Do any of you all do holiday lighting. I have really been thinking about it lately because I am sure that people love lights during the holidays, but are not able to put them up. I know that no one does this service in Sedalia, MO. What do you think about this idea of mine? How do you price it? Just give me some info.
I too have been thinking about holiday lighting.. I would like to know how to price as well. I have heard to charge per strand.
I worked for a landscaper a few years ago and we put christmas lights up for a few customers. I'm not sure what he charged. One of the places we did was on a high dollar street and we werent the only LCO's putting lights up.
During my first season with well planned holiday lighting efforts, I sold approx. $30K in installed lighting. The COG for new commercial grade lights ran approx. 20-25%! I was able to keep two excellent landscape crew members through the winter (although very short here) by doing this. An excellent success to follow on outstanding Holiday Lighting is Swingle Tree in Colorado.
holiday lighting is also a huge pain. depending on the lights you are using it can require a pretty large sum of electric. that means you are depending on the existing electric to be sufficent. Also, GFCI's always pop when the lights get wet. Then guess who they call. Plus this is not fun work, at least in NW Ohio. Imagine being on a ladder in 5 degree weather with blowing snow. We do it, but on a limited basis and only for our best customers that don't complain about price.
For those that do this service, where do you purchase the lights Wal-Mart, Home Depot etc. or is there a wholesaler. What do you charge?
There was a big article in the newspaper around here about that. Some landscapers were reporting making more than they do on some mowiing day for the few weeks that they did it. If you have the ladders and stuff, i would say go for it!
Understand it is not just a matter of putting up some lights. First you must understand you assume responsibilty if there are any problems, such as fire or other damage. Second we only install what we sell, no crapola you get from Home depot that never work next year, or blown blubs you have to track down constantly. Third, we warehouse what we sell for the customer, therefore as to create a chain of custody. If I am going to service, install, and remove, I want them stored at my location. The average home it's first year will spend about 1000.00 1500.00 on a installed basic display. You make your money through the warhouse and service fee's. Service meaning you replace blubs, etc. ensure the lighting is in good working order. most home installs take a crew of about 2 men 4-6 hours. Another point is just like lawn mowing if someone in your area is selling professional products, and your installing home depot, they will notice a difference between the displays. Just like stripes in a lawn. You will need ample supplies, to make the connections easy and be able to hide the cords. Good luck, it a good jig but not one that is mastered untill about your 3rd year.
I think the holiday lighting thing is best in mild winter climates. A little ice on the roof and you're in for a challenge. There are just about as many variables with a holiday lighting service as there are in the landscape biz. I would not recommend installing anything less than quality, commercial rated lights and buying them wholesale direct so that you can make some nice winter profits. There are many choices out there and some of them provide business tips and some training- similar to what the landscape lighting manufacturers offer. The most experienced is Christmas Decor which is actually a franchise opportunity started by some landscape guys. You may want to investigate them if you're serious. Either way, I if you're thinking of lighting this season you'd better start the learning now and advertising by Halloween. Oh by the way, I did have one holiday seasons worth of experience as with a Christmas Decor franchise (during the end of a past landscape partnership) and I had an absolute blast, and the money is great too if done right!
