As a young Dutch man growing up in Holland, Frans Jansen knew very well that the United States was the land of opportunity and the place he needed to be, So at the age of 21, Frans packed up his belongings and immigrated to America and the uncertain life that lay ahead. That journey took place in 1979.
Today, Frans and his wife Jacalyn are the owners of Spas Pools & Patio, a successful retail operation located in the small central Florida city of Sebring. Prior to making the decision to open their own retail operation, Frans had worked his way into a promising career with Marriott Hotels. He was a District Manager for Marriott, responsible for the operation of numerous restaurants in the southeastern United States. However, Frans found himself traveling for business far too often, keeping him away from Jacalyn and their four growing children. They both realized that this was not how they planned to raise their family. In 1999, the Jansens made one of the most important decisions of their lives and started Spas Pools & Patio.
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Ours is a family business and the kids are experiencing a great working environment, Frans explained, we felt better that our children were here with us learning a skill than in front of the television watching some of the junk they put on. Frans and Jacalyn have been able to spend more quality time with their children by having them work in the family business.
At age 13, all kids were expected to work on Saturdays and after school, unless in an extracurricular activity. The family dog Chloe also gets into the act. Customers will stop by with their children just to say hello to Chloe or to ask her to roll over. At Spas Pools & Patio, everyone is customer friendly. Spas Pools & Patio serves a diverse customer base in the greater Sebring market. Their pool customers represent various types of families including young families with small children, established families with grade school children and teenagers, and finally grandparents. Most of our customers are young families or families with growing kids , Frans says. People are looking for ways to spend more fun time with their family. In our own case we are blessed that as our four children have grown up, three have decided to continue the family business into the future.