Guide
How to start a permanent lighting business
Permanent lighting is installed by local companies: crews that measure a roofline, quote a system and put it up straight. This guide covers what the work involves, what a starter inventory looks like, and how to price jobs from real component costs — from a supplier whose customers are these businesses.
What the business actually is
Selling and installing year-round exterior lighting systems: aluminum track colour-matched to the trim, colour-changing LED lights, an app-driven controller, and the wiring and power behind it. Customers are homeowners who want the holiday look without ladders, and businesses lighting their frontage. Revenue is install jobs; repeat revenue is referrals, add-on zones and service.
What you need to know how to do
- Work safely at height — the job lives on ladders and lifts, at fascia level.
- Run low-voltage wiring cleanly — runs, branches and power injection planned before the ladder goes up.
- Mount straight, matched track — the track guide covers profiles and colour matching; straight lines are the whole product.
- Configure the controller — scenes, schedules and a homeowner walkthrough finish the job.
Crews from holiday lighting, electrical, roofing and exterior trades all carry most of these skills in already.
A realistic starter inventory
You don't need a container — you need enough to quote and complete typical houses without waiting on parts. From our wholesale catalog, that looks like:
| Item | Why |
|---|---|
| Standard hat track, by the bundle | The default profile on most residential fascia — 6.78 ft sticks. |
| LED pucks, by the pack | Lights priced five to a pack; stock by the elevation, not the bulb. |
| A controller per job | Single-channel for most homes; 4-channel where zones sell the upgrade. |
| Extensions & connectors | Short lengths for corners, long for drops and injection feeds, Ys and Ts for branching. |
| Screws + colour swatch | Fasteners by the box; the swatch deck closes colour decisions on site. |
Pricing jobs
Price from components up: measure the roofline, count sticks and packs, add the controller with its power supply, then labour and margin. Because our catalog pricing is public, quotes stand on real numbers — and trade accounts buy at tiered rates that improve the margin on every job.
Choosing your supplier
The supplier decision compounds: components must fit together, stock must exist in season, and someone has to answer when a layout is unusual. Judge a wholesale supplier on system completeness, real stock, spec support and dealer pricing — then send them a plan and see what comes back. Ours comes back as a parts list: Sales@myledkit.com.