(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.”