Summer is almost here, and as a Christmas light installer, you might be asking yourself the question - How do I keep my lighting business lucrative all year round? Well, we have some ideas that might help, without having to change your business model.
1. Weddings and events
Easily the number one money maker in the summer is providing lighting for weddings. It might seem a bit daunting to get into, but you have all the tools you need to to crack into this huge market. Instead of trying to reach out to individual bride and grooms, we have found it best to reach out to your local wedding planning businesses to create a relationship with them and provide lighting for their clients. Attending wedding planner conventions in your city is a great way to meet planners face to face and pitch them your products and services. Once you have a few wedding planners in your contacts, the jobs will start rolling in!
The same goes for other events in your areas - markets, festivals, you name it. Try to reach out to the organizers of the spaces in which these events are held, then create different tiered packages that the event organizers can choose from. Again, a lot of the heavy lifting of advertising will then be done for you through the owners of the space, rather than reaching out to individual event planners.
2. Landscape lighting
Summer is the time for home renovations, and many homeowners are looking for new ideas to expand their living areas by lighting up their backyards. We are very proud and excited to be joining up with in-lite, a landscape lighting company that provides high quality, low-voltage lighting for backyards and beyond. Best of all, their products are incredibly simple to install and map out thanks to their patented Easy Lock Connector. It’s not too different from those zip plugs you use every day during the Holiday lighting season! Depending on where you live, you may need a permit to install low voltage lighting, but you don’t need to be an electrician and they’re generally quite easy to obtain. Once you harness the power of landscape lighting, there is no telling how successful your business can be!
3. Patio lighting for local businesses
Everyone loves a nice cool beverage at their favourite watering hole in the summer time, and many businesses are starting to open their patios up. We love that patios have become a more permanent fixture in North American cityscapes after restaurants had to diversify to stay open over the pandemic. Take a drive around your area and try to find establishments that don’t have outdoor lighting and give them a call! Sell them on the idea that your lights are dimmable so that they can set the mood to match any occasion. Even if they do already have lights set up, it’s worth leaving them your information so that when those lights need replacing (likely with a higher quality product than what they opted for the first time) they know who to call.
4. Rental packages
For your more DIY clients, offering your lights for rent is a really simple way to earn some extra cash. Advertise on your website that clients can rent your lights for a fraction of the cost of owning them by offering some set packages. They pick the lights up when they need them, they drop them off when they’re done, easy peasy!
5. Maintenance on permanent installations
Do you have commercial or residential clients that opt to keep their lights up year round? Summer is the best time to re-wrap those trees, adjust those lights that have come loose over the winter, or replace bulbs that are past their prime. Call up your previous clients who you have installed lights for and urge them that it is time to do some maintenance on their lights! Instead of waiting for the busy season try to get these tasks out of the way now, so that you can make more room for new clients in the winter months.
There are plenty of options to diversify your service offerings over the summer to keep you and your staff busy year round! If you have any questions about adding one of these services to your existing business, don't hesitate to reach out to us.