Lighting For Profits

Be sure to join Brian... I mean Ryan Lee on the Weekend Review Saturday's at 9 AM. Find out what he's up to on future shows and in his everyday life.

That's the Weekend Review LIVE every Saturday Morning at 9AM Eastern

Sales. Marketing. Branding. Lighting.

Who knew lighting could be so much fun?

This week, I welcome Tommy Herren (The Lighting Geek) from HGTV. Tommy has figured out his voice and has figured out branding and marketing. He uses his off-the-wall ideas to be “memorable” to clients. I ask him what his most successful advertising method has been.

I end the show with my lighting tip of the week which involves a step by step plan to make sure you get to where you want to be in business.

Just hear those sleigh bells jingling....What??!!??!! Christmas in May?

That's right, you know every year it seems like the retail stores start to put out the Christmas gear earlier and earlier. But I'm beating them to the punch.

This week I welcome, Mike Marlow, owner of Holiday Bright Lights, a premier holiday lighting and Christmas decor wholesale supplier. We are going to be discussing the Christmas light industry and why its such a profitable business. Whether you already offer Christmas lights to your clients or you are thinking about adding it to your offering, you're going to want to hear what Mike has to say.

I end the show with my lighting tip of the week and how you can make sure you don't experience a labor shortage.

I share my experience at Transworld's Christmas Light Show and CLIPA Conference in St. Louis. It was a great time to network and meet new people in the lighting industry. I taught a class on how to add landscape lighting to your existing business with Luke Jensen and Scott Romacker.

My guest this week is Paul Gosselin Sr. of NightScenes Landscape Lighting Professionals and author of The Landscape Lighting Guide. He has been in the industry a long time and he shares his thoughts on what you can do if you are just starting out in the landscape lighting industry. Paul has been actively involved with AOLP and is always willing to help other people grow their lighting business.

If you like money, don't miss this episode. I talk about the one thing that most people overlook when starting and building a business. I share my experience of building a home and why I won't be using my builder in the future.

Next I'm joined by Jeremy Sviben of Botanical Lighting and Lighting Shrink. We discuss maintenance plans and how to effectively implement them into your landscape lighting business. Jeremy shares his knowledge of being in the business for over 30 years (he ages well). I loved the way this conversation went and I'm telling you...you gotta listen to this (unless you hate money).

We start with another segment of "Prank My Business" and I give my best British accent. Next I am joined by Mark Carlson, owner of Avalon Lighting Design and ELLI (Experiential Landscape Lighting Initiative).

Mark shares his thoughts on lighting design and how design has more benefits than just the regular benefits we think of.

I also discuss risk and how the most successful landscape lighting businesses are taking risks to get to the next level.

Finally, I discuss how thinking bigger can transform your business and allow you to get to the level you know you should already be.

Today Lighting For Profits, adds a whole new twist. Instead of just being educational, I thought it would be nice to add some entertainment. Make sure you listen to the prank call I did with my old company. And make sure to watch the Mr. Peterson phone call of Ferris Buehler's Day Off before you do.

I am also joined by the CEO of Garden Light LED, Reto Mueller. Reto has been a mentor of mine for 10 years and has helped me get clarity in my landscape lighting business. He is not one to do LIVE interviews and does not like talking about himself so to get a glimpse into his life like this is a rare treat.

We discuss, self-education, self-awareness, building your own ecosystem and some of his other tips to make sure you are chasing excellence in all that you do. A landscape lighting legend!

Let's talk differentiating yourself. I'm joined by Andy Thomas, owner of Viewpoint Lighting in Sacramento, Ca and also President of the Association of Outdoor Lighting Professionals (AOLP). We talk about why he's so passionate about lighting and how he has grown his lighting business.

We also get an introduction to AOLP and some of the benefits of being a member. Finally I close with my lighting tip of of the week and give you some tips on how you can work "on" your business every single week.

In this episode, we discuss the difference between being a business operator vs. a business owner. We discuss how to get to the next level and what steps are necessary to become an entrepreneur vs. being self-employed. Being self employed usually means terrible pay, bad hours, and a terrible boss (you). lol. Woody Kerwin from Night Owl Landscape Lighting joins me and reveals some of his top tips of how he is working on growing his landscape lighting business. Even with 3 young kids, he has been able to work on his lighting business and is on his way to being business owner.

In this episode of Lighting For Profits, I discuss why I had to change the name of the podcast!!! Then I have first guest on the show....Ryan Jaso. We discuss his background of how he got into the landscape lighting industry, and what separates his distribution business apart from the rest. We discuss the power of setting up partnerships to stay specialized what you do and he brings up what he thinks is hurting the landscape lighting industry today.

I close with my landscape lighting tip of the week. Make sure to listen and find out several things you can do to get more free leads right now.