In my experience,
I would say that most Holiday lighting companies are small (2-4
employees) and only have the ability to handle a limited amount of
customers each year.
Once
some installation companies establish core clients after their first
year, many of them don’t even market. Their business comes from
previous jobs or referrals from current clients, which usually is made
up of neighbors, family and friends.
Each
holiday season, you will find that more calls come in than can ever be
fulfilled. I have found this to be a very common complaint from
Christmas lighting installers: too much business! I can’t think of any
other industry that has a problem turning down customers!
During the first week of December, things
get really busy any calls start pouring in. I have found myself
telling people that I can’t leave my house for less than a minimum of
$400. Lighting services are in such demand that people are really
willing to pay an arm and a leg to have it done.
Growth
is the goal and most important aspect to your new business. Be careful
though because you don’t want it to grow so quickly that you find
yourself overwhelmed. This will only lead to a series of problems that
will have a negative impact on your business. Don’t bite off more than
you can chew. Only make commitments that you can keep. Never say you
will do something and not follow through. Your reputation is your most
valuable asset and you should protect it at all costs.
Take this business one job at a time and don’t be afraid to tell a client that you are booked.
Things tend to get very busy and there is
only so much you will be able to handle on your own. It may be hard at
first to turn down jobs, but be aware that there is always next year.
Keep a database of names, numbers, and
email addresses. Even if you don’t get to them this year, you will be
able to contact them earlier in the season next year to ensure that
they become a client.
Make
sure that you take down as many details as possible about your clients
and contacts. Names, phone numbers, addresses, email addresses, how
they found you, job description, and price quote are all important to
have in a database. The more organized you keep your business, the more
efficient you become and the more profits you make.
You should have a good handle on your
strengths and weaknesses as a worker and a business owner. If you don’t,
you will soon learn them.
Owning
a business will teach you a lot about yourself. By knowing your skills
and what you bring to the table, you will be able to take advantage of
many opportunities that will make your business as efficient as
possible.
Each year, people
spend over 400 million dollars on lighting services over the holidays.
Over the last 10 years, the industry has grown tenfold. The beauty of
the Christmas Light installation industry is that virtually anyone can
do it. No prior business knowledge is required. I know high school
students that make $12,000 or more in just 60 days. I believe that
anyone can make at least $20,000 in the 60 days leading up to
Christmas. Great installers earn over $100,000 during the Holiday
season. What the industry offers is an easy to start business
opportunity. Most aspects of the business are already taken care of and
all you have to do is follow the steps that I outline in this business
kit. It is an extremely simple operation to learn and apply. You can do
it. Yes, you.
Hanging
Christmas Lights is a solution to the dull 9-5 job. This business lets
you be your own boss, work for yourself, and determine your own
schedule. With over 7 years of industry experience, I have created a
realistic business opportunity that has proved to be a success with
anyone who takes the principles and applies them.
In
this industry, you are simply selling a service that includes the
installation and removal of Christmas lights on residential and
commercial buildings and landscaping. Can it get any easier than that?
The
difference that you make in this business is how you choose to sell
your services. Many Christmas lighting companies differ in how they
sell their service. Some companies only sell the installation service
requiring customers to provide the materials while others provide the
work with no warranty. Other full-service companies offer to provide
the lights, do the install, give a warranty for the season and provide a
take—down service at the end of the season.
I
have found that the service that works best is one that combines all
these variables together. I have built my business model on this
principle. It is a model that that provides the lights to the customer,
offers an installation before Christmas and removal of the lights in
the following January.
Some
Installation businesses offer to lease the lights to the client and
then store them for the rest of the year. I don’t recommend this model
unless you have a huge garage or want to pay heavy costs to rent a
mini-storage to keep your clients lights for the other 9 or 10 months
of the year.
For
more information on starting a christmas light
installation business, visit:
According to
several sources, the Christmas Lighting industry has had an amazing
1000% increase in growth over the last 10 years! I have been in this
business for over seven years. I saw it when it was small and have seen
it grow exponentially! Also, residential homeowners as well as
commercial and professional business owners spend over a billion dollars
each Christmas season for this service and its associated products.
And, with the Christmas lighting industry being fairly new, this quite
possibly will be the perfect ‘add-on’ service to your existing business.
It is also the perfect business that can earn you enough in 90 days so
you can either take the rest of the year off or run another seasonal
business during the other
9 months of the year.
As
a general rule, the installation season begins in early October
focusing mainly on commercial properties. This is when you will start to
look for leads and begin your installations. The season ends in mid to
late January when you’ve finished taking down all the lights from your
clients’ homes and businesses.
Christmas
light installation businesses can make more than $1000 per day per work
crew during the season. Well-organized installation crews can make more
that $2000 per day. It is also not uncommon for installers to earn
upwards of $3000 in a single day when installing larger residential and
commercial jobs. I recently managed to get a lighting contract with a
local hotel. The quote I gave was for $3200. My light costs were $600
and I paid my 2 employees $160 each for an 8 hour day. Do the math. At
the end of the day, I had over
$2000 cash profit in my back pocket and a huge smile on my face!
A
smaller Christmas light installation business can easily expect to earn
more than $20,000 in their first year of hanging lights as long as they
have a solid business plan. Try to begin with the end in mind. I know
of many midsize Christmas light Installation companies that make between
100 and 150 thousand dollars each year - in only 90 days! There is a
ton of money to be made in this industry. You are providing an essential
service that people will use year after year.
This
Holiday light industry is the perfect add-on for seasonal businesses
like, construction workers, window cleaners, junk removal services,
landscape architects, painters, roofers, and framers. The main thing
that attracted me to this industry is the fact that this business is
extremely low risk. I have been able to use my current client database
to create leads and get contracts. I have also been able to keep my
employees during this season whereas in other years, I have had to lay
them off and often they never came back because they found other work!
This business changed all that!
The Holiday Lighting industry is one of the fastest growing service industries in the
United States, Canada, and the UK! Each
year, the demand for this service increases. For some reason everyone
wants to outdo their neighbors with a bigger and brighter display of
lights. In a recent study, it was shown that the thing that people
despised most about the holiday season was putting up the Christmas
lights. People want the Christmas spirit without the hassle of putting
up their own lights. This is where you come in and cash out!
This
wonderful business opportunity is now more popular than ever and you
are a part of it! The biggest benefit you have is the fact that this
industry is still relatively young. It’s new and you got in on the
ground floor at the beginning. That means there is a ton of room for
growth. There is also room for small business owners, like you, to make a
ton of money in a short period of time. It’s going to be some work, but
once you get rolling, you are going to look back and think that taking
the first step was the best decision you could have ever made.