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, 7 ft in Canada; 81 in in the US. |
| 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.