required temperature in the bowl and thoroughly filtering all the water mass. It is equally important to think through and create an infrastructure for mothers and ensure the presence of a pediatrician.

Before opening a pool for older children, you need to create safe and comfortable conditions for young visitors and accompanying parents, provide it with all the necessary equipment: starting tables, water slides, lighting, etc.

Attention! If you plan to open a children's pool exclusively, consider renting space from an existing fitness center, gym or sports complex. So, already at the start you will gain a fairly wide client base. Many parents don’t mind spending time training while their child works with an instructor in the pool.

Having outlined a rough concept for the operation of the pool, you can begin to open a business.

The World of Business website team recommends that all readers take the Lazy Investor Course, where you will learn how to put things in order in your personal finances and learn how to earn passive income. No enticements, only high-quality information from a practicing investor (from real estate to cryptocurrency). The first week of training is free! Registration for a free week of training

Opening a business

Providing services for using a swimming pool is a simple business in terms of organization.

Due to the fact that any commercial activity can be legal only after state registration, there is no point in considering a swimming pool as a business without obtaining the status of an economic entity from the Federal Tax Service.

At the stage of preparation for registration, it is important to know. The choice of organizational and legal form for a future enterprise depends on the conditions in which the business is opened and what the strategy for its development is.

if the pool is organized by several founders, the optimal form of the future enterprise is LLC;
if it is planned to attract investments or credit funds for the development of an enterprise, you also cannot do without an LLC.

In all other cases, it is enough to register as an individual entrepreneur. will help a novice businessman quickly obtain the necessary status.

Important! Any income received by an individual or legal entity as a result of running a business is subject to taxes.

Regardless of what status the enterprise will have, before launching the pool it is necessary to obtain permits from the sanitary and epidemiological service, Rospozhnadzor and Rospotrebnadzor.

How much does it cost to open a swimming pool?

In order to open a modern, comfortable, cost-effective swimming pool that meets all sanitary and fire safety standards, you need from 20 thousand to 2 million US dollars. The stated minimum will be required if an entrepreneur is reconstructing an existing small pool or building an outdoor pool, and the maximum is creating a new sports and fitness center from scratch.

To run an outdoor pool, you will need:

take a long-term lease or buy a plot of land for construction;
purchase a construction project;
carry out construction and installation work;
put the facility into operation;
hire staff (administrator, two nurses, two trainers, animator);
order an advertising campaign.

Obviously, all necessary events need to be organized based on your capabilities. If the project is low-budget, then it will be impossible to buy a plot of land at the very beginning. However, even with a small budget, it is not recommended to save on equipment and construction of a swimming pool, since clients will identify the lack of the required quality quickly enough, and the project will suffer losses.

How to write a business plan for an outdoor swimming pool

An outdoor swimming pool project should include a determination of initial costs, ongoing expenses and the amount of potential revenue. By comparing all this data, you can calculate the approximate payback period for such a project.

As mentioned above, to open a small comfortable pool you will need about 20 thousand US dollars.

The current costs of its maintenance cannot be called modest. According to experts, they will amount to about 3.5 thousand dollars monthly:

3 thousand dollars – settlements with personnel and maintenance costs;
0.5 thousand dollars – taxes and utility bills.

In order for the project to pay off in the first warm season (from May to September), it must earn at least 8 thousand dollars a month, that is, 300 dollars a day.

Considering that one entrance ticket can cost up to $2.50 per hour, it will not be difficult to get the planned income per day.

In addition, in the evening the pool can be rented out for corporate events, parties and celebrations. Proper planning will allow you to quickly recoup your investment and achieve net profit.