It’s Not a Sales Problem—It’s a Math Problem

Someone asked me the other day…
“What’s the average ticket in landscape lighting?”
“How much can you make?”

And honestly, I laughed.

Because the real question isn’t can you make money…
It’s will you?

Those are two very different things.

Let me ask you this:
Can your outdoor lighting business generate $1.2M in revenue with just 2 installers… and still net $240K in profit?

Most people immediately think, “That sounds hard.”

But here’s the truth:
It’s not complicated.

It’s actually simple.

Now—simple doesn’t mean easy.
If it were easy, everyone would already be doing it.

🚨 The Biggest Mistake Most Business Owners Make

Most people believe growth comes from:

• Working harder

• Hiring more people

• Getting more jobs

But that’s not the real lever.

The real lever?

Your numbers.

Not the vague “know your numbers” advice.
I mean truly understanding how your business operates.

Because whether you realize it or not…
Your business is already running on a formula.

The problem?
You’re just not aware of it.

🔢 The Simple Formula for Profit

If you want a profitable lighting business, here’s the breakdown:

• COGS (materials + labor): ≤ 50%

• Labor: 13–15%

• Marketing: ~7%

• Overhead + Admin: Controlled

• Profit Target: 20%

That’s how you reach $240K profit on $1.2M revenue.

Simple math.

⚙️ It All Comes Down to Capacity

Here’s where things get interesting.

You need to know:

• How much can your team install in a day?

• How many days can you realistically work in a year?

Let’s break it down:

• 2 installers

• 15 lights per day

• $400 per light

That’s $6,000 per day.

Multiply that by ~200 working days…

👉 That’s your $1.2M revenue.

Same team.
Same effort.
Just different math.

💸 Where Most People Lose Money

Here’s where things fall apart:

1. Underpricing
Charge $300 instead of $400?
You just lost $300,000 in revenue—for the same exact work.

2. Poor Job Efficiency
Sell a $6,000 job that should take one day…
But it takes two?

Just like that—your profit disappears.

What looked like a “great job”…
Becomes a loss.

🧠 The Real Problem

Let’s make this clear:

You don’t have:

• A lead problem

• A sales problem

• A team problem

You have a math problem.

You’re either:

• Selling more than your team can install
  or

• Installing faster than you can sell

That’s it.

Sales issue or production issue.

⚡ Build the Machine

Once you understand your numbers, everything becomes simpler.

Not easier—but simpler.

Now you can build what I call:

The Machine

• Marketing Machine → Generates leads

• Sales Machine → Closes deals

• Production Machine → Installs efficiently

Then you connect them.

Your job becomes:

• Feed the machine

• Maintain the machine

• Optimize the machine

That’s it.

🚀 Final Thoughts

You can build a $1M+ lighting business with a small team.

But not by guessing.
Not by “feeling it out.”
And definitely not by checking your bank account and hoping everything looks okay.

You need to know your numbers—weekly, monthly.

So you can make data-driven decisions, not gut reactions.

Because once you see the numbers clearly…
You’ll realize something powerful:

The business you want is already possible.
You just haven’t built it intentionally yet.

Keep Moving Forward,
Ryan Lee

# landscape lighting business, sales strategy, business growth, profit margins, pricing strategy, small business scaling, contractor business tips, revenue growth, NEPQ sales, business systems #