Dive In

In 1974, Fred Thomas was in a pinch. First, the job that brought him from Ohio to Florida fell through after he'd already made the move. Then, after deciding to start his own sales rep business, a big customer backed out of a deal, and he found himself with a lot of inventory of pool chemicals.

To offload the excess inventory, Thomas opened a small, weekend-only outlet from a warehouse in Clearwater. Then he realized the demand for supplies was bigger than expected.

Fast forward to 2017, and Thomas's son, John Thomas, leads the company, Pinch A Penny — now the country's largest swimming pool retail and service franchise with more than 230 locations. Counting both corporate and franchise locations and offices, the company, which remains based in Clearwater, has more than 1,000 employees. Though executives declined to share corporate revenue, the average sales per franchise unit is $1.2 million a year. Also, Franchise Business Review's Franchisee Satisfaction Awards ranked Pinch A Penny a Top 50 Franchise this year.