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In this episode of To The Point, Chris sits down with Ryan Lee, entrepreneur, speaker, consultant, and founder of Landscape Lighting Secrets. Ryan is not just another coach talking theory. He built, scaled, and sold his own landscape lighting company after growing it to more than $200K per month. Since exiting in 2019, he has dedicated his career to helping others do the same in a niche that most contractors overlook.
Ryan has personally sold over $15 million in products and services and has helped generate millions more through coaching. From founding Majestic Lighting Company to launching the Light It Up Expo and hosting the Lighting for Profits podcast, he has spent nearly two decades obsessing over one thing: exterior illumination.
He jokes that while most people hear “landscape lighting” and think landscaping, he is even more passionate and nerdy about lighting specifically. And after this conversation, it is easy to see why.
From Window Cleaning to Landscape Lighting Expert
Ryan’s entrepreneurial story started far from landscape lighting. Growing up in Utah, he wanted to be the first in his family to earn a degree. He accomplished that goal, earning an MBA and earning $40,000 per year managing a window cleaning business. It did not take long to realize that if he wanted to change his family’s legacy, $40K per year was not going to get it done.
He and his brother were building what they envisioned as a window cleaning empire. Ryan moved his wife and newborn daughter, bought a house, and was celebrating in the hot tub when his brother casually suggested they talk about lighting. After completing a few $4,000 lighting jobs, the comparison was obvious. Why chase $250 window cleaning tickets when you could install a $4,000 lighting system?
That same night, without knowing much about landscape or holiday lighting, they bought the domain majesticlighting.com. That decision launched a business that would eventually generate over $200K per month.
Ryan defines the industry more broadly as exterior illumination. This includes uplighting and downlighting trees, architectural lighting on the home, specialty lighting for pools and outdoor kitchens, holiday lighting, and the fast-growing permanent lighting systems that change colors for different seasons and celebrations.
The economics are what really turn heads. Landscape lighting projects typically average between $10,000 and $12,000 per job, but can fluctuate higher or lower depending on market and scope. Gross margins often sit around 65 percent, with net margins ranging from 20 to 30 percent. Some operators are even pushing beyond 30 percent net. It is creative, design-driven work that delivers immediate visual impact. Unlike emergency replacements of an HVAC system or a new roof, customers are excited to buy it. Plus, most projects are completed in a single day, which means fast installs, quick cash flow, and high client satisfaction.
- Ryan’s journey from window cleaning into landscape lighting and now coaching
- What the numbers in landscape lighting look like
- The challenges of project-based businesses and recurring revenue
- How bolting on landscape lighting works
- The power of referral partners
- The sales process – what works, and what doesn’t
- And more!
The Future is Bright!
Ryan’s passion for the industry goes beyond his own business success. He saw a gap in education and community, which led him to create the Light It Up Expo. Now heading into its second year, the event was born out of necessity. In the past, if you wanted to learn landscape lighting, you were lucky if a manufacturer offered a basic class. There was no centralized place to learn how to scale.
Light It Up Expo brings together landscape lighting, holiday lighting, and permanent lighting professionals under one roof. It includes hands-on training for beginners installing their first system, along with access to manufacturers, distributors, service providers, and growth-focused education. Ryan’s vision is to unite these communities and expose the massive opportunity still available. Many homes still lack quality exterior lighting, and he believes the market is far from saturated.
Beyond the expo, Ryan continues to pour into the industry through his coaching programs and his podcast, Lighting for Profits. His long-term mission is simple: convince the world that lighting is one of the most exciting and profitable niches in home services.
For contractors looking to differentiate, increase ticket size, or bolt on a high-margin service line, this episode makes a compelling case that the future of exterior illumination is wide open.
Until next time…NO. ZERO. DAYS.
