Today we’d like to introduce you to Christopher Townsend.
Hi Christopher, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Well, I was raised primarily by my grandparents in Laredo TX. And one summer I asked my grandpa if we could get something, I think it was a nintendo. He laughed and said “I am not buying that, but Ill teach you how to”. I must have been about 9-10 years old.
He hopped on his type-writer and printed out about 50 lines of paper that said in English and Spanish “I will mow your lawn $20 – and then had out house phone number on it” Then he said, go put this on all the neighbors houses and Ill stay here to wait for the phone to ring. So I went out in the Laredo Heat to go knock on doors and hand out these cards. By the time I came back my grandpa had an appointment for me to mow the lady who lived across the street’s yard. From there I saved up mowing money till I had enough to but what I wanted, but by then I was hooked. I no longer wanted the thing. I wanted to make more money.
So I kept that business running in the mornings and when it got too hot, I had someone in my family drop me off at the skate park where I would sell waters and Mexican sodas for $.5-1. I did this until I was in my teens. I got jobs here and there and I even worked for the military for over 14 years in different roles. But in 2022 a friend of mine reminded me about how working for yourself had its own rewards. So I started Townsend Pool Service LLC.
I have since had a few more ventures Like Mortgage Lending (where I am a licenced Mortgage Loan Originator with Encompass Lending Group), I am a licenced Manufactured Home Dealer and my company is Mission First Homes LLC, and I still operate Townsend Pool Service LLC and we service commercial pools only at this time (apartments, hotels, HOA, Community, municiple pools).
So thats a little about how I got started.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Oh definitely not smooth. I think there are always going to be challenges.
Internally, I struggle all the time, wondering if its enough… will my legacy be honorable to my kids and so on…. I also used to struggle with anxiety and depression. Its a lot of weight to carry when you have a family. You have to do things right all the time to make sure you dont get put in a position that can hurt you.
Externally, there are always going to be clients, banks, family members, that are difficult to work with.
In both scenarios though, you need to focus on what you want out of life and go get it. There is a good book that helped me a lot “the mountain is you”, and in that book the main theme is get out of your own way. Make meaningful progress long enough and the goal is achievable.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
So Townsend Pool Service LLC started as a residential pool cleaning operation and has since gone commercial. We do offer some residential services but at this time we are 95% commercial. HOA pools, Hotels, Apartment Complexes, etc.
What sets us apart is communication and transparency. There are so many people out there in every industry that dont want to give prices or run quotes without cash already involved in the transaction. Id rather we all know what we are getting into before cash becomes involved, thats the best way to do business. Trust and honesty are worth more than a few dollars and Its my name on the business, so I stand by what I say.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
MMmmm None, I practice Ownership of actions and reactions. Things happen, whos fault doesnt quite matter, its fixing it and moving forward that is important.
