Bob Hallam founder and owner of Dimension One Spas Q: Tell us a bit about your company and what you do for the hot tub industry. A: Dimension One Spas (D1) is a family-run company that I founded in 1977 with my wife, Linda Hallam – not the biggest home spa company in the world, just the best. In our 32-year history, we have combined innovations in materials science and water handling ...

Dave Ludlow owner of Bullfrog Spas Q: Tell us a bit about your company and what you do for the hot tub industry. A: Bullfrog International was established in 1996, but our story began many years earlier. I worked for my father’s pool business as a young man during the time when portable hot tubs began to become popular. I convinced my dad to start selling hot tubs and, in turn, he made ...

John Puetz, director of technology at Advantis Technologies Q: Tell us a bit about your company and what you do for the hot tub industry. A: Advantis Technologies has been an industry innovator in spa maintenance chemicals and solutions. We have developed numerous industry firsts including Rendevous Enhance and Activate or Leisure Time Reserve and Renew; the industry first completely chlorine ...

VGB Act – You Should Care You may not realize that this legislation does impact hot tub technicians. by Robert Stuart As a retail spa store or service center dealing with mostly above-ground portable spas we often are lumped in with public swimming pools and built-in spas simply because the regulatory officials who want to make public water safe have no clue as to the differences. ...

With a Little Help From My Friends A store where relationships matter and commitment is unwavering. photography by Stuart Ruckman Christian Staples, owner of Arctic Spas Utah in Salt Lake City and Park City, Utah, doesn’t have a plan B. His hot tub business is his plan and failure is not an option. “This is what I’m committed to, I don’t know how to do ...

Your Biggest Selling Point The specific value your company offers should be at the forefront of your sales presentation. by Megan Kendrick Recently I took a call from a consumer with a question that we hear often: “I got my copy of Spasearch magazine in the mail, but what I really want to know is which brand is the best?” As editors we don’t endorse one ...

Business on the Go Applications for the iPhone and BlackBerry are changing the way retailers conduct business away from the store. By Timothy Colwell It wasn’t long ago when a laptop was one of the only ways you could conduct business on the road. But now, instead of lugging a five-pound computer around, much of what you would do on your laptop you can now do on your cell ...

Banish Burnout Don’t let your job become something you dread, consider these tips for conquering burnout in the workplace. Tired? Stressed? Overwhelmed? These all could be signs that you are experiencing burnout. Manifesting itself physically or mentally, burnout is one of the ways our bodies tell us that we are doing too much and it is time to take a break. Easier said ...

What Will Come in 2010? As we leave 2009 behind, retailers talk about the future. By Alison Stanton “I feel that the first half of 2010 will continue to be a leveling-out period for the retailers. Many retailers are in survival mode and I think that this will continue through the summer of 2010. We are a spa-only retailer and after the last quarter of 2008 and the first quarter ...

Improve Your Business Now Five free or almost-free things you can do to make your store and life better. By Linda Cahan Many of us grow up with the belief that it takes pain, suffering and hard work to bring us the rewards we desire. We drag that concept to work with us every day. Guess what? Success doesn’t have to be that tough. We can have both large and small successes every ...

Choosing Disaster Insurance A named perils policy versus an all-risk policy - which is right for you? By allbusiness.com When choosing disaster insurance, you basically have two choices – a named peril policy or an all-risk policy, also known as a comprehensive policy or an open peril policy. The primary difference between them is that one type of policy covers what is “named” ...

Retailer and Association Chair Terry Brown has seen both worlds and shares what he’s learned at the APSP. Economically, 2009 was a historic year. And to top it off, it was the first year of enforcement of historic legislation – the first federal legislation to ever affect the pool and spa industry. What a year to be a key leader of an association in the middle of it all; Terry ...

Snow Time Delivery A custom hot tub delivery turned into a slippery slope for Hot Water Productions, but daring ingenuity brought it safely home. By Paul Derence As I remember correctly it was either January or February in the late 1990s, and in the San Juan Mountains snow can become a bit of an obstacle for new spa installations. We were on a tight schedule to have a ...

The Future is Here? Swim Spas are being hailed as the new industry superhero. By Megan Kendrick This isn’t the first SR article about swim spas and it won’t be the last. Without a doubt the category has grown – more and more manufacturers are now offering the large hot tub with a variety of various features. What has been interesting over the last year, ...

From the Ashes It has been a tough year for manufacturers, but none would dare say they’ve had a more challenging year than Sunbelt Spas of Houston, Texas. Before they could fix the 1.2 million dollars of roof damage Hurricane Ike did to their buildings, they burned to the ground. By Megan Kendrick Photography by Dan Mohr Robert Markiton had only been home for a few hours ...

Retail Woes –Now What? Part One of what to do during the downturn to prepare for growth. by Danielle Lavallee Wasson We have all heard and read the stories of retailers closing their doors; we have read about spa manufacturers shutting down or consolidating. We also have heard of businesses that are growing, retailers increasing their spa sales and manufacturers that are becoming ...