Lighting for Profits - Episode 163

This week, we’re excited to feature Elwood Bakken, a lighting specialist with 14 years of experience at Action Lighting. Starting with tasks like restacking containers, Elwood now manages everything from sales to video content, showcasing his dedication. Founded in 1987, Action Lighting has evolved from its innovative origins to become a global leader in lighting solutions, serving a wide range of clients with extensive storage and service capabilities.

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Episode Transcript

Ryan Lee discusses everything you need to know to start and grow a successful landscape business

Welcome to lighting for profits.

All light, all light. All light. Powered by Emery Allen. Get rid of your excuses.

Your number one source for all things landscape lighting.

That's where the magic can happen.

You can really scale a business. We really had to show up for each other from lighting design, install, sales and marketing. You're a scaredy cat salesmeaker. We discussed everything you need to know to start and grow a successful landscape lighting business.

What do you think a hippo has to do with your business, Ryan?

Usually it's some weird childhood thing. Some bully kicked your butt. I think the key factor here is trust. Here is your host, Ryan Lee.

All, I do. I don't. Light. Welcome, welcome, welcome. So excited to hang out with you for this next little bit, guys. We got an awesome show lined up for you.

Ryan Lee: We're the number one landscape lighting show in Montana

I'm Ryan Lee, the host of lighting for profits, powered by Emery Allen. And, got an awesome show lined up. I'm here in Lehigh, Utah, the landscape lighting secret studios. So, by the way, guys, did you know this? We were actually. A lot of people don't know this. We're the number one landscape lighting show in Bozeman, Montana. So, yeah, this is kind of like going international. Like, I don't. There's not that many people that have even been to Bozeman, Montana. But somehow, someway, we are the number one show in Bozeman, Montana. So thank you, Bozeman, for your support. Love, this show. If you're good, if you're looking to start or grow a landscape lighting business, in fact, a holiday lighting business, event lighting, wedding lighting, whatever it is, this is the episode. This is the place to be. We're here to educate. We're here to motivate, to help you dominate. So want to thank you all for your support. Still asking, still pleading for those five star reviews on Apple or Spotify, but specifically apple. I like those ones better. I don't know why. I think it's because on Apple, you can, like, write something nice. So, if you haven't done anything good for someone today, then help a brother out. Go on to apple right now. And if you gotten value out of the show, which I talked to everybody almost every day, not everybody. I talk to people every day, and they're like, dude, your show is amazing. Your guests are phenomenal. And I completely agree. We are so blessed. We're so fortunate. Our guests are amazing. Today is no different. We got the one, the only, mister Elwood Bakken. I had to ask him, how do you say your. How do you say your last name. Because I knew him as Elwood, and I was like, oh, his name is Bakken. Could have said back. And he said, some people say bacon. I'm like, no, definitely Bakken. Or backing. So excited. Have on, him on. He's with action lighting. And, it's crazy because years ago, I mean, just a few years ago, I didn't even know who action lighting was. And, I've seen them now at, ah, trade shows and events and things like that and, gotten to know Elwood. stick around. You're gonna want to get to know this guy. It's like, are you guys like me? Like, do you like to do business with people that you like? Like, you'll just find ways to work with them, right? And, Elwood is just this super cool guy from Montana. So, if you want to hang out with super cool people from Montana, this is the place to be. so we're gonna, we're gonna talk about action and what they're doing in the industry and stuff like that. So, gonna be a great show. I guess, you know, I guess what, we'll get into it.

Emery Allen believes every lighting professional should have access to a high performance

You know, I've got a couple things I want to share real quick, but before I do, I want to thank, Emery Allen. And I like playing cool music. I can tell Elwood's like me. He's a either, like, semi hippie or all hippie, I'm not sure. But, he jives. He's definitely going to vibe with us today. So, listen, guys, a fixture is only as good as the source of light inside it. So this light source is what your customers and future customers will ultimately see at night and will result in thousands of dollars in return business for you, along with glowing referrals. So Emery Allen believes that every lighting professional should have access to a light source engineered from the ground up, dedicated to high performance when you need it most. At the end of the day, it's what's on the inside that counts. So take advantage of Emery Allen's world class customer service and get a discount. Get 10% off your first order. Now, what's cool about their pricing is it's just good in general, and it's even better when you mentioned lighting for profits. So here's what you need to do. Just email tom g@emoryallen. com. tom G. At emory allen. com. send him an email. Say, hey, I heard about you on lighting for profits. I want the hookup, and he will get you the hookup. That discounted contractor pricing, so just email tom g@emeryallen. com all right. by the way, great pricing, but great product, great people. That single source led is just a super clean led.

Elwood Bakken: The show went great, but I was nervous

Alright, so again, just a couple minutes, we're gonna have Elwood Bakken on. And, I got to tell you, so, you know, I've been doing this show now. We're on an episode hundred. I was gonna say 150 something, but I'm looking at the screen. 163. Gosh, I am so grateful to be able to do this. And, I'm normally the host, right? But I got to be. I got invited on a podcast, last week, the week before, and it was here in Utah, and I'm like, cool. Like, they have, like, a studio and stuff. I'm like, ooh, this is, this is kind of cool because mine's always, you know, remote. I mean, I'm here, not remote, but the guests are and stuff like that. So I got invited to the studio. Really nice setup. They had the lights, the camera, the, the audio, just all the stuff. I was like, this is killer. And, when I get the details and stuff, when that comes out, I'll be sharing that for sure. but I was a little nervous, you know, I'm used to just, like, being in the driver's seat, and if you've ever been, like, not in the driver's seat and someone else is driving, you're like, I'm not sure if they're good at driving. It's nerve wracking. You know, you're nervous, right? And so I was a little nervous, but, the show went great. the host was awesome. did a great job with his interview style, and it was just relaxed and everything. And we finish, and the videographer, the guy that was running the cameras and checking the audio and stuff like that, he was really the only other guy there. And, he, like, the show ends, and he's like, all right, cut, or whatever. And he's like, wow, that was awesome. And, you know, I was like, oh, yeah, thanks a lot, you know? And I'm like, he probably says that to everybody, you know, it's kind of like, oh, that you were so good or whatever.

I.

He's like, no, I'm serious. Like, that was amazing. You know, we do these every week. That was incredible. I was like, okay, was he really, like, is he, is he really, like, legit? So I said, oh, what was your biggest takeaway? Kind of, like, seeing, like, was he really paying attention? Like, what did you even listen? And he goes, dude, yeah, I mean, for sure, the belief. And I asked him, well, what do you mean, tell me more. And what it was was I talked about, when I talk about sales, there's a lot of things that can happen in a sales process to set you up for success, and there's a lot of things that you can do to screw yourself over really fast, too. But one of the first things I teach, one of the first things I do personally is start with belief. And, basically I said, well, tell me more. What was your favorite part of the belief? Like, what do you mean?

What is the consequence of your client not moving forward with landscape lighting

He goes, well, you said the question, what is the consequence of your client not moving forward? And he goes, that really struck home with me. I said, how come? He said, well, because I, you know, I'm a videographer and I sell to local businesses, and I have so many people that are, that reach out and they want it. They want to get some cool videos. They want to grow their business through video because they know the power of it. And, you know, pictures were like, it used to be about pictures. Now it's about video, especially online and content and everything. And he goes, but then I'll get to the end and then they'll go, well, yeah, I think I'll do it in six months. I want to wait, and they're not completely sold. And, he goes, you said that. And it's like, what's the consequence of my client not moving forward? Well, to be honest, they're not going to make as much money as they should. If they wait six months, they're losing out on six months worth of content, six months worth of building value, of building their brand of building authority, and that's going to cost them tens of thousands of dollars. And he goes, to be honest, like, some of them aren't going to last that long. Like, they can't afford it because they don't have enough money and they're really hurting. So they were going to invest in videos to help with them market and how they're not going to have enough money, they're not going to make it. I was like, dude, that's like, that's the real stuff. If you can get real with that and understand that, like, what's the consequence of your client not moving forward with you today? Like, a lot of thing, a lot of magic can happen behind the scenes. So, you know, I I I'm weird, guys. I go dark, I go, like, evil. So, like, what, what's the consequence? Okay, if your homeowner doesn't move forward with you with landscape lighting. Well, immediately I go to, well, obviously, if they don't get lighting, they're getting murdered, right? And people are like, okay, relax, dude. It's just lighting. No, of course they're going to get murdered. So think about this for a second. You're going to rob homes this weekend because your business isn't doing as well as it should. And so you go find a neighborhood that's got money, right? And then you go to like, okay, well, those have lights. These ones are dark. I don't really want to murder people. I just want to steal stuff. So I'm going to go to the houses with no lights on because they're not home, and I can just break in and steal stuff. And then I can just, like, you know, sell it on eBay or whatever. Okay, well, here's the problem. What if that person's home, then they get murdered because they have to, like, murder people because they want to steal stuff. This is. This is how my mind thinks, okay? And so when I think that the consequence of someone not moving forward with landscape lighting is they're going to get murdered, well, naturally, I like people. I don't want them to get murdered. So I'm going to do everything in my power to ensure that they make the right decision, and the right decision is to move forward with me today to get lighting so they don't get burglared and they don't get murdered. Right? Now, I realize that might be extreme, but, like, it is what it is. This guy and I, and I shared this story on the podcast, by the way. I'm talking like this, and this is why the guy goes, wow, that was incredible. I'm like, wait, you. You like, you like it when people talk about getting murdered? Like, you're weird, dude. And, He's like, no, but seriously, like, what's the consequence of my client not moving forward with me today? They could be homeless. They might not be able to provide for their business, might be able to provide for their family, and then they're going to eat ramen and be homeless. And I was like, dude, this guy's awesome. This guy's, like, dark like me. Like, he goes there, right? And the challenge, the problem is if you don't go dark, then you're like, well, what's the consequence? Well, then, you know, they don't get lighting today, and maybe they'll get it in six months. And it's like, well, dude, you don't. If you don't have conviction. If you don't believe, you don't believe in yourself, in your offering, then why do you expect your clients to believe that? Like, I am so passionate, I am so enthusiastic. I believe that. Like, you can't you. You could say that I don't believe it, but, like, you feel it, like, it comes through, right? And so I want you guys, I want to challenge you and not just think, like, well, what's the consequence? Well, do they don't really need lights? Yes, they do. They're going to get burglared. They're going to get murdered. Right. Now, let's say you're not as extreme as me. Take it a step back. like, what's the realistic one thing that might happen today? Well, they might not go with anybody, right? And then obviously, we know what's going to happen there if they don't get lights. But then what if they do go with someone? What if they don't choose you, but they go with someone else? Well, like, are you, are you trying to operate a nonprofit? Like, you are a for profit business? You need to. You owe it to yourself. You owe it to your family members. You owe it to your team members, you owe it to your community to over deliver red carpet, white glove experience every single time for your clients. Right? And if you're just going to, like, lay down and let your competition come in and take that job for half the price and provide a crappy service, crappy products. Probably not even answer the phone for. For service and maintenance. Like, do you hate people? Like, help them make a right choice. Help them see that you are the path to success, right? So I, want you to get fanatic. I want you to get crazy.

I want you guys to get crazy about sales

Like, this is, this is, like, you look at all the successful people out there. I mean, you guys think I'm crazy, dude, I'm, like, normal compared to crazy. These guys are nuts. And they're successful because of it, because they think differently than most, and they're so passionate about what they do that they can't see another path for people to move forward, right? So I want you guys to get crazy about sales. I want you to really ask yourself that question, what is the consequence of someone not moving forward with me today? Right? And hopefully you go dark. Hopefully you just go crazy like me. But if not, at a minimum, like, are you really okay with them choosing someone else and then them suffering and getting ripped off by somebody? And then they can get a fort, then they can get ahold of them, and then they got to call you to fix it. Like, do you really want that? Like, build value, show people the path to that leads to happiness with lights through you? Right? So I wanted to share that because, it was. It was cool. I mean, I was just, like, riffing, and I was going off and telling this stuff, and this guy, like, he's like, dude, you literally just changed my life.

Your results are directly related to your thoughts and your beliefs

And so I want to ask you guys what your beliefs are. What are your false beliefs? Like, your results are directly related to your thoughts and your beliefs. So if you're struggling right now, don't worry about the results. Like, you need to worry about what you're thinking about. What are your. Are you thinking every day? Like, oh, man, what if I fail? What if I fail? What if I can't close the deal? Because that's exactly what's going to happen. If you're thinking, like, I'm going to succeed, I can't wait to close this job. I can't wait to bless this person's life. Then that's just what happens. Okay, so control your thoughts, because you oughta. You can't control your results. You have to, like, stick to the process. You have to control your thoughts. Thoughts, beliefs, actions, results. It always goes in that order. So identify some false beliefs right now. Write them down. What are some false beliefs that you have in your head right now? Maybe it's around money. Like, you know, I used to think that there was, like, this finite amount of money. So if I won, that means someone else wasn't like, no, you can win in your economy. You, could be a $2 million business, and I could start another $2 million business there. Like, everyone can win, right? Or, maybe you feel like, oh, you feel bad for charging too much, and that's your own problem. You got to work through. These are false beliefs. Maybe you feel bad because they can't afford it, right? Like, they called you, they want it. They need it. And if you think they just want it, then maybe you should get another business that you think people need, because I'm crazy. I know they need it. I don't think they need it. They need lighting. Okay, we know what the consequences if they don't have lighting. So, we. We don't want that to happen to people. We want to save as many people as possible. So, maybe you're not confident. Maybe you're just not confident that if you charge a premium price, that you can deliver on that solution. So if you're thinking these things, then change your thoughts, change your thought process, and if you. You feel like you're lying, then don't lie. Like, change your process. Use better products, use a better system. Use better, offer better service, answer the phone, call more often. Like, you can change who you are. Right? So, just want to share that with you. hopefully it helps you. Hopefully it helps you adopt a new mindset that, your thoughts control your beliefs. Your beliefs control your actions. Your actions control, your results.

We're only 90 miles from Yellowstone national park

So that's all I got for you. I think it's time to get to our guests. Let me know if you guys are here live, if you're ready. I know I am. Let's get the music, pumping, maybe. Well, welcome to the show. I'm excited to have you on. you know, it's not often we have, we even get to meet it. You're like a celebrity just because you're from Montana.

Yeah, you know, we're real fortunate here. We're, we're up in Bozeman, Montana. We're only 90 miles from Yellowstone national park. it's pretty common. In fact, over the last few years, we have bears, actually, on our property in the fall. two years ago, we had bears that were trying to hibernate under one of our storage containers, right, on property. So, you know, we're in a town, but it's still pretty wild.

That's awesome. I'm like, man, I love going. The furthest I've been is, like, west Yellowstone, but, like, just even going up in that park and stuff like that, it's just. It's just different geography, you know, I think everyone needs to visit up there. Maybe we should do a mastermind up there sometime, do an event. I think. I think a lot of people would like it.

You know, that would be great. We have a lot to share up here. We got four blue ribbon trout rivers that flow right through this valley. Got great skiing at, multiple resorts. Any time of year you visit Montana, there's something to do.

Love it.

Elwood Bakken has been in bacon manufacturing for 28 years

Well, do me a favor real quick and, just introduce yourself. Like, who is Elwood Bakken back in bacon?

Well, of course. I'm Elwood. You know, been in Montana now for 28 years. I've actually worked for this company, and multiple times I m worked for him before my daughter was born. So, 20 plus years ago, I was working in shipping, for the people that started this company, Hugh and Charlotte. I had left for a while, and then I, came back and started working in shipping again, only for a couple months. And they moved me into sales, and, you know, that was nine years ago now. I love being in sales.

Ah.

I love talking to all the customers, and I love people. So it's a great place for me to be, you know?

Nice, man. That's awesome.

We sell all kinds of amusement lights, carnival lights and holiday lighting

Well, maybe, just introduce action and tell us about what action does. It's, What do you guys do?

Yeah, so we do all kinds of lighting. Like I say, if it's colorful, it blinks, it flashes, anything like that. We do it. So we are, We sell all kinds of amusement lights, carnival lights. So, you know, if you have a fair that comes to your town or anything like that, state fair, like, in the summer, anything, like on a carousel, a Ferris wheel, anything like that. All those lights, they come from us. So we do a lot of amusement carnival lights. We're active in wedding lighting, and, of course, Christmas lights, Halloween lights, sign lights, and some of our stuff even gets into movies every now and again.

That's awesome, man. So how do. How do, like, how are people. How are those companies finding you?

You know? Well, long time.

We.

We started in 1987, and originally we started importing golf balls. Exploding golf balls. That was actually first thing we imported.

What's an exploding golf ball?

So it's like a gag gift. So, like, when your buddy's not looking, you know, you're on the tee box and everything, you know, he turns around to do something. You swap his ball out with one of these balls, and basically when he hits it, it just blows up to dust.

Okay. I see the ones now that, like, make a ton of noise or something, but I haven't seen the exploding ones.

Yeah, so these were just basically a pressed powder. They put powder into a press that looked like a golf ball and just pressed it so hard, it would stay together. And then when you'd hit it, it would blow up. Well, he brought a couple containers of those in, and they did so well. The next thing he brought in was fireworks. And then his firework business was doing so well that he was like, I got to keep all my employees around. Like, what could we do in the wintertime when we're not doing fireworks? So one of his friends says, hey, why don't you import some red Christmas lights? And so he did that next year, he brought in one container of red c nine s. So this is 87. There's no leds. You know those old, big ceramic ones used to pop as a kid? Yeah. Brought a whole container of those and then sold it all the next year. Golf balls, fireworks, red light bulbs and green light bulbs. The rest is history.

That's awesome. Well, you say smash. As a kid, I remember installing like the incandescents and then taking them down or you accidentally dropped some. They go like, you know, they're gone.

Pop, pop.

That's pretty cool. So now you guys are. Yeah, I mean, it kind of like you have almost any kind of light possible. I see you at some of the shows and things like that. what are you selling mostly then, is like holiday lighting and event lighting?

Yeah, absolutely. You know, I kind of handle a lot of the Christmas around here. I'm kind of the most festive dude here. So, I'm talking to all of our installers. I'm kind of heading up that. I'm also working on any kind of new product stuff for Christmas. you know, we're working with, you know, small installers that are just doing residential projects and of course, bigger guys doing commercial. We work with some of our amusement customers. We're working with them all summer on their ride lights. You know, most theme parks are now decorating for Halloween and Christmas. so some of those customers just kind of lap over for us. And then every business needs a sign. I mean, it's one of the most important things to have if you're in business. And like they say in the carnival industry, the more flash, the more cash. So when you set up at a carnival, you're trying to get everybody to buy your funnel cakes. The more blinking and bright and attractive lights you can have on a concession trailer, the more customers are going to come your way.

So how can, like, you know, most of these people are like, holiday lighting, landscape lighting guys. There's some permanent lighting guys. How could they, you know, use some of your services? Like, can they, should they do a sign for like, an hoa or a sign for just a residential house? Or is it commercial? Or like, how could they introduce that into their business model?

You know what, that's another, it's actually a great upsell for all of their clientele, you know, not so much in the residential, but if you have some commercial customers and things like that, let's say you go and install some landscape lighting into a shopping area, you know, that has lawns and everything. They want their curb appeal to look really nice. So you guys go in there, put in great, landscape lighting that's accenting all the beautiful parts of their property. You know, in a way, those lights will uplift kind of the class the property has. And sometimes once you've done an upgrade like that, some of the other features of the property might not match. So that that's a great time to actually maybe approach some of those businesses and saying, hey, if you really enjoy this, upgrading the landscape lighting that we've done around the property, we can also help your business stand out also by upgrading your sign.

And besides sign, what are some other products that they, that you guys have that it might be different than what most people are thinking?

Well, you know, we got, you've seen all the people that like to outline their windows in lights and stuff like that, the different color, the little tape light and the diodes and stuff. We do all of that kind of stuff. We also do patio and cafe lighting. So, you know, if you have any kind of outdoor seating or anything like that, we can help you get that lit to where it's just a perfect ambiance, you know, to where your customers can see what they're doing, but it's not so bright ruining their meal or anything like that. All of those things we can do. The other thing we can do, like for casinos and other places like that, we make raceways. So they're basically metal tracks with bulbs every four to six inches, that they outline buildings with and other things like that. So we do tons of those also.

The best way to approach potential clients is to visit the property first

So let's say someone's listening. They're like, man, that sounds great. I'd love to land a casino or an amusement park. Like, how do they, how do they even start to approach them?

You know, the first, best way to approach them is, you know, to visit the property. you have to be somewhat familiar with what they're doing with their business. But also, it's easy to walk around a property, because every time I go to an amusement park, I do the same thing. You guys might also, driving around, see a landscape, lighting, there's a light out or something. Or, hey, they could have done that tree a lot better. You know, they used a huge flood instead of a spot or something. So I always think it's really important to, visit the property first. Walk the property, walk it in the daytime, walk it in the nighttime. You'd say to me, like, why would you want to walk the property in the daytime? Well, there could be a lot of things they've done in their installation that's incorrect, could look better. Or you might have ideas that can save them a lot in labor. Just the way they went and decided to attach it to the building was over overkill or something like that. You can make some great recommendations like that, too.

Yeah. Like, and document it. Get pictures of, like, the corroded junction boxes and how it's unsafe to have this as a trip hazard and just bad connections. It's grown into trees, whatever it is, right?

Yeah. And I think if you can, you can start smaller. You know, it's going to be really hard to walk up to six flags and say, hey, I'm your new lighting guy, you know, without anything else under your belt. But you have to realize, in a lot of areas, there's carousels that are standalone carousels in shopping malls and things like that. There's a lot of malls now that are putting small rides as entertainment to draw customers. Okay. Like, the Mall of America in Minnesota would be my greatest example. I mean, they have a complete theme park inside that place. But to go to someplace that only has smaller rides or smaller stuff and help them upgrade their ticket window, like, that's a great one right there. All ticket windows, they look great when they have that nice border of lights around them. They don't need to be blinking or flashing, but they just set it. Set it out and let your customers know. This is your first stop as you enter, but maybe step into a smaller customer like that and then scaling your business.

Who do they talk to when it's a property like that?

You know, the first person I try to talk to is going to be marketing. Marketing a lot of the time, holds a lot of those budgets and stuff like that. It's really hard to get a hold of actual electrical supervisors and people like that, because when they're on the grounds of the park, they're usually walking around. They usually communicate using walkie talkie still, so they can be a little hard to get a hold of when the park's open.

Nice. And then my next question is, like, let's say they, they do that. They're like, dude, I don't know. I got nothing else to do. I guess I'll listen to Elwood, this crazy guy from Montana. They go walk the thing, they take some notes, they take some pics. They call the marketing company. They get it, and like, holy cow, I got an opportunity. And then they're like, dude, this is bigger than I thought I was gonna. Thought I was starting small, but they want this and this and this. How can you guys help them and provide them support with coming up with, like, what lights to use and design and how to make it all work and all that stuff?

Yeah. You know, that's actually what we spend a large part of our day doing. You know, all these rides they don't have ten lights on them. We're talking thousands of lights. So it's really important that you use some of our calculators on our website. So we have a max run calculator. So you can figure out, you know, I got 200 bulbs at this amps with this, you know, volts coming in. I'll tell you how many you can run. So that's really important to know. But the other reason you want to call us is we're so familiar with these products that I can recommend a bulb or type of carnival light. That's labor time is significantly shorter than all the other things we carry. most people just compare costs when they buy stuff, okay? The cost is only the initial investment. You still have to install it and then possibly maintenance it over time. So there are carnival lights that are more durable, they're more expensive upfront, but they're half the labor to install, and their durability is going to last that much longer. That's a, much better product. So those are the reasons why you definitely want to reach out to us right away.

You mentioned starting a carnival lighting business on your podcast

I had no idea we were going to be talking about carnival lights, right? What is happening?

Yeah, you know, that's the beauty of actually, you know, if I can share a story with you. back a few years ago, stranger things. Stranger things. The show on Netflix, on season three, they're basically at a carnival for most of that season. You know, I'm sitting in the office one day and I get a call and they're like, hey, yeah, we're this movie. And we just rented this carnival and we got it all set up and turned it on. And the whole carnival is led. And I said, well, yeah, that's how most carnivals are. They're all led. And they're like, our show is set in 1980. We can't have led lights on any of these rides. And I was just like, you gotta be kidding me. I got a warehouse of incandescent carnival rides.

You guys were wondering, like, how are we ever gonna offload this stuff?

like, that was fun. We got to rebulb a whole bunch of rides for him. we got to rebulb a bunch of games and do a bunch of other lights. But it was really fun working with them. And it is just something you never think. You get a call today, like, I need to replace all my leds with in cans.

I needed to make it look like it's 1984. Quick. That's awesome. Well, who knows? Maybe someone is going to listen to this and be like, yeah, I think I'm going to start a carnival lighting business.

Absolutely. You know, and signs are really easy, too. They start really basic. it's a great side hustle, but it starts really basic with just printing vinyl signs and that slowly evolves. But luckily, a lot of the sign lighting, products are all twelve volt. They're all low voltage. Because they're low voltage, you get around most electrical inspections.

That's huge. Yeah, that's where my mind was thinking is like, how do we, you know, approach these properties? And like you said, the ticket booth or like a main thing, but then it's like, hey, by the way, like, what are you guys doing for this? And I don't know if you guys know this, but my friend told me, his name's Elwood, that the more flash, the more cash. Like, we. I love the idea of doing like, these flashy signs for, for businesses that you already have relationships with.

Yep. You know what? If I see you this next year, I might have to deliver you one for you. Landscape lighting secrets sign. You know what?

I. Dude, I'll have that thing on the front of my property here. My house is. People will be like, well, we know what that guy does.

Yeah, I was going to say that. It's something I say. I trade shows all the time. It's like, do you like your neighbors? Well, if you don't like your neighbors, I have some lights for you.

Yes, I love it. So,

We actually do a lot of tent lighting for wedding and event companies

All right, commercial man. We covered carnival. I wanted to make sure we got carnival down. how about events and wedding? There's a lot of people that get asked about this, and then it's like, nah, like, I used to get asked all the time. I'm like, nah, we don't do that because it was just like, outside of my wheelhouse. But now I've met people that like, that's their full time gig. They just do events and weddings. What? Tell us about some of those products.

You know, for, for us, you know, right away when you think events and weddings, everybody just thinks about bistro lights, right? bistro lights from poles, stringing it over the dining area. We actually do a lot of tent lighting. So when I talk about wedding and event lighting, I'm working with a lot of people that rent out the large 60 by 100 canvas tents. You know, the big white pop up ones.

Yeah.

Nice walls and all of that. So we actually do a lot of lighting for those companies. So the two main types of lighting we do is going to be a perimeter lighting, which is just basically going around the inside of the tent. And this is a great thing for Christmas light guys to transition into because it's all the same products we use at Christmas time.

Are those minis? What, are you using? Is it minis? minis.

M c nine s. Okay. You know, but I'm selling. When I sell perimeter lighting to a tent guy, I'm selling a 500 foot roll of c 915 inch spacing. The only difference is it's white.

And what are they doing? They're just zip tying it to the.

Yeah, they just go running around the inside of the perimeter. there's lots. A lot of people use carabiners to attach it, but zip ties, there's a lot of different methods. So, you know, they'll run that around the inside. Some people will use the c nine like a Christmas bulb, like a pointy one. But a lot of people use like a round, you know, bulb with the led filament in it. That looks really good.

Oh, yeah. Is that like the g 40? What is it? G something?

g 40. G. All of our lights that we make for wedding and event, you know, are all plastic. None of them break. So they all look like they're glass bulbs and stuff. But when you're taking them down and setting them, up, because you're going to constantly do that every weekend, if not every day, if you're really good at it, they won't break, so you don't have to replace them all the time.

Yeah. And it's my understanding most of these people are. Are renting it the first time for what they paid for from you, right?

Yes.

They're recouping their, their expense pretty quick.

It's really easy to do. You know, we have another product that's a wall curtain. So it's an led curtain. That's ten by ten. You know, if you. You know how they have all those metal poles at the trade shows that, you know, cordon off the booths? They hang all the curtains from it? Well, people just take those. They take the big flat pads and put them down. They make a square, and they attach our light curtain to it. And then they put a beautiful cloth veneer over it that kind of hides the lights. And it looks beautiful behind the, bride and groom's table.

Oh, really?

Yeah. The beauty of it is, once you have it attached, when you take it down, you just roll it around that tubing.

Okay.

So you never, ever take it apart again. You rent it as a whole unit like that?

Yep.

So setup time is really easy. Once you've rented it four times, the products paid for itself. After that, it's all profit. Now. How long? Summer. I mean, that's three months long. You got twelve weeks if you run it out once a week. After that first month, it's gravy. You got two months of gravy.

Nice. So that's like you. Those are ones, it's just the lights and you keep it white and do the sheet to kind of hide it and mask it a little bit. And then do you guys have like those cool video boards?

You don't have the cool video boards. But the other thing that we have that I want to let everybody know about pieces are awesome, is we have these tent clamps. So basically a lot of these tents are going to have a big center pole on them. You know, that's holding up the peak of the tent. Well, we have a clamp that just clamps right on the top of that. And then you put these arms in it with your lights attached and then you point the lights up, into the top of the tent because that's all white and it's going to smooth out the color and the brightness, but it's going to reflect down on the table so everybody can see what they're doing when they're eating dinner.

Nice. Very cool.

We also have those in RGB, so you can bring the colors. We also have some gobos, so if you want to bring the dance party at the top of the tent, we can help you do that also.

Love it. And those, those gobos, can you do like customized designs?

We can get logos or bride and grooms names and things like that

Yeah, we can, absolutely. You know, we can get logos or bride and grooms names and things like that. we also have, you know, the neon signs that are really popular where, it'll be like mister and misses and stuff like that.

Yeah.

Yep. Love. We can get all that. We also sell the big marquee letters that say love, mister and misses, the four foot high big metal letters. So, you know, we definitely can deck out a tent for you and make it look great for a wedding.

Dude, you just gave me a ton of ideas. I just need to get a bunch of stuff ordered. We're having our event in like a week, so if you could just get it here by then, that'd be great.

Hey, you know, if it's that big of a rush, I can just drive it down, you know what I mean?

Heck yeah. That's awesome. Well, I always see stuff and I'm like, oh, I need to do that. And then you forget, you know, because I do. I do like those big letters. I'm like, oh, we should have those at our events. And I just always forget. And then neon signs, oh, we should do that. And we should do the video wall, and we should do this or that. So great. Great stuff.

When I meet small business owners, there's one thing I realized

let me ask you, what's your experience like? You know, you're meeting these lots of different contractors around the US. Any common trends you see them struggling with or questions they have as they're trying to break into these new categories?

I do, definitely. You know, when I. When I meet small business owners, there's one thing I realized right away. They usually have a really unique passion or focus, and that's what got them to start the business. Okay. What I see them struggle with after they started is all of the small hats they have to wear. You know, like, if you start a landscape lighting business, you got to be good with electricity and know how to do the lights, know how to source the lights, but at night, you got to know how to do accounting, you got to know how to do marketing. You're going to have to do a.

Little hr as it grows, too, unfortunately.

so, you know, with all of these hats, it also takes your focus as the person with the passion, you know, that's holding that. Like, it's like a little nuclear thing running. But that's so important to the business to keep it going and growing, you know? So what we say around here is, like, it's so important to just focus on what you do good, you know? So if you have that passion for lighting, focus on that. The other hats, get good people under your roof that are good at those things, trust them to do that, and then let them run.

Dude, I love that. So, that's. That's actually so well said. I've experienced that, and, like, I. When I experienced it when I was younger, I didn't even know it was happening, but when I was starting this business, I was so excited. Like, it's fun starting a business. It sucks building one. So, like, when you start to go from, like, starting to building, like, I started doing all the hats, and I started to become, like, I lost my light. You know, I was like, oh, I'm not passionate. And, like, it's so empowering when you hire those people to do the things that you're not good at, you don't enjoy doing, because then you get it back and you're like, dude, I'm unstoppable. Like, this is my. This is my jam. Like, I could go. I don't even have to sleep. As long as I just do this all the time, I'm happy. And, so many people that happens to, and you. You see it, and it's hard to recognize in yourself when it's happening in real time. But I I I've been more, like. I'm more self aware now than I used to be, and I felt that, and I was like, dude, I gotta. I gotta get rid of those things. Cause as soon as you can get rid of them, get rid of them, you get your power back. So that's awesome. I'm glad you brought that up.

Yeah, definitely. You know, and, like, some of the words you were saying at the beginning of your podcast, I strongly believe in him, too. I just say I'm a little different. Like, I like to say, like, Newton's laws, you know, an object in motion tends to stay in motion. You know, that's how you got to be about your business. That's how you got to be about your passion. An object at rest tends to stay at rest.

Love it. Yeah.

you know, so, like you're saying, man, you got to keep that. That belief, you know, that story, that movie, really, you're playing, and you got to keep that passion. But when that passion starts getting burned down out because you're getting dragged down by so much, let somebody else do it.

That's awesome, man. You know, it's interesting. I was. I don't know what I was expecting you to say, but I was not expecting you to say that.

Oh, no. It's the number one thing I hear, you know, when I'm talking to small business guys, especially all the ones here in Montana, you know, hey, I started this, you know, da da da. You know, I had no idea it would grow into this. And now here I am. I don't know how to do a lot of this stuff. I also don't have the time to sit online and watch all these videos or whatever it is. Let somebody else do it.

Yep. Man, it's so well said. I mean, and it does. That darkness come, it smothers that flame, and before you know it, you're that motion, that object that's not in motion anymore, you know? So.

Yeah, well, and that totally comes out, you know, that comes out in your confidence, you know, when you're meeting new people, you know, they pick up on that right away. It's that energy you're putting out and all that. That all just comes from that passion you have about it, you know? I see it in your show, when you come on, start talking about landscape lightings, you have that glow. You can tell you're genuine and you're totally in the lighting, you know? And that's what I love.

Yeah, I mean, like you said, it's. It's the object in motion, dude. I can't stop. Like, it's. It's just going, like, it's just. It's just real.

You guys launched action business services to help struggling small businesses

So, really good stuff. Before I ask you, I want to ask you about. You've got something new. You guys launched. You got an offer for our audience today. Have we covered everything? Is there anything else we need to go over?

Well, actually, what we were just talking about has actually led us to partner with another business, and we basically started action business services because we're so passionate about what I was just talking about. We want to basically create something so we can take some of those hats off of all those small business owners. So we've partnered with a great accounting firm so they can take care of your books for you. But what I love about them, is they'll also analyze your books and help you work on a business strategy.

Nice.

You know, so if you're struggling because you're so busy actually out doing the jobs, these people will help you to make your next decision to basically possibly cut costs here. Or, hey, you should actually maybe look at your pricing. Your margins aren't as good as they should be and things like that. So, you know, I'm excited about it because, you know, everybody does accounting, but the fact that we can actually add value to that accounting for all of our small business people, and these are already people that are working with us, we have the relationship, the trust is there now we can help them in another way. that feels great to me.

That's killer, man.

When you start a business, you really feel like you're on your own

Well, I think, you know, just in talking with you, I think people would be surprised. Like, when you start a business, you really feel like you're on your own. And it's like, why would a manufacturer want to help me? Or, And you just don't think like that as well. It's like, well, they want to help you because the more you are successful, the more they are. And, like, from a selfish standpoint, but then just generally, because there's actually good people in the world, regardless of what the media wants you to think, right? So, like, yeah, but you feel like you're on your own, and I'm, like, sitting here listening, like, dude, I don't think people realize, like, how awesome this industry is that there's a lot of manufacturers, a lot of distributors, you guys are out here willing to bend over backwards. You understand this whole concept of, like, taking off the hats and doing all this stuff. Like, you will take that off of them, you know, and this is a new service for you. But even before this, it's like, dude, bring us your designs, bring us your projects. Let us help you sell it. Let us help you design it. Let us help you, you know, spec which products you're going to use. Like, I don't think people take advantage of those opportunities as much as they, they even know are available.

Yeah, absolutely. You know, and the number one thing I've always thought about in sales, you know, sales, we're always talking to it so much. But the most important thing in sales is listening, because if we can help our customers solve their problems and solve their issues that they're experiencing in their business, we both win. It's the mindset of abundance instead of scarcity, instead of always thinking that I'm wrong, this can go bad, this won't work out. This guy won't help me. It's, no, no, this is now abundance mindset. If I reach out, they will help me. If I ask for the sale, I'll get the sale. But as long as I continue that mindset that my life will be abundant, then I'll flow.

Sheesh. Don't get me started. I could go for 2 hours right now on that.

Well, you know, it's crazy. My wife's from Hawaii, and so she was always like, hey, man, why you mindset? You know, abundance or scarcity? There's no in betweens.

dude, that makes a lot of sense. I was like, how is Elwood so chill? It's because your wife's from hawaii. That makes the world. Of course.

Absolutely. Maui, no koi. But, yeah, we love the islands. Try to get there as much as possible. As you can see the 808 today got my aloha shirt. So, yeah, man, always trying to bring some, some aloha to the table. You know, it's one thing we really believe, being a Montana company, we call it small town business. Whenever we're dealing with people, it's a small town. You know, I might not like the conversation today, but you know what? Three weeks from now, I might need a favor from you. So we're always going to treat you like you're, you live in our town, in our small little town here.

In Montana, so that's pretty cool. Well, I, tell you, I've never done direct business with you guys. But I just, I actually feel that, that culture, that vibe coming through when I hang out with you at events and stuff like that, it feels like that. That's why I was like, no, this is like, this guy. This is like, you want to do business with people that you like, you bring great energy. You don't bring, like, some people bring energy, but it's like, anxiety. It's like, oh, like, relax.

Yeah.

Like, you guys just have that about you. So I think whatever you're doing up there in Bozeman, keep it up. It's. It's working awesome.

Thank you very much. I really appreciate that. And, you know, like I said earlier, I think what you said in the beauty of the show is just great advice. Doesn't matter what type of business, actually, what type of even relationship. A lot of these things you can apply in your business life and your personal life also.

Oh, yeah. I mean, it truly is about belief. It's about that abundance mindset. I used to think all sorts of stuff. Well, what if this, what if that? It's like, my mindset is so on fire right now. I'm just like, not what if it's like, when if. And it's not like, oh, when if it's bad, like, everything in my life is good. Like, everything and bad things happen, but it's for a good reason, you know? So, it's. It's everything. I just. I could literally, I want to, like, just do a whole course and, like, master class and coaching program around mindset, because that's where it all starts. And if in so many people struggle with that, so they can't even get to the, like, the strategies, the principles, the plan, because they're just so hung up in their. Their false beliefs and stuff. So. Good conversation today, man.

Yeah, absolutely, man. But, yeah, be confident. Get out there. You can do it. But if you don't try, you'll never do it.

Exactly.

Action lighting offers 15% off when you use coupon code on website

So, you guys are put. You guys put together a promo for us, right?

Yeah, definitely. You know, I wanted to thank everybody for tuning in today and, watching this podcast or listening to this podcast, however you're seeing it. what I want to do. If you've never done business with action lighting, give us a shot, man. Check out our website, actionlighting. com. we're going to offer you 15% off. All right? If you shop online, go ahead, use the code. Action lighting. 15. Put that in the coupon code. But hey, if you don't have a good memory. And you can just remember my name, Elwood. And action lighting. Just google us and give me a call. Mention the show. Mention Ryan. I mean, you could probably do that for the next year. And I'm going to give you a discount.

That's awesome.

You know, just call us up. Hey, cyan m lighting for profits. I know, Ryan. You know, landscape lighting secrets is awesome, but, hey, you're in with me then.

Dude, that's killer. I I appreciate that. I mean, yeah, of course you can use the promo code. It's action lighting 15. But I'll tell you what, if I'm going to buy something, I'm not using that promo code. I'm calling Elwood. I'm calling you, man. I do. Let's chat for a bit, and then I'll give you my money. You know, like, I think you have so much to give to the world, and I love what you're doing. I appreciate you guys extending that discount to our listeners. that's incredible. Like, if you're going to buy a product, then go do it. Get with Elwood. Get the 15 off. I love it.

Absolutely. And then, you know, like, I tell everybody, come up to Bozeman. We got a showroom. Buy a case of lights, you know? Might help you on your taxes this next year.

For real. I know. I'm not kidding when I say we need to figure out how to do, like, a, an event up there. It would be epic. It's hard to get people, like, have you noticed there's so many people, like, in the east coast, and, like, everyone's in Florida and North Carolina for some reason. And, like, they don't want to come to Utah and Montana. But I'm like, dude, we need to. Bozeman's the new mecca of everything. We're going to Bozeman, people.

No, it is. I mean, after that Yellowstone show came.

Yes.

We get calls about that all the time. I've actually even sold lights to the show.

Nice.

Yeah. Which is really fun. Like, they called me. Ever hear the show? It's like, of course we have.

Yeah, I have, like, a Yellowstone shirt. Not the show, Yellowstone. But when I wear that, people are like, oh, I love that show. And I'm like, cool. oh, yeah.

Like, do you know the Duttons? And it's like, of course we do that. We see them on main street every day.

They're a real family. Yeah. So we should, That'll be our thing. We'll do that on the marketing page. Like, come meet the Duttons yeah.

Come by the ranch. So, yeah, we'll be at the ranch. The action lighting ranch. It's the new yellow stuff.

Oh, I love that. Yeah. Exclusive. Well, dude, that was awesome.

Really appreciate you coming on. Sorry for the technical difficulties at the beginning

Really appreciate you coming on. Thanks, for sharing your wisdom. Sorry for the technical difficulties at the beginning. I actually think I was going to pin it on you, but I actually think it was my problem, so. Sorry about that.

Hey, no problem. You know, life happens. It's all good. We still got to talk. you know, I just want to thank you so much, Ryan, for having me on the show. I really appreciate it. Really appreciate it. Getting a chance to talk about action, line it so everybody knows what we do out there. Can't say thank you enough, man.

Awesome. You're welcome, sir.

Go check out action lighting again. I don't even know who these guys were a few years ago

All right, everybody. Have an awesome week. Have an awesome night. Month, whatever you're going to do. Go check out action lighting again. I don't even know who these guys were a few years ago, and pretty, awesome people. So go check them out. Keep moving forward.