EP# 59: Making Waves and Building Legacies: Ted Hebert's Dive into the Pool and Spa Industry
Jul 02, 2024Episode 59
Liz Lemon & Ted Hebert
What makes Ted Hebert with Teddy Bear Pools and Spas a good neighbor?
Imagine starting your entrepreneurial journey at the tender age of 14 and nurturing it into a thriving legacy. That's exactly what Ted Hebert did with Teddy Bear Pools and Spas, and we're excited to have him share his inspiring story on our show. Ted dives into the deep end of his experiences, from the early splash he made in the pool industry to the tidal waves of challenges he faced, including severe embezzlement and daunting financial hurdles. Alongside personal anecdotes, our episode peels back the layers of the pool and spa industry, debunking myths and highlighting the importance of integrity and knowledge in this year-round business.
Ted's narrative continues as a testament to resilience and the power of community. Withstanding the storm without resorting to bankruptcy, Hebert's tale is buoyed by the life rafts of family support and giving back to the community that supported his journey. We also wade into the waters of pool maintenance education, as Ted stresses the importance of being well-informed. His gratitude for loyal customers and committed employees resonates throughout the conversation, reminding us that at the core of every successful business is a pool of dedicated individuals. Dive into this episode to soak up Ted Hebert's enduring wisdom and the ripple effect of his dedication on Teddy Bear Pools and Spas.
What makes Ted Hebert with Teddy Bear Pools and Spas a good neighbor?
Imagine starting your entrepreneurial journey at the tender age of 14 and nurturing it into a thriving legacy. That's exactly what Ted Hebert did with Teddy Bear Pools and Spas, and we're excited to have him share his inspiring story on our show. Ted dives into the deep end of his experiences, from the early splash he made in the pool industry to the tidal waves of challenges he faced, including severe embezzlement and daunting financial hurdles. Alongside personal anecdotes, our episode peels back the layers of the pool and spa industry, debunking myths and highlighting the importance of integrity and knowledge in this year-round business.
Ted's narrative continues as a testament to resilience and the power of community. Withstanding the storm without resorting to bankruptcy, Hebert's tale is buoyed by the life rafts of family support and giving back to the community that supported his journey. We also wade into the waters of pool maintenance education, as Ted stresses the importance of being well-informed. His gratitude for loyal customers and committed employees resonates throughout the conversation, reminding us that at the core of every successful business is a pool of dedicated individuals. Dive into this episode to soak up Ted Hebert's enduring wisdom and the ripple effect of his dedication on Teddy Bear Pools and Spas.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Liz Lemon.
Speaker 2:
Welcome to Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of some pool and spa things? Surprisingly, you might be able to find it closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your neighbor, ted Hebert, with Teddy Bear Pools and Spas. How are you today, ted?
Speaker 3:
I'm challenged every day, but that's a good thing, I guess.
Speaker 2:
We're excited to learn all about you and your business, so tell us about Teddy Bear Pools and Spas.
Speaker 3:
Where should I start? Should I start in 1965, when I was 14 years old? It was a job. I ended up getting at a local pool store, being a gopher, going for this and going for that. Would you like to start there? Sure, okay. Well, that's what happened. My mom bought an above ground swimming pool back in 1965. I was 14 and the company dropped the pool off at the house just a little pool and no one was there to install it and never showed up. She had a little party coming. So my late uncle happened to come over and say come on, ted, and I didn't know the difference between a Phillips screwdriver and a regular, trust me and I went to this local pool store and at the time I was working at a diner doing dishes, which I didn't mind at all. I was 14. And I saw this young man on the display lot. He looked like he was having a pretty good job and a nice tan. So I came home and mentioned to my mom that, geez, there's a young man about my age who was working at this pool lot. And she happened to go back there and mentioned that I would be available and the young man that was working was going on vacation. So I ended up getting a job at a pool store, plus working doing dishes that summer, and I fell in love with it and it never left.
Speaker 3:
I've been doing it since 1965. Yes, that's 59 years and I'm still a recycled teenager. I'll never retire because this is not a job. This is something I love. And many times when I run into someone they'll say, oh, are you still working? I say no, you sold the business. No, what happened? I said well, you asked me if I work. I don't. This is something I love doing. My employees are like my family. I've had people with me over 40 years. My customers are my extended family. Many times their daughters, their sons, relatives, are all buying pools or spas. So I try to call every customer personally to say thank you and also send an email. And I love it when they answer the phone without answer machine, because I get to talk to them and find out that we know each other and I've been doing this, like I said, for 59 years.
Speaker 2:
That's impressive for sure. What are the myths and misconceptions within the pool spa industry?
Speaker 3:
Well, it is seasonal, there's no doubt about it. Seven months During the off season we run a very large operation with over 100 employees, and it's a big operation. Compare the rest of the industry. It's big. And what we do in the wintertime? We have a fairly large warehouse at our South Hadley location, not open to the public, but we're running around 38,000 feet. We bring in our inventory during the wintertime, we deliver hot tubs in the wintertime, we repair hot tubs. In the wintertime we service them. So we're very busy in the wintertime. We get down to about maybe 40 full-time and part-time people.
Speaker 3:
Misconception in our industry is that people are knowledgeable, unfortunately. Basically a person with a pickup truck can go in the business and they're probably good people. That's how I started. But misconception is that people perceive that people that are selling their pool or spa have integrity, which I like to think they do. But unfortunately many people get taken advantage of. We've been established for a long time. It doesn't mean that someone that's been in business for one year is not, but you're being more challenged, like I said earlier, of going with someone and a little more of a gamble. But we're here and we're here to stay and I have a transition plan here with some key employees to move forward in the future. I do get a little time off now, but I enjoy being here.
Speaker 2:
That's fantastic. I know you said that you definitely enjoy work as fun, but is there anything else outside of work that you do for fun?
Speaker 3:
Yes, I'm a late bloomer. I'm definitely an underachiever. I stuttered pretty much through high school. I unfortunately got on a baseball team as a seven or eight-year-old. My dad wasn't present, my mom worked two jobs and had two older sisters, but I wanted to wear a uniform and play baseball. Well, when the coaches the two coaches of the A and B team had to pick players, I was one of the last players and unfortunately I got put on the A team and back then not everybody played and seriously, I remember playing three times in seven years. Yes, seventh inning, last inning, right field. You got that correct and I stuttered and I got affirmation by working selling newspapers, delivering newspapers, recycling newspapers, bottles, shoveling dry bites by hand you know, not with my hands, but the shovel, not a snowblower mowing lawns by hand, lawnmower, selling Christmas cards, washing cars, and I just enjoyed doing things to make money because my family had very little money.
Speaker 3:
And one thing led to another and, like I said earlier, I ended up being in the pool business and I love what I do and it's not a job, like I said earlier. So I'm very happy, very proud. My wife works here. Too Many of my employees are family members father, son, daughters that work here. It's kind of a cool place. We don't get much turnover. Like I said earlier, I've had people with me over 40 years, so I'm very blessed to have them and I plan on continuing.
Speaker 2:
That's fantastic In it for the long haul and continuing it throughout the family and generations. Let's change gears just for one moment. Can you describe one hardship or life challenges that you rose above and can now say because of it, you're better and stronger? What comes to mind?
Speaker 3:
Well, there are so many. I'm sure all of your listeners have had challenges in their life. The biggest challenge I have not had yet is health. I've been very blessed to have good health. I'm 72,. The biggest challenge I have not had yet is health. I've been very blessed to have good health. I'm 72, 73, and I'm playing hockey tonight. I played hockey Tuesday night. There's no checking or hitting but, like I said earlier, I never played sports until probably my 20s and I've been playing hockey now since I've been 24. I might not be a very good player, but they feel sorry for me because I'm the sponsor, so they let me play. It's over 40 leagues. I do honestly have a game tonight and had a game Tuesday night.
Speaker 3:
But when I talk about challenges in life challenges, well, I don't want to get too much detail. I'm going to bore your audience, but I severely was embezzled for over a million dollars in 1984 and 85 of money and goods from a late, very close friend of mine who I trusted very deeply. I loved selling pools at night and installing them during the day and this gentleman had some health issues so he wanted to primarily run the retail store and it grew from my carport in East Springfield to a small store in Memorial Drive in Chicopee it was basically a garage to a very old little cardio ship on E Drive in Chicopee. It was basically a garage. So a very old little cardio ship on E Street in Chicopee, very small. Today you'd probably just knock down the building. I didn't have the money to knock down the building and build a new one and the couple that sold me the property sold me at a 10% interest rate, not 19, which was going at the time.
Speaker 3:
And to talk about challenges that embezzlement second embezzlement when my wife and I went on our honeymoon. It's been a lot of challenges IRS issues because they wanted to know why I was making money. All of a sudden I was like a $4 million business making $12,500 and collecting unemployment and plowing stone in the wintertime part-time. So a lot of people don't see that Okay and it's not necessary. They just see teddy bear pools and who I am today.
Speaker 3:
I'm a survivor. I look at it. A challenge is in life. I never went bankrupt. I had issues with the IRS and they found out I didn't steal any money. It took them three years to figure that out. I had other challenges in life, in business and in life we all have. But I'm very blessed, like I said earlier, to survive, to have my health, to have my business and a wonderful wife and a wonderful family of pool people here. Plus my little dog is sitting behind me. His name is Bentley. He's a two-year-old Boston Terrier. I always had white boxers and most of you customers have ever been to my store you know usually are welcomed at one of my white boxers.
Speaker 2:
Now you're welcomed by Bentley. This isn't Walmart, but this is with a greeter. But I got chief greeters with four legs. That's great to hear. What is the?
Speaker 3:
one thing you wish our listeners knew about teddy bear pools and spas. I want to make sure that people know it's not just one thing that we're family run, we're locally owned a long time history. I'll tell you what my mother help me be who I am today. So sometimes I get emotional about it. We had very little. I'll never forget as a little kid, about 10 years old, mom had just told my sisters and I we're not going to have a lot for Christmas this year, I don't have a lot of money and we're okay. And the doorbell rang and Mrs Segrin I'll never forget it, it's only about 60 years ago or more came to the door and was collecting a dollar from each neighbor because one of our neighbors was sick and everybody would donate a dollar and they'd buy flowers. So mom went to her little desk and started counting I'm not kidding pennies and nickels and she came up for the dollar and after she gave Mrs Segrin the dollar and change, I said, mom, you said we don't have money for Christmas. And she said to me you know what? There's a lot of people that have less than we have. We need to give.
Speaker 3:
So I believe in philanthropy, if I get the word right, but my wife and I love to share in the community, not just of our time sitting on different boards and volunteering, but we also like to donate money, whether it be a sporting team, any charity you can think of. I think most of your listeners know that we're very philanthropic. Here. We do a lot of charity and that is the key thing. That means more to me than anything else, because no matter how much you have, you can't take it with you and we'd like to share and give back to the community. So I thank our customers loyal customers too, because a lot of them out there that do business here, because I want you to know this isn't going to be how much I can make. I try to take care of my employees. I do a 401k, we contribute, we do health insurance and without my employees, who are my greatest asset or my greatest liability, I'm nobody. So I just want to let them know we're here, we're here to stay and thank you so much for the business.
Speaker 2:
Absolutely. How can our listeners learn more about Teddy Bear Pools and Spas?
Speaker 3:
Well, you can listen to me for hours and that would really bore the heck out of you. How about if they went to our website? I think there's a history on the company. That's number one. Number two if you own a pool, or especially a pool I was going to say spa I created a ready for this VHS many years ago. That became a DVD which is now online. We created a DVD, a story about how to take care of your pool. So if you have a pool and you're not sure to open it, close it, maintain it. We have a site for you that you can look at at the Teddy Bear Pools website.
Speaker 3:
And I do want to specify well, you got me, liz that the best sanitizer to kill bacteria and algae has always been chlorine. It saved a lot of humanity. So a lot of consumers during the COVID time could not get chlorine. We had it most dealers did, but I only sold it to my customers. So what happened was they went to an alternative called a salt water pool.
Speaker 3:
A lot of people think a salt water pool is salt. Salt does not sanitize what sanitizes the chlorine that the salt makes. So it's really a salt. No, it's a chlorine generator, not a salt generator. It's very. It creates bleach, very corrosive, high pH. Your water feels soft. It's like bleach. If you do not want to use chlorine which is great do not use salt. I don't encourage it. But we have something called EcoSmart been selling for 18 years. It's two plates of copper and one is titanium and a low voltage goes to it and it creates ions. That kills bacteria and algae and your water you can drink. So if you don't want to have chlorine, saltwater is chlorine too. We have something alternative.
Speaker 2:
So that's something most consumers don't know about, so I want to make sure they know about that too, yeah absolutely.
Speaker 3:
Is there a phone number that you have to share? Do I have to? Is that what you said? I have to share. You have to have share. Oh, you mean to tell me that people right now have nothing else to do and they're going to write this?
Speaker 2:
down. Okay, it's area code 413-575.
Speaker 3:
Oh, that's my cell phone number. I can't give it to you. How about 413-594-2666. That's 594-2666. But everything's on our website, teddybearpoolscom. And thank you for this opportunity. And we do serve most Western Mass, northern Connecticut and that's our big area. We do a lot of work and I thank everybody out there.
Speaker 2:
Absolutely Get down to Teddy Bear Pools and Spas folks, Ted, it was such a pleasure having you on the show. We wish you and your business and your family the best moving forward.
Speaker 3:
Well, thank you very much for this opportunity.
Speaker 1:
Podcast it is. Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnppalmercom. That's gnppalmercom, or call 413-414-5940. Music, music, music, music, music Music.