Holiday lighting

In our 2012 Whitepaper Series, Lawn & Landscape walks you through the core components of a successful holiday lighting business, and provides insight from industry pros on how to get a solid start. To get access to the whitepaper, click here.

Weather, in general, is unpredictable and can be a real burden on business in the landscape industry.

But every year without fail, the holidays come. Retailers gear up before Halloween for the biggest selling season of the year. The decorations roll out before the Thanksgiving turkey is carved.

Why not take advantage of the time of year when people are feeling the most generous about spending?

The holiday lighting business is a lucrative add-on for landscape firms looking for a way to keep employees busy year-round or fill an off-season service gap. “Many look at holiday lighting as an alternative to snow,” says Brandon Stephens, director of marketing for Christmas Décor, a franchise system covering 375 markets in the United States and Canada.

Holiday lighting is a welcome change of pace for employees. “They take their families around town to look at the jobs they installed,” says Chuck McKeown, president of Golf Green Lawn Care in Pekin, Ill., and owner of three Christmas Décor franchises. McKeown got into the lighting business 13 years ago after learning about the opportunity at an industry trade show. Today, the service keeps 12 of his 45 employees busy during the holiday season.

According to a new research study from Lawn & Landscape, 78 percent of companies don’t hire additional staff for holiday lighting services, and those that do only add 1-5 people.

An average residential lighting display project is $1,850 at Christmas Décor of Northern Kentucky. Some residents purchase up to $10,000 lights per year, says Michael List, president. Owners surveyed said, on average, their holiday lighting business grew 4.6 percent in 2011, and they expect it to double in 2012 to 10 percent growth.

But while Christmas is a constant, the business isn’t easy. “You need vision to deliver that wow factor, and you must have a staff that is committed,” List says, adding that his holiday décor employees’ only day off during the season is Thanksgiving.

But if you’re prepared, this add-on service can evolve into a stand-alone business – and at the very least, the extra revenues will be a gift during a slower time of year.