Pools built and cups filled right to the brim. Merry Christmas from our family to yours.
What an enormous year it’s been.
Feeling pretty overwhelmed by all the world has endured and that we’ve somehow found ourselves once again at Christmas time having survived the storm. At the end of a year that’s been far from easy for most, gosh – we’ve got so much to be grateful for here at Cronulla Pools.
This year has been full of lots of life’s wins, heaps of things to smile about. So it’s good for us all to sit back, put pen to paper, and reflect. Because as we all know, now more than ever, these years fly by in the blink of an eye. We need to soak each and every second in. So please, excuse the outpour of emotion but I’m going to take the chance to shine a spotlight on the things that made us feel very lucky this year.
First up, our baby boy, Billy. Our third child, who was a little bit of a ‘welcome’ surprise, so far as these things go, but who we couldn’t imagine our life without. And whilst home schooling came with its never-ending challenges (and then some), I know Billy baby loved having Flynn and Kai Man home with him.
Then, wow – the growth of our awesome team. From humble beginnings in 2018, we now have a team of 12 incredible people. Grant, Tommy, Jess, Sim, Matt, Connor, Scott, James, Alec, Scott, Josh (and me) – thank you. You exceptional people are our colleagues, friends, family. Thank you for being so adaptable in a wildly changing environment, for learning on the fly with us, and for working so hard to make Cronulla Pools such a positive, inspiring place to be. We went into 2021 with the goal of winning 70 pools and we made it to over 90 - we fully appreciate your hard work in making this happen. Can’t wait to come back hot for more in the new year!
And then there was the way we were all able to band together as a community and raise well over $100,000 for the Children’s Cancer Institute. For me, that is completely breathtaking. I know it was for the Cancer Institute, too. Every single one of you who bought a ticket in our Wanna Win a Pool competition pulled together in a challenging time to make something very special happen. I just can’t say how big this was for us and how proud we are of what we’ve done together. It will make a difference. Being able to raise and donate over $100k is an achievement we’ll be forever proud of. And in terms of giving back, this is honestly just the beginning for us.
This year we were, as we always are, so grateful for the remarkable work from our talented trades, who go the distance for us every day of the year to build beautifully crafted concrete pools. Matt and I just love to surround ourselves with people that do things far better than we do. Your passion, skill, and professionalism continually flaw us, and we’re always receiving feedback about what experienced, careful and excellent people you are.
Pumped to nab another national award too. Thanks SPASA!
Next i’d like to take a minute to give a big thanks to our amazing business coach, Matt Malouf. The only person I know who dropped a heap of kilos during covid, he’s tasked with, for the most part, challenging us to work in spaces in our business that are way out of our comfort zone. He has been instrumental in helping us to build the systems and processes we have needed to be able to run Cronulla Pools the way we do. He talks tough with us every fortnight (and often with me, a lot more often – thank you for the lockdown 5am esplanade walks!), and helps us develop a clearer focus and deeper understanding of who we are, who we want to be, and where we want to go.
And, finally, we are so incredibly bloody grateful to you – our clients. Without you we’d be nowhere. I love that I can have a conversation with you on our socials which can turn into a site inspection and a quote and then that we get to come along for the ride as that beautiful pool is designed and built. I love that, so often, this business interaction develops into a genuine friendship, or partnership – it really is what it’s all about. We love being able to help you build something in your home that will become so much a part of your family, life, memories. Both Matt and I have never been far from water. We have a pool in our backyard now, and we know how it brings us together. Yes, the pool definitely gives us a reprieve from our sometimes demanding kids but it also relaxes them, relaxes us, brings calm to our family and we love that we can build pools for you and your families to enjoy.
Thank you, our clients, for trusting us. A pool is often something you only embark on building once in your lifetime so when you choose us, we know its taken time and consideration to make that decision. We don’t take it lightly. We have said it over and over again – we really love what we do, and as each year goes by we get to appreciate, more and more, the difference a pool makes in our clients’ lives. Thanks for being so open and honest with us, and inviting us into your homes. Building your pools is absolutely what it’s all about and even as we get a little bigger, there’s absolutely no chance of that love getting diluted.
And then that’s it. Time to clock off for another year. Time to wrap the presents and hang the stockings. To crack open the bubbly and cheers to celebrating the smalls things, to spending time with each other and of course to have a swim in your beautiful new pool.
Thank you for being a part of our business, our work, our days.
We wish you and your loved ones so much joy at the end of this very big year.
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and we’ll be sure to see all of you absolute legends in 2022!
Matt & Kate xxx
