When winter hits North Dakota, well, there isn’t always a whole lot to do. And it’s not really known as a pool and spa hot bed. But that doesn’t mean that the people there don’t want to have some fun in a hot tub, which is kind of how Troy Derheim got into the business.
“I was going to college in Fargo and a buddy and I called around to have a hot tub party,” Derheim says. Unhappy with the less-than-enthusiastic response he received from the local dealers about renting a tub, Derheim decided to buy one and rent it out to others like himself. He never expected that he would stay in the industry becoming the owner of his own successful pool and spa stores.
While Derheim says doing business in North Dakota is a lot of fun, there are some unique challenges (besides the extreme weather and driving hundreds of miles to reach customers). Derheim explains that finding qualified employees who will stick with him has been one of the toughest parts of doing business.
“There’s no experience in the area,”
he says. “So trying to find people who we
can qualify and train is tough because our industry is kind of in-between, it’s not licensed in this area. So to get someone to see it as a legitimate trade is hard. A guy goes to school to be a plumber or a heating/cooling guy and trying to get them to come over to us, they’re like, ‘Well there’s no set structure for it, I don’t trust that it’s the best.’ You talk to mom and dad after you get out of college and you go, ‘Where should I go? Should I go to Joe’s Plumbing that’s been around for 30 years, who is a union guy or should I go to Tubs of Fun!?’”
The ‘in-between’ situation or being under the radar when it comes to licensing and regulations in the state hasn’t just made it difficult to find quality employees, it also has had a negative impact on the professionalism in the area, which Derheim has done his best to overcome.
“I’ve always told my staff that the definition of a professional is not someone who has all the answers; I believe the definition is that when a customer comes in my store, I may not know what the problem is or what that customer needs, but I’m going to get the job done. So professionalism is following through, it’s making sure that we finish it up and get it done.”