(Photo provided)
Star Pools owner Terry Gerberg points to intangibles when
asked how serving in the military impacted his life as an entrepreneur.
A specialist E-4 during a four-year stint in the Army
Reserves in Texas, Gerberg doesn’t require much of the book knowledge he
learned from his time in the service, which focused on decontamination
operations, but the Army still aided him immeasurably as a small-business
owner.
“Being in the military really helped me as far as being
able to talk to people and lead people,” he said. “The military instills
amazing leadership skills.”
After Gerberg, a Texas native, got out of the Army
Reserves in 2008, he took the advice of one of his brothers, who was working
for a pool company in the Atlanta area.
“The company was involved with repairing equipment, pool
plastering, and other things,” Gerberg said. “He told me I should check it out,
and I really liked it.”
He later joined another company and learned how to handle
pool-leak detection. Eventually, he took over as the head of the Myrtle Beach
area for the company.
After several years of working for someone else, Gerberg
decided to start his own company in 2022.
Star Pools, based in Conway, locates and fixes leaks,
repairs fiberglass, and does commercial work. It even began installing
fiberglass pools this year. Star also has a retail store for pool supplies and
offers free water testing.
“We fix problems that can be five or 10 years old, such
as locating and fixing leaks,” Gerberg said. “A lot of companies don’t want to
fix problems; they just want to install new pools. That’s where we come in.”
Gerberg has seven employees and another 20 individuals he
uses as contract labor. He’s working to get into the market south of Florence
and said someday he’d like his company to serve all of South Carolina.
Gerberg said there’s a big difference between working for
a company and owning a company.
“Working for someone else is a lot easier than owning
your own business,” he said. “You never turn it off when you own your own
business. There are many nights when I lay awake thinking about jobs that are
coming up and how to best handle them.
“I don’t have anyone to call when I have questions, and
instead people are calling me with questions,” he added. “It’s a different kind
of stress, but it’s 100 percent worth it. You can control everything you do.”
Gerberg offered advice for those considering starting
their own businesses.
“Do all the research you can before you jump into it, and
don’t jump into it blind like I did,” he said. “There’s a big learning curve,
so do your homework.”
Gerberg also stressed the importance of being scrupulous
and straightforward.
“I pride myself on being very transparent and honest, and
that’s how I get my business,” he said. “I don’t advertise, but instead rely on
word of mouth.”
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