Lighting for Profits - Episode 246

In this episode, we sit down with the Chief Sales & Marketing Officer of Holidynamics to explore the business behind some of the most spectacular holiday displays across North America. With over 13 years of experience in the holiday lighting industry, our guest shares insights into working with zoos, theme parks, botanical gardens, attractions, retailers, and professional installers throughout the U.S. and Canada. Discover how Holidynamics develops and tests commercial-grade holiday lighting and décor through its own installation division, ensuring products perform in real-world environments before reaching customers. From creating unforgettable holiday experiences to driving innovation in the lighting industry, this conversation shines a light on what it takes to bring seasonal magic to life.

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Episode Transcript

Welcome to Lighting for Profits powered by EmeryAllen

Welcome to Lighting for Profits.

All light, all light, all light, powered by EmeryAllen.

Here is your host, Ryan Lee.

All, ah, Light, all light, all light. Welcome, welcome, welcome to the number one landscape lighting show and today maybe your number one holiday lighting show. Based in Omaha, Nebraska, of course, excited to hang out. Ryan Lee, your host of Lighting for Profits powered by Emory Allen. What's up, Emory Allen? Um, excited for today's episode? Um, I'm not sure. Are we gonna add value? I think, I think we can. Erica and I can do this. We love to hang out, we love to have fun.

Eric Turkelson with Hollow Dynamics coming on the show today

Um, but I've got Mr. Eric Turkelson with Hollow Dynamics on the show today. And, um, I was gonna joke around a little bit, um, because I'm hoping Scott's gonna listen to this. And I was gonna ask Eric, uh, like, so how long have you owned Holodynamics? Um, but, uh, Eric, even though, like, he is, you know, Mr. Holley Dynamics, he's the chief sales and marketing officer. Uh, and, uh, it's gonna be awesome. So, um, we got the 250th year of the United States of America coming up. So we're gonna talk about some holiday stuff, some things that you guys can do to bring in some additional revenue, um, during the summer, um, which is cool. But, uh, we're gonna have him on talk some new products and talk what's trending in the holiday lighting industry. So make sure you guys stick around for Eric. Always, always a good time. Um, by the way, thank you guys so much for your support. Seriously, like it. This is, it's just, uh, it's awesome that I get to do this every single week. Uh, we're over a hundred reviews on Apple. We've got, um, I don't know how many, like 60 or 80 or something like that on Spotify. So as a reminder, you still can do a five star review if you're super bored and you want to help a brother out. Couple of quick announcements coming up in like, uh, three weeks, maybe four weeks. July 10th at my house. Okay. The second ever Friday, fly in at my house in my living room. Um, unless too many people show up, then we'll maybe go get a venue or whatever. But the last one was great. I think we had like nine or ten of us. Um, so we fit in my living room. Um, but this is for Illuminati members only, so you have to be a member of Landscape Lighting Secrets. But this is like a mastermind. If you don't know what that is. Um, it's. There's no, like, PowerPoint, okay? This is like, we just, uh, hang out my living room, and we're gonna work on your business. You're gonna leave with some breakthroughs of, like, crap. Some epiphanies of, like, man, why wasn't I doing that before? Um, we'll put you in the hot seat. We'll make sure we, um, help help you break through whatever problems you're facing in your business right now. So that's coming up July 10th. Um, if you're in landscape lighting Secrets, make sure you register. It's free, uh, for members, but you do got to register because, you know, got to get food. I think I got. If my mom's listening. Mom. We got to do lunch again, so got to get the order in to, uh, Chef candice. Um, also September 9th and 10th, again, this is members only secret summit coming up. Um, so, um, coming up, September 9th and 10th here in Park City, Utah. It's gonna be awesome. It's a beautiful time of the year to be up in Park City. Main Street's amazing. Beautiful. We'll go out and do some dinners and stuff like that. So, again, this is for, uh, Illuminati members only. You do need to get registered. Um, and if you're considering and you're on the fence, man. Should I join Secrets? Should I not probably be a good time. So you meet a couple people before, and then you can, uh, show up for the September 9th and 10th Secrets Summit. Okay, so again, in just a couple minutes, we got Eric Turkelson with, uh, Holly Dynamics coming on the show.

Darcy Jerrica took his team and their families to Dominican Republic

Uh, before we, before we invite Eric on, I gotta, I gotta get something off my chest. I, I. This last week, um, we did what's called Vacay in Paradise. And I basically took. I'm gonna, I'm gonna do this every year. This is the first, first year we've done this, but it was, it was really good. And we're definitely gonna do it every year. I took my team and their families and, and my family to Vacay in Paradise, and no one knew where we were going, um, until I told them. But the cool thing is, uh, like Darcy Jerrica, like, they, they do all, they do all the planning. They, they normally do everything. Well, I took it upon myself. I planned this entire trip, uh, from, like, flights and the hotel, uh, and the transportation and the activities and everything. Okay? And so it was just an honor for me to be able to, like, serve in that way and be like, you know, guys, you know what? Just, like, we're not working. Don't worry. You don't have to do this. Because the last thing I want to do is like, hey, we're going to paradise. Can you guys plan it all? So, um, it was fun for me to do that. Uh, my kids had no idea where we were going until we got. So there was a layover in New York, and then when we. When we got to the gate in New York, it said Punta Cana. And they're like, where's that? So they didn't know. They're like, well, we have to know what to pack. I'm like, what would you pack if you were going to paradise? Um. So, um, they were stoked. They're like, well, we're going to Dominican Republic. This is amazing. Um, so that was a lot of fun. Um, but anyway, so we're in Dominican, uh, Republic, and the beaches there, beautiful. The. The resort we were at was a hard rock. It was amazing, uh, place. For some reason, I can't. I can't figure out why I didn't love Dominican Republic. I can't figure that out yet. But, uh, it was beautiful sandy beach and. And the beautiful colored ocean. Warm water was really good. And I, you know, I'm. I'm born and raised in. In Utah in the mountains. And so I'm like a little kid. Like, you put me in an ocean in front of me, and I can just, like, stare at it. I'm just like. I just go, like, full autistic, like, just like, staring at the ocean, you know? Um, and, uh, it's just. It's just so fun for us. Like, we. We don't experience oceans that much, so we just have. We just have so much fun. And, um, we're out there in the waves. And the waves, um, one day was, like, hardly anything. And then other waves, they were a little bit more turbulent, you know, but nothing crazy. And so I'm convincing my youngest, she's 11, to come out in the waves and stuff like that and come out a little bit deeper and stuff like that. And I realized if you don't time it right, the wave can break right on your face, right? And so it can hit you. And they're powerful waves, right? Ah, it can take you down. In fact, I lost my glasses that I had just bought on the beach, uh, the day before, right? And so, um. But what happened? And I realized this. I'm like, hey, guys, come out past the break. And you guys know that, you know, aren't, uh, as weird as me and you. You people that are used to oceans and getting in waves. Like, as soon as you get past the break, it's relatively calm. Like, it's pretty relaxing, you know, and you don't have to worry about a wave breaking on you and you. The waves just kind of move underneath you, right? And you kind of move up and down. But, um, yeah, it's pretty relaxing. And it's definitely not violent, and they just kind of roll underneath you.

The bigger your business gets, the easier it gets, right?

Well, I was thinking about this and how this applies to business. Um, when you build your business to 300k, 500k, sometimes 700k, it's like you're stuck in the break. You know, you're just stuck in the waves, and you're like, man, I can't get out because every time I go to walk out, the thing hits me and knocks me over. Right? Uh, it's just wave after wave after wave. Um, and it's at fine. It's first. It's kind of fun. Like, we. We didn't mind getting taken out by the waves. It was like, this is kind of cool. This is crazy. But after a while, you're like, it's not as fun anymore, and it starts to get a bit tiring, maybe even a little bit exhausting. Okay? And my. My whole mission, okay? The reason I'm doing all this stuff is I'm trying to help people build your outdoor lighting business past a million dollars. And really, $1.52 million is a really good number because that's when you get past the break, okay? That's when, like, you know, it sounds. Sounds backwards, but, like, that's like, the bigger your business gets, the easier it gets. It's because you're not doing everything right. And some people, unfortunately, will never experience that because they went in the ocean, they went in a little bit, not too deep, and they just got hit by some waves and got hit by some waves and got hit by some waves, and they just retreated and decided, you know what? This isn't worth it. This isn't fun anymore. Like, this is just exhausting. And it'd just be easier to retreat, just go to shallower water. Let's go back to the beach. Right? And that's where you're stuck at 250, 300 grand, whatever it is, right? They never got to see that. It's actually easier past the break. Okay? And so, um, I got back this last Saturday, uh, night, like 2:00am okay? We got back about 2:00am M. And there was an event here in Utah called Limitless Arena. Um, my neighbor, who's one of My coaches, um, is. He's a co founder of it and there's a guy named Keaton Hoskins, the muscle, if you've ever. He had a reality show and stuff like that. But anyway, he had all these speakers come. He had like Tim Grover Bradley, Jesse Itzler, Logan Paul, um, Jody Moore. Jody Moore, who's been on our show a couple times, was a speaker there. Um, and so just really, really cool, um, speakers. And it's funny because when you have an event like this and even when we put on Light It Up Expo, you have people that are like pro these things and then you have the antis. Right. People that are against it. Because I saw people talking trash against this event that I'm going to that I literally, I'm jet lagged. I've got five hours of sleep and I'm going to this event. I want to be on time, right? And I care so much because I know what's going to happen. But there's people that are talking trash and they're like, oh, you know, the speakers, it's all the same thing. And um, you know, it's, it's the same thing every time. And it's like when I'm there, I'm realizing, you know what the haters, they're right. It is the same thing every time. Because it's not magic. Like there's actual formulas. There are certain things that if you do and you execute, you will win. Okay, not every time and they don't say that, right? But you'll win seven out of 10 times, which happens to be enough to win more than you lose. Right? Um, there's different levels of success. There's. There were speakers in there, um, that had two commas to their net worth. Some had three. I mean, Jesse Itzler is a billionaire. And so, um, the one thing that they all had in common though, because they all kind of talked about their different stories and their, their topics and stuff like that. But it was really being relentless, being relentless in their mission to win. They all had times where they could have quit, where it would have been easier to retreat, to go back out of the waves and go back to the beach, to shallower water. They all could have done it when the waves got bigger. And if you, if you know I'm talking about you, maybe you're there in your business now. I, I've been there in this business where, where it's like, maybe I shouldn't do this. This is hard. This is so hard. How, how do you transform an industry? How do you build this? Like, it can get overwhelming. And then these aren't like four foot waves that I'm feeling. I'm feeling like I'm in like 20 footers, right? But these people, they push through and now they have these couple commas or three commas to their net worth, right? And so I want to encourage you guys to realize that, that, like, if you're feeling beat up, like something's gotta change, you either have to retreat or push through, right? And I would just encourage you to keep moving forward because it's so much more enjoyable if you can build your business up to a million $1.52 million. And now all of a sudden you have a sales team, you have admin, you have an installation team, and you're not doing everything. It's actually fun again. And then you just pick the things that you like to do, right? And you're adding more value to your community, you're adding more value to your client experience, you're adding more value to your team members, all right? And it's just, it's just a better thing because you actually have a business now instead of, like everything relying on you. And if you mess up, then everyone else below you feels the consequence, okay? So I just want to encourage you to keep moving forward because this, this is how it's done it. The bigger businesses, they're not as stressed as you. These companies that are doing 5, 10, 50, $100 million, you're, you've, you've put in the sweat equity, okay? And the time is to change. Like, you got to push forward. You've got to do what you got to do to get to the next level. So give, um, you guys some encouragement. Move on, get through to the, get through past that break and get to the calmer waters. It's so much more relaxing.

Emory Allen makes premium LED lamps for lighting professionals who demand the best

All right, um, again, guys, we got, uh, Eric Turkelson, uh, coming on in just a minute. Um, gotta thank my friends over at Emory Allen. Um, did you know that friends don't let friends install subpar lamps? It's all about quality. It's gonna be hard to build a business, um, and get repeat business if you're not using quality product. So Emory Allen makes premium LED lamps for lighting professionals who demand the best. Don't settle for less. Upgrade your designs and installations today with Emory Allen. All you need to do to get the hookup is reach out to Jackson, and his email is jacksonlryallen. com and, uh, he will hook you up with that discounted contractor pricing. Don't forget to mention that you heard about him here on Lighting for Profits. Just email Jackson L. The letter L Jackson l@emeredyallen. com and he will hook you up. So thank you, Emery Allen, for your guys support.

Ryan: Let's get Eric Turkelson on the show

All right, guys, I know, I know the only reason you came on the show or, uh, wanted to listen or watch was because of our guest today. So let's. Let's get him on the show. What do you guys say? I think it's time. Plus, I'm thirsty. Please welcome to the show, Mr. Eric Turkelson. What's up, Eric?

What's going on, buddy? Love the intro.

Thanks, man.

Look forward to get to the calmer waters.

Yeah, um, I can't turn off my business mind.

I do.

I do try to stay present when I'm on a family vacation, but I'm like, my gosh business. How do I raise my price? How do I sell more lights?

That's awesome. Thanks for having me on today.

Hey, looking forward to it. Are we going to just do a bunch of radio voices together or are we going to accomplish.

Ryan, I was thinking about the other night when the Knicks won the championship. So I heard a lot of great voices. I was like, wow, I'd love to do that.

I don't know why, but it would just be so cool. I literally. I used to go to the Utah Jazz games here, and I'm like, who's that? Who's the guy? Like, I want to be the guy. How do you be the guy? Uh, that would be so cool. But you know what? I've never tried, so, like, I probably could have been the guy.

Never doing what we're doing, though, Ryan.

What's that?

I think it'd be fun, but I think we might be having more fun doing what we're doing.

Well, because we still get to hear ourselves talk.

Yeah, exactly. And it's. It's things like this podcast you invite me on that I get to hear your voice and mine at the same time, which I love it.

It's kind of a dream come true for us.

Eric Turkelson is the Chief sales and marketing officer at Holodynamics

Well, do me a favor. Just, um, do a quick introduction. You've been on the show before. We've done a couple of these together. But for those that don't know who you are and who Holodynamics is, do it. Just a quick introduction of who you guys are.

Appreciate it. So I'm Eric Turkelson. I'm the Chief sales and marketing Officer at Holodynamics. Holodynamics. We've been in business about 15 years uh, we basically create everything you can think of for the holidays. We work with theme parks, zoos, botanical gardens, holiday lighting installers, um, pretty much anybody you can think of that's actually going out and m. Decorating, whether that be um, interior or exterior. So we've got a lot of products for everybody, whether that's going to be on the commercial side or the residential side. A, uh, big part of what we do is the custom. So we build a lot of custom pieces. So kind of the answer, I always say, Ryan, when people are talking to their customers, their customer says, hey, can you create this? The answer is yes, because we work with a lot of different, uh, products like a metal frame, silicone, faux boxwood and moss. Um, it's really unlimited what we can create. Uh, so we have, we get joy out of doing that. That's who Hollow Dynamics is. We make commercial grade utility, uh, grade products. Um, so we want to make sure that not only are we creating really cool products, but products that are MLs in the elements because we sell throughout the United States and Canada. So we, we cover a lot of different, uh, weather patterns and regions and, and whatnot. So we need to make sure that the products, uh, stand up to all different types of weather. So, so if you have, that's what we do.

You have someone that's on a, they're going to do a quote and they, someone's got some wild request. You're, you're selling them like, hey, don't tell them no, uh, take some pictures, jot down some notes. Let's get on a call and see if we can get you what you need.

Absolutely. And we always say that it only really takes two things. It takes time, takes money. So typically when we go from start to finish, like with a theme park or somebody that's doing an extensive walk through or drive through, it's going to basically take about three to four months from start to finish. But let's say, Ryan, I'm creating some lantern animals for you. Uh, we, we take you through every step of the process from the build out to the paint, making sure that everything looks correct so that when you receive that product, you're, you're, you're happy with it. And that's going to be really for our customers. Another differentiator for them is being able to offer customers pretty much anything that they want. And this especially does well when you're on the commercial side, when people are looking for much bigger items.

Yeah, so like if I want to do a landscape lighting, secret logo, you know, four Feet wide or whatever. You could do that. It would take four months to, like, come up with it, or four months to get it delivered to me, uh,

from start to finish. But on that stuff that we would use our, like our Neon Flex lighting for that. Typically we can do that within about 60 days. Something like that we could turn around. But anything custom from the logos to, you know, different animals, uh, if you guys do get a chance, take a look at our site, um, holodynamics. com the neon flex light is really where it's at when it comes to the customization pieces for metal frame. So we're building a lot of snowmen this year. Different, uh, types of cars we're building out of the Neon Flex, uh, just a lot. It's really unlimited what we can do. So we always say our tag is always our collective imaginations is really the only limitation that you're going to have. So being able to work with customers, maybe you never even thought could be a customer. Now you've got a product line that you're going to be able to offer them.

Well, yeah, I'm just trying. It's just kind of got my mind spinning a little bit. I'm thinking, okay, uh, even residential, like, does the family have, like a family crest, a logo or whatever or something that they. They stand behind, like, oh, we're always about this or whatever, or a favorite college team or whatever. Or like, maybe do you go approach a business and you could even do like a quick AI rendering to be like, hey, we could produce this for you. Now it's not. It's June. So it gives us lead time. There's still lead time. We can get this done for you so that by the time the holidays hit, we could get like, that's what's cool. Because, like, I've always customized my cars. Like my trucks. I get a lift, I get tires, I get to pick my wheels. I don't. I don't like it to fit in. You know what I mean? And I think there's a lot of people like that. There's a lot of customization things that people want. So even if you're just gonna do like a roof line, but also give them this custom decorative thing for their business or whatever, like, that's pretty sexy. I don't think most people are bringing that up.

No. And I think you're right. And it is on that, uh, residential side as well. We're building a lot of things for people's man caves. So this doesn't have to just be for holiday, this can be really year round. So we've created a lot of, uh, party item themes. Sandals, um, you know, sun, um, got it. We've got just a ton of things that you could put out into a backyard. Whether they have like a backyard oasis or just a backyard barbecue where you could put a lot of this stuff up on the fence line. But it's stuff you can do year round. So even we're selling now, we've got about 60 different species of trees that we're making. Uh, the palm trees have been very, um, successful this last year getting those out to the public. Because what we're doing is we're offering the fiberglass palm tree, but we do them unlit. So then you could add whatever type of light you want to it. Um, so that way, let's say the light set, it fails, goes out, whatever, you can just replace the light set and you still have that fiberglass palm tree. It's cool because we're making them in 10 foot, 13ft, 17ft, um, so they're doing really well. So in Nebraska we can't grow palm trees, obviously. Uh, but there's a lot of pools here and it just adds to the whole ambiance in the backyard of just something really cool. And yeah.

So are people doing the palm trees that are in the northern markets because they want that, they want to feel like they're in that, the warm climate or is it people in the warm climates?

Both. So there's areas too, like even in Arizona we'll sell them to that they can't grow the palm trees or they don't have, you know, the ability to do that or maybe it's something that they want to use. Interior. There's a lot of interior, like um, the indoor pools and whatnot. Um, so it's really again, unlimited.

With RGB WW, you can carry holidays through the whole year

Who you can sell to. We're selling to restaurants, uh, wedding venues. I mean it's, it's really unlimited. So when you start thinking about if you're in the holiday industry today, it's not just selling to Christmas or. Okay, you know what? This year we're going to add on Halloween. That's typically what we'll hear those two holidays together. But now, like, even with our dynamic RGB WW product, you can carry that Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter into Memorial Day, Fourth of July, then into Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and you're really covering the whole year. So there's really no reason that you can't say, hey, I want to stay busy all year round. Yeah, We've got products to be able to. To take you through the whole year.

People are putting artificial palm trees in their backyards to prepare for storms

All right. I kind of want a 13 foot palm tree in my living room now.

I think you need. You want to pair them, though, Ryan? I don't think you just start with a 13. I think if you're getting a 13, you may need the 10 and the 17 as well.

Yep. To show the height. Yep, you're right.

Yeah, I want to show that. But people are. They're putting a lot of them in the backyards. We did one in, uh, in Scott's backyard. Uh, we actually put three out there and had a party back there. People would come back and say, well, how'd you guys get the palm trees back here? Those aren't real. And they're like, no, they're real. I went up that. It's. It's real. And I'm like, no, we made them. They're not real.

What are they made of?

Fiberglass.

Okay. So they hold up good to the elements and everything.

They hold up great. And you can actually take the fronds off the top. So say you have a big windstorm that's coming. We typically get a lot of those here in Nebraska. You can actually take the fronds off and then just keep the, uh, palm tree up.

Okay.

So you just pour a footing similar to what you would do with any type of cherry blossom tree or basketball hoop, something like that, where you need to pour the footing for it, and then you're. You're good to go.

I just thought of a funny social media video that might not be funny at all. It was funny in my head. Um, so someone buys a house, but they already have these artificial palm trees in the backyard. But they moved from Texas. And they know in Texas, when a storm, when the storm's coming, you have to wrap your palm tree. Okay. So then this person then walks out and they're wrapping their artificial palm tree in, uh, stuff to keep it warm for the storm. I don't know. Maybe. Maybe it's not funny.

There you go. I'm gonna look to you for more of the, uh, the coaching, too, on the social media aspect, too, because I like that idea.

You just got to try a bunch of stuff. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

No, true.

Why is Omaha the unofficial Christmas light capital of the world

So, um, what. We got to talk about this. I put this on my notes. Why in the heck. Why. Why is Omaha. I. I don't know if it. If it is or not. I call it the Christmas light capital of the world. Is. That might not be official, but it kind of is. Why is Omaha the official, uh, unofficial Christmas light capital of the world?

Yeah, it's really, really, uh. Yeah. People ask me all the time, what's in the water in Omaha. Why would there be so many holiday lighting companies? What's. What's going on here? Um, it really started with one company, uh, branched off into another company, which branched off into another company, and so that's really where that started. And those. Those companies, they stayed here and made their headquarters here in. In Omaha. So not really that sexy of a story, but, uh, I was hoping. Oh, my God, I got to come to Omaha. The mecca of holiday lighting. Yeah, I've got to get there, and I'll show you this.

Can you make something up? This.

This postcard here, which maybe we can show in here. So this is Nebraska for those that haven't been here.

Yeah, this is cornfields right now.

No, that's what everybody thinks Nebraska looks like, but, yeah, uh, not like that at all. I think what I've heard lately is Omaha may be the next Cancun, Mexico. I don't remember, Ryan, who said it. I can't quote you on that, but, uh, yeah, if you haven't been to Omaha, Nebraska, you need to get here, uh, because there's a lot of cool stuff. College World Series is going on right now here in Omaha.

Oh, remember you were supposed to tell me I need to come in for that one time?

Yeah, you do need to come in here.

I mean, if.

Great. And then you can visit the showroom,

and maybe I could throw out the first pitch.

Ryan Lee is on the number one landscape lighting show in Omaha

Did they know that you're on the number one landscape lighting show in Omaha?

They all. They always do. They always ask me. They're like, oh, you're on Ryan Lee. Okay.

Number one.

They don't even. We don't even go into it anymore. They just know it's.

They just know.

I think that's one of the trophies back here that we're going to give to you, Ryan, for your number one podcast.

You might. You're the only guy that has more trophies than me.

Yeah, I'm gonna manufacture some more of those soon.

Um, weren't we supposed to. We were supposed to start the number one, uh, just outdoor lighting podcast. We were supposed to do that together, weren't we?

That's gonna be coming up. I think that's in Q4 of 26. Okay, let's get the rest of our stuff done.

Um, I keep saying that. Yeah. Next. Next quarter. Next quarter. Yeah.

Ryan: Did you guys launch a permanent lighting line or is that your

Um, well, talk to me about, uh, what's Going on in the, you know, just outdoor lighting industry. Did you guys. Did I see. Did you guys launch a permanent lighting, uh, line or is that your.

Um, yeah, so.

Oh, hey.

Okay. Clip is doing the training on that piece of it. So, um, Matt and his team, uh, so working with them to get that product out to the masses and it's been really good. Uh, we've done several training classes on it. We did one actually here in Omaha, um, back in April. Uh, so we'll continue to do those. I know they've got some other ones that are listed. Excuse, my voice is cracking because the weather's changing here.

It's about time.

Hey buddy. So what's up, Ryan? Um, but what's, what's going to be interesting, I think is just the amount of people that do want to still get into permanent lighting. We started doing permanent lighting with milli on about 12 years ago. And then it's really taken off here over the last couple years, uh, which everybody's starting to get into that. Um, you still have some education to do in the industry. I think a lot of people have purchased like Govee, um, so they want to think, oh, when I went to Costco, Gobi was pretty cheap. Uh, why is yours so much more expensive? So you have to educate on that. But it's something that's not going away. It's a, it's a, it's. I wouldn't even call it a trend. I think it's here to stay. Um, but there's just so many different things you can do with it. We just quoted, um, a gentleman the other day, uh, for his decking. He wants to do it all around his deck. He doesn't want to do anything up on the roof line. Uh, so he's asking for that. Um, but yeah, there's just so many different ways, you know, you can use the permanent lighting. Um, so many opportunities with that. We've got that step in between your static and permanent by doing the dynamic RGB WWC9 bulb. Uh, so that continues to do really well. We've made a lot of advancements in our technology over the last six years. So we brought that out, uh, prior to Covid and probably the last three years is when we got the, um, rgbw. And now we're making it in the polycarbonate. So I don't know if you've seen that where it's just a heavier, heavier plastic, um, doesn't cloud as much as kind of your polystyrene that's been out in the market. For many years, a lot of people have moved over the polycarbonate, but now we're moving the RGB WW into that as well. Okay, so that's going to be. That's going to be a game changer

too, as you've kind of, you know, seen what's happening with permanent lighting and stuff like that. How does that affected the traditional holiday lighting sales?

You know, I don't, uh, Some people think, like, I don't want to go promote permanent lighting because it's going to hurt what I'm doing today, like with my C9 bulbs and whatnot. I think differently to that. I think you can still. Because they're going to. If they want it, they're going to go somewhere to get it. So you either get on board and sell it, or you can just let it pass you by. Those that are embracing it and actually doing it, you can still do your wreaths, your garlands, uh, you can still put spritzers out in the landscape bed. There's still all that extra that you can do that's going to continue to help build with that customer. So I don't think permanent lighting is one of those things that, you know it's going to hurt your lighting cells. It's just more people are wanting it now because there's people that don't do holiday lighting that want permanent lighting. Like guys that I'm like, also. Have you done holiday lighting before? Nope, don't want that. But if you want to, you know, do the permanent lighting and give me a wreath and a couple garlands, I'm up for that. Um, so I think, I think it's just one of those things like you're offering right now, too, with your coaching, with the permanent, with the landscape and with the holiday. I think all three of those, um, combined really can help you build a really nice business. And there's great products out there today. I think we, uh, offer great products. Um, but I encourage people to look around, test what's out there, see what's there. Um, if there's things that we offer, like with a, um, polycarbonate bulb, if you need some samples of that reach out to us, we'd be more than happy to supply you with that. Um, our glitzer has really taken off. This is something that just fits right into an E17 socket that so just screws right into your existing C9 cord. Um, but what's really cool about this is you don't need new cord. So if I'm out today and there's. I Mean, I've got several of our customers that probably have 1500 plus C9 customers. And I'm like, what can you do to make it different? They're like, you know what? I just, we just want to stick with C9. That's all they do. There's like no spritzers, no extras, no Reese, nothing they want to do just C9. And they're, and they're doing it, and they're doing it well. And I've always told people, you, uh, know, you have to fit, you have to do what fits into your box, right? Because at the end of the day, Ryan, I don't pay your bills, but I can help you. I can give you ideas of how you can go make more money. But showing people products like this, like with a glitzer being able to go out and just screw that right in and just think about this as just being used on your peak bulb, how much you can really change the whole look of that roof line is incredible. So we're promoting it as a roof line where you could do it just in the peaks. You could do it every fifth bulb, you could do it every other bulb. We've got plenty of pictures out on the website for everybody to take a look at. And if you want some more in depth, uh, photos and whatnot, you can reach out to me@eric hollowdynamics. com but we're doing it in the, uh, roof line. We're also doing this in a pathway. So as you know, Ryan, being around this industry for as long as you have, when it comes to pathways, people typically are using a C9 bulb. They're throwing that on a C9 stake. Five inches, seven and a half inches, whatever. And that becomes their pathway, where adding something like this is going to change that whole look as well.

Oh, yeah.

So the glitzer is a pathway, is a home run.

Using RGBWW garlands as embellishments for outdoor lighting

We're also doing it. I brought some additional, uh, samples to show to the group today. Um, this would be. I can bring this over. So using a piece of garland, what we're doing here is actually incorporating those as embellishments into the garlands, into the topiaries. Um, your wreath to create some extra dimension.

Yep.

So on this particular piece, what we did is we ran, uh, two different things in here. We actually added three. We have a ribbon that runs through, kind of gives it more of a day appearance. So this would be something that we're doing for 4th of July, for the 250th. Um, you can put in your glitzers uh, so we've got right here. But then also what we did is we attached that to one of our RGBWW garlands. I can go in here right now and I can actually change the color of that to go into. Maybe I want to change it to. Let's just do more of a static here.

I notice it's red, white, and blue, the glitzer.

Um, so you can see.

Can you do that? You can have that be any color and any number of colors.

Yeah. Right now for the Fourth of July, obviously, we're going to make that to where either I'm doing a red or a blue or a pure white, but I can also change the functionality of as well. I can go from a static to a wave to a chase. And just with that simple radio, uh, frequency remote, I've added in what would be just your static Blitzers. We also do them in Twinkl as the embellishment, added that into the RGBWW garland. But then I can actually have that. I've got it hooked up to power sources, so I can run the rgbww, change all the colors there, and then just keep these static. So this has been a really good piece for us to show as more of an embellishment. Um, we've got a lot of interior customers, Ryan, that are using this in place of a lot of their ornaments. So customers that have used, you know, typically they're going out and they're Putting, you know, 50, 60 ornaments into an indoor tree. They're actually going out, spending less by adding the glitzers for 30 to 40% of them.

Okay.

So that makes a really nice. Gives an extra dimension. We do all sorts of different colors. Teal, pink, blue, purple, green. I mean, any color really you can think of. And then we also offer it in the RGB www.so3ways we offer it twinkle, static, and then RGBww. But another cool thing that we're doing for some outdoor is actually doing it as a patio light. So all you would need to do here is Simply take your C9 cord, attach it to a guy wire, and then you've got your. Your patio lighting. Just like if you were using an Edison bulb.

Okay.

Something different. So we put that under some decking. Um, people are using this around columns, they're putting this around arches just to create a different look. I don't know if you've seen that on our Instagram, but just a lot of different ways to actually show that. And then in your big evergreens, instead of just wrapping that with like a light set or C9, we're going in there and adding these in there as well, and then in some cases adding like a light drop to it. So you've got a lot of different, you know, you've got the twinkle here, maybe got your static C9 bulb, and then you've got the drip tube that's adding another dimension to it. So lots of different things. But the great piece about this is not only does it screw in super simple, you don't need any new hardware for that, um, but the price point, your average, about three and a half to $4 per piece. Um, which really makes it inexpensive. So when you are going out and you're doing a pathway, if you're going out and using this Instead of a C9 bulb, I can command a higher ticket price because it is so different. And I really, truly feel like this is going to be, um, a game changer in the industry because nobody's seen anything like it. We've got the patent on it. Um, so we're really proud of this product. This is something we came up with about four years ago, just thinking about it, and we finally got the patents on it, um, late last year.

Ryan: Why do some companies wait until July to start selling holiday lighting

What's the sales approach like? Because, you know, the things that you just named the glitzer, the tube. I mean, there's a lot of stuff that a random, uh, homeowner is not going to know about. So they're going to call and say, hey, I want some Christmas lights. And they're thinking they want some C9s on the roof line. I'm sure. Um, what, what are your top guys doing in order to, like, command the cell and really open up the. The. Not just checkbook, but really open up the possibilities for this person that has no idea about designing a holiday lighting display?

Yeah, um, no. That's a great question. So what I like to do is with those customers, to send them something like a tickler to say, hey, here's a new product that you may want to look at for your home. Uh, this is going to, you know, really set you apart from your neighbors. People like that, they want to be unique, they want to be different. I think this is the product to help them do that. Um, but being able to show them this, um, typically, like, I won't go out to many homes, or Dylan won't go out to many homes to try to sell them. We usually do that over the phone. Um, but if it's a bigger property, we'll go out. Typically, if I go out, I'm bringing this with me, um, on if I'm going out and I'm trying to get somebody to sign up for the next following year, we tried to do that in early January. A lot of people are like, I don't even start doing that till July. My question is why, why do you wait? Like, why is it that we wait till July to say, hey, are you on board for next year?

Mhm.

But that's typically something that's been done in the forever. Well, we don't do it that way. We want to go out after we've already talked to the customer beforehand. I'm probably having Dylan go out there too with this piece when he's doing the install and if he catches that customer to say, hey, let's see next year, let's use this as well. And they may say, why are we waiting for next year? Right. We just put it out there, let's use this for next year. Why would we wait? Um, so lots of different ways that you can do it, but once they see it, um, they love it. So typically when we go out and we're looking at like any trade show we go to, and if we're talking to a customer and there's a lot as, you know, like a trans world and some of these other shows, um, they'll go out and they'll say, we'll have a lot of residential customers. And I'll ask them, I'm like, what do you think your price is on this? They're like, I don't know, maybe like 50 bucks. I'm like, for this? This is one piece. They're like, yeah, it's so different. I'm like, oh my God. Like Scott, I think we might be able to retire soon. These people want to pay $50. But reality is that most of the people think right around that 10 to 12 mark. But the cool thing is when you go out, Ryan, and let's say on average, throughout the United States, I think, you know, we're. Let's just say we're anywhere from five to nine dollars per linear foot. And a lot of that changes, you know, based on the type of the house, whether that's ranch style, one and a half, two story, whatever, right? Let's just say that's the average when I go out and I add this. So if I have one of my competitors go out and they give a bid, and the customers, a lot of them here too, will say, well, I'm going to get another couple bids. I'm like, okay, well here's one Thing I want to leave you with is this year, I think what we'd like to do is put this up in your peak, and maybe I just only put the three. They have three peaks. And I say, I'm going to go ahead and put this up, uh, just as a bonus into your roof line this year as a peak, because it's going to make you look different than anybody else. And they're like, seriously? Because they've already put the values. Oh, my God, that's so different. I. I love it. When in turn, it's costing, like, 10 bucks, right? 10 bucks to put three blitzers up in the peaks.

Yep.

The way that it looks after you do it, changes it. And then they'll call back and say, you know what? I really like that you put them up in the peaks, but can we add more? And that's typically what happens. You leave them with something like this, something they haven't seen before. Um, it's just not. We just haven't put it out there that much. I mean, we've. We're. We're really getting momentum behind it, but there's still a lot of areas that have not seen this piece of piece.

Ryan: I'd like to offer you a free upgrade to the new Blitzer

Okay, so arming our, um, customers, our affiliates, with the ability to go out and offer something different and just tell their customer whether that's going to. You know, I want to sign you back up, Ryan. So getting back to that piece, um, I've signed you up. It's January, Ryan. I want to get you on board again this year. Uh, what I'd like to do is offer you a free upgrade to the new Blitzer. They're like, what's that? Send them a picture, show them on a roofline. They're like, oh, my gosh, yes. And I'm like, but what we have to do is get you signed up so that we get you on the schedule, because based on this new product, they're really filling up fast. And. And they'll go to that, and they want to sign up. And you're not offering discounts, like, typically people will in July, hey, sign up by July 15, get 10% off. When I used to do that, I start counting that. I'm like, if we're giving 10% off to all of our customers, you're giving away, like, 30, $40,000 a year.

Oh, yeah.

Uh, that just. It doesn't make any sense. So we came out with this product, too, with the mindset of this could be a great upgrade. It could be a good incentive as well to get somebody to sign Up.

Yeah, for sure.

I think all the different applications you're going to have in this, very different. If anybody wants a sample of this, Ryan, what we are going to offer here too for, uh, Lighting for Profits is we have sent some of these out. This is going to be a Glitzer sample kit. Inside this Glitzer sample kit you're going to receive. You basically are going to get, um, several of the Glitzers, but then also you're going to get the PC bulb. So the polycarbonate bulb. You'll get it all ready to go, ready to plug in. So you can just show it right to your customer. You don't even have to say anything. You can plug it in for your customer and say, this is what I'd like to do this year. They'll be like, wow, that's so different. I've never seen anything like it. Typically, 90 of the time, that's what the response. I've never seen anything like that.

How do you get, how do you get one of these sample packs?

So, sample pack. They can just email me. Just. Eric at Hollow Dynamics said I'd love to receive a sample pack. Um, typically we're going to kit these out as well. So if you need additional. I think we're at $10 per kit. Um, but we'd like to offer these to the Lighting for profit customers.

Oh, sweet.

And, and get those out so we can draw for some of that.

We've also got another cool product that I want to show you today

We've also got another cool product that I want to show you today. I know we're going to be limited in time. I was hoping that we had. This was going to be our three hour, uh, Christmas special, but I only have an hour today. Um, but stuff like that. So trying to get things out there that not only you can see it, but then also can I show it to my client? Is there something that I can get out there? Show it to them. M. We've tagged them with the different, uh, QR codes. What not. So you can just look that up right away to find out more about that particular piece.

Uh, is that your email, by the way? Is that, is that your email? Is that right?

Yeah. EricHollowDynamics. com yeah, but with a K, Eric with a K. Yeah, you got it. You know, right? We know each other now.

Well, not everyone knows that. They're gonna be like, yeah, I don't know. I sent Eric an email like two months ago. I never heard back.

No, but no, perfect. You get that right? But you've always had that. Right.

Ryan, we have a new Halo spritzer coming out soon

Okay, I'm gonna Show you the new Halo spritzer. So, you know, we've had a lot of, A lot of interest of our spritzers over the years. The 12, or, excuse me, the 16 inch, 24 and 32. Um, so now we've designed this piece and it's called the Halo. This is going to come in 20 inch. Uh, we've already started to show that a little bit. Already started getting orders on it. It's just nice because it's different from the spritzer. Um, a little more elegant in the look to it. Um, but people were asking us, they're like, hey, you really like the spritzer, but what do you have in addition to it? When I'm trying to get my customer to expand, yeah, they don't want to stay with just a regular spritzer. That's why we came out with the Odyssey. The Odyssey is the one that we put all the diodes to the center and all the outward stems, do the twinkle. And then we did a Paramount, which is stacked, looks like a, um, chandelier, but when you flip it, it turns into a tree. So we added that. And then this year, Scott, uh, just came out with this one, which is our Halo. Um, so what I'd like to do, we don't have these in stock yet, but also for something fun today, Ryan, why don't we also give one of these away? Um, so when they do come in, we can get them to whoever wins that halo. Uh, but I think this is going to be really cool. So warm white right now. But we're also doing it in other colors as well. So we'll be having it in the patriotic. We'll have it in red, we'll have it in green, we'll have it in blue, all the different colors that we offer.

So we'll just have to do something like the fifth person to email, uh, you and ask for the sample kit or so. I mean, I don't know how to do it.

Yeah, something fun like that. But this one, to give away some. Also going to give away.

How many years. How many years have you been with holo dynamics?

Uh, 12.

Okay, so the 12th person that emails Eric with a k@holodynamics. com and request the sample kit will also win the. What do you. What'd you call it?

H A L O Spritzer.

Okay.

Yeah.

Oh, that's cool.

Yeah, I appreciate it.

One of the things we did this year to help our affiliate base is within our website

One of the other things that we did this year, Ryan, just to help our affiliate base is within our website. So when you sign in and you actually get your affiliate pricing. Uh, we actually created another area that only affiliates can go to. None of our retail traffic can get to it. But it's um, basically our workshop. It's called the Workshop and you can go in there and we've got all sorts of, when we keep adding to it daily, uh, pictures that you can just take and use that for your marketing purposes. Uh, different tips and tricks. Um, there's different things that we offer as far as um, certification kind of getting signed up for the certifications that we offer for both the RGBW and the Glitzer. All that stuff is located there. The only thing you need is just your login and then you're able to go out there and access that information. So that was something new that we started towards the end part of last year. But we continue to add to it. So it's just something where it's ongoing, right? It's like, okay, we've got great products to offer but how do we go out and how do we market it? How do we install it better? What are some tips and tricks that we can offer? So you know, we can only take so many calls at one time, but when people, you know, they want to be self sufficient most of the time being able to have that access to that workshop has been a godsend.

I love it and I think for

our affiliates, they really like it.

I love the uh, innovativeness. Yeah, I don't know, that's not, that's probably not the right word. I love the ability to innovate. Yeah, good job.

That's cool. Say it in your radio voice. Let me hear it.

Innovativeness. If you say it like that then it's fine.

It's not out there. It's Webster's 2026 Word of the year.

That's right. You heard it live on lighting for profits.

Ryan: I'm interested in your perspective on outdoor lighting and snow removal

Um, okay, um, I gotta. Well I've got some rapid fire questions because I'm interested to see your perspective on things. But actually before I ask you that I'm interested, like you know, this, this like I'm preaching this message that like the, the perfect outdoor lighting company kind of does all like holiday lighting, permanent lighting, landscape lighting. I mean I've got my favorite, I won't say it out loud, landscape lighting. But I think that you kind of have to do all three because you're going to get like it's, you're going to get a lead for holiday lighting. And if you're like, no, I don't do that, well then how are you going to Upsell them. Landscape lighting. You know what I mean? Like, I just think it, I just think it makes sense if you're going to be doing outdoor lighting. Like, let's do them all. Uh, yeah, there's, there's a lot of different suppliers. There's a lot of existing, uh, designers, contractors, whatever you want to call them. How much, how much of the market do you still see, like, a lot of new installers coming in or is that slowing down?

No, Ryan, uh, every. Every quarter. Every quarter. Just knew, like, hey, just, you know, I was watching whatever it could been, you know, they picked up your podcast on Instagram or whatever. They're seeing new and they're like, hey, I want to get into this. I don't have any experience. I just want to learn more about the industry because I think this could be something I could do. And you're seeing it a lot, which I'm sure this is pretty consistent with everybody listening, is that, you know, you're seeing it with companies that are lawn care, landscaping, something especially in the snow belt, you know, throughout, you know, where you're going from Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, all the way through, where they can't do landscape lighting all year round or they can't do landscaping all year round. They have to keep their guys busy. And sometimes they'll add that on as a secondary income. So we're seeing it with power washers now. We're seeing it with, uh, landscape lawn snow. I mean, anytime that there's an add on, I think we're seeing a lot of interest from these guys to get into holiday. And there was an individual that I worked with probably about 10 years ago, and he said, eric, if I can get a hundred snow, or excuse me, if I can get 100 holiday lighting counts, I'm gonna get rid of my snow. Because the snow is really unpredictable. Right? We know that holiday is not every year. Um, you know, as long as I stay up on it, keep my customers happy, I'm going out and I'm selling that. That business isn't going away. But with snow, you can't always guarantee it. Um, so what we're seeing from this guy, he was like, hey, if I get to 100 holiday lighting accounts, I'm not even gonna do snow anymore. I'm like, okay. And his guys were with him. They were actually in their showroom. They're like, seriously, we don't have to do snow anymore. So I know you guys can get out there right now. We got 81. He goes, But I don't know if we can get there. So I didn't see him for a while. His guys were still coming in. They're buying. Buying quite a bit. And I'm like, what's going on, guys? You're still doing the holiday or you're still doing snow removal? They're like, yeah. I'm like, what are you up to right now in accounts? He's like, I think we're up to, like, 130. But now boss man doesn't want to let it go because he's making too much money. Yeah, it might snow, but he found that this was a great way for him to keep some of his guys busy. And he still liked the snow. He's still like, because there could be money made in snow. But most of our customers that do snow, I don't know of anybody that's like, man, I love it. I so love snow. Most guys are like, yeah, just because it is unpredictable and it's hard on your equipment, that it's not always, you know, their favorite thing to do, but I'm seeing a lot of that. So when you ask, you know, are there a lot of guys that are still getting into it, still new? Absolutely. And I think it's also because of what's available out on the Internet today, what's out on Facebook with, you know, different ads. You've got lots of guys that are going out, you know, guys that would be probably number 2, 3, 4 in the podcast world. They're not probably close to you, Ryan, at that number one slot, nor you have to worry about that. But there's guys that are out there doing some. Some pretty cool stuff. And I think people are tuning in, saying, you know what? I think I can do this. But it really comes down to something you and I were talking about earlier today was you can do it, you can be successful in it, but you got to be super intentional about it, because the business isn't just gonna come to you, and then you're like, oh, my God, ryan, I made 2 million. It's like, gotta do the work. Um, and if you do the work, the money's there.

The money's crazy. I. I mean, I. My mindset is continually, like, shifted, you know, like, when I got into the lighting industry, I thought it was crazy that someone would pay for $4,000 for landscape lighting. And, like, that. That's not. That's hardly anything. But I just. That's just where I was at in life. And then when I heard that someone would spend $4,000 for holiday lighting, it was like a, um. Whole nother thing, like what? The lights are only up for two months at most, you know, and then, uh, we, we sold the job. I sold a job, it was $30,000, you know, for residential.

A lot of people are getting into landscape lighting to avoid seasonal rehire

And I'm like, holy cow. And it just, it just kept going up. And so I'm seeing all these people have amazing success in the holiday lighting industry and I think they're even like blowing their own minds. And so they have to hire all these people and they're doing 100, 200, 304 and 500, $600,000 in Christmas lights in a short window. But then what I've, what I've found is like, they're all, they lay those people off because their, their main business isn't big enough to keep the 20 man crew busy or the 10 man crew, whatever it is they grow to though they, you know, lay everyone off. Then the next season they go, hey, you available? Oh, uh, no. Well, is your cousin? You know, like, is somebody. And so they have to recruit new people and then they're retraining and all this. And so people are reaching out to me going, man, I would, I want to do landscape lighting. Not because I want to be the next best landscape lighting guy, but I just want to keep my crew busy so that when holiday lighting season hits, like, they're, they're already trained, they're ready to go out. I avoid, I call it the seasonal rehire. Right? And that's kind of what a lot of guys are doing right now. They're getting into landscape lighting just to avoid the seasonal rehire. And then there are some people that are like falling in love with it and taking it to the next level and, and making their 500k holiday lighting business look small compared to their, you know, couple million dollars in landscape lighting. But I just think there's so much synergy there, which is really why we started Light It Up Expo, which I appreciate you guys coming to this last year, um, because there's just too much synergy there to avoid it. You know, I mean, there's, you can go, there's, there's a holiday lighting training, there's a permanent lighting training, there's a landscape lighting, but there's no, there's nothing that brought them together. And so I just think that, you know, that's, that's one thing I'm looking forward to growing Light it up is to just continue that overlap. And, and if there's people that don't like landscape lighting will come and find someone in your area that you can refer or if you don't like holiday lighting or don't like permanent, that's okay. You don't have to be an expert at all of it. But you should network and you should find the resources that can help you

grow your business well. And I think you did a good job with the show and bringing people together that when you look at, like, companies like mine, um, where you look to, you know, when you're going to a trade show, it's like, is this the right trade show for me? Um, even if it's half of it was landscape lighting guys, those are your guys that are interested in learning more about holiday lighting and how can I get into it? But then you're also on the other side of people that are interested or that are doing holiday lighting can get in and talk to some of these guys about landscape lighting. So I think it served a lot of different purposes. I really enjoyed the show. I think that for those that are listening, if you haven't gone to Light It Up Expo in the past, it's, uh, a great show. Um, and Ryan and his team did a phenomenal job with it. And, um, Ryan, I had a great time, met a lot of great people, um, but it was also inspirational and it's full, I believe it was full of intentional people, that people made the investment to come out to see you, to see the group because they wanted to grow their business. And, and I saw a lot of people that are like, man, these guys are hungry. They were asking questions, they were networking, they were following up. Ah, they were emailing. I'm like, wow, this is, it's different than some of the shows that you and I attended. And I won't mention those shows because right now it's all about Lighting Up Expo.

Um, it's fine.

I don't, I don't care right now. Ryan.

I saw that too. I mean, there's these young guns that are gonna just, they're just gonna take over. I mean, they're, they're, they're not afraid of taking risk, they're not afraid of failing. Um, they're coming in, they're, they're, they're talking to people that, that other people would be intimidated to talk to and ask stupid questions and do all this stuff. And I'm like, dude, this is cool. I, I, uh, never knew. So when I, I never knew we were going to do Light Up Expo six years ago when I started Landscape Lighting Secrets, I didn't know there was a need for it, you know, and so I didn't know like, the power of community. And, like, you know, people that pay. Pay attention. And so the people that pay to go, like you saw, like, they're a different breed. Like, they sacrifice. The ticket price was kind of hardly anything, really, because you still have, like, your hotel and you have your airfare and, you know, like, food, and there's other stuff that goes into it. And so I really appreciate everyone for trusting the process, because when anyone who went knows the transformation that happened in that room, um, and it happened because of community, you surround yourself with other people. Like that show I just went to here in Utah, it just leveled up my mindset to be like, man, like, I haven't been thinking big enough. These guys have helicopters. I just have a car. You know what I mean? So, like, what am I doing? Like, could I get a helicopter? So, um, that's what happens. Like, you put all these people in the room, and now all of a sudden they're talking. And you and I, we know a lot of these people offline as well, and they're calling each other and they're helping each other out outside of the show, outside of the trainings and stuff like that. So it's really cool to see that, like, level of accountability and. And community starting to form, well in

the friendships that you make too. It's interesting because I'll talk to my children about this, and sometimes, you know, as. As you have kids and they come home and they're like, man, I just so. And so was my buddy. Now they're not, and whatever, and you're like, you know what? Here's. Here's the facts. When you get older and you get into college, it'll be like, how many of those guys that you went to high school will you really ever talk to again? Most of the time, unless you're super intentional about that relationship and keeping it together, they fade. They go away, right? And maybe, like today I was looking at it. I was. I was just talking to my daughter about this on Friday, and I said, the guys that I went to high school with, probably, I still talk to, like, three or four. I graduated a class of 500 to talk to three or four people. That's. That's pretty bad. Yeah. Well, then I went into, um, college and I got into a fraternity. I talked to more of those guys than I even talked to the guys in, you know, in high school. But it's funny that the majority of my friends today, like, true friends, like, you'd go to a wedding, you'd go on vacation with them, um, you'd see them at Light Ah It Up Expo, you'd go hang out, have dinner with them or whatever. That's, that's where my friends are now, which is, you know, I tell them about that. I'm like, if you are um, passionate about your business, passionate about what you do, and you want to surround yourself with not just winners, but people that are like minded, like you, those are going to be the friends that you have because you guys are going for the same goal. Right. You want to grow not just, you know, your business, but your network. And so we, we had a good conversation about that.

Light It Up Expo is a great networking opportunity for holiday lighting professionals

And I think, you know, for me today, I love being in the holiday lighting industry. I can't imagine doing anything other than that. Um, I've got friends that will manage like discount tires and stuff like that. I'm like, God, how, how do you even get up in the morning get motivated for that? But it's their why, right? It's what motivates them.

They love tires.

They've always, hey, do you need some R 2270? You're like, what? No, I don't, I just bought tires from you like two years ago.

Okay, wait, um, are they, are they all terrains?

They are, yes.

I need some.

I'll get my buddy to give you a call. Um, but just the holiday industry, uh, you know, having a format like this, like lighting for profits, being able to, to teach people or to share, it's not even so much always teaching, but sharing information. Yeah. I think from anywhere, just listening to some of the uh, speakers that you had at ah, uh, Light It Up Expo, you can always take some nuggets from that. Right. You can think that you're the most seasoned holiday lighting guy. You're, you're at $2 million per year, whatever, you can still go and you network and you're still going to pull some nuggets from there and that, that's what that's about. So when you talk about community, um, I, I agree with you 100 and I think that people that haven't gone to Light It Up Expo again, another plug for you. But just because I did get something out of it, Ryan, I think ah, people do need to attend that. If you've thought about it, you just haven't made the commitment, um, you need to do it.

I will say this, I don't know how this turned into a Light It Up Expo commercial, but we're the way we do it. Announcing the date soon. Um, so we will be announcing the dates, but go if you want to get on the wait list because we're gonna do. We did this last year. We're gonna probably do it every year. There's no secret. Um, you're gonna get a substantial discount for the early bird. So go to lightitupexpo. com join the waiting list. But we're gonna, like, we're soon, like we're close to like announcing everything. Um, so I'm really excited to announce that. But.

Eric: I have these rapid fire questions. If we don't do them, then what's the point

Hey, Eric, um, I gotta ask. I have these rapid fire questions. I didn't prepare them for nothing. If we don't do them, then what's the point? So here's the thing. Don't think. And there's only like 10 or something, but you don't think. Um, I don't need an explanation. I just need an answer.

Okay, ready?

M. Three, two, one.

Digital timer or analog timer or photocell? Oh, I like the pin timer

All right. Commercial or residential?

Commercial.

Sell or lease?

Sell.

C9 or C7?

C9.

Roof lines or tree wraps?

Roof lines.

Easiest upsell in holiday glitzer. 12 or 15 inch spacing. 15 RGB or classic white?

RGBW.

Oh, warm, uh, white or cool white?

Warm white.

Digital timer or analog timer or photocell?

Oh, I like the pin timer. Mechanical pin timer.

You really. I put that in there. I was thinking, I wonder if he's gon laugh at me.

So a lot of customers buy the digital. I, I prefer. But that's again, my opinion. I like it. There's nothing ever been wrong with it. That's why I go with that.

All right, um. Oh, tree wraps or hanging spritzers?

Hanging spritzers.

All right. And then I, I think I may have screwed up the terminology. I swear you guys used to have like a sphere type thing. Do you have a sphere?

We have orbs.

Orb.

Okay, orbs. That kind of. Or orbit spritzer.

Oh, wow. Okay. And then spritzer or. What was the new one?

Glitzer.

Not Glitzer, the other one.

Oh, the Halo.

Halo spritzer or Halo. Because I didn't know about that one yet.

Great question. Spritzer. Wow.

I mean, this is, this is shocking news. I mean, this is going to be all over cnn, Fox News. This is crazy.

You can make money at both lease and purchase, says Kurt Carr

All right, you know, here's the thing. So we've just added, um, a, uh, new individual helping us run our company as a coo. Uh, Kurt Carr. He came over from Bickerman. Kurt loves the lease side of it. I love the purchase side of it. I've, I've kind of looked at this, you know, for many years. Do we do some in lease, some in person? If you go to train with people, some say you got to be one or the other. I've used kind of a hybrid over the years to where I do a sale, but if it's a big city project and they want to have that more. No, you know, lease terms, then I'll do it that way. Uh, not a big deal. I think you can make money in both, but I think that lease and purchase is kind of like Republican, Democrat in the United States. I would say that it's pretty close to 50, 50 of the customers that we deal with.

I feel like it is too.

Or lease, which is crazy to me, but people that do the lease are like, yeah, you're dumb. People that do purchase are like, you're dumb.

Uh, I know, but you can make,

you can make money at both. Yeah. Uh, it just, it depends on where you want to be. You know, what, what do you want your box to look like? You know, do you want to be a lease and you want to be a purchase? And I, I could defend both. And we trained both.

Eric Johnson switched from Android to Apple phones to help grow his business

Now you, you pretty much drew your line in the sand today.

Uh, I like, I like sales, but that's me, that's my opinion.

So you were commercial, you were selling, you were roof lines, 15 inch glitzer, um, RGBWW, warm white pin, analog timer hanging, um, spritzers and then spritzer. Spritzer. I, I, I thought you would, My

son would probably go. Yeah, dad would go with the mechanical pin timer.

Yeah. I was like, he's kind of old

school to the Apple phone, but once I did. Sometimes you just don't know what you don't know. And if you stay kind of, and you've kind of mentioned this too, right? With the, uh, if you push forward and you get to the calmer waters. That's kind of like when I looked at before I was all Android and I told my kids, I'm m. Like, I'm never, ever going to Apple. They're like, dad, that's stupid because you've got, you've got the computer's Apple, you've got the iPad, we've got blah, blah, blah. Everything is Apple in our house. But you want to go with that. And I'm like, I just, you know, I just got stuck in my ways. But I think if you're willing to get out of your comfort zone, that's the biggest thing. So to grow, Scott, Scott says it too. We talk about it, we got to grow. We got to get out of our comfort zone. So I was a little Bit nervous about going to Apple, but now, now that I know it, I would never go back to Android. You couldn't pay me to go back to Android, even if, If Emory Allen said, hey, Eric, we saw you on the greatest podcast ever, and we want to offer you an Android phone. No, no, thanks, Appreciate you, but no.

Yeah, I don't know. I, I, I think I would turn them down too. They haven't. They haven't. They haven't even offered me an Android. I mean, I see.

But I teed it up for you today. So our friends at Emory Allen, if you're listening. Well, I'm sure you are.

I've got the iPhone. Uh, 13. What, what are they up to now? 19?

17.

17 or. I don't even know if I have 13. Mine's, mine's kind of getting old, so. Yeah, Tom, if you're listening, I need a new iPhone.

That was the other thing. My son was like, hey, you know, are we gonna upgrade? I'm like, yeah, we're upgrade, but I want the 2 terabyte. He's like, why? Because you can just save it to the cloud? And I'm like, no, I want to make sure I got it all right here. So I did the two terabyte.

Baller. Yeah, baller.

So I can just take pictures all day long. I'm like, oh, that'd be good. I'm just taking pictures, not worrying about filling it up.

Well, you heard it here live. He switched from Android to Apple, so. Welcome, welcome, welcome.

Ryan, what's the best way to reach out to you? LinkedIn

Yeah, another giveaway, Ryan. Let's do another one. So we do have the Halo, right? We're giving away Halo. Uh, we're giving away some of these.

That's the 16th person to email Eric at holidaynamics.

And then let's give away. Let's give away two 25 packs of the glitters.

Oh, wow. Two 25 packs.

Yeah.

Okay, so who do you want to give that to?

You make that call. We'll give that one to you.

Okay, the, the third person to email me. The third and the fifth person to email me support ryanleecoaching. com.

perfect.

The third and the fifth. Supportionlecoaching. com and just put, uh, I heart the Glitzer.

I love it. I gotta get that bumper sticker main. Will you put that on your truck?

I heart Glitzer. Uh, all right, very cool. So if people want to get a hold of you, what's the website again, and what's the best way to reach out to you?

Holodynamics. com. uh, which I think you had that scrolling on my email. And then, uh, to get to me directly, it's Eric holodynamics. com okay. And always available if, if you can, like, um, us on Facebook, Instagram, we're going to post a lot more out there. Um, LinkedIn. I think LinkedIn is still lost art, uh, where a lot of, you know, professionals aren't using LinkedIn as much anymore. But I think that is still, um, a great way to network in with people. So you can, um, link in with me there as well.

Okay, Sweet. All right, so I don't know how I'm going to remember this. I'm not. So I'm just going to say it again. The third and the fifth person will win a 25 pack of glitzers to email supportionleighcoaching. com the 16th person to email eric@hollydynamics. com will win the thing called a halo. Okay, all, uh, right. That sounds good, man. Well, it's always good catching up with you. Thanks for staying late. I appreciate you, man.

Yeah, no, no worries. I appreciate you. Appreciate everybody watching today. Reach out. We're always here to help. And if you aren't getting coaching from Ryan, make sure you do, because he's a great guy and is helping the industry. So that's my additional plug for you, Ryan. I'm out of here, buddy.

Thanks, Eric. It's been great. Now. That was awesome. You guys have an awesome week. Don't forget to email Eric. Don't forget to email me. Let's go take care.

Of sam.