Lighting for Profits - Episode 258

Brad and Reid McEowen with Blingle! of Plano join us to share their journey of building a family-owned outdoor lighting business in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. From custom landscape lighting to permanent holiday lighting, they discuss what it takes to grow a business, serve a community, and create an experience customers remember. Along the way, we explore family, leadership, entrepreneurship, and building a lasting legacy.

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Episode Transcript

Welcome to Lighting for Profits. All light, All light, All Light powered by EmeryAllen.

Here is your host, Ryan Lee.

Oh, light. All light, all light. Welcome, welcome, welcome to the number one, the number one landscape lighting show in Plano, Texas. It's happening. We're taking over the world. I'm Ryan Lee, your host of Lighting for Profits, powered by Emory Allen. And, uh, guys, I don't know, like, this might be the best part of my week. Every single week. I can't. Like, it's just awesome. You just get to nerd out on business, talk lighting, talk about what works, what doesn't. Um, it's gonna be a great show. We got Brad and Reed McEwen, the, uh, the owners of Blingle of Plano, and, um, father, son team. And it's more than that. It's really a family team. Um, so we're going to talk about, like, the family dynamic. We're going to talk about what's, what's working in their business, what's not. But, um, you know, I like to have people on that are making stuff happen. You know, a lot of people just make excuses, and I think that's one of the reasons why they don't succeed. But, uh, this family is not one of those. So I'm excited to have Brad and Reed join me on the show today. Um, they're doing incredible things and getting, um, a lot of traction in the outdoor lighting space. So if you, if you're looking to get traction or you're maybe a little bit stuck, maybe you had a slow summer, this episode is going to be for you. So excited to have them on. Just, um, want to thank you guys for your support, as always. Always, um, full of gratitude. Like I said, I'm kind of like, I can't believe I get to do this show. I get to meet so many cool people, interview so many people. I'm taking notes on my own show because our guests are so amazing. So thank you guys for your support. Um, if you've gotten value out of the podcast and you have not yet given us that five star review, still asking for those, as always. Um, on Apple or Spotify. Poor favor. Quick, uh, reminder, we're gonna pretty soon here, we're gonna really start. You're gonna see a lot of promotion for this because, uh, we got Light It Up Expo happening. It's, it's in 2027. We got like five months. So you're like, why, why, why? It's like, because this is going to be the biggest, best. It's only the third One. So of course it's gonna be the biggest, best. But it's coming up March 1 through 4, 2027 in Las Vegas at the Flamingo. It's gonna be an awesome show, you guys. Um, so many vendors are, like, so excited. A lot of attendees are like, when's the next. Can you do two a year? I'm like, just patience, people. It's hard enough to do one a year. Okay. Um, but I'm, um, excited about that. So if you want to get your ticket, go to lightitup expo. com really, really excited about that show. Um, big things happening in outdoor lighting space. So. Hey, by the way, quick big, uh, shout out to Lights for Decorators owner Jimmy Tompkins. You know, whether you need landscape lighting, holiday lighting, permanent lighting, um, they're just an incredible resource, but one of the things I love most about them and Jimmy's like, on the road like 400 days of the year. He's always out doing like a free training somewhere. Tons, um, of support. They're not just there to sell products, uh, lights for decorators. They're there to help you win your local market. So go to lightsford decorators. com get in touch with their team. Get, find out. They've got a crazy training schedule. So if you need support, whether it's like I said, holiday lighting, permanent lighting, landscape lighting, there's always in person trainings and stuff like that. Make sure to get in touch with them. All right, guys, again, in just a couple minutes, we're going to have Brad and Reed McEwen, the owners of Blingle of Plano. And, um, I, I really am like, I've been like, let's go. I'm excited for this conversation because I met these guys, I think it was just a couple years ago, um, at the AOLP event. And, um, they just, they just take action. They just do stuff. It's like, this is awesome. I love that I can't get impact in my life if no one listens to me. You know what I mean? My kids don't listen, so I don't get impact at home. So hoping someone else will. Um, before I have them on, I want to talk about one of the things I think that's one of the hardest things in business. Um, and if you ran a business longer than like six months, you know, there's a lot of hard things with business, but one of the hardest things about running an outdoor lighting business is like, figuring out how to replace yourself. Like, how do I delegate and what roles to replace myself and Stuff like that. And so most outdoor lighting business owners get stuck on the truck, you know what I'm saying? Um, and there's a formula. Like, if you want to scale your business to do over seven figures, over a million dollars in 12 months, you have to have a certain foundation. You have to have a certain base. Um, and if someone can prove me wrong on this, please do. Right? But, like, you need. You need a foundation. You need at least a couple installers. Okay? So you're gonna need, um, two installers and one admin. Like, I just haven't seen it happen where someone surpasses a million dollars without two technicians and an administrator. So I would say this. If you're struggling and you're like, well, yeah, I don't know why I.

Why.

Why can't I get traction? Like, well, you're probably trying to do too many things, you know? And it's not that you're not a good person, not that you don't deserve it, not that you're not doing a lot of good things. It's just you're not doing the right formula. So, you know, if you had, like, a ton of money, like Dan Martell. I think Dan Martell says that the first hire you should do as an admin. But, I mean, you know, like, most of us don't fly around on private jets. Because if I had a private jet, I think I'd be like, yeah, like, just get an admin.

Duh.

Uh, but, um, in my experience, to grow an outdoor lighting business, you need to offload the production very first. Like, if you owned your own. If, ah, seriously, if you've owned your own outdoor lighting business for more than 90 days and you're still out doing the installs, something's wrong. Like, and there's people that have been in the industry 5, 10, 15 years, and they're still doing their own installs. Okay, well, I'm giving you 90 days. Like, why, like, did you. Did you start this to be a lighting technician and a wire trencher, or did you start this to become a business owner? And sometimes people struggle with that. It's like, well, I don't want to. I don't want to be a business owner. I just want to be a designer. Cool. Like, reach out to Reed. Reach out to Brad. Maybe they'll hire you to be a designer. Like, you don't have to be a business owner, guys. It's not like, the key to happiness, you know? Um, but if you are wanting to be a business owner and you want to go down that road, then you need to hire an A player as soon as possible. And this isn't just like some random helper, like some guy that you're going to find on the corner of Home Depot or something like that. I'm talking like, this is someone that you're.

You're.

You're going to pay them more than whatever is in your head right now. So if you're thinking, like, I don't know, I could probably pay them 20 an hour, you're probably going to pay them, um, 25, 30. If you're thinking 30, you're probably going to pay Them 35, 40. Like, you need an A player, someone who can actually get it done so that you can go out and sell. Someone that you can trust, someone that you can delegate to and implement the 108010 principle. Right? Um, once you get that down, now you've got, like, the production done. You got people that you could sell a job and like, hey, go do this job, right? Um, now it's like, okay, now it's admin. You need someone to answer your phones. Okay? And you, you don't have to make excuses here, because I've already made all those excuses. That's one of the beautiful things about learning from other people is you just, like, you can learn from your own mistakes, or you could just learn from someone else's. Like, I figured that out in the last, like, 10 years. I'll just pay to learn from someone else's mistakes. I don't have to go through it, um, because I've heard all. I've made all the excuses and I've heard them all, like, well, if I hire an admin and I don't have the shop space and, uh, I can't afford the shop space and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Right? Just hire an admin. And if you're like, why? I seriously can't afford it, well, then go make more money. And if you haven't figured out a way to make more money, then just hire a unique genius. Like hire a virtual assistant. Okay? Hire. They call them strategic partners, which I really like that. Um, because they're not just an assistant. A lot of people think like, oh, I hired a va. It didn't work out, Mike. Well, okay, so I hired a va, and it did work out. So what story do you want to continue to tell yourself? You know what I mean? Um, be careful who you're getting advice from. You don't know their circumstance, even whether it's marketing, hiring, sales, anything like that. Some people. Oh, yeah, don't don't do Facebook ads. Don't do direct, uh, mail. Don't do whatever. It's like, what, you're cutting off a steady supply of leads that's going to potentially bring you millions of dollars. Don't do that. That's terrible advice. Just because it didn't work for someone else doesn't mean it's not going to work for you. You just got to do it different than they did it. You know what I mean? So, um, you need to hire a unique genius. And if you think that you're going to hire one and then they just do magic and like, witchcraft and stuff and just, like, can read your mind and like, what. That's not what that is. You have to invest in them. You have to invest training. They can't just do what you want them to do without communication. And that's really, in my experience, the only reason why a strategic partner doesn't work out. They don't get the proper training. They don't get the proper attention. And I'm speaking from experience because the very first VA I hired didn't work out either. So, um, I'm telling you right now, it. If you want to get your business to a million bucks, you got to hire two installers and an admin, and you got to spend a hundred grand on marketing. Like, you got to pay to play. It's not just. The business doesn't just build itself. The field of dreams is not true with an outdoor lighting business. If you build it, they will come, like, maybe after, like 30 years. But, um, prove me wrong. Someone prove me wrong. Um, because it's. Again, there might be one person out there. I don't know. I haven't met them. But, um, it's extremely difficult to do that because you just can't go and sell a million dollars and install a million dollars and invoice a million dollars and all this stuff that goes in, in, in the gaps in between, like one person, it's just a lot. So I want to encourage you guys to figure out what is your bottleneck? What is the thing holding you back? Like, stop saying, oh, that's a good idea, Ryan. We'll do that next spring when we slow down. What spring? You're going to get busy. Oh, it's a good idea. Let me wait till the. The slow. What? Like, it's not going to ever. Like, you're not just going to suddenly have more opportunity in time. You have to create it. You have to create your dream life, create your dream business. You have to Stop letting your business run you. And you have to start running it. Like, don't let life happen to you. Okay? So, like, once you get intentional, you, like this. This, like, light bulb's gonna go off and be like, oh, my gosh, I can do this. I can be intentional. I don't have to just let all this stuff happen. Okay? So I want to encourage you. Find what that is. Find what your actual constraint is. It's probably not the first thing that comes to mind. Like, spend a couple minutes thinking about it, maybe an hour or two. Like, figure out what your constraint is and just solve it. And just do one thing at a time because you can hire someone. It's okay. I'm giving you permission to, like, not do everything in your business. I promise. Like, your future self will. Thank you. Um, it's hard. I get it. It's just easier to do it yourself. But how long do you want to torture yourself? That's the only thing you have to answer. Uh, so, hey, um, do you want to know a really cool way to differentiate yourself? It's actually pretty easy. You just use better product. That's it. It's an easy way to differentiate yourself from the competition. Because sometimes your competition is just buying crappy product and you're like, oh, we'll just buy better stuff. Um, so don't let a bad lamp ruin your experience with your client. Make, uh, sure you guys check out Emory Allen. They make the. I mean, honest. They make the best lamp in the industry. It's, uh, for professionals who demand the best. So upgrade your designs and installations. Reach out to Jackson his email, Jackson lry Allen dot com. And, uh, he will hook you up. Just mention that you heard about him here on Lighting for Profits, and he'll hook you up with that discounted contractor pricing. Just email jackson [email protected] om. okay, I think we're ready for the stars of the show. What do you guys think? I hope, I hope I know I'm ready. So I'm, like, losing my voice. So if these guys can show up for me, that would be amazing. Uh, let's do it. Welcome to the show. What's up, uh, Reed? What's up, Brad?

Hey, Ryan.

What's up?

Hey, thanks for coming on the show today. I appreciate it.

Yeah, thanks for having us.

Sorry we had to take you out of the one, uh, hundred and six degree, plus, uh, humidity, uh, weather.

Yeah, it's a bummer.

Yeah, I prefer sitting in air conditioning. We should do this more often.

Every day from like 11 to 5

yeah, that'd be great.

Oh, man, I'm kind of jealous. I mean, I know you got the humidity on and stuff like that, but, man, I miss Dallas Fort Worth. It's such a great area. The. The people are amazing there. It's a, uh, It's. It's a healthy market. There's. There's. There's people that don't mind spending. They value lighting. They value, like, you know, upgrading their yards and stuff like that. The food's amazing. Dang it. Lindsay. We're moving back. We're moving back.

Good luck.

I want to come back, um, excited to have you guys on. Do you want to just do a quick, um, introduction? Who is Brad? Who is Reed? Um, and, like, how the heck did you guys get into the outdoor. This crazy outdoor lighting industry?

Yeah, it's a. It's an amazing, amazing story. First, thanks for having us on. We're blessed to be on the show and in the business. Uh, so Shannon and I, uh, Shannon's my wife, Reed's mom, um, were in the employee benefits space, um, for a long time, uh, pretty much since college. And, uh, we had sold a company to a larger corporation, worked for them for about four years. And in early, uh, 22, we got out of that, uh, with no design of, uh, starting, uh, a business. And out of the blue, uh, we came across a franchise broker. Um, really, all I knew about franchises were, you know, McDonald's and Wendy's. Uh, I didn't. I didn't have any idea that roughly a third of the US Economy is driven by franchises. Um, and so we really started looking at things and, um, Horsepower Brands that owns Blingle, um, uh, was one of the first ones that we looked at, and, uh, we never would have thought about outdoor lighting as a business. Um, but one of the things that really attracted us to it, other than all the things that horsepower adds to a new business owner being in business, um, or a franchise or being in business, uh, is with insurance. Uh, every year I was delivering renewals to small employers at increased prices with worse benefits that their employees didn't appreciate. And they. They didn't. The employers loved me as a person. Just didn't really like the interaction. And we looked at lighting and said, wow, we get to see a. We get to see our finished product, uh, on a. On a home, which is amazing. And people actually like it. And. And they get excited about it. And that was completely different from what I had done for 25 years. Um, and so that was really the. The main reason that we looked at lighting. Uh, and then that coincided with Reed graduating from college. Uh, he already had a job or two in hand, uh, and so I had to actually compete to employ my own son.

Nice.

Um, yeah, which was, uh, which was great. Put him, you know, a little extra money in his pocket. So that's. That's kind of how we got started.

That's awesome. So, Reed, you had just graduated college. You either had job offers, were at a job. What. What was enticing from your dad here. Were you. Were you nervous? Like, do I really want to work for my dad? Or were you excited? Like, what. What was kind of going on?

Yeah, so it was the other jobs I had lined up. One was pr and the other one was insurance. So it was going to be like what I, uh, what, you know, my parents had grown up doing. Um, it was familiar. I knew it worked. As far as, like, money goes and, you know, the. The goal is that, uh, or the goal of having a family one day. But I've enjoyed the thought process of one getting to work with family. Mom and dad get to build something that benefits, um, my parents benefits me and my wife benefits my brother and his kids, um, and just really build something that is more, uh, of a legacy rather than just focusing on myself. Um, but also from a designing standpoint or designer standpoint, the rooms that I get to be in, I get to interact with business owners, lawyers, doctors, professional athletes, um, people that have a bunch of money in a bunch of different ways, and you don't get to do that in really any other job, at least for a long time. And, uh, you know, I was 22, graduating, and I'm talking to inventors and. And professional athletes and just like, crazy conversations that. That wouldn't have. Get. Wouldn't have happened, um, in any other industry.

That's pretty sweet, man. So what. What year was that? What. What years did you guys officially, like, start the franchise?

2022. So, uh, yeah, August or July of 2022, I think is.

Yeah, four years ago.

Okay, sweet.

Yeah, it's interesting because, um, you know, like, there's so many. There's so many different ways to make money, you know? And, um, I feel like no matter what you do, you're always kind of, like, tempted. Like, the grass is always greener on the other side. Right? So, like, on a bad day of landscape lighting sales, you're like, man, maybe we should just get into roofing. You know what I mean?

Right.

Maybe we should just sell what people need, you know? And then, like, when you're selling that you're like, it's not really that fulfilling. Like, no one even wants this crap. Yeah, they have to spend $30,000 for a new H Vac, but it's not like that rewarding. And they're like, man, I'd love to sell outdoor lighting. Like something that people really want, you know? So it's just fascinating to me that, like, there's so many different ways to, to like succeed and make money and all that stuff. But like, that's, that's one of the things. I'm glad you guys touched on this because that's one of the things I love about it too is like, I remember doing the same thing. I'm like, man, I get to meet these, like, high level executives, these business owners, these athletes, like, they became my mentors. And I'm like, you couldn't pay for this access. You know what I mean? And, and then it's just fulfilling. Like you said, uh, Brad, like, hey, ah, you could like, sell an insurance policy that someone's pissed that they have worse benefits for more money. Or you flip the switch on the lights and they're like, oh, wow. Like that, that's our, that's our house. Like, yeah, we didn't go anywhere. That's it. That's, uh. So it's just so cool.

Yeah, yeah, it's a, it's a. You know, we'll talk about this more about, you know, working with family. But it's been a, just a giant blessing to us, um, with Reed. And he's incredibly talented, um, gets both our kids get everything from their mother except for their disagreements. That comes with me.

Uh, the temper comes from Brad, but

Brad smarts, temperature, talent, all that other stuff from Shannon. Um, but it's just, it was a huge blessing, uh, just to have Reed in that position to, and to see him grow and watch what he's doing. And then, uh, we added our, our middle son Riley after he got out of the army, uh, in February of 23. And that really, I think, uh, helped Reed with a big trust issue, um, knowing that he can design and sell just about anything and Riley's going to figure out how to do it. Um, he's just a great, uh, problem solver and um, thinks on a different level about things and, and it's, it's just a really good match. Uh, not that we don't have disagreements. Not that we don't have. I, uh, don't think you guys have had any knockdown drag out yet. But, uh, I was, that's what I

was Hoping that like I wanted some juicy stuff.

I mean there's stuff, there's definitely, I mean there was stuff even last week, but yeah.

Oh, interesting. Tell us more.

Tell us more.

No, Brad doesn't know yet.

No, I mean he knows, but the um, working with my brother, uh, him leading the install crews and, and really being like the, the MacGyver. I would say whenever there's, I mean you, you have to be in this industry for no more than two weeks to figure out not every light is going to go in a mulch ring and not every tree is perfect for downlighting. And you've got to be really creative. Um, uh, especially when you're doing retroactive installs where you know there's already concrete down, there's already water going through a fountain and you've got to get creative. And um, having my brother Riley there to do that is, is really helpful. I'm sure sometimes he would say, uh, you know, slow uh, it down a little bit. Don't make it so hard on me. Like, why, why you make it so hard? But um, you know, he's, there hasn't been a single thing that he hasn't figured out yet. And uh, from a, when you were talking earlier before we hopped on about hiring the installer and like that's, that's like the first move you need to do to get off, stop, stop digging trenches. That also if you hire the right installer, makes the selling job so much easier because it doesn't feel like you actually have to sell yourself on the fact that you're going to do a good job. Like you're confident in your team and the product that you install, it makes, it's subconscious but it makes it so much easier to talk to the client about it. Um, like I'm, I'm 100 confident we can do a right job or the right job. And it's easy for the client to believe that too.

Yeah, that's cool. I mean honestly, it was like, that was like the story of my brother. And I like, I, I, he, he was like the MacGyver. And so people would even ask me, they're like, how are you gonna get a light there? I'm like, oh, I have no idea. Yeah, I have a brother. Like he just knows how to do stuff. I, I couldn't do that. But I know it's not my job.

I say that quite often. I'm like, that is not my job. That's somebody else's job.

Yeah, they're like, so you can be here on the install. Oh, no, no. I'm just the owner. Yeah, you don't want me screwing that up. Luckily, we've got a very qualified team that this is all they do all day, every day. I would screw this up. That's cool. Um, when did, um. Do you remember what year we met? Do you remember when that was?

It was AOLP 24, I believe. Reed. You knew about him before then?

Yeah. Yeah. You had been popping up on social media, um, watching a lot of Facebook and Instagram, like, shorts or whatever reel or whatever those are called. And, um. And so I was like, this guy keeps talking about lighting. And, like, there's a lighting podcast that's. That's interesting. And then, uh, I think it was. It was either 24 or 25, but it was AOLP conference, and we were sitting at a, uh. It was the last day, and we were sitting at the dinner table together, and you were just talking, and, uh, you were explaining kind of how everything works. And we were like, gosh, everything you're describing about all the problems that you went through are problems that we're going through right now, and we could really use a further conversation.

Yeah, you. And you asked us a question, Ryan. You said, what if this doesn't work? And. Or, you know, what. What if you don't make enough money? Or. I can't remember exactly. I think it was, what. What if this doesn't work? And I. And I said, we're just going to close it up. And you said, that's really sad. And, um. And I was. I was a little mad at you for saying that it was sad. Um, but. But it was like, you know, he's right. We have all the tools to be able to do this. And especially when we joined Landscape Lighting Secrets, and just the community that you've built around that, um, we have all the tools there to succeed in this. We don't have to make it sad. Uh, and so, I don't know, I just. Thank you for the boldness that you've always had, uh, the boldness that you had with us that night, because it really, uh, changed the trajectory of our company.

Wow, that's. That was so cool. Um, I remember that conversation, and I remember sitting down, I was like, I'm thinking in my head, dude, this is like. This is like a fantasy. Like, you got this again. You guys come across as, like, this, like, perfect family. I'm like, wait, you guys love each other? Like, most families don't. Love each. Like, most families don't want to work together, you know, What. I mean, so I'm like, what's going on? And I was asking you these questions, and it was like, things just weren't clicking, you know? And I'm like, that's weird. Like, usually, like, I meet people and like, sometimes they're not clicking, and I'm like, uh, they're not. They're never gonna click. Just so you know. Like, yeah, I don't want to be rude, but I am kind of bold. Like, just. You might not want to do this, but I'm like, man, you guys have all. Like, you have all this stuff. Like, what's. And that's why I was like, man, what happens if it doesn't work? And I. And I really was like, man, that. That is sad because, like, you guys have so much opportunity. I was familiar with the market. I was familiar with, like, the. The opportunity. Like, let's. Let's do this, you know? So I do. I think I do piss off a fair number of people, um, especially that aren't in the community, but even in. When they join, they're probably like, dude, what the hell? I just paid you money. Why are you offending me? And I'm like, I'm not. That's. That's. It's. That's not the intent. The intent is to just get right to it. And like, yeah, if there's a problem, let's just solve it.

Well, we know you're. We know your heart. And that comes out, I think, in. In all of you. Everything that you do in your conversations and your pre. Your presentations. So, uh, that was more, you know, most. Most anger. The time when. When especially men get anger, it's a. It's about something inside that's coming up in us. And. And at that point, it was, hey, I've run several successful businesses, bought and sold some, and, um, why can't I. I'm not. This isn't working the way that I want it to work. And, uh. And it was like, you know, one of those things where you. You. You say I need help. And, um. But. But saying that you need help is sometimes hard. And here you were offering help. And. And so it was. I think it was more of a shame response than the new pissing people off.

But no, that's interesting, though, because I'm the same way. I'm like, uh. That's like, probably my biggest weakness in life is I do not want to ask for help. It's just like, like you said, like, I've. I'm. I'm already successful. Like, I've done this before. Like, why. Why is this not working? And it's just like, I'd rather just fail on my own than ask for help sometimes. Um, I've. I'm getting better. You know, I've invested in tons of coaches and masterminds now, but even then, it's. It's still just like, why, Like, I should be, like, better than this, but. Yeah, it's hard. Um, well, good for you guys. So, yeah, I think that was 24, and then it was.

It was Nel's. Nell's last one. Oh, yeah, yeah.

So that was 24. Now we're in 26. Um, give us kind of a quick update on, like, where the companies that. By the way, congrats. You guys earned the lmc, which is lighting, uh, Millionaire Club. We came up with this award system, and it's just something that I don't even know if people like. Like, is it cool or not? I don't know. I think it's cool because there's nowhere else you get recognition for being awesome. You know what I mean? And so I'm like, I'm gonna do this. I haven't even really asked if people like it. Is it cool or no. Should we keep doing it?

Yeah, no, I think it's. It's encouraging to the team and fun to see how we've grown. I think it's smart on. On your standpoint, because it's like, since. How much money have you made since you joined? And, like, that's a. A good m. Milestone tracker. But, um, it does get more daunting as you. As those numbers get bigger. I remember crossing the hundred thousand. I was like, that was easy. And then it was like a million. Like, you're not throwing in a 500,000 $1 or whatever. Like, let's make this. Let's make this a little easier. And then we've had people. 5 million. Yeah. And I'm like, okay, just get to a million.

I ain't.

We're not.

We're not, uh, giving you a halfway here.

Yeah. No handouts, right? Yeah, I think it's, uh. But it's. It's. I mean, I remember when the hundred thousand. I was like, that. That'll be. That won't be hard. Uh, the million. I was like, man. And then I think we did it in less than a year. And I was like, yeah, awesome. And then, um. And now with the five, I think it'll probably still. It would be about two or three years, but I'm ready to. Ready to pass it so that's awesome.

Maybe, maybe we can hit it, hit it next year. Um, for, for me as an owner looking, uh, at that, that plaque, it's a, it's just a constant reminder of, hey, Reed, this is what you've already done. And, and so if we're having a bad week or you know, a slow month or something, it's like, we know, we know what we did to get here, to get this. All we have to do is just do that again and be really intentional about what we're doing. Um, and so, yeah, I love the awards. I think it's great.

That's cool. That's awesome. Um, well, we are going to continue doing it. So that's good because if you would have said no, I'm like, well, we're doing it anyway. Um, talk about your company setup. Like, what does the company look like today? Who's in what position? What's Brad doing? What's Reed, What's. What's the family doing?

Yeah, you know, you talked early about, um, you know, hiring people right away. And um, that was important for us. Uh, I have a lot of. I have a lot of unjustified and probably unhealthy fears. Um, one of them is I just don't like trying to find labor. Uh, and so I'm going to overpay for labor initially. Um, because the amount of time that we put into training people, uh, and getting them to do things right, man, I want them to stick. And uh, it's just really expensive to have, uh, to retrain, you know, every six months or three months or, or whatever. And so, um, um, the breakdown is I, I do most of the high level stuff. M. I'm really not involved in the day to day with the exception of, uh, and you may, this will be silly, but I answer calls, um, and I'm good at it. I'm good at talking on the phone. Um, I'm not afraid to pre qualify or price marinade people. And that's been really helpful for us. Um, and so for the time being, I think we'll continue to do that. It's. It's not that taxing. Um, Shannon really handles all of the day to day stuff. Uh, all of the bookkeeping and accounting and ordering and um, sort of scheduling with Reed and Riley. Um, and then Reid, uh, is design and sales, um, and does uh, a lot of, uh, also going. I mean Reid works a ton. He's a very hard worker and uh, does a lot of going out at night after the install to turn the lights on. With the clients. Um, that makes a huge difference. His um, presence there is um, number one, we know right away that everything came out the way that we designed it or, or didn't. Um, and, and, and the, just the sense of how important that customer is. Like they know they're important to us because Reed's out there and doing it. And so that, that's really, that's really great. Uh, then Riley does uh, most, most of just the, the operational stuff on the installs and inventory, um, for permanent uh, and landscape lighting and holiday lighting. And then uh, we have two full time installers. Uh, one of those guys has been with us since uh, November of 22. Uh, so on our.

Wow.

Right as we were installing, getting ready for Christmas of 22, we uh, hired him. And then uh, the other guy's been with us for two and a half years. So uh.

Dang.

Yeah, it's been fantastic.

I mean that is awesome. Yeah, I mean like I totally agree with what you're saying. Like it is, it's, it's to me it's the hardest part of the business. You can get that down. So the fact, the fact that you're able to keep someone longer than three months, you know what I mean? Like, okay, you know, you're doing something right. And then six and then nine and then a year, you're like, okay, so what, what has been the. Are you guys just like um, bribing them? Culture. It's a, you know, it is like super hot and then humid outside. So like how, how do you keep someone longer than a year?

Well, we just made it. Shannon and I made a commitment that we were going to guarantee everybody 40 hours. Um, and so early on when we didn't have 40 hours of work, those guys were still getting paid. Uh, we found things for them to do, um, you know, door to door stuff, door hangers, signs, whatever. Um, and ah. And then you know, as the, as the business grew, uh, giving them more responsibility. Um, Riley is really great at um, giving them responsibility and then letting them run with it. And you uh, know, and that, that's always going to sometimes cause some issues where we're like, oh yeah, they didn't do any of those lights. Right. Or you know, half, half the. Half a yard is in the wrong spot. And um, not completely, but you know what I mean, it's, it's just not focused on the right, the right thing. Um, I don't know where you can talk to that too.

Yeah, yeah, I think um, the giving them more responsibility, trusting them more um, the, the big reason we do the nighttime walkthrough is just make sure everything is perfect. And like, I don't want to leave if it's not perfect. Um, especially as we give these guys room to mess up, I think is probably the right way to put it. Um, like, hey, it's okay that something's not positioned correctly this first time. We can, we'll fix it and we'll continue to get better and make notes and document that. Um, I think Brad and, and Shannon, my mom and dad, one thing they're not that the culture that they've got, that they've built at the business and the, they really do care about, especially Ryan and Oscar are too. Or they care about the sons, obviously. But Ryan and Oscar, people who aren't sons, um, they're invested in, uh, you know, their relationships. A couple of them have kids and houses and, and they're providing, um, not only the, the salary but also the, um, you know, there's little things here and there where they're helping out with and um, just treating them as humans and not as, as tools. Um, and that, that is really important to, especially when you find somebody who's good, that, hey, they're good and they're worth maybe letting them not show up, you know, at 9am or 8am today because they need to go take their kid to the first day of school or their kid's sick and we need to rearrange something. Um, uh, just little stuff like that. And that's huge though. Yeah. Like having Grace with them and understanding that they have a life and they're not expendable. They are intricate, uh, part of the, part of the, the team. Uh, and I think, I think Ryan and Oscar feel that and that's why they've continued to stay here. And they get paid pretty well too, which is awful.

Yeah, Yeah. I, I, we're pro, you know, we definitely are overpaying. I know we're overpaying for Reed, uh, according to the market, but. And uh, and probably, you know, the same with Riley and Oscar and Ryan. And Ryan. But um, yeah, but they're great guys and uh, we love them as people and uh, uh, we started providing health insurance benefits last year and dental this year. And you know, it's just, uh, we want them taken care of and those are all things that they can go find at other employers out there. And so, uh, you know, I think we can't kid ourselves and think that, yeah, go out and work in the 105 degree heat and you're just going to love it here. Um, you know, and. And so you gotta. You gotta make it worthwhile for them to be here. And they've been great.

How'd you find those guys?

Yeah, it's all. God's just blessed us. Ryan. Um, uh, Ryan, the guy that's been with us for four. Almost four years. Uh, we met him through a friend at church. Um, he was dating a friend's daughter and they're married now. And. And, uh, I just walked up to him and said, hey, I hear you have a job in a warehouse. Um, what do you think about coming to work for us installing lights? And, um, and. And he was making nothing. And I, you know, decided to really up the amount and make it. Make it almost unrefusable. And so, uh, yeah. Irresistible. And so he. He came in and then, um, uh, the other guy was weird. I was actually trying to contract with, I think his uncle, uh, who's a roofer to. To help us during the Christmas season. And he. He kind of flaked out, but referred me to his. His nephew. And, uh, that was Oscar. And Oscar was working for, ah. Um, like a. What was he working for? Read.

Rental company. It was like a rental company.

Yeah, yeah, Equipment. Equipment rental company. And it was like, all right, you already know how to use equipment. Let's get you over here. And, um, oversold his, uh, his. His desire to be high up on things a little bit. Um, and, uh, that was. That was a challenge right away. So. But he's overcome it and done.

He's figured it out. Yeah. Yeah, that's awesome. He also speaks Spanish too. Man, that is so helpful down here. Like, we run across crew, especially when we're working with contractors and, uh, you know, different referral partners. And our guys speak English, but, um, a lot of the people we run across don't. And it's super helpful to have Oscar speak Spanish.

Yeah, that's great. I mean, you guys know I'm like, so, like, grow the business and do the sales and the marketing and all that stuff. But I just think that like, like, it's really hard to do that if you don't have a good team.

So, uh, it's impossible to do that if you don't have a team.

You're right.

Yeah.

And so I'm hearing, number one, go to church. People like, go to church. Okay, Just go, even if you don't want to. That's probably why you need to go. Um, and then, um. Uh, you said something, Brad, where you're like, you made him this irresistible offer. Well like recruiting is really the same as like, like we put so much into like how do we serve our customers?

Yeah.

Well, how do we serve our team? And like what's the irresistible offer to someone to join our business? Alex Hermosi says that he goes make an offer so good that someone would feel dumb for saying no.

Yeah, yeah.

It's the same thing with recruiting. It's like, I just feel like that's the thing. Like if you really have a business where someone's gonna have to work out in the heat instead of an air conditioned warehouse or you're not as good as a leader as you know you will be in a few years, you might have to pay them the extra money. That's just like the price for lack of an awesome experience. You know what I mean? So.

Yeah, I agree with that.

Yeah, I just, you know, he was making 13 an hour. We offered him 19. It's an extra thousand dollars a week to a 19 year old. Um, a thousand dollars a month. Sorry. To a 19 year old. That it's just a, it's a huge thing. And, and we were going to have to pay that anyway if we went out and especially if we hired somebody who had experience. And uh, and so uh, yeah, we just got really, really fortunate with the guys that we have.

Cool. Hey, we're gonna do a quick game. It's a new game we started doing to get to know our guests and uh, it's, it's kind of fun. It's called you make the call. So I'm m gonna ask you guys some questions. It's like this or that, what would you do? Type thing. Some scenarios, some are fun, some are business, you know, stuff like that. Um, I started doing this and call, uh, source stepped up. They said hey, we want to be a part of this call. Um, Source. Basically, um, they might replace you, Brad. Yeah, they might do some outbound calling for you. That's what they do. So they're not actually meant to replace people, but really more to enhance. So it's like you hire them, they come out, they'll call old leads, they'll do all the stuff that a lot of people just don't want to do. We've heard the saying fortune is in the follow up. Well, no one does it, you know what I mean? So um, that's why the fortunes there. So they'll, they'll do the outbound calling and stuff like that. They have an offer for lighting for profits listeners. 50% off your first month go to try.callsource. com lfp try.callsource. com LFP so are you guys ready to play? You make the call?

You bet.

Okay, so Mexican, uh, or barbecue?

Read.

I'm going Mexican.

Yeah, I'm barbecue.

Okay. Dang it. What's the best. If someone's coming to Dallas, what's the best Mexican. What's the best barbecue?

Barbecue, uh, is probably, uh, Terry Blacks in Dallas.

Um, I got a different one for that one, but what is it? Cadillac Ranch in Addison.

Yeah.

Very good. It's in a business building. It's weird, but it's good.

Yeah.

What about Mexican man?

Mexico. There's a place up in McKinney. Um, it's called Lupe's Tortillas. Um, and It's. It's off 75, like, Main Highway Collin, uh, County.

It's right in Allen, off of Stacy. Right?

Yeah, yeah, right off.

Love.

Uh, it.

Papa Seed is, is still a, A great one. Papa's Brothers. Yeah, it's really good.

They got those. You, um, get the, the chicken fajitas and they put like, butter and like cocaine and drugs on it.

That's exactly right.

That's like, really good.

It's amazing.

Um, all right. QT or racetrack?

Yeah, we're QT fans. Ones right next door to our warehouse. And, um, and Racetrack sold a bunch of their stores to 7 11. So they've. And. And uh, I know QT also does a lot of. A lot of stuff, uh, working with Folds of Honor, uh, which is a great non profit that works with, um, uh, kids of, um, kids of fallen. Fallen soldiers that, uh, they give scholarships to. And it's just an amazing organization. So QT all the way.

Let's go. I'm a big QT guy.

Yeah.

Uh, Whataburger or in and out?

Whataburger.

Yeah, Whataburger all the way.

Whataburger or whataburger?

Not a soggy burger. It's a Whataburger.

Like water. I'm like water.

Yeah. What burger? But yeah, okay.

Yeah, I do miss a whataburger. Spicy ketchup, you know, like.

Yes, that's cool.

They sell that in Walmart now. At least here. I don't know if they do it.

Oh, they do.

Yeah.

Yeah, you can probably order it.

Everyone in Utah. We're a bunch of

Walmart.

Yeah. Um, all right, you get to fix one problem forever. Not enough leads or not enough good employees?

I don't know.

I, I would, I would say, uh, I would, I would fix the good employees. You can you can always find leads.

I think I was gonna say you can always find the good employees by charging more to the leads. So that's what I was raising prices.

Salesman.

Yeah, yeah, I was gonna say leads.

That's all right. Um, two million dollar company with great culture and lots of freedom or a 10 million dollar company that requires you to be there 60 hours a week.

Gary, I'm curious what you would say.

How much money am I making at the 10 million dollar company?

Maybe nothing.

Yeah, if it's nothing, I'll take the 2 million with lots of freedom. But, um, I don't. I'm at.

I'm m. You're making 20 on. On both.

Yeah. I'd probably do the 10 and work 60.

Young buck.

Yeah, I'd probably choose that one too. Yeah.

Uh, young buck, Brad.

Yeah, no, yeah, not young buck, but, uh, yeah, it just. You're eventually going to get the freedom. So just build it.

Build it big.

All right, if you, uh, if one of you had to leave the company for a year, who would the business have a harder time replacing?

Reed.

Oh, good job, Reed.

Yeah.

Uh, you disagree on a major decision and both think you're right. Dad gets the tiebreaker because he's dad or the person whose department it affects gets the final call.

I think. I think if it's really a deadlock, I think Brad gets the. Dad gets the.

Is that true, Brad?

Yeah, I. It's interesting. Uh, I would say it's probably true when it comes to issues between Reed and. And the rest of the company. Uh, I will get the final call. Uh, his brother's a little harder to deal with. And, um, and, and so he, he probably gets the nod over, uh, Reed sometimes, but.

Wow.

Yeah.

Um, I told you, we're not editing anything out. Anything you say can.

That's fine. That's fine. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He knows it. He knows it.

Um, all right, Brad, this question's for you. Reed comes to you tomorrow and says, I don't want to do this anymore. I want to start my own thing. Do you try to talk him out of it or tell him to go for it?

Yeah, I mean, obviously it would have to be a pretty reasoned, well reasoned thing, but if it's well reasoned, uh, I'm never going to hold anybody back from doing what they really want to do. And, uh, uh, it would. It would kill us. Um, but it would be the right thing for him.

All right, Reed, this question's for you.

Yeah.

Someone offers you twice as much money to leave the family business and run Another company. Do you take the opportunity or stay and build what you guys started?

Yeah, I think, I think it's stay and build what we're building right now. Twice as much is not enough.

Yeah. If you're getting ownership.

Yeah, let's talk. But it has to be ownership and profitable and like, further along than where we're at now. Um, because the upside on doing this correctly with the family is great. The next.

That's awesome. That's so cool. All right, um, you can only sell one for the rest of your career. Front yard, curb appeal, or backyard outdoor living. Come on.

Where the. Oh, man. Backyard. I think backyard's the bigger ticket item on the nice properties. That's the bigger ticket item for sure. Yeah, yeah.

It's what most people are going to enjoy personally most. And so, you know, we're, we try to be about what the customer wants. Uh, Nelson, Nell's always told us, well, you gotta, you gotta give them what they want. And, um, you can, you can design all you want and you can propose everything, but it comes down to what do they really want? And I think, I think a lot of people love their backyards.

All right, cool. All right. You have to get rid of one. You got to eliminate one forever. Up lighting trees or down, like moonlighting from the trees.

Moonlighting. That's easy. That's, that's not, that's not hard at all.

You're getting rid of it?

Yeah, for sure. Why?

Because you don't want to climb up there.

Yeah. It's a pain in the butt to maintain. I think if it's a tree that is only. That only has down lights, moonlights in. It doesn't look nearly as natural. Um, like it's just a bunch of glowing orbs. And, uh, you need the up lights to balance that out. Whereas if you have a tree that's only uplit, it still looks good.

All right. Would you rather light a ten, uh, million dollar estate with an unlimited budget and picky homeowner? Like, very picky homeowner? It's probably going to cuss you out. Okay. This may have been a true experience for me. $10 million estate with an unlimited budget, picky homeowner or million dollar home where the homeowner gives you total creative control?

How long's the 10 million dollar project?

How long?

Yeah, as long as.

How many lights are you gonna sell? You know, it's an unlimited budget.

I'd probably do that. I do the 10 million for life.

They're customers for life, you know.

Yeah, I think I do the 10 million there. I think uh, that there's a lot of cool opportunity there.

All right. Um, and then you can only keep, I uh, think this last one. Yeah, you can only keep one skill on your team. World class lighting design or world class sales ability. Mhm.

I, it's a. So ah, I think sales can be, sales is a skill. It can be taught and learned. Um, there, there are some innate things about salespeople. Um, and, and my guess, Well, I don't know, sorry I'm going to go on, on this. But one of the things that makes Reed, I think unique, a little bit of a unicorn in the business is that he's, he's a great designer. He's not afraid to ask for the, the sale, but he is incredibly personable and there are people that will invite him into their homes to talk about, you know, cowboys memorabilia collections for hours before they ever talk about lighting. And um, and, and so in this case I would take the salesperson. In any other case I would take the designer because I can take, I can teach them to sell.

How about you Reed?

I think long term the, having the, the design skill is probably better growing um, a business. Short term having the sales is better. But if you're trying to especially get into those ten million dollar projects, um, you need to have the, the lighting design skill to be able to do it. You know, like look at what's happening. Like Greg Matthews and luxury illumination, stuff like that. Like I'm sure he's a great salesman but he's a ah, really good designer.

Yeah.

So very cool. All right guys, thanks for playing. You make it.

Yeah, that's fun.

Kind of fun. Mix uh, it up a little bit, get uh, to know you guys on a different level. So thank you so much. Uh, I do want to ask you guys, I mean you guys are just doing so many good things over there. I know, I know a lot of people are going to be like, okay, so what's the secret? Like what are you doing? What, what's working for marketing? What's the sales like? Uh, what, what is working? You guys mind sharing a little bit of that?

Yeah. Uh, first of all you're, you're, during the, during the initial part of your show you talked about spending $100,000 in marketing. And, and you know that's right on you. You have to spend uh, early on especially I think 10 to 12, maybe even 15% of your revenue in, in advertising. Um, and most of it isn't going to be trackable. Most of it is going to look like it doesn't work. And um, but, but you have to do it. And, uh, I think advertising and marketing is the sum of all parts game. Um, and you just have to be. You have to be smart about it, but, um, but you have to do it. And so social media, um, I don't think you have to do a ton in print, but, you know, definitely belonging to some chambers or some BNI groups I think is incredibly important. Um, and that's all a part of marketing. Um, and then, you know, identifying your ideal client and going after your ideal client is really important. And there are some, some good resources out there to be able to go after those folks, uh, a little bit.

Because. Yeah, I mean, I teach that in landscape lighting secrets. I didn't invent that. I learned it from someone else who learned it from someone else. It's been around since marketing's been around. Yeah, but what, what I guess changes. Did you notice when you actually got specific with that? Instead of being like, oh, yeah, we just want to do lighting for people that can afford lighting or whatever? Yeah, generic.

Yeah. The afford lighting thing is, um, I mean, anybody can afford. Not anybody, but a lot of people, especially in dfw, can afford lighting. Um, you need people that, uh, especially up north where we do most of our projects, North Dallas, and even north of that, uh, there's a lot more space. And so, um, like, we narrowed down, okay, we need the houses to be at least $800,000. Um, I think we're probably closer to, you know, 1.2 to 1 and a half now. Um, they need to be on at least half an acre. Again, we're probably closer to, to a, at least an acre now. Um, need to have a pool, need to have reasons to spend time outside or at least look outside. And when we created that profile, um, it was. And then said every marketing dollar we're going to spend is to attract those people. That every effort we're going to do is to attract those people. We want to be in those neighborhoods. We want to be, um, in front of those eyeballs. That made it so much more focused rather than just advertising, you know, at a mall or a home show or, um, you know, things where a lot of eyeballs are seeing it, but maybe not a lot of the right eyeballs are seeing it. Versus, we're going to spend money on breeze leads and mailers and, um, in magazines that are going, you know, luxury magazines and stuff like that. Those are going to be far more impactful. Um, even if there's not a Immediate roi. It's, we're in front of the right

people and that's interesting. So were you guys doing home shows before? Going into malls?

Not malls, but yeah, like, you know, like advertising.

Like, uh, yeah, yeah.

So, and are you not doing home shows anymore? No, Yeah, I, I, I think it's just awesome you're sharing this because again, like a lot of people like hear that and it's like, well, yeah, of course I gotta identify my ideal client, avatar, whatever. It's like. But no, this like, actually matters because now instead of just spending money and like, not really know, like, can you imagine, like, just, uh, let's just target Dallas Fort Worth.

Yeah.

What?

Yeah, you know what I mean?

Like, that's not even possible then, um, you're running all over the place anyway. So when you do get hyper focused, um, now you said you're able to text market them.

Yeah.

Um, what were some other ways? How else are you, like hyper focused?

Mailers, uh, you know, and meta, Facebook and Instagram can drill down a little bit especially. So, I mean, you know, you used to live here. We've got these amazing neighborhoods that have, all of them have sections or zip codes that have these great, great neighborhoods and uh, homeowners in them. And so we just target those zip codes and so we get very zip code specific rather than, um, you know, like, uh, Alan has uh, three or four zip codes. There are two of them that we're really honing in on. McKinney has four or five zip codes. There are two of Them that we're honing in on. Plano has seven zip codes. There are two of THEM that we're honing in on. Um, because that's where our ideal clients live and that's where it makes the most sense to spend the money and target that stuff. So, um, yeah, the one thing I will say real quick about home shows is we, uh, have chosen to try to grow the landscape lighting side much bigger and much faster than, than the permanent side or the holiday side, um, for a couple of reasons. Number uh, one, we came from a very fourth quarter heavy business. Uh, we don't want to be very fourth quarter heavy right now until we have more infrastructure, the admins in place, the additional installers, all of that. Uh, number two, Reed is a great designer and um, we can really set ourselves apart by being landscape lighting designers. There's, I think, way more design capability in landscape lighting than there is in holiday lights. Um, and number three, um, the labor aspect of holiday, uh, is just a pain. And so, uh, you know, we think that we can do X amount with our current group and it's, and it's almost double what we're doing now in, uh, landscape lighting. And so we don't really have to add much, uh, to the, to the overhead cost and the labor cost to double our revenue on landscape lighting.

That's home shows.

Home shows, though, I think can be a place where holiday, uh, lighting guys can, can thrive and, uh, permanent.

Yep. Yeah.

And, and so we just didn't see that. We didn't see our ideal customer walking through the door enough into home shows. Um, they're busy, they're, they're out running companies or, you know, on a yacht or whatever, and uh, they're not going to a home show. And so that's, that's why we decided not to do that.

So you guys had success early on with Breeze Leads, and you were the ones that actually referred them to us. We, as you guys know, we have like our, we're really in landscape buying secrets. You guys have been in long enough to know, like, it looks completely different today than it did a year ago, two years ago, three years ago. Um, we keep trying new things and like, okay, if that works, let's double down. If not, let's get rid of it. But one of the things I'm really excited about is our partner program. So we now have the ability to like, as our group's grown, like, we have like, hey, we're like, we're like a real group, you know, like, we're all growing up now. And so now we're a buyer's group. And we can go to these marketing companies, these manufacturers, whatever, and say, hey, what, what, what would you be willing to discount to give us to get in front of our group? So because of your guys introduction, we get $400 off a month. You know, everyone gets $400 off a month, which is crazy awesome. But you guys have had a lot of success with them. Uh, we've had people that say, hey, I tried them. It didn't work out for me. Yeah, that's where I'm like, what? Like again, like, it's, it's not the same thing. You could hire the same company, the same, whatever, but there's still certain things you got to do differently. So what are some things that you guys are doing that you think make something like Breeze Leads work where someone else might not? They might be missing the target.

Well, I think our targeting, uh, number one is really important. So like Reed said, we target 800,000. It's actually a third of an acre or more rather than a half an acre. Um, just because some of those third acre houses have really nice backyards and front yards with trees and all that stuff. Um, and then specific zip codes. That's the demographic that we're, that we're going after. And um, then the second thing is speed to lead. Um, the second that I get. And this is where having an admin, having somebody else help you and it's why we are just blessed to be in the sort of the family position that we're in where uh, Shannon and I and Reed and Riley do what we do individually is that I can sit here and literally watch all day long the emails come in and once a breeze lead comes in, I'm right on the phone, I'm immediately calling them. And so within minutes I'm contacting somebody that just responded to a text. Um, and then I follow the script, uh, that Landscape Lighting Secrets has developed to price marinade and pre qualify somebody. And we've changed it up a little bit. Um, I always pull up the uh, address in Google Maps and hopefully it's not blurred out so that I can see the front and the sides and at least an over top view of the house. And from that, Ryan, what we have decided to do is, is we have decided to say, you know, hey, we have a $2,500 new install minimum. Um, if you went nuts with lights on your house, if you really are into lighting, you could easily spend. And, and if you think about what your script says, it says 8 to 12 or 8 to $15,000. Well, sometimes I'm saying 1550 to $75,000.

Yeah.

And so I'm, I'm price marinating them so that Reed has the freedom when he talks to them to, to design something. And I, you know, and sometimes I undershoot. Sometimes I think I said, you know, 15 to 18 to one guy. And Reed went out there and it was a $30,000 job and he didn't buy because he was like, well, nobody told me it was going to cost that much. So, um, I think price marinating is incredibly important. Um, and uh, maybe it's another thing that I'm calling as the owner and I tell them, hey, this is Brad, the owner of Blingle, but I'm scheduling m the appointment for our lighting designer. And so maybe we look a little bigger than we are. I don't know. I don't know if that makes a big deal or not. Um, but that's why it's been successful. For us.

Yeah, that's cool. I appreciate you sharing because I think a lot of people hear that stuff and like, oh, I know I'm answering, I'm sending everyone an email or a text. It's like, yeah, but like the next day, that's not good enough. And even a couple hours is not good enough. Like you got to be right on it, right in the moment.

And our biggest job to date is a guy that contacted us in March of this year through, um, Breeze. And then uh, I, I called him and texted, uh, him and called him and texted him because I knew the house, I looked at it and I was like, yeah, this would be a great one to get in. And um, you know, and he didn't respond. And then in June he called us back and um, and said, hey, I'm interested in some landscape lighting. And I said, hey, you know Joe, um, you and I, I tried to reach you back in, back in March. And he's like, I never, I never responded to a text and it was a weird thing. But he, but he did and uh, he's been a great client. So, um.

Interesting.

Yeah, come around.

Honestly, what it takes, it's so much perseverance. It's like we, we give up quick because it's. There is low hanging fruit. There is the text or the call that comes in that can meet tomorrow and spend 10,000 and that feels good. So it's just harder to follow up on. Like if you send someone a message and they don't reply three times, you're like, okay, I take the hint. But like, that's not how this game works. I mean, you got to just stay on them and on them and honestly like, yeah, they're either like gonna buy from you or not, you know, so. Yeah, um, you gotta, you gotta like, I'm just gonna go. And I joke around, but I'm kind of like dead serious. Like I'm gonna just like follow up until they like call the police or tell me no.

Yeah, yeah, that's right. Yeah, well, and I, I even ask them that. I, I say when I'm following up, I say, hey, I'm, I'm gonna continue to follow up with you until you tell me no. And, and so if, if lighting isn't something that you're ever going to do, then just tell me no. Uh, and, and, and we can leave each other alone, but if you think it's going to be a possibility, then you need to do it with us. And uh, at least, at least, at least get informed and have Reed come out and talk to you about it. Because if you don't do business with us, you're at least going to come away with, from that appointment with a wealth of knowledge that. That Reed's going to be able to give you. So cool.

So you guys are. How much are you spending on an annual basis on actual advertising and marketing?

Yeah, we spend, um. I think this year we'll. We'll just crack a hundred thousand dollars. Um, so it's. It's probably nine and a half percent of our revenue.

Yeah, well, I mean, honestly, it's just there's so many new company there. When you look at, like, honestly what you guys have built, and I know you guys have, like, bigger dreams and stuff like that, but there's the book. The gap in the gain talks about, like, measure backwards and, like, look how far you guys have come. That's, like, easy for me. I'm like the proud parent over here. For. For you guys, you know, like, oh, my gosh, what you've done. But you're like, yeah, but we're going to do this. Um, but how many lighting companies do over a million dollars a year? And there's just not a lot. I mean, there. There are some. You know what I mean? But it's just not. And, uh. And there should be way more. Yeah, it's because of these small things, like, they're not hiring technicians, they're not speed to lead, they're not investing. I mean, it's really hard to build a brand organically. I mean, it's really, really hard to do that. So that's why you pay the $10,000 a month, $9,000 a month, whatever, because I think most people will spend, you know, 10, 20 grand a year. And then they're like, man, I don't know why. I just can't get past this 3, 400 grand mark. I'm like, I know why.

Yes.

Yep.

Um, talk about the sales front. Uh, Reed, um, are you. Do you do demos? Have you ever done demos? What's. What's your. Give us. Give us your, like, best closing line, like, give us the secrets. What are you doing? What are you doing to grow this business?

Yeah. So, uh, to answer the question for demos, I don't. I rarely do demos anymore. Um, we've got enough projects, enough pictures that I can show them. AI is also helpful enough now where I can sit in the truck in 30 seconds and have a rendering put together of what I see generally what the house is going to look like. Um, and tell them, hey, this is what it is, what we've done is start with demos. Uh, I'm not even really. No, not really.

Just a few, not many.

Yeah, I've probably done ten, um, but not, not a ton.

Okay.

The, um, biggest difference maker in our business was we identify is this appointment going to be above $10,000 or below $10,000. And if it is above $10,000, I am actually not giving the price out on the spot. I'm scheduling a second appointment to show the pricing. If it's below $10,000 or right at $10,000, I will try to close the job on the spot. Um, and we create, or I create a, um, presentation. It's usually like a 12 slide presentation. You know, I reuse a lot of the slides from previous ones. But, um, where I've, on the bigger projects, I will go through and show you where all the lights are going to go. Create renderings, show past projects. And it's a, you know, it's a 10 minute, 12 minute presentation. And then I will give the client three prices. Uh, I'll give them, you know, our RGB, our premium and our mid grade. This is exactly right out of your playbook. Um, and let them decide what is going to work. Well, the RGB is expensive. It's very, very expensive. The premium is typically what I'll recommend. And the mid grade is good for my clients who are moving in the year. Um, and it's almost, it's 95% of our clients choose our premium option. And I've, on the second appointment, I, I have a hard time thinking of any clients that have said no to it. Like when I get to that second appointment, I've walked around with them, I've looked out. You know, there's a joke that Nels Peterson used to say of if you can get in the master bathroom, you've made the sale. And like I will look at all of the window, like from inside all of the windows and the viewpoints and talk to them about what's important. And then the second appointment is really where I show it. And typically it's only a 15, 20 minute appointment and I collect the deposit and we're, we're heading out the door.

And that's in person, right? You're coming back.

Absolutely. Got to do it in person. Yes, I want to make them say no to my face 100%. Um, and they, I mean a no spine. I think Andy Schwerner says I'm fine with a fine. Uh, with a yes, I'm fine with a no. I'm not okay with a, uh, maybe. And if it's a maybe, I'll come back again. And so yeah, you need to give me an answer here.

How often on that, that first time because this is where people like fall off the tracks. They, they're gonna hear you and they're like oh yeah, I'm gonna do that. Yeah, you go to do it. And they're like okay, um, it's a twenty thousand dollar job so they're not gonna present on the spot. They go, okay, um, what did Reed say? Oh yeah, um, I'm gonna come back and we'll do, I'll present everything. And they go, yeah, yeah, no, no, why don't you just send us an email? We're about to head out of town. Um, I mean we are so busy right now. You know how it is. Yeah, just send us, just send me an email, Reed.

Right, yeah, I, I will refuse to send an email. Um, early on I did send a couple emails and they weren't sales. So uh, I was like, well that's a waste of an opportunity. So I will say, hey look, our lighting design is really intricate and looking at the pictures without having somebody in front of you talking is going to be really hard to understand what's going on. And so I would love just 10, 15 minutes for us to sit down and, and just talk about it. Um, and I'll just show you the pricing and we can get on the calendar and get ready to go.

So. Good.

Yeah, and it's um, also you can't take two weeks to put that presentation together. Like I, I'm usually like a two day, three day turnaround time, uh, going back out to the client's house.

Um, but, and this is where, this is where our next hire is an administrator for him. Uh, and uh, we're currently looking for that. Uh, we've also put in some, some AI things to help read, not miss details on, on certain things. Which is pretty fun. So.

Yeah, that's cool. Yeah. Also Texas is a one party state which is, this is I think a little funny to say, but we have an AI recording device on the back of my phone and it records our appointments. And so I can look back at the transcript and the AI summary and it'll tell me all of the areas that they wanted to light up so I don't forget anything.

Love it. That's awesome. Um, well that is so cool. I. Listen, I know we've already gone a little bit long. Um, I, I just appreciate you guys coming on here. I love what you guys are building, Um, I love that it's a family affair, you know what I mean? Next, um, time, I want to have you guys come back on and just. We. I want to do, like, the, uh, what's it called? Um, like the Maury Povich style. Like, I want to just know all the bad stuff.

Yeah, there's. There's stuff. Yeah, yeah, we'll.

We'll have Riley. Come on.

Yeah, that'll be good. Get Ryan on here. Him and I will.

Riley on.

Maybe this fight, you should set up a boxing match. I think that's a good idea.

Oh, yeah. There you go.

He would kick my butt for sure.

But I thought about doing that. Light it up. Because there's like, a lot of people that, like, want to fight their own people. They want to fight me. They want to fight, like, other people and they're like wrestlers and stuff. So I'm like, maybe we just do

it

two hour break and just like a cage match or something.

Yeah, right.

Might be cool. See, they just crown a champion, you know? Yeah. Um, like, I'm not very good at lighting design, but I kicked everyone's butt here, you know? Um, no, but seriously, I. You guys are doing. It's just cool, you know, like, just from outside perspective. Um, and, um, I just want to, you know, like, congratulate you guys and, uh, just wish you nothing but the best. Like, keep moving forward and it's just, it's just cool. So I appreciate you guys coming on here, sharing your story, sharing some insights. I know it's going to inspire at least one person. You know, that's really what we're trying to do, is just help one person at a time. So someone's going to get energized, someone's going to learn a new thing. Um, so thanks so much for coming on here, guys. Is there anything else you want to share, uh, before we wrap up? Something you'd want to share to maybe yourself five years ago, or someone who might be stuck or struggling or anything like that?

Yeah, maybe. Broken record here, Ryan, but Landscape Lighting Secrets has been an amazing place for not only us, but some of the best landscape lighting designers and installation companies out there, uh, to come and be a part of a community and, um, you know, the breadth of people that you get to deal with in our business, from, uh, you know, somebody who's an irrigation specialist that wants to do lighting on the side all the way up to, uh, you know, the, the Matthews of the world who's, uh, doing amazing work. Um, I just think it's an amazing place to be, and it's. It's. I. I don't think there's any better place that you can learn from people than in this, um, the price, marinating, the price per fixture, uh, thing. All of that is. Is just. It makes this business so much easier. And so I. I can't thank you enough.

That's awesome.

Yeah.

Ah, yeah. Thanks for saying that. That's nice of you. What's the best way if someone wants to get a hold of you guys, um, to, uh, you know, I. I think we might have convinced some business owners to quit their business and come on to work for you guys. So if they want to work for you, they want to hire you. What's the best way to get, uh, in touch with you?

I think our Instagram is probably the best way to do it. Blingle of Plano. Ah, on Instagram. That's. That's the best way. Give us a follow there. That would be awesome. Um, you'll see my ugly face on there every once in a while, and then I'll show some pretty pictures too. So

Reed does amazing on social media, so we're. It's. It's a lot of fun to do that.

Cool.

Well, check them out, guys. Go to Instagram. Blingle of Plano. Um, it is fine. I do. So I do, every once in a while, see some of your stuff. I'm like, good job, Reed. You know, like, get yourself out there. Get on camera, guys. I mean, that's what it takes. And it might take five years, but eventually you'll get, you know, less awkward, be more comfortable with it. Uh, but you already look like a pro read. You're just like, what's up? You know, I'm just out here talking outdoor lighting and everything else. So, um, give those guys a follow. Thanks again, guys. Appreciate you coming on the show.

Thanks, Ryan.

Thank you.

All right, guys, don't forget. Keep moving forward. You got this. Just get uncomfortable. That's all you got to figure. Just, how do I get uncomfortable every single day. You're gonna win. Keep moving forward.