September 30, 2025 • 31 mins
Tired of adding hours and still feeling stuck? We dive straight into the moves that create freedom: pricing for profit, selling outcomes in the home, and using a simple, layered marketing mix that actually compounds results. Our guest, Ryan Lee—former landscape lighting owner turned coach—shares how a 10% price increase can double profit for many service businesses, why on-the-spot closes beat emailed quotes, and how to use personal branding to smooth out slow seasons.
We get honest about the operator-to-owner shift and why so many founders accidentally buy themselves an 80-hour job. Ryan lays out a practical way to buy back your time: compress your workweek, force focus, and dedicate protected blocks to working on the business—hiring, training, pricing strategy, and sales scripts. We also unpack the power of niche: how specializing helps you stand out, charge premium prices, and deliver a white-glove experience that earns five-star reviews and referrals. When your core runs smoothly, you can bolt on high-ticket services the right way—serving the same customer with a dedicated team and tapping the goldmine in your existing client list.
You’ll leave with three levers to pull now: raise prices to fund growth, close in person while emotion is high, and prioritize high-quality leads over volume. Expect actionable ideas you can apply today—whether you run HVAC, plumbing, electrical, pest, or lighting. Want more of Ryan’s insights? Check out Lighting for Profits and connect with him online. If this conversation sparked ideas, share it with a fellow owner, hit follow, and leave a quick review so we can help more service pros build profit and freedom.
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From the Yellow Chair is powered by Lemon Seed, a marketing strategy and branding company for the trades. Lemon Seed specializes in rebrands, creating unique, comprehensive, organized marketing plans, social media, and graphic design. Learn more at www.LemonSeedMarketing.com
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We'll see you next time, Lemon Heads!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
What's up, Limited Heads?
Welcome to another episode ofFrom the Yellow Chair.
I'm Chris Dole, co-founder andlead strategist at Limited
Marketing, your one-stop place,where you could be building a
great brand and driving greatstrategies.
Today I am talking to someoneoutside of my traditional
industries.
So I'm I'm in love with the ideaof what we're gonna talk about
(00:20):
today to get you outside of thenormal speakers that we hear in
the APEC and plumbing space, butsomeone that still understands
home service.
And so I'm really excited totalk today.
You're gonna want to grabeverything that I normally tell
you.
If you're on the treadmill, turnup your AirPods.
If you're driving, buckle up,all the good things.
But let's system lemonade.
(00:54):
All right, Ryan, welcome to theshow.
SPEAKER_00 (00:57):
Thanks so much for having me.
I love nerding out on businessand profits and all this stuff.
So thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (01:03):
Hey, who doesn't love to nerd out on profits?
I'm totally here for that.
So I was reading yourbackground.
So you and I have not met beforethe podcast.
We kind of did a call.
Uh, but when I saw this comethrough, I was like, oh, this is
interesting.
So, contractors, when you'relistening, I loved one of the
things he told me that he wasabout is bolting on high-ticket
offerings.
We're not gonna live a lot inthat space because I love a lot
(01:26):
of the other stuff he has to saythere.
But if you're listening, bolt onhigh-ticket offerings is a
really cool thing that Ryan'sgonna talk about.
And listen, contractors, I'mgonna step on your toes already.
Y'all aren't good at it and youdon't like it.
But Ryan, I want all of mylisteners to know why they
should care about what you haveto say?
What gives you authority today?
SPEAKER_00 (01:46):
That's awesome.
Well, I would say, I mean,unless you hate money, success,
having creating impact in theworld, buying back your time to
get freedom for yourself, then Idon't know, maybe you shouldn't
pay attention.
But yeah, I I I had my ownlighting business, uh,
specifically outdoor lighting.
So landscape lighting businessgrew it up to uh a couple
(02:06):
million dollars in sales uhevery year.
And I and it took me 12 years todo that, but I sold that in 2019
and uh now full time.
This is what I'm I'm focused onhelping that small business
owner go from operator to owner.
So I'm not just a guy who'slike, well, I'm doing this
because I I have to, like, I'mdoing this because I want to,
and that's really one of mygoals.
Yeah, yeah, you've lived thatlife.
SPEAKER_01 (02:27):
Yeah, you went through it, you went through it.
So, one of the first topics thatwe decided we would kind of talk
about is you know, scalingwithout getting burned out,
right?
So, like, how do I build mycompany, grow my company without
being just so burned out, soworn out uh from not only the
emotional stress, the financialstress, and things like that.
Like you've worked with hundredsof service businesses, owners
(02:48):
who maybe have just hit thewall.
What do you tell them aboutscaling right away?
You know, maybe something thatthat is just a little piece of
advice for them.
SPEAKER_00 (02:57):
Yeah, well, for me, it comes down to being
intentional.
So you might listen to thispodcast or someone else's dream,
and you're like, Yeah, I want toscale.
And it's like, why?
Like, do you do you really knowwhy you want to?
Because you like I used to tryto live off of other people's
dreams, and I'm like, Well, youthe more you learn about them,
like, I don't want their dream,you know, like I just want my
dream.
(03:17):
Yeah, that's a nightmare, right?
And so, yeah, like just becauseI did something and I talk about
how it's awesome, it might notbe awesome for you.
And so um, you you got tounderstand there is gonna be
sacrifices to be made.
You can listen to some tips andtricks and stuff like that, but
um, growing a business is hard.
There's there's gonna be timeswhere you got to put the gas
down and and you're gonna haveto, you know, work some weekends
(03:39):
or whatever.
Um, but there are some tips,there are some strategies that
can help shortcut that.
And so, what I tell people islike, I don't really care about
revenue.
Like, I'm so focused on helpingpeople create profit in their
business because that's how it'sdone.
You have to be able to afford toscale.
And it's it sounds obvious, butmost businesses fail because
(03:59):
they don't have enough money,right?
And if you have enough money,you can buy back your time, you
can hire more people, you canhire the right people instead of
complaining, like, I can'tbelieve this guy wants 20 an
hour.
I'm like, I'll pay him 30because now they're gonna
overdeliver for me.
SPEAKER_01 (04:13):
That's right.
Well, I love this.
Um, and I love like one of thepoints that I wrote down that
you mentioned earlier was like,you've got to shift from being
like this technician or owner oroperator um into really like
owning what you're doing andbeing intentional.
Like uh that was a whole themefor me a couple of years ago.
Uh, because I'm a high eye onthe disc profile, like very um,
(04:37):
very talkative, very outgoing,and I have tons of all these big
ideas, but actual intentionalitybehind implementation and
execution really can change.
But you know, growth doesn'tjust come from adding hours to
your day, right?
It's it's building leverage.
I loved that kind of mentalitythere.
The mind shift that is reallyimportant that when it comes to
(04:58):
growing your business, so manypeople are just in the wrong
state of mind.
So, your background though, youactually blend sales and
marketing together, which youknow, speaking my love language.
Um, what strategies do you seeworking right now in service
businesses um that's helpingdrive revenue?
SPEAKER_00 (05:16):
Well, if if I could go back just a little bit
because the the one thing thathappened to me when I started my
business, I I thought I wasdoing things right.
I've got a marketing degree, Igot an MBA.
Like you would think I know howto do stuff, but the real world
is different than the bookworld, right?
And so I was like, man, how arehow are these companies doing
this?
There's massive companies, andthey're like, how are they
(05:38):
afford to do this?
And I realized you mentioned areally good word, leverage.
And I realized there's that theeasiest thing that any business
today, right now, can use toapply leverage to their business
is changing their pricing.
And pricing is so magicalbecause you can do it today.
You don't have to hire anyone,you don't have to hire me, you
(05:58):
don't have to join my program,you don't have to hire more
people, get more trucks with asmall, I'm talking a small, like
10% price increase.
If you think about it, like whatwhat do you think that the
average service business, likethe average?
There's there's above andthere's below, but what's the
average net margin of a servicecompany, like you know, net
(06:19):
income?
What do you think they're makingat the end of the year?
SPEAKER_01 (06:22):
Oh gosh, hardly anything, most of them.
Hardly anything.
Well, and then you have onesthat are making a lot because
they are so skimping oneverything else, like they're
probably like drastic extremes.
SPEAKER_00 (06:34):
Yeah, they might be like, you know, I'm I'm not
investing in this and I'm doingeverything myself, so I'm making
a lot more percentage, but it'sstill a nightmare, right?
Yeah, but let's just be generousand say the average service
business makes 10%.
Okay.
Um, net.
And again, some are making wayless, some might be making more,
but on 10%, if we raise ourprice by just 10%, we just
(06:56):
doubled, we doubled theprofitability of that company in
one tiny move.
Like that's huge.
You know, if you're if your 10%is$200,000 profit, now you just
made an extra$200,000.
So, like, what what would you dowith an extra$200,000?
That's why I love leverage, isbecause you can find these small
tweaks, a small 10% increase isa hundred percent effect to your
(07:21):
bottom line.
SPEAKER_01 (07:22):
Love it.
Um, and it's not so it's notrocket science.
That's the other thing.
Like, this is not people getreally caught up in pricing.
And you know, for most servicebusinesses, you're not dealing
with a recurring service model.
So if you just take a priceincrease, most people haven't
experienced your pricing yet toeven know that you took an
increase.
And if you are on a recurringservice model, like maintenance
(07:43):
plans and recurring contracts,it's so minimal that most people
know that there's pricing thathas to be increased over time.
So it's not it's not as brutalas it might intend to be.
Um, but I know you have thisbackground in sales and
marketing, like you mentioned.
Um, are you seeing a certainpattern right now in the
industry that is um reallyhelping companies drive revenue?
SPEAKER_00 (08:07):
Absolutely.
So that this these trends happenregardless of like the problem
is if people aren't investingconsistently into branding, into
marketing, into advertising,then they follow the trends of
the economy.
So if it's like like right now,we're end of August.
This is traditionally a slowperiod of time for landscape
(08:27):
lighting businesses becausepeople are going back to school
and finishing vacations andpeople just aren't focused on
like home service type stuff.
Now, September, October,November, it's gonna ramp up
very, very quickly.
Definitely the best time of theseason.
So the problem is if you're notdoing some of these other
strategies, like you're justgonna follow the curve.
And it's like, why?
Like you don't have to.
(08:47):
And so, like right now, thecompanies that are investing
heavily into social media andspecifically like personal
branding, building arelationship with their
audience, with their clientele,they are what's happening is
yeah, there might be a dip withlike an August or a certain time
period, depending on whereyou're located.
But instead of dropping down tolike a really, really slow
(09:09):
month, they'll just dip a littlebit.
And so maybe, maybe there'sstill a dip, but they're
minimizing the effect of thenatural economic state.
So, one, I would say you shouldbe doubling down on your social
media, personal branding,getting in front of the camera,
building a relationship withyour audience.
SPEAKER_01 (09:25):
Absolutely.
Listen, preaching to the choir.
Um, lemon see, you know, weoffer full service social media
marketing for our contractors,and there are contractors that
begrudgingly do it, and thereare those that embrace it and
love it.
And either they intentionallydelegate it to someone on their
team or they're the ones thatare doing it.
And they are the ones that theirbrand recognition and their
organic searches grow is growingexponentially faster than our
(09:48):
other contractors who are justum, you know, lazily uh sitting
around like well, I make a fewposts.
When you become intentionalabout marketing on social media
to build customer relationships,you really start turning the
curve, like turn around that Icall it moving that cruise ship,
turning it back around.
So, and I also love like stopselling features and start
selling outcomes.
(10:08):
Like that's a traditionalapproach sometimes too.
Like you, as a home servicecontractor, you are solving a
need that homeowners have.
And so you have to get out oftheir bank accounts, right?
Stop worrying that they can'tafford the options, that they
can't afford these coolfeatures, communicating
equipment or you know, new uhdifferent styles of thermostats
or whatever that you've gotthat's new.
(10:28):
Um, you have to stop worryingabout their financial ability to
afford it and start telling themwhat problems it's going to
solve and then letting themdecide if they can afford it.
I'm sure you ran into the samething with landscape lighting.
Like, if you worried about ifeveryone could afford it, you
probably wouldn't have soldanything.
SPEAKER_00 (10:43):
Right.
Well, the the problem is likethe average homeowner, they're
not the expert.
Like they're too ignorant toknow better.
So if you ask them like whattheir budget is, like what
that's a that's a dumb question.
They say there's no such thingas a dumb question, but asking
someone what their budget is isactually a dumb question, okay?
Because like as an expert, as asolution provider, as an
(11:06):
experienced creator, like we myyour budget has nothing to do
with if I'm coming to your houseand I'm gonna give you a
lighting design, I'm gonnadesign on possibilities.
I'm gonna show you what'spossible because you don't know.
You know, you could say, well, Ionly want to spend 5,000.
That's totally fine.
Would it be okay is as anexpert, if I showed you what's
possible?
(11:26):
If I if you let me off the leashand went crazy and I just nerded
out on lighting, and it's like,well, yeah, show me what you
got.
I'm probably not gonna spend it,but show it to me.
And I show you something that'sthirty thousand dollars, you
still might not spend thirty,but you might spend 15.
Right, you might spend more thanyour original budget, and it's
like, well, that's just becauseyou didn't know.
And and why would you?
You're not a lighting person,you know.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_01 (11:46):
Same thing.
SPEAKER_00 (11:47):
I can show you and I can create this experience for
you.
So when you come home, you comeand you show up to this resort
style property, like, dude, thisreminds me of the vacation we
went on to Mexico, and thenyou're in backyard, you have
your sanctuary, and you'rearound your pool, and you have
this really you don't have thatglary floodlight, the security
light hitting you in the face,like, man, I can relax and
unwind.
I have more peace in my life.
(12:07):
And again, I'm I'm not sayingeveryone's gonna just pull the
trigger on your full you knowproposal, but um let them say
no, you know, go for no.
There's a great book called Gofor No.
Go for no and let them decide atthat point because now they're
making an educated decision.
Before they were just making adecision based on a price that
they made up in their head,where now you're the expert and
(12:29):
you've differentiated yourselfbecause everyone else just asked
them what their budget was andgave them that.
And now you're selling commodityinstead of selling an
experience.
SPEAKER_01 (12:36):
Yeah, I love it.
When we start focusing on, andthis is why it's hard for
contractors.
A lot of you are like just goodHVAC technicians, you're good
plumbers, you're goodlandscapers, you're good pest
control people.
Like you know what exactly whatpesticide to use, exactly what
roof shingle to use.
But you have to have the mindshift of now you own a company
(12:57):
that provides a service.
Who freaking cares what serviceit is when you switch your mind
to go?
I need to be providingsolutions.
It changes you from being thetechnician to being the owner.
So I'm obsessed with that.
Um, I love build onpossibilities.
I wrote that down.
Like I sell, I do sales forlemon seed.
And a lot of times I tend tofind myself like I will dial
(13:19):
back on what I'm offering basedoff what I think they can
afford.
And really at the end of theday, if I built them what I
really knew they needed and letthem decide that they weren't
going to dive in, then thatwould be much more um applicable
to their like that would be muchmore applicable to what we're
saying here that I need to getout of their business, like get
out of their financial businessand just start providing
(13:39):
solutions and letting them landsomewhere in the middle because
they don't know most of the timewhat it takes to really have an
in-depth marketing plan or um anin uh a new HVAC system
installed with brand newductwork and updated
installation and modifying theircommunicating equipment.
They don't know, they think theydo, but they really don't.
So I loved that um statement.
(14:02):
Another keynote that you madehere that really stuck with me
is marketing should be simple,repeatable, and measurable.
Um, otherwise, you can't scaleit.
Um, and so Limit Seed's beentalking to some private equity
groups that are like they'vefigured out they can't just live
on the hamster wheel of digitalmarketing.
And so they're like, hey, wereally should dial this in.
And I'm like, man, marketing isdoes not have to be complicated,
(14:23):
it can be super simple and itcan be scalable very easily.
SPEAKER_00 (14:28):
Yeah, absolutely.
And for me, what I I call it themarketing mix.
So if you if you if like if Icalled you and I said, Hey, I
heard uh social social media isgood, how how much do you charge
for Facebook ads?
And to your point previously,you you could just say, like,
yeah, here's my here's what itis for Facebook ads, or you
could sell me an experience andsay, Hey, is it okay if I run
something by you?
Like we could do just exactlywhat you're asking for, but we
(14:49):
could give you a whole packagewhere it comes with this and
this and this.
And here's why it would makesense because when you do a
Facebook ad, it's going togenerate interest to your
website.
And then what we want to do withthe website is we want to
retarget those people, and thenwe want to send them a postcard
and all this stuff.
But the marketing mix is beingeverywhere, it's really just
being like all over the place.
So that let's say you put outyard signs, and if the only
(15:10):
thing you did was put out yardsigns, I mean that's that's
fine, it works.
We've we've done that, we'veseen success.
But then all of a sudden, thatjust plants a little seed in
their mind, right?
And then eventually they'regonna be like, they're gonna go
online, and if your branding'sgood enough, they're gonna
search for a company, maybeyours.
If if your branding was goodenough, they might just do a
direct search.
But if not, now all of a suddenthey're gonna see you online.
(15:31):
And then all of a sudden, afterthey see you online, you send
them a retargeting Facebook adbecause they were on your
website, and so the and then youhave a wrapped truck when you
show up in the neighborhood.
So it's really all of thethings.
Digital marketing is awesome, itallows us to use leverage, but
it only works really, reallygood when you're doing all the
things, and that's that's whereit's hard for a smaller business
because they're like, Well, Idon't have the money, right?
(15:53):
So that's fine.
Like, start start small.
You might have to be the gorillamarketing guy, you might have to
dark knock doors, social media,joining or all that stuff,
right?
So yeah, but that's the key, islike some people tell me, Oh, I
tried Facebook ads, they don'twork.
I tried direct mail, I triedGoogle Ads, they don't work, and
on their own, they don't work aswell.
It's when you it's when you dothem all together, that's when
(16:15):
you start to gain momentum.
SPEAKER_01 (16:16):
That's right.
And and I call it a cakeapproach, you know, like when
you ask me for a slice of cake,I don't go, here's the egg.
I have to actually take the eggand the flour and the butter and
the flavoring, mix it alltogether, bake it correctly, let
it cool, set it in front of you,slice it, and serve it on a
plate.
So all of those advertisingtactics are literally
(16:38):
ingredients to a perfectly bakedcake.
So you keep serving ingredientsand wondering why the cake
doesn't taste the same.
Well, you're trying to make meeat an egg, a raw egg, that's
nothing's been done to.
So I 100%.
So, you know, and we've talked alittle bit about the mindset
shift, like operator to owner.
And uh, one of the things thatreally uh another thing that
really stood out for me was umin one of your key points that I
(17:02):
I really liked is like the goalis freedom, financial freedom,
freedom with time, but you can'tget there if you're still
chained to your truck or to yourcompany as a whole.
Like, you know, if you are suchan important part of the
everyday operations, you shouldbe working to get yourself out
of that, right?
That's what I've always tried todo.
SPEAKER_00 (17:22):
Well, it's it's kind of ironic because if you think I
I learned this actually, Ilearned the hard way, and I read
it in the book EMyth, greatbook.
It is like most on the e-myth isthe entrepreneurial myth that
entrepreneurs don't startbusinesses.
You it's usually technicians,like we're like passionate about
something, good at something,like I'm sick of working for
that guy, you know, I'm notgonna be treated like that.
(17:43):
I'll start my own business.
And so you you start thisbusiness, and you're like, Yeah,
I'm gonna I'm gonna finally getfreedom, I'm gonna control my
schedule.
And then the irony hits in whereyou're like, Whoa, like I bought
myself an 80-hour job.
Yeah, like I'm so stuck in thisbusiness.
I if I leave, like the wholething falls apart.
Um, I I I thought I got freedomand now I got, you know, I'm I'm
(18:04):
I'm trapped in this business.
So it really you you can't teachthat to someone, like they
almost have to experience it,right?
And so once they get to thatspot, then all of a sudden it's
like, all right, I hit rockbottom, what do I do?
And that's when you got to getintentional.
That's when it's like, okay, howdo I how do I build this to be
so I'm not an owner or I'm notan operator, I'm an owner,
(18:25):
right?
And that's that's the biggestchallenge, I think, for small
businesses is it's it's hardbecause you get stuck on the
hamster wheel, you get stuckworking in the trenches, and you
hear people like us talk aboutworking on your business, like,
oh, that sounds all cool, butlike I don't have time.
Yeah, like I don't know.
SPEAKER_01 (18:40):
How the heck do I do that?
Yeah, absolutely.
And you know, um, one of thethings that and I love like you
got to work on your business,not in your business.
I do think that there is a fineline of that because like you
still need to be activelylistening, like you still need
your finger on the pulse ofthings so that you can be
creatively pivoting and beingmore in real time.
So there's a fine line there,but the gist of that statement
(19:04):
means you if you never look up,you can't see where you're
going.
So you're just like you're youknow, deadheading back towards
something that you can't lookup, you've not looked up to see.
Um, and you're just you'reheaded for a a place where I
call it blockbustering thisthing, right?
Like if you never look up to seewhat else is going on around you
and how you can make itapplicable to your company, then
(19:26):
you're just like driving.
I don't know, I just feel likeyou're driving blind.
And so you have to have a youhave to have the both both hands
on the wheel, if you will, um,about that.
But and focus on buildingpeople.
Go ahead.
SPEAKER_00 (19:37):
I was gonna say, here's what I do to help people
work on their business becausethe problem is it's actually
addicting.
Like most of us are addicted towork, we're addicted to our
business, and we're like,actually, I don't hate it.
I mean, some days I do, youknow, but like I actually like
work, right?
We're not we're not trying tojust be lazy to go sit on the
couch, like we actually like thechaos that we've created, we're
addicted to it.
So it's like, okay, we haveright now, according to the
(20:00):
calendar of 2025, we have sevendays in the week.
Is that right?
unknown (20:05):
Correct.
SPEAKER_00 (20:06):
Seven days, five, five working days.
Some of some of you guys areworking 10.
Yes.
But we have seven days.
But if I said today, hey, youknow what?
I it figured out a way, Iinvented two more days in the
week.
Do you think people would takethat that as a weekend, or do
you think they would just go,sweet, I'll make more money,
I'll just work those days?
Most business owners, they'regonna just work nine days a
(20:28):
week.
Like that's just that they'renot gonna allocate that time.
So I'm sharing that because wefill the time that's given to
us.
That's just a natural weaknessof a visionary and entrepreneur.
Like it's like, oh, if I gotmore time, then I'll just work
more, right?
And so what if I said, I'mcreating fake rules, I
understand.
But what if I just said, youknow what?
(20:48):
We only have four, four days aweek, starting right now.
Like you only have four days aweek to get the same amount of
work that you're doing now infive, six, or seven.
You have to get it done in four.
You have to make the same amountof money.
If I gave you those rules, Iguarantee that everyone could
figure it out.
They're smart enough, they knowhow to do this, but they're
feeling the time given to them.
So I'm just asking you tocollapse the time, get
(21:10):
everything done in those fourdays.
What would have to be true foryou to do that and ask that
question?
What has to be true?
You can do that.
And now all of a sudden, youhave an extra day to work on
your business.
You can time block to say everyTuesday, every Wednesday, every
Thursday, whatever day and timethat you want to time block four
hours to be like, I'm gonna sithere and I'm gonna work on my
business.
(21:31):
I'm gonna solve the bottleneck,I'm gonna solve the problem.
I suck at hiring, I suck attraining, I suck at whatever it
is.
I want to build a better thing,a maintenance plan.
It's never gonna happen becauseyou're just feeling the time
that's been given to you.
So you have to get intentional,create your own rules.
Like, I I always just create myown, it's my game.
Yeah, I don't have to, I don'thave to work seven days a week
(21:51):
just because someone gave meseven days.
I I only want to work three.
So I'm only working Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday, and I get
to do whatever I want on Monday,Friday.
Like it's my game, my rules.
So I want everyone to take that.
Like you get to you're incharge, like you, it's your
life, it's your business.
You don't have to take what'sgiven you and accept that.
Well, you have these days to getit done because people are
(22:11):
smart.
You can figure out how to getall the same stuff done in four
days that you're taking five toseven right now.
SPEAKER_01 (22:17):
Yeah, yes.
I 100%.
And I'm guilty, like I I amaddicted to chaos, I love it.
Like, I I thrive in deadlinesand things like that.
But I also once I actually getsome downtime, true downtime,
I'm like, oh, I've been missingthis downtime.
You know, I've been missingthis.
So um, here's the other topicthat uh we have, and I told him
(22:38):
at the beginning when we wereprepping for this, I said, Oh,
we're getting to this one.
Uh, niche industries as profitmachines.
So niches make it easier tostand out and charge better
pricing, premier pricing, um,expertise put plus
specialization.
So, you know, when I startedLemon Seed, that was the big
thing.
Like, oh my gosh, you're soniche, you're only dealing with
home service industries.
(22:58):
We love it.
So, tell me a little bit aboutwhat you're saying about your
focus there on those nicheproducts or niche offerings.
SPEAKER_00 (23:06):
I mean, what once you discover it, it's like it's
the only way to go.
Yeah.
So, yes, my experience withlandscape lighting was was
pretty cool.
Um, I discovered I was a windowcleaner and I discovered it
through my brother.
And I was like, wait, you'retelling me like we could we
could go from doing like$500jobs.
This was in 2007.
We could go to from doing like500 jobs to like$5,000 jobs just
(23:30):
by doing landscape lighting.
I'm like, heck yeah, let's doit.
So we started, didn't knowanything about it.
But what I found really quicklyis people loved the experience
they had with us, and we weren'tnecessarily we were still
learning, right?
But we got better over time, butpeople were like, Man, you guys
are the best people we've everworked with.
We could go in in a day andknock out a$10,000,$12,000
project.
(23:50):
And people are like, That'sphenomenal.
You flip on the lights, they'relike, Holy cow, this is our
property.
I drove, I drove past the housethe first night because I didn't
know that was our house, itlooked so good, right?
And so they loved us, and peoplewould ask us, and I'm not
kidding, Crystal, they wouldsay, Man, you guys are the best
contractor we've ever workedwith.
By chance, do you guys do likeoutdoor kitchens or do you do
(24:11):
pools?
Anything else like that?
And I'm like, hmm.
I'm like, what if I said yes?
You know, like I was so tempted.
Like, and I but I ended uptelling people, I said, Listen,
the reason you love us, thereason we're so good is because
we do one thing and we areexperts and we do it very, very
well.
If I decide to do pools andoutdoor kitchens and all the
artificial turf and all thethings, you won't like me.
(24:34):
I'm not getting a five-starreview.
I'm probably getting a one-starreview because I'm the jack of
all trades at this point, and Ican't control the chaos.
Right now I can control itbecause we have a dedicated
lighting designer, dedicatedinstall technicians, dedicated
maintenance crews, like they'respecialists inside the
specialty.
And so I think it makes sense tojust dive deep because that's
(24:54):
how you build momentum.
That's how you get repeatbusiness, that's how you get
referrals.
And people appreciate the factthat you are the expert.
Doesn't mean you're foreverybody.
There's some people that want tocall the GC and be like, oh,
cool, this guy can handleeverything.
They can do the home build, thelandscape, the pool, all that.
That's fine.
Um, you're not gonna get thatclient, but the ones who
appreciate it, you're gonna beable to charge a premium price,
(25:17):
roll out the red carpet, whiteglove experience, and build
relationships and build yourbusiness.
SPEAKER_01 (25:23):
Yeah, okay, love it.
So I love that little nuggetthere of information um for
everybody that keeps trying toadd on a bunch of things.
Like there's just a controlledway to do this, um, a controlled
way to book on some uniquethings and but still maintain
your core product.
So I love that.
And then last but not least, ohyeah, go ahead.
SPEAKER_00 (25:43):
Well, that's what I was gonna say is key is like I I
actually love the idea ofbolting on services, but it has
to be done in the right way.
And for example, I'll havepeople that come to me and they
say, dude, I heard you're theguy, like they can help me bolt
on the high-ticket, you know,landscape lighting.
I'm like, yeah, tell me aboutyour business.
And if they're the problem is ifthey're doing this to like avoid
the chaos they've alreadycreated, yeah, it's not gonna
(26:05):
work, it's just gonna make itworse, right?
But if if you can build up thatdivision or that company to be
like, hey, I've got this windowcleaning company, it does pretty
well.
I've got people, the rightpeople in the right seats, like
this thing's flowing.
Then I think, okay, now let'sbolt that on because now we're
just an email, a text, a phonecall away.
We can target your existingclient.
You've got a you've got a goldmine of opportunity.
(26:27):
You don't even have to go toanother city to start a new
company.
You can stay in the same cityand just add a new offering.
So I think it's controlled chaosat this point.
I've I've I've convinced myselfthat business is always chaotic,
but now it's controlled chaos,and you've you've got this one
system running itself, and andand you've got a dedicated
person to run the new division.
SPEAKER_01 (26:48):
Love, yes.
And again, everything withintentionality and everything
with a little bit of controlgoes a long way.
So, but before we wrap up allthe way, um I know you have a
playbook, uh, kind of lookedinto this a little bit.
So, what do you think everyservice business should be
focusing on right now, accordingto your playbook?
SPEAKER_00 (27:08):
Yeah, I mean, I this is just my opinion.
I know someone's gonna disagree,but I I love pricing, I love
sales, I love marketing.
So there's three things thatbasically I think every business
should focus on.
And if you focus on only thesethree, like if you're stuck
right now and you're feeling alittle cash flow problems, or
(27:29):
you're feeling like, man, I justdon't know how to get to the
next level.
And I I've worked so hard, likewe've made a lot of money, but
it's not in my, you know, not inmy wallet.
These are the three things.
So, number one, increasing yourprice without a doubt.
If you can focus on raising yourprice, and and and if you're if
for if you're afraid, just startwith 10%, right?
So we talked about that.
(27:49):
Increasing your price.
Number two, closing deals on thespot.
So many people are afraid to askfor the business.
And they're like, well, let melet me get something, I'll put
it together and I'll email it toyou.
Okay, people buy an emotion.
If you as soon as you send anemail, they're buying, you're
you're you're commoditizingyourself and they're just buying
a number on a piece of paper.
No one wants that.
(28:10):
So close deals on the spot.
And then the third one, it'sreally hard to charge a premium
price and close the deals on thespot if you're not in front of
the right person.
So the third one is you need tofocus on high quality leads, not
just leads, high quality leads.
Because if you focus on thesethree things, charging a premium
price, closing deals on a spot,getting high quality leads, you
(28:32):
can apply leverage to yourbusiness that small tweaks add
up in a major way.
And now you have this lump ofprofit, this lump of cash that
now you can invest into hiringand training and recruiting and
all the things to help you growyour business to the next level.
SPEAKER_01 (28:48):
Love it.
Love it.
Sales, systems, mindsets, thoseare the three levers that really
unlock growth and freedom.
And I just loved thisconversation, right?
Like there's just so much.
It's been gold.
Um, but what I love is how youradvice applies to not just
lighting, but any of theseservice-based businesses that I
get the privilege of workingwith.
(29:10):
Um, because this is not thisinformation, this guidance, this
advice here is not just specificto the lighting industry.
We all can apply this to any ofour service-based businesses.
And so um, I think for ourlisteners, the big takeaway is
this, you know, scaling doesn'tmean just more hours, more
stress, more chaos, you know,um, which is true.
(29:30):
Um, but with the right mindset,mindset and with several of
these systems that you've talkedabout, the strategy, the
playbook, um, and more freedomand time to focus, it's going to
equal more profit.
And so if listeners reallywanted to get in touch with you
and and hear about your actualproduct offerings, like what you
offer as a um as a business, howcould they get in contact with
(29:50):
you?
SPEAKER_00 (29:51):
Yeah, sure.
I appreciate you having me on.
Um, landscapelightingsecrets.com is my website.
So we've got some case studiesand uh and things that you can
check.
Check out there.
Um, and then connect with meonline.
So I'm on on uh on Facebook,Ryan Lee.
I think it's like you know howyou have like Facebook.com slash
whatever.
I think my thing is Lee Bottoms.
My it's Ryan Lee.
(30:12):
And I think in elementary, my mynickname was Lee Bottoms.
So I think it's Lee Bottoms, butoh Instagram, Instagram at
landscapelighting secrets, andthen I I kind of make a big deal
of it.
People think it's kind of weird,but I'm I'm actually the host of
the number one landscapelighting podcast in the world,
lighting for profits.
So you might want to check thatout.
SPEAKER_01 (30:32):
Yeah, I love it.
SPEAKER_00 (30:34):
It's the only landscape lighting podcast in
the world, so that's why I'm thenumber one.
SPEAKER_01 (30:37):
Still number one, still number one.
I will I acknowledge your awardand I celebrate your award.
So congratulations on that.
But it's because it's so niche,that's why there's not a ton of
it out there.
Um but listen, it's it's the uha lot of I'm sure what you talk
about is very applicable.
So go give his uh podcast,Lighting for Profits, a listen.
(30:58):
Um, and guys, as always, thankyou for listening to another
episode of From The YellowChair.
I hope you've learned a lot fromRyan and all that he brought to
the table.
Go listen to his podcast.
Uh, check him out, see what allhe can do to help you grow.
And in the meantime, guys, let'slearn to scale, get outside of
the chaos, um, and live our bestlife.
So have a good day.
Thanks for listening.
(31:18):
We'll catch you next time.
What's up, Limited Heads?
Welcome to another episode ofFrom the Yellow Chair.
I'm Chris Dole, co-founder andlead strategist at Limited
Marketing, your one-stop place,where you could be building a
great brand and driving greatstrategies.
Today I am talking to someoneoutside of my traditional
industries.
So I'm I'm in love with the ideaof what we're gonna talk about
(00:20):
today to get you outside of thenormal speakers that we hear in
the APEC and plumbing space, butsomeone that still understands
home service.
And so I'm really excited totalk today.
You're gonna want to grabeverything that I normally tell
you.
If you're on the treadmill, turnup your AirPods.
If you're driving, buckle up,all the good things.
But let's system lemonade.
(00:54):
All right, Ryan, welcome to theshow.
SPEAKER_00 (00:57):
Thanks so much for having me.
I love nerding out on businessand profits and all this stuff.
So thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (01:03):
Hey, who doesn't love to nerd out on profits?
I'm totally here for that.
So I was reading yourbackground.
So you and I have not met beforethe podcast.
We kind of did a call.
Uh, but when I saw this comethrough, I was like, oh, this is
interesting.
So, contractors, when you'relistening, I loved one of the
things he told me that he wasabout is bolting on high-ticket
offerings.
We're not gonna live a lot inthat space because I love a lot
(01:26):
of the other stuff he has to saythere.
But if you're listening, bolt onhigh-ticket offerings is a
really cool thing that Ryan'sgonna talk about.
And listen, contractors, I'mgonna step on your toes already.
Y'all aren't good at it and youdon't like it.
But Ryan, I want all of mylisteners to know why they
should care about what you haveto say?
What gives you authority today?
SPEAKER_00 (01:46):
That's awesome.
Well, I would say, I mean,unless you hate money, success,
having creating impact in theworld, buying back your time to
get freedom for yourself, then Idon't know, maybe you shouldn't
pay attention.
But yeah, I I I had my ownlighting business, uh,
specifically outdoor lighting.
So landscape lighting businessgrew it up to uh a couple
(02:06):
million dollars in sales uhevery year.
And I and it took me 12 years todo that, but I sold that in 2019
and uh now full time.
This is what I'm I'm focused onhelping that small business
owner go from operator to owner.
So I'm not just a guy who'slike, well, I'm doing this
because I I have to, like, I'mdoing this because I want to,
and that's really one of mygoals.
Yeah, yeah, you've lived thatlife.
SPEAKER_01 (02:27):
Yeah, you went through it, you went through it.
So, one of the first topics thatwe decided we would kind of talk
about is you know, scalingwithout getting burned out,
right?
So, like, how do I build mycompany, grow my company without
being just so burned out, soworn out uh from not only the
emotional stress, the financialstress, and things like that.
Like you've worked with hundredsof service businesses, owners
(02:48):
who maybe have just hit thewall.
What do you tell them aboutscaling right away?
You know, maybe something thatthat is just a little piece of
advice for them.
SPEAKER_00 (02:57):
Yeah, well, for me, it comes down to being
intentional.
So you might listen to thispodcast or someone else's dream,
and you're like, Yeah, I want toscale.
And it's like, why?
Like, do you do you really knowwhy you want to?
Because you like I used to tryto live off of other people's
dreams, and I'm like, Well, youthe more you learn about them,
like, I don't want their dream,you know, like I just want my
dream.
(03:17):
Yeah, that's a nightmare, right?
And so, yeah, like just becauseI did something and I talk about
how it's awesome, it might notbe awesome for you.
And so um, you you got tounderstand there is gonna be
sacrifices to be made.
You can listen to some tips andtricks and stuff like that, but
um, growing a business is hard.
There's there's gonna be timeswhere you got to put the gas
down and and you're gonna haveto, you know, work some weekends
(03:39):
or whatever.
Um, but there are some tips,there are some strategies that
can help shortcut that.
And so, what I tell people islike, I don't really care about
revenue.
Like, I'm so focused on helpingpeople create profit in their
business because that's how it'sdone.
You have to be able to afford toscale.
And it's it sounds obvious, butmost businesses fail because
(03:59):
they don't have enough money,right?
And if you have enough money,you can buy back your time, you
can hire more people, you canhire the right people instead of
complaining, like, I can'tbelieve this guy wants 20 an
hour.
I'm like, I'll pay him 30because now they're gonna
overdeliver for me.
SPEAKER_01 (04:13):
That's right.
Well, I love this.
Um, and I love like one of thepoints that I wrote down that
you mentioned earlier was like,you've got to shift from being
like this technician or owner oroperator um into really like
owning what you're doing andbeing intentional.
Like uh that was a whole themefor me a couple of years ago.
Uh, because I'm a high eye onthe disc profile, like very um,
(04:37):
very talkative, very outgoing,and I have tons of all these big
ideas, but actual intentionalitybehind implementation and
execution really can change.
But you know, growth doesn'tjust come from adding hours to
your day, right?
It's it's building leverage.
I loved that kind of mentalitythere.
The mind shift that is reallyimportant that when it comes to
(04:58):
growing your business, so manypeople are just in the wrong
state of mind.
So, your background though, youactually blend sales and
marketing together, which youknow, speaking my love language.
Um, what strategies do you seeworking right now in service
businesses um that's helpingdrive revenue?
SPEAKER_00 (05:16):
Well, if if I could go back just a little bit
because the the one thing thathappened to me when I started my
business, I I thought I wasdoing things right.
I've got a marketing degree, Igot an MBA.
Like you would think I know howto do stuff, but the real world
is different than the bookworld, right?
And so I was like, man, how arehow are these companies doing
this?
There's massive companies, andthey're like, how are they
(05:38):
afford to do this?
And I realized you mentioned areally good word, leverage.
And I realized there's that theeasiest thing that any business
today, right now, can use toapply leverage to their business
is changing their pricing.
And pricing is so magicalbecause you can do it today.
You don't have to hire anyone,you don't have to hire me, you
(05:58):
don't have to join my program,you don't have to hire more
people, get more trucks with asmall, I'm talking a small, like
10% price increase.
If you think about it, like whatwhat do you think that the
average service business, likethe average?
There's there's above andthere's below, but what's the
average net margin of a servicecompany, like you know, net
(06:19):
income?
What do you think they're makingat the end of the year?
SPEAKER_01 (06:22):
Oh gosh, hardly anything, most of them.
Hardly anything.
Well, and then you have onesthat are making a lot because
they are so skimping oneverything else, like they're
probably like drastic extremes.
SPEAKER_00 (06:34):
Yeah, they might be like, you know, I'm I'm not
investing in this and I'm doingeverything myself, so I'm making
a lot more percentage, but it'sstill a nightmare, right?
Yeah, but let's just be generousand say the average service
business makes 10%.
Okay.
Um, net.
And again, some are making wayless, some might be making more,
but on 10%, if we raise ourprice by just 10%, we just
(06:56):
doubled, we doubled theprofitability of that company in
one tiny move.
Like that's huge.
You know, if you're if your 10%is$200,000 profit, now you just
made an extra$200,000.
So, like, what what would you dowith an extra$200,000?
That's why I love leverage, isbecause you can find these small
tweaks, a small 10% increase isa hundred percent effect to your
(07:21):
bottom line.
SPEAKER_01 (07:22):
Love it.
Um, and it's not so it's notrocket science.
That's the other thing.
Like, this is not people getreally caught up in pricing.
And you know, for most servicebusinesses, you're not dealing
with a recurring service model.
So if you just take a priceincrease, most people haven't
experienced your pricing yet toeven know that you took an
increase.
And if you are on a recurringservice model, like maintenance
(07:43):
plans and recurring contracts,it's so minimal that most people
know that there's pricing thathas to be increased over time.
So it's not it's not as brutalas it might intend to be.
Um, but I know you have thisbackground in sales and
marketing, like you mentioned.
Um, are you seeing a certainpattern right now in the
industry that is um reallyhelping companies drive revenue?
SPEAKER_00 (08:07):
Absolutely.
So that this these trends happenregardless of like the problem
is if people aren't investingconsistently into branding, into
marketing, into advertising,then they follow the trends of
the economy.
So if it's like like right now,we're end of August.
This is traditionally a slowperiod of time for landscape
(08:27):
lighting businesses becausepeople are going back to school
and finishing vacations andpeople just aren't focused on
like home service type stuff.
Now, September, October,November, it's gonna ramp up
very, very quickly.
Definitely the best time of theseason.
So the problem is if you're notdoing some of these other
strategies, like you're justgonna follow the curve.
And it's like, why?
Like you don't have to.
(08:47):
And so, like right now, thecompanies that are investing
heavily into social media andspecifically like personal
branding, building arelationship with their
audience, with their clientele,they are what's happening is
yeah, there might be a dip withlike an August or a certain time
period, depending on whereyou're located.
But instead of dropping down tolike a really, really slow
(09:09):
month, they'll just dip a littlebit.
And so maybe, maybe there'sstill a dip, but they're
minimizing the effect of thenatural economic state.
So, one, I would say you shouldbe doubling down on your social
media, personal branding,getting in front of the camera,
building a relationship withyour audience.
SPEAKER_01 (09:25):
Absolutely.
Listen, preaching to the choir.
Um, lemon see, you know, weoffer full service social media
marketing for our contractors,and there are contractors that
begrudgingly do it, and thereare those that embrace it and
love it.
And either they intentionallydelegate it to someone on their
team or they're the ones thatare doing it.
And they are the ones that theirbrand recognition and their
organic searches grow is growingexponentially faster than our
(09:48):
other contractors who are justum, you know, lazily uh sitting
around like well, I make a fewposts.
When you become intentionalabout marketing on social media
to build customer relationships,you really start turning the
curve, like turn around that Icall it moving that cruise ship,
turning it back around.
So, and I also love like stopselling features and start
selling outcomes.
(10:08):
Like that's a traditionalapproach sometimes too.
Like you, as a home servicecontractor, you are solving a
need that homeowners have.
And so you have to get out oftheir bank accounts, right?
Stop worrying that they can'tafford the options, that they
can't afford these coolfeatures, communicating
equipment or you know, new uhdifferent styles of thermostats
or whatever that you've gotthat's new.
(10:28):
Um, you have to stop worryingabout their financial ability to
afford it and start telling themwhat problems it's going to
solve and then letting themdecide if they can afford it.
I'm sure you ran into the samething with landscape lighting.
Like, if you worried about ifeveryone could afford it, you
probably wouldn't have soldanything.
SPEAKER_00 (10:43):
Right.
Well, the the problem is likethe average homeowner, they're
not the expert.
Like they're too ignorant toknow better.
So if you ask them like whattheir budget is, like what
that's a that's a dumb question.
They say there's no such thingas a dumb question, but asking
someone what their budget is isactually a dumb question, okay?
Because like as an expert, as asolution provider, as an
(11:06):
experienced creator, like we myyour budget has nothing to do
with if I'm coming to your houseand I'm gonna give you a
lighting design, I'm gonnadesign on possibilities.
I'm gonna show you what'spossible because you don't know.
You know, you could say, well, Ionly want to spend 5,000.
That's totally fine.
Would it be okay is as anexpert, if I showed you what's
possible?
(11:26):
If I if you let me off the leashand went crazy and I just nerded
out on lighting, and it's like,well, yeah, show me what you
got.
I'm probably not gonna spend it,but show it to me.
And I show you something that'sthirty thousand dollars, you
still might not spend thirty,but you might spend 15.
Right, you might spend more thanyour original budget, and it's
like, well, that's just becauseyou didn't know.
And and why would you?
You're not a lighting person,you know.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_01 (11:46):
Same thing.
SPEAKER_00 (11:47):
I can show you and I can create this experience for
you.
So when you come home, you comeand you show up to this resort
style property, like, dude, thisreminds me of the vacation we
went on to Mexico, and thenyou're in backyard, you have
your sanctuary, and you'rearound your pool, and you have
this really you don't have thatglary floodlight, the security
light hitting you in the face,like, man, I can relax and
unwind.
I have more peace in my life.
(12:07):
And again, I'm I'm not sayingeveryone's gonna just pull the
trigger on your full you knowproposal, but um let them say
no, you know, go for no.
There's a great book called Gofor No.
Go for no and let them decide atthat point because now they're
making an educated decision.
Before they were just making adecision based on a price that
they made up in their head,where now you're the expert and
(12:29):
you've differentiated yourselfbecause everyone else just asked
them what their budget was andgave them that.
And now you're selling commodityinstead of selling an
experience.
SPEAKER_01 (12:36):
Yeah, I love it.
When we start focusing on, andthis is why it's hard for
contractors.
A lot of you are like just goodHVAC technicians, you're good
plumbers, you're goodlandscapers, you're good pest
control people.
Like you know what exactly whatpesticide to use, exactly what
roof shingle to use.
But you have to have the mindshift of now you own a company
(12:57):
that provides a service.
Who freaking cares what serviceit is when you switch your mind
to go?
I need to be providingsolutions.
It changes you from being thetechnician to being the owner.
So I'm obsessed with that.
Um, I love build onpossibilities.
I wrote that down.
Like I sell, I do sales forlemon seed.
And a lot of times I tend tofind myself like I will dial
(13:19):
back on what I'm offering basedoff what I think they can
afford.
And really at the end of theday, if I built them what I
really knew they needed and letthem decide that they weren't
going to dive in, then thatwould be much more um applicable
to their like that would be muchmore applicable to what we're
saying here that I need to getout of their business, like get
out of their financial businessand just start providing
(13:39):
solutions and letting them landsomewhere in the middle because
they don't know most of the timewhat it takes to really have an
in-depth marketing plan or um anin uh a new HVAC system
installed with brand newductwork and updated
installation and modifying theircommunicating equipment.
They don't know, they think theydo, but they really don't.
So I loved that um statement.
(14:02):
Another keynote that you madehere that really stuck with me
is marketing should be simple,repeatable, and measurable.
Um, otherwise, you can't scaleit.
Um, and so Limit Seed's beentalking to some private equity
groups that are like they'vefigured out they can't just live
on the hamster wheel of digitalmarketing.
And so they're like, hey, wereally should dial this in.
And I'm like, man, marketing isdoes not have to be complicated,
(14:23):
it can be super simple and itcan be scalable very easily.
SPEAKER_00 (14:28):
Yeah, absolutely.
And for me, what I I call it themarketing mix.
So if you if you if like if Icalled you and I said, Hey, I
heard uh social social media isgood, how how much do you charge
for Facebook ads?
And to your point previously,you you could just say, like,
yeah, here's my here's what itis for Facebook ads, or you
could sell me an experience andsay, Hey, is it okay if I run
something by you?
Like we could do just exactlywhat you're asking for, but we
(14:49):
could give you a whole packagewhere it comes with this and
this and this.
And here's why it would makesense because when you do a
Facebook ad, it's going togenerate interest to your
website.
And then what we want to do withthe website is we want to
retarget those people, and thenwe want to send them a postcard
and all this stuff.
But the marketing mix is beingeverywhere, it's really just
being like all over the place.
So that let's say you put outyard signs, and if the only
(15:10):
thing you did was put out yardsigns, I mean that's that's
fine, it works.
We've we've done that, we'veseen success.
But then all of a sudden, thatjust plants a little seed in
their mind, right?
And then eventually they'regonna be like, they're gonna go
online, and if your branding'sgood enough, they're gonna
search for a company, maybeyours.
If if your branding was goodenough, they might just do a
direct search.
But if not, now all of a suddenthey're gonna see you online.
(15:31):
And then all of a sudden, afterthey see you online, you send
them a retargeting Facebook adbecause they were on your
website, and so the and then youhave a wrapped truck when you
show up in the neighborhood.
So it's really all of thethings.
Digital marketing is awesome, itallows us to use leverage, but
it only works really, reallygood when you're doing all the
things, and that's that's whereit's hard for a smaller business
because they're like, Well, Idon't have the money, right?
(15:53):
So that's fine.
Like, start start small.
You might have to be the gorillamarketing guy, you might have to
dark knock doors, social media,joining or all that stuff,
right?
So yeah, but that's the key, islike some people tell me, Oh, I
tried Facebook ads, they don'twork.
I tried direct mail, I triedGoogle Ads, they don't work, and
on their own, they don't work aswell.
It's when you it's when you dothem all together, that's when
(16:15):
you start to gain momentum.
SPEAKER_01 (16:16):
That's right.
And and I call it a cakeapproach, you know, like when
you ask me for a slice of cake,I don't go, here's the egg.
I have to actually take the eggand the flour and the butter and
the flavoring, mix it alltogether, bake it correctly, let
it cool, set it in front of you,slice it, and serve it on a
plate.
So all of those advertisingtactics are literally
(16:38):
ingredients to a perfectly bakedcake.
So you keep serving ingredientsand wondering why the cake
doesn't taste the same.
Well, you're trying to make meeat an egg, a raw egg, that's
nothing's been done to.
So I 100%.
So, you know, and we've talked alittle bit about the mindset
shift, like operator to owner.
And uh, one of the things thatreally uh another thing that
really stood out for me was umin one of your key points that I
(17:02):
I really liked is like the goalis freedom, financial freedom,
freedom with time, but you can'tget there if you're still
chained to your truck or to yourcompany as a whole.
Like, you know, if you are suchan important part of the
everyday operations, you shouldbe working to get yourself out
of that, right?
That's what I've always tried todo.
SPEAKER_00 (17:22):
Well, it's it's kind of ironic because if you think I
I learned this actually, Ilearned the hard way, and I read
it in the book EMyth, greatbook.
It is like most on the e-myth isthe entrepreneurial myth that
entrepreneurs don't startbusinesses.
You it's usually technicians,like we're like passionate about
something, good at something,like I'm sick of working for
that guy, you know, I'm notgonna be treated like that.
(17:43):
I'll start my own business.
And so you you start thisbusiness, and you're like, Yeah,
I'm gonna I'm gonna finally getfreedom, I'm gonna control my
schedule.
And then the irony hits in whereyou're like, Whoa, like I bought
myself an 80-hour job.
Yeah, like I'm so stuck in thisbusiness.
I if I leave, like the wholething falls apart.
Um, I I I thought I got freedomand now I got, you know, I'm I'm
(18:04):
I'm trapped in this business.
So it really you you can't teachthat to someone, like they
almost have to experience it,right?
And so once they get to thatspot, then all of a sudden it's
like, all right, I hit rockbottom, what do I do?
And that's when you got to getintentional.
That's when it's like, okay, howdo I how do I build this to be
so I'm not an owner or I'm notan operator, I'm an owner,
(18:25):
right?
And that's that's the biggestchallenge, I think, for small
businesses is it's it's hardbecause you get stuck on the
hamster wheel, you get stuckworking in the trenches, and you
hear people like us talk aboutworking on your business, like,
oh, that sounds all cool, butlike I don't have time.
Yeah, like I don't know.
SPEAKER_01 (18:40):
How the heck do I do that?
Yeah, absolutely.
And you know, um, one of thethings that and I love like you
got to work on your business,not in your business.
I do think that there is a fineline of that because like you
still need to be activelylistening, like you still need
your finger on the pulse ofthings so that you can be
creatively pivoting and beingmore in real time.
So there's a fine line there,but the gist of that statement
(19:04):
means you if you never look up,you can't see where you're
going.
So you're just like you're youknow, deadheading back towards
something that you can't lookup, you've not looked up to see.
Um, and you're just you'reheaded for a a place where I
call it blockbustering thisthing, right?
Like if you never look up to seewhat else is going on around you
and how you can make itapplicable to your company, then
(19:26):
you're just like driving.
I don't know, I just feel likeyou're driving blind.
And so you have to have a youhave to have the both both hands
on the wheel, if you will, um,about that.
But and focus on buildingpeople.
Go ahead.
SPEAKER_00 (19:37):
I was gonna say, here's what I do to help people
work on their business becausethe problem is it's actually
addicting.
Like most of us are addicted towork, we're addicted to our
business, and we're like,actually, I don't hate it.
I mean, some days I do, youknow, but like I actually like
work, right?
We're not we're not trying tojust be lazy to go sit on the
couch, like we actually like thechaos that we've created, we're
addicted to it.
So it's like, okay, we haveright now, according to the
(20:00):
calendar of 2025, we have sevendays in the week.
Is that right?
unknown (20:05):
Correct.
SPEAKER_00 (20:06):
Seven days, five, five working days.
Some of some of you guys areworking 10.
Yes.
But we have seven days.
But if I said today, hey, youknow what?
I it figured out a way, Iinvented two more days in the
week.
Do you think people would takethat that as a weekend, or do
you think they would just go,sweet, I'll make more money,
I'll just work those days?
Most business owners, they'regonna just work nine days a
(20:28):
week.
Like that's just that they'renot gonna allocate that time.
So I'm sharing that because wefill the time that's given to
us.
That's just a natural weaknessof a visionary and entrepreneur.
Like it's like, oh, if I gotmore time, then I'll just work
more, right?
And so what if I said, I'mcreating fake rules, I
understand.
But what if I just said, youknow what?
(20:48):
We only have four, four days aweek, starting right now.
Like you only have four days aweek to get the same amount of
work that you're doing now infive, six, or seven.
You have to get it done in four.
You have to make the same amountof money.
If I gave you those rules, Iguarantee that everyone could
figure it out.
They're smart enough, they knowhow to do this, but they're
feeling the time given to them.
So I'm just asking you tocollapse the time, get
(21:10):
everything done in those fourdays.
What would have to be true foryou to do that and ask that
question?
What has to be true?
You can do that.
And now all of a sudden, youhave an extra day to work on
your business.
You can time block to say everyTuesday, every Wednesday, every
Thursday, whatever day and timethat you want to time block four
hours to be like, I'm gonna sithere and I'm gonna work on my
business.
(21:31):
I'm gonna solve the bottleneck,I'm gonna solve the problem.
I suck at hiring, I suck attraining, I suck at whatever it
is.
I want to build a better thing,a maintenance plan.
It's never gonna happen becauseyou're just feeling the time
that's been given to you.
So you have to get intentional,create your own rules.
Like, I I always just create myown, it's my game.
Yeah, I don't have to, I don'thave to work seven days a week
(21:51):
just because someone gave meseven days.
I I only want to work three.
So I'm only working Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday, and I get
to do whatever I want on Monday,Friday.
Like it's my game, my rules.
So I want everyone to take that.
Like you get to you're incharge, like you, it's your
life, it's your business.
You don't have to take what'sgiven you and accept that.
Well, you have these days to getit done because people are
(22:11):
smart.
You can figure out how to getall the same stuff done in four
days that you're taking five toseven right now.
SPEAKER_01 (22:17):
Yeah, yes.
I 100%.
And I'm guilty, like I I amaddicted to chaos, I love it.
Like, I I thrive in deadlinesand things like that.
But I also once I actually getsome downtime, true downtime,
I'm like, oh, I've been missingthis downtime.
You know, I've been missingthis.
So um, here's the other topicthat uh we have, and I told him
(22:38):
at the beginning when we wereprepping for this, I said, Oh,
we're getting to this one.
Uh, niche industries as profitmachines.
So niches make it easier tostand out and charge better
pricing, premier pricing, um,expertise put plus
specialization.
So, you know, when I startedLemon Seed, that was the big
thing.
Like, oh my gosh, you're soniche, you're only dealing with
home service industries.
(22:58):
We love it.
So, tell me a little bit aboutwhat you're saying about your
focus there on those nicheproducts or niche offerings.
SPEAKER_00 (23:06):
I mean, what once you discover it, it's like it's
the only way to go.
Yeah.
So, yes, my experience withlandscape lighting was was
pretty cool.
Um, I discovered I was a windowcleaner and I discovered it
through my brother.
And I was like, wait, you'retelling me like we could we
could go from doing like$500jobs.
This was in 2007.
We could go to from doing like500 jobs to like$5,000 jobs just
(23:30):
by doing landscape lighting.
I'm like, heck yeah, let's doit.
So we started, didn't knowanything about it.
But what I found really quicklyis people loved the experience
they had with us, and we weren'tnecessarily we were still
learning, right?
But we got better over time, butpeople were like, Man, you guys
are the best people we've everworked with.
We could go in in a day andknock out a$10,000,$12,000
project.
(23:50):
And people are like, That'sphenomenal.
You flip on the lights, they'relike, Holy cow, this is our
property.
I drove, I drove past the housethe first night because I didn't
know that was our house, itlooked so good, right?
And so they loved us, and peoplewould ask us, and I'm not
kidding, Crystal, they wouldsay, Man, you guys are the best
contractor we've ever workedwith.
By chance, do you guys do likeoutdoor kitchens or do you do
(24:11):
pools?
Anything else like that?
And I'm like, hmm.
I'm like, what if I said yes?
You know, like I was so tempted.
Like, and I but I ended uptelling people, I said, Listen,
the reason you love us, thereason we're so good is because
we do one thing and we areexperts and we do it very, very
well.
If I decide to do pools andoutdoor kitchens and all the
artificial turf and all thethings, you won't like me.
(24:34):
I'm not getting a five-starreview.
I'm probably getting a one-starreview because I'm the jack of
all trades at this point, and Ican't control the chaos.
Right now I can control itbecause we have a dedicated
lighting designer, dedicatedinstall technicians, dedicated
maintenance crews, like they'respecialists inside the
specialty.
And so I think it makes sense tojust dive deep because that's
(24:54):
how you build momentum.
That's how you get repeatbusiness, that's how you get
referrals.
And people appreciate the factthat you are the expert.
Doesn't mean you're foreverybody.
There's some people that want tocall the GC and be like, oh,
cool, this guy can handleeverything.
They can do the home build, thelandscape, the pool, all that.
That's fine.
Um, you're not gonna get thatclient, but the ones who
appreciate it, you're gonna beable to charge a premium price,
(25:17):
roll out the red carpet, whiteglove experience, and build
relationships and build yourbusiness.
SPEAKER_01 (25:23):
Yeah, okay, love it.
So I love that little nuggetthere of information um for
everybody that keeps trying toadd on a bunch of things.
Like there's just a controlledway to do this, um, a controlled
way to book on some uniquethings and but still maintain
your core product.
So I love that.
And then last but not least, ohyeah, go ahead.
SPEAKER_00 (25:43):
Well, that's what I was gonna say is key is like I I
actually love the idea ofbolting on services, but it has
to be done in the right way.
And for example, I'll havepeople that come to me and they
say, dude, I heard you're theguy, like they can help me bolt
on the high-ticket, you know,landscape lighting.
I'm like, yeah, tell me aboutyour business.
And if they're the problem is ifthey're doing this to like avoid
the chaos they've alreadycreated, yeah, it's not gonna
(26:05):
work, it's just gonna make itworse, right?
But if if you can build up thatdivision or that company to be
like, hey, I've got this windowcleaning company, it does pretty
well.
I've got people, the rightpeople in the right seats, like
this thing's flowing.
Then I think, okay, now let'sbolt that on because now we're
just an email, a text, a phonecall away.
We can target your existingclient.
You've got a you've got a goldmine of opportunity.
(26:27):
You don't even have to go toanother city to start a new
company.
You can stay in the same cityand just add a new offering.
So I think it's controlled chaosat this point.
I've I've I've convinced myselfthat business is always chaotic,
but now it's controlled chaos,and you've you've got this one
system running itself, and andand you've got a dedicated
person to run the new division.
SPEAKER_01 (26:48):
Love, yes.
And again, everything withintentionality and everything
with a little bit of controlgoes a long way.
So, but before we wrap up allthe way, um I know you have a
playbook, uh, kind of lookedinto this a little bit.
So, what do you think everyservice business should be
focusing on right now, accordingto your playbook?
SPEAKER_00 (27:08):
Yeah, I mean, I this is just my opinion.
I know someone's gonna disagree,but I I love pricing, I love
sales, I love marketing.
So there's three things thatbasically I think every business
should focus on.
And if you focus on only thesethree, like if you're stuck
right now and you're feeling alittle cash flow problems, or
(27:29):
you're feeling like, man, I justdon't know how to get to the
next level.
And I I've worked so hard, likewe've made a lot of money, but
it's not in my, you know, not inmy wallet.
These are the three things.
So, number one, increasing yourprice without a doubt.
If you can focus on raising yourprice, and and and if you're if
for if you're afraid, just startwith 10%, right?
So we talked about that.
(27:49):
Increasing your price.
Number two, closing deals on thespot.
So many people are afraid to askfor the business.
And they're like, well, let melet me get something, I'll put
it together and I'll email it toyou.
Okay, people buy an emotion.
If you as soon as you send anemail, they're buying, you're
you're you're commoditizingyourself and they're just buying
a number on a piece of paper.
No one wants that.
(28:10):
So close deals on the spot.
And then the third one, it'sreally hard to charge a premium
price and close the deals on thespot if you're not in front of
the right person.
So the third one is you need tofocus on high quality leads, not
just leads, high quality leads.
Because if you focus on thesethree things, charging a premium
price, closing deals on a spot,getting high quality leads, you
(28:32):
can apply leverage to yourbusiness that small tweaks add
up in a major way.
And now you have this lump ofprofit, this lump of cash that
now you can invest into hiringand training and recruiting and
all the things to help you growyour business to the next level.
SPEAKER_01 (28:48):
Love it.
Love it.
Sales, systems, mindsets, thoseare the three levers that really
unlock growth and freedom.
And I just loved thisconversation, right?
Like there's just so much.
It's been gold.
Um, but what I love is how youradvice applies to not just
lighting, but any of theseservice-based businesses that I
get the privilege of workingwith.
(29:10):
Um, because this is not thisinformation, this guidance, this
advice here is not just specificto the lighting industry.
We all can apply this to any ofour service-based businesses.
And so um, I think for ourlisteners, the big takeaway is
this, you know, scaling doesn'tmean just more hours, more
stress, more chaos, you know,um, which is true.
(29:30):
Um, but with the right mindset,mindset and with several of
these systems that you've talkedabout, the strategy, the
playbook, um, and more freedomand time to focus, it's going to
equal more profit.
And so if listeners reallywanted to get in touch with you
and and hear about your actualproduct offerings, like what you
offer as a um as a business, howcould they get in contact with
(29:50):
you?
SPEAKER_00 (29:51):
Yeah, sure.
I appreciate you having me on.
Um, landscapelightingsecrets.com is my website.
So we've got some case studiesand uh and things that you can
check.
Check out there.
Um, and then connect with meonline.
So I'm on on uh on Facebook,Ryan Lee.
I think it's like you know howyou have like Facebook.com slash
whatever.
I think my thing is Lee Bottoms.
My it's Ryan Lee.
(30:12):
And I think in elementary, my mynickname was Lee Bottoms.
So I think it's Lee Bottoms, butoh Instagram, Instagram at
landscapelighting secrets, andthen I I kind of make a big deal
of it.
People think it's kind of weird,but I'm I'm actually the host of
the number one landscapelighting podcast in the world,
lighting for profits.
So you might want to check thatout.
SPEAKER_01 (30:32):
Yeah, I love it.
SPEAKER_00 (30:34):
It's the only landscape lighting podcast in
the world, so that's why I'm thenumber one.
SPEAKER_01 (30:37):
Still number one, still number one.
I will I acknowledge your awardand I celebrate your award.
So congratulations on that.
But it's because it's so niche,that's why there's not a ton of
it out there.
Um but listen, it's it's the uha lot of I'm sure what you talk
about is very applicable.
So go give his uh podcast,Lighting for Profits, a listen.
(30:58):
Um, and guys, as always, thankyou for listening to another
episode of From The YellowChair.
I hope you've learned a lot fromRyan and all that he brought to
the table.
Go listen to his podcast.
Uh, check him out, see what allhe can do to help you grow.
And in the meantime, guys, let'slearn to scale, get outside of
the chaos, um, and live our bestlife.
So have a good day.
Thanks for listening.
(31:18):
We'll catch you next time.
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