From the April 2, 2004 print edition

Austin entrepreneur takes over pool company
Greg Gosdin
Special to the Austin Business Journal

Higher-end commercial and residential pools have been the focus at Cody Pools and Spas Inc. for much of its existence. Growth was steady, with Cody Pools hitting the $10 million revenue mark in 2002.

However, the tough economic times of recent years haven't escaped the company, as the commercial pool market shrank considerably. Cody Pools' revenue dipped to about $7 million in 2003. That's when Cody Pools began to cast about for investors, including Mike Church of Austin.

Church is president and CEO of Church Properties Inc. He has owned various oil and gas businesses over a more than 14-year span. He also owns a manufacturing company in Lampasas and is a partner in a restaurant in Lago Vista.

His experience with things aquatic comes from ownership of Dutchman's Landing Marina for seven years.

Church decided that instead of merely investing in Cody Pools, he'd take the big plunge and buy the business outright. The acquisition process began in October but hasn't been completed yet, according to co-founder Andy Crites.

If you're contemplating the purchase of a business like Church did, the Texas Association of Business Brokers offers these tips:

Review your personal finances, including assets, liabilities, credit history and monthly expenses.
Examine your personal and family risk/reward quotient.
Look at your emotional maturity. Can you handle making business decisions?
Figure out which skills and experience you can bring to the business.
Consider how many hours you're willing to spend to make the business successful.
Weigh your commitment to the concept of putting your hard-earned assets on the line.

Church wants to build on that volume. He envisions bringing Cody Pools' revenue to $9 million or $10 million in 2004 and expanding its coverage area from Killeen to San Antonio. Within 10 years, Church aims for Cody Pools to be a $30 million to $40 million company.

The company employs 22 people and uses 52 subcontractors.

"What we do best is that we're very diversified," Church says. "Our engineering department is designed so that we can do anything, from high-end to low-end to commercial."

Church says what sets Cody Pools apart from companies such as Gary Pools is its local roots.

"We're not a chain. We're locally owned and operated," he says.

Church sees nothing but growth for Cody Pools.

"The way it is now," he says, "every day we're starting a pool and finishing another one."

Cody Pools has built more than 2,000 residential pools and more than 60 commercial pools, including a pool for a Courtyard Marriott, Church says. On average, he says, the company builds about 250 pools a year. The average pool takes 30 to 40 days from groundbreaking to completion.

GREG GOSDIN is a Jonestown-based freelance writer.