Making a splash: WaterWorks Pools and Spas has built on family business, blazed its own trail

A passion for the pool industry and growing up in the business has allowed a Sumter native to build a business that now is recognized as a leader in the state.

WaterWorks Pools and Spas owner Eric Prince recently discussed his journey to success in the pool and spa industry along with his wife, Erin, and sister Whitney Moss, who form the leadership team that operates the full-service pool business based in Sumter that offers more than many might expect.

Prince's grandparents, Joel and Ramona Merry, were business owners in Sumter dating back 50 years ago to 1976 and started the first pool business in town in 1983 after Joel Merry got the idea from attending a trade show.

Their business was named Inside-Out on Market Street and initially sold wood-burning fireplaces and did chimney sweeps and expanded to selling swimming pools as a summer, seasonal business to help with sustainability year-round, Prince said.

That new division in the 1980s was Inside-Out Aqua Pools and included an in-ground pool on site to help customers see the full experience of owning their own pool.

Prince started working for his grandfather in the early 1990s while still in middle school to help pay his school tuition, he added, and those formative years through high school piqued his interest in the pool business for a career.

After graduating high school in 1998, Prince began working for his uncle, Jeff Merry, who ran the pool installation part of Aqua Pools, for about a year. The pool business was still seasonal at the time, and he also continued to work in the family business during the winter months.

In 2001, Prince ventured out on his own and started WaterWorks Pools and Spas, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

Like for any small business owner, Prince's career has experienced twists and turns, but his love for his work and resolve have helped forge his path to success.

In 2006, he married Erin, who initially handled the office side of the business and now serves as co-owner. Prince's sister, Whitney Moss, has also come on board and serves as a partner and sales manager.

The three partners have guided Waterworks to become a top pool business in the state, even as the pool industry has evolved over time.

POOL INDUSTRY CHANGES

Like any industry, the pool business has changed through the decades. In the 1990s, business was seasonal and limited to the summer months. Now, it is a year-round business, Prince said, and more lucrative, especially given how WaterWorks operates.

Also, above-ground pools were standard in the business even in the early 2000s when Prince went out on his own.

Gradually he pivoted to installing more in-ground pools and eventually just in-ground pools.

For several years, WaterWorks' business model included three types of in-ground pools - vinyl, fiberglass and a customized concrete-based pool with a plaster finish under the Gunite brand name, Prince said.

Vinyl and fiberglass in-ground pools were much less expensive than the Gunite pools, but the custom Gunite high-end pool business grew extensively starting in Florence and then up and down the coast from Hilton Head to Myrtle Beach and over to the Midlands, he added.

During COVID-19, getting vinyl and fiberglass materials in stock became more difficult and the price for those pools became the same as Gunite. With that scenario, Prince transitioned to just installing Gunite.

"We decided we were not going to sell a cheaper product that is not equivalent to a Gunite pool for the same price," he said. "So, we cut out fiberglass and vinyl and focused solely on Gunite."

Moss added that the concrete, in-ground pool is structurally the strongest pool that you can build.

Also, now there is no waiting on manufacturers for product shipments.

OTHER KEYS TO SUCCESS

Through the years, WaterWorks has grown, and Prince said a good reputation and construction and installation of pools within a timeline for customers are keys to success in the industry.

Reputation with customers starts with the staff, good communication and a "show and tell" experience for customers.

A construction timeline for installation is not always common in the industry, but it is with WaterWorks.

"When we start, we don't leave your property until the project is completed," Prince said. "So there is none of this showing up some and then leave. I think that is the biggest thing in this industry.

"We believe in getting it done just as fast as we possibly can to not upset the customer and the neighbors because we know it can be stressful. We want the construction over with as fast as possible, and we want to give you the most communication that we can possibly give you. I think you could ask any of our customers, and that is truly what we give."

THREE-PHASE RENOVATION

In recent years, the three partners realized the WaterWorks store location on Alice Drive was not matching the look of what they were selling in pools and spas, and Eric Prince said he felt the need and sense of urgency to change that.

Moss said she wanted to sell more spas, and an industry representative told her that the location "must look like you are in the spa business."

A three-phase renovation began in 2024 that added a pavilion area for spas, or hot tubs, a large in-ground pool last summer and a full building renovation at the end of 2025 and early part of this year.

The store sells virtually everything you can imagine for the outdoors from sunglasses to pool towels, floats and furniture, Prince said.

"We are a one-stop shop for anything you can think of outside," he said.

The outside area next to the in-ground pool includes outdoor kitchens, putt-putt and artificial turf.

As sales manager, Moss will also draw out in two- and three-dimensional drawing a full, five-year plan for a family's "backyard oasis," she said.

The business has built a reputation from "Columbia to the coast," Moss added.

According to Prince, distribution centers, industry vendors and representatives who learn about WaterWorks and also visit say the business is a leader in the state with the route the company has taken.

"They tell us that they have never seen a store set up like this right here," he said, "where you can actually come and touch it and feel it and see it."

Prince credits his grandfather's business for having an in-ground pool on display and selling furniture also back then for where he got those ideas.

"I got an idea of how things were supposed to look because I saw it at an early age and what the customer wants to experience and how they can be able to shop it and experience it," he said.

"I guess I feel like I have had a little bit more of an upper hand since I have been in the business my entire life and I have been able to just see it.

"We have taken the family business to just another level. But this isn't work to us. This is fun.

"Can you imagine if this is what you did every day? You get to come out here and get people excited. We show you what you can do with a space. Whether it's going to be an outdoor kitchen, whether it is going to be a pool or whether it's going to be putt-putt. You never knew you could take that one little space and make it that and have the outdoor living like this."