My add-on service is anticipating doubled growth from last year.
This coming weekend, many property owners are facing the daunting task of taking down holiday lights. Start planning now, and you’ll be ready to earn revenue offering this service yourself next year.
The seasonality of most landscape services can be a struggle for many landscapers. While some offer snow removal during the winter months, not every region gets snow—and profits can be unpredictable since it’s dependent on the weather.
On the other hand, adding landscape and holiday light installation services is a great way for landscapers to bring in revenue year-round. Holiday lighting has a high profit margin and is in demand no matter the weather. Even during periods of economic downturn, people still plan on spending during the holidays. The holiday lighting industry continues to grow and many lighting installers’ businesses are growing each year. My lighting business, Dynamic Celebration Lighting, is anticipating doubling our growth from last year.
Kirk Brown, owner of Kirk’s Lawn Care, started a holiday lighting service in July 2021 as a separate company, Dynamic Celebration Lighting. He anticipates his growth will have doubled in the 2022 season. (All Photos Courtesy of Dynamic Celebration Lighting.)
I started my landscaping business, Kirk’s Lawn Care, almost two decades ago and opened Dynamic Celebration Lighting in July 2021. I started out as an avid holiday home decorator and holiday lighting hobbyist and later found a passion in partnering with attractions and holiday light shows in my spare time. Last year, I decided to start offering my services to homeowners to increase profit and spread holiday joy.
Fortunately, there’s a low barrier of entry for landscapers that want to add holiday lighting as an add-on service since it’s very complementary to the experience and service you already offer the rest of the year. Below are lessons I’ve learned that can help you successfully expand your services to include holiday and event lighting.
Learn The Basics
One of the benefits of offering holiday lighting services is that it’s relatively easy to get started. I’m mostly self-taught. Landscapers that offer landscape lighting services, such as porch lights or tree uplights, already know the lighting basics. The same wiring and general understanding of how LED lighting works overlaps with holiday lighting.
Yet even if you have lighting knowledge, a great first step is for you and your employees to take in-person training classes through organizations like CLIPA (Christmas Light Installation Pros Association). These courses offer hands-on training and go over a range of essential topics from the different types of available holiday lighting to pricing models.
Networking and joining online groups comprised of industry professionals—or people who want to break into the industry—is also very helpful. CLIPA has a Facebook group that anyone can join, even if they aren’t a member of the association. There are a couple of other Facebook groups for Christmas light installers, such as Christmas Light Contractors, where people can connect with other professionals, get advice on how to get started in the industry, and ask questions on how to handle problems they haven’t encountered before. People can pose their question and take a picture of the issue they are facing (such as a gutter that is difficult to hang lights from because of the gutter guard) and get answers in minutes of posting. It’s an extremely supportive and collaborative community.
Build A Team
Groundwork, such as stake lighting or lighting shrubs can easily and safely be done with one person. However, larger projects, such as roof lighting and any other lighting that requires a ladder, should be done by a team for reasons of safety and efficiency. Dynamic Celebration Lighting runs two or three-people crews for holiday lighting.
Using your existing landscaping team for holiday lighting services is a good way to keep employees working year-round. It also means you don’t have to worry as much about them finding another job during the Winter and not returning again in the Spring.
My landscaping team loves holiday lighting projects and looks forward to it all year. Usually only our best employees go on the holiday lighting crew. You can even consider offering holiday lighting assignments as a reward and motivator.
The Right Equipment
Dynamic Celebration Lighting only installs its own commercial-grade LED lights featuring a lifelong warranty. Customers lease the lights.
In terms of stocking up on inventory, it depends if you choose to sell or lease lights to clients. If you sell lights, you can purchase lights when you book the job. If you lease lights, you need to stock up in advance and have space for storing inventory. It’s common to collect a 50% deposit upfront when the quote is signed that can be put towards any additional equipment required by the job.
Expect potential clients to ask if they can supply their own lights. We do not install customer supplied lights since we cannot vouch for the quality or working order. We only hang our commercial-grade LED lights that feature a lifelong warranty for our customers. Our holiday lights are more dependable and shine brighter than most available big box retailer lights.
Existing equipment like trucks, minivans, and ladders can obviously be used for lighting services. But you’ll also want to purchase safety equipment such as harnesses, roof anchors, roofing shoes, and other roofing safety equipment. I use the Goat Steep Assist system and Pitch Hoppers. If you’re starting small, you don’t need a lot of money to get started. Safety equipment costs a couple hundred dollars.