He QUIT corporate at 40 to join the $5.6 BILLION industry NOBODY talks about

#entrepreneurship #franchisebusiness #outdoordlightingperspectives #podcast 

Built4Profit Podcast hosts Sha and Elizabeth interview Rob Clark of Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, discussing the $3.5B outdoor lighting industry projected to reach $5.6B by 2027 and how lighting enhances mood, curb appeal, and the inside-looking-out experience. 

Rob explains his sales process, including walking the property, using an AI-powered app to preview lighting variations, and doing nighttime demos with battery-powered lights. He describes starting from home with a van, moving into a shared office with storage units for lighting and holiday products, the value of franchise community, seasonal workload realities, and lessons on pursuing passion, taking calculated risks, and scaling to three locations while prioritizing family.

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Get to know Outdoor Lighting Perspectvies:  

Grand Rapids 
- Website: https://www.outdoorlights.com/grand-rapids/ 
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OLPGrandRapids/ 
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outdoorlights_grandrapids/ 
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/outdoor-lighting-persepectives-of-grand-rapids/ 
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@outdoor.lights.gr 
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@OutdoorLighting-Grand_Rapids 

Traverse City 
- Website: https://www.outdoorlights.com/traverse-city/ 
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OLPTraverseCity/ 
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outdoorlights_traversecity/ 
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/outdoor-lighting-persepectives-of-traverse-city/ 

Lansing 
- Website: https://www.outdoorlights.com/lansing/ 
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OLPLansing 
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outdoorlights_lansing/ 
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/outdoor-lighting-persepectives-of-lansing/ 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

I think it's important to note the amount of money that is in this industry alone. It is a$3.5 billion industry. Billion. And by 2023, it's projected to be a$5.6 billion. So what are we talking about? We're gonna be here to light you up, pun intended. We're talking about outdoor lighting. Thank you, Shay. Welcome to Built for Profit Podcast, where entrepreneurs and strategies that actually work. We're here to inspire, challenge, and give you the playbook to profit with purpose. Let's get into it. Let's do it. We have with us Rob Clark, who runs several locations in Michigan. And so we'll hear about outdoor lighting perspectives. Rob, welcome to the Balt for Profit Podcast. Welcome, Rob.

SPEAKER_01 0:43

Awesome guys. Well, thanks for having me. I'm really excited to be here.

SPEAKER_00 0:46

I actually want you to start a little bit different than we do sometimes. And I can't imagine that you ever have this type of scenario. But pretend you have maybe a husband who is all about your services and a wife who's a little hesitant and thinking, like, I'm not sure that we really need that. Tell us in your amazing words, paint us this picture. Also, so anyone listening knows exactly what you do.

SPEAKER_01 1:07

It's hilarious that you say that because that is every single appointment I go to. At least one person has it in their mind that they really like this is what we're gonna do. And their person's like, I'm not sure we want to do this. And so I often joke with some friends of mine. I'm like, Yeah, I'm actually a marriage counselor who happens to sell lights on the side. It's very common for me when I'm at an appointment to put everything into options and phases for you, and you two can kind of arm wrestle over what you want. We also have a few tools to kind of show them. So one of the things we do is we walk the property and we want to understand how they're living life, how they're using that space. And so there really there's a lot of mood enhancing about this. And oftentimes when people see it, they really appreciate it. So one of the things we'll do is we have an app that we designed and built where we can actually take a photo of their home and show them within a minute four different variations of what their home would look like with lights on. So it uses a lot of AI in the background. One of the best ways is we actually bring lights out to your home on battery packs and where we want to position them. I mean, we kind of mentally put together design and then kind of work with the client on that design, but we all actually place them around the home or the property and show them what it looks like. So we'll go out after dark, put all these lights out there. And once people see it, it's funny because the husband who was really on board, you know, it continues to be on board, but now the wife is like, sign the check. We need to do this right now. This is awesome.

SPEAKER_00 2:22

I've only thought of outdoor lighting for the aesthetics of, you know, you're driving up to your house coming home. How is it lit up? And not thinking about once you're inside that it changes your perspective looking out.

SPEAKER_01 2:33

I worked with a gal who was an interior designer for years, and she has spent her lifetime designing interior spaces for retail facilities. We did her first home, and her husband has Parkinson's, and so they designed a new home that would allow him to function better. One of the things we did with her, after we do any project, we go through and we do a nighttime adjustment just to make sure that everything is shining exactly how we intended it to. And she said, Come on, you gotta come in the house. So we go in the house, and it's you can like look out. She's kind of up high, and you look out over the property and see all these lights. She said, This is the best part. It's like a night light. I just kind of linger here and kind of look outside, and it's just so beautiful and it really reconnects me with the outside world. So it's a great experience.

SPEAKER_00 3:15

I can feel that. Like when you go to amusement parks or landscape places or even restaurants, the lighting has a lot of experience with it as well.

SPEAKER_01 3:23

Hospitality is all about making people feel cozy and comfortable and welcome. And so hospitality has traditionally done a great job at creating spaces for people to relax. And a lot of our clients will comment, Gow, it's like I'm in a resort. Like I can't believe this is my house. So it really does a lot to affect your mood.

SPEAKER_00 3:40

So there's like a lot of things that go with light or landscaping. I think you will your family has a little bit of background in that. So how did you get it going? I'm gonna make it my mission to light people's yards up.

SPEAKER_01 3:52

How much time you got? I grew up in a family of landscape design build. And you know, I just took my family over to the Henry Ford Museum on the other side of the state, and there was a saying from I think it was Wilbur Wright, and he said, you know, the secret to life is to pick out a good father and mother and begin life in Ohio. And I mean, I'm not I'm partial to Michigan, but I think that phrase fits my life so well. I was super blessed with great parents. And my parents were not what you would call like modern-day helicopter parents. They totally treated us like adults from the time we were children. And part of that is just a respect, like, no, you guys can do this, you can figure it out, you can participate, you're part of this family, you can help out. So my dad had started a landscape farm with his father back in the late 50s, early 60s. And so he grew up in that family business. We were all required to start working there from the time we were little. So I was working there for like$2 a day. And probably I got the better end of the deal because I probably wasn't that great of a worker at that point in my life. By the time I had my driver's license, he's like, okay, you're gonna run the irrigation crew. You're gonna go out and install irrigation systems. And it was no problem for me because I I spent years doing this. So that kind of got me introduced to landscape design build. And I always loved the lighting aspect of it. So I was 12 or 14, like it wasn't uncommon for my parents to come home from work and I had gotten home from school, and I'm in the garage, like wiring up light bulbs and switches. That was just a huge passion of mine. So, fast forward a few years, I'm a freshman in college, and my dad would take these American Nursery and Landscape Association tours. One of those went to like the Maryland, Baltimore, Washington, D.C. area. I remember visiting this landscape firm and they had a whole crew, and all they did was landscape lighting. And I remember thinking, I didn't know that you could keep a crew like busy doing that all day. Like it was typically just an add-on, never like a full focus. Cow, that would be like the coolest thing ever. But then, you know, you're in college and you're falling in love and you're focused on career, and I just kind of that kind of fell out of my mind. I was chasing my wife at the time and actually followed her across country to go to school and focused instead of landscape design on supply chain management and business.

SPEAKER_00 5:53

Very wise, very practical.

SPEAKER_01 5:54

I've told you this was going to be a long story. But after college, I moved back to West Michigan and I spent like 17 years in contract office furniture. Fast forward, and it was a year before I joined, you know, we had the 9-11 and all of that, and all the furniture industry kind of dried up. Like people weren't buying furniture because they didn't know if they wanted to operate in these skyscrapers, et cetera, et cetera. And so all these large companies started taking all that work in-house, which then forced them to have to lay off a lot of staff. And I always said, by the time I was 40, I want to do my own thing. And so I had been looking at other furniture manufacturers and I figured that's the route I'm gonna go. And then 2020 happened, and people all left the office. And I was like, okay, I don't know what this means, but I know it's gonna be very disruptive for office furniture. And I don't think I can do office furniture anymore as an option because it's gonna be a while before this industry recovers. You know, growing up in landscape design build, working in furniture, I've always done like home remodeling stuff. So turning 40, it's 2020 that all that happened, and I found a business broker and they started sending me like different businesses that were for sale. During that time of talking to those brokers, you have to fill out these surveys, like how much money do you have, et cetera, et cetera. But one of the questions, like, would you ever be interested in franchising? And I was like, I don't know that I like the idea of franchising, but I'm willing to explore anything at this point. Let's just see what it does. So there was a gal that contacted me and she said, Well, how we typically do this is we're gonna have you take, you know, some personality tests, and then we're gonna suggest on those tests different businesses that work for you. It came back that I would had no interest in food. I love cooking, but the idea of working in a restaurant was never my cup of tea. And that's what I always thought of as franchising, but I was really heavily wired towards like home services. And she says, I got three that I think would be really good for you. And the first one she said was outdoor lighting perspectives. And all of a sudden, it's like all these childhood memories of like playing with wires and that trip I took with my dad, and all these things started coming back to me. I was like, holy cow, I'm in, let's explore this. And then you go through the process of talking to other owners, and it was like everybody I talked to was super outgoing, super excited about what they were doing. I thought that is like the model of like everything I've ever wanted to do. Like I love being outdoors. My happy place was outdoors. Like when I come home from work and it was super stressful, you know, I'd go outside and rake leaves or mow the lawn. Like that was my happy place. So that's how I discovered outdoor lighting perspectives.

SPEAKER_00 8:13

You know, and I love that because we hear a lot of times that people will find someone that helps to connect them to a brand. I thought match.com. It's a perfect description because they're asking better questions to get you better results because there's there are probably things I wouldn't even think of taking a personality test to find an opportunity. And it's so deep. Yes. And they bring up all these industries that we don't even know exist. Like Rob, we hear that so often that people think it's mainly food, and then they come back and say, Hey, this is exactly what your personality, and Rob's like, actually, that is, and they find it. I don't think that's awesome because then it's like it clicks, right? So when you're going through this process and like we said, the discovery and all that good stuff like that, what is the actual? Is it a mobile business? Is it brick and mortar? Are you they call you the wire guy? How does it work?

SPEAKER_01 8:56

So that's a great question. So initially, when we started this, and you go like any franchise, you go to some sort of training up front, and they're like, okay, the most of these thief fields that start, we'll get like a storage unit and a van, and then everybody meets the storage unit in the morning and they kind of go over the job and then they go out to the job together, et cetera, et cetera. My wife and I live in kind of a rural area, and you know, we had a pole barn, and I thought, that's where we're gonna start this. We've got the property, that'll allow me to work from home. I was like, this will be great. We'll be able to spend time together, but it's also more flexible now. So I don't want to say that that's what I do every day, but it's like being a farmer, you gotta make hay when the sun shines. So back to your question, I started out with my house with a van and our pool barn, and then having people come to the house really worked out well for the first year, but then I was like, I've got four kids, several of them are teenage daughters. Sure, everybody that works for me is gonna be a great person, but there's a little discomfort there. And so I talked to like a guy on the phone, like at least a couple of times a week. And you know, he's like, Hey, I've got this client issue, what would you do? Hey, I've got this employee issue, what would you do? And at one point in one of these conversations, he goes, You know, it would be really great if we could just like lean over the cubicle wall and ask these questions. And I paused and I was like, Well, why don't we? He's like, What do you mean? I was like, but let's get an office together because you know, you're an up-and-coming, I'm an up and coming. If we want to do team building stuff, we can all go out. You know, it makes for a bigger group and more friendliness, but also that idea sharing. So we actually ended up getting an office together, and it's honestly been a great thing. So we right now have three large storage units back there, one from landscape lighting, one for Christmas holiday decorations, and one for our permanent roofline product, like a permanent Christmas light sort of thing.

SPEAKER_00 10:33

Isn't it great to have a partner though? I'm a little biased, but you know, it's gonna mount ideas off of, and you know, and then they go, That that's a bad idea. Yeah, it's great. And hearing him say that, I'm like, only someone who's running a company would have done exactly what you just described, Rob. You and another entrepreneur are talking, and you're not even under the same franchise, but you said you're both under empowered brands, right?

SPEAKER_01 10:55

Correct. So the funny thing is we go to all these annual meetings and stuff together, and we're always trying to meet who else is local. So, like whenever we get together at these meetings, I'll be like, hey, let's all go huddle up at the bar and we'll kind of talk and see what's everybody going through. You know, when you run a business, you oftentimes feel very alone. But being part of the franchise, you not only have other owners within that brand, but now within our community, we have other owners of different brands, and they're all home service-based. So our issues are very similar. That customer who doesn't like to pay a bill, or that Karen that likes to complain about things, or you know, success stories like, oh my gosh, I went to three meetings today and every client gave me a hug. Like it was so great. These are real stories that we get to share, and it's just fun to have that. When I was in furniture, thought to myself, this is so dumb. We all have the same problems, but we're all like competitors, so we don't want to talk to each other. And I was like, wouldn't it be great if we could do that? And that to me has been the most rewarding thing about being a franchise, just the community.

SPEAKER_00 11:49

I want to hear you talk, Rob, because you touched on it a little bit. But you're building this business, you've got kids that you want to be present for. You've talked about the time pull because that's really what it is that when you're an entrepreneur, you know, but you're in charge of your schedule, but you also have parameters, you know, to stay with it.

SPEAKER_01 12:06

Yeah, yep.

SPEAKER_00 12:07

For someone listening, talk with them a little bit about how you have built and scaled this business because it's clearly successful and you've got three locations now, but you're still obviously very present at home, even if you did have to move the office outside the home.

SPEAKER_01 12:19

I won't lie, there's periods where it's very stressful. You know, a lot of what we light is architecture, but what people think of and what it's historically been referred to of as is landscape lighting. And so it often goes hand in hand with landscape season. So when people typically do most landscaping is in the spring because open houses for their kids who are graduating high school, you know, they might have a kid getting married or having a reception in their yard. They might just be tired of how something in their yard look. They have these things they want to invest in for the year. So there's definitely a busy season to this and balancing that with kids, I don't want to say I always do it well because I don't, but it part of it is just learning. I always say, like, those first couple of years are so critical. Like how many businesses fail in the first couple of years? So you've really got to take full advantage of those seasons and you want to grow your business. You want to scale it quickly because you want to build those relationships. So much of the successful home services business is based on referrals and satisfied clients and Google reviews. And so you need to get out and get all those things done because you're starting with nothing. But I have a great wife who is Lebanese and Italian, so she has a little punch to her, if you will. And she's really good at saying, hey, I would rather be poorer and spend time with the family. And so I'm at the point now, four or five years into this, where I can leave a schedule of, hey, these are the things we have to get done. And they get done, and they get done probably better than I would do them.

SPEAKER_00 13:39

Exactly where you want to be, Rob. And there's so many wisdom and little pearls of experience. And hopefully you're taking active notes on some of these little wisdom bombs. However, I'm gonna put you on the spot and say, this is your moment. There's a whole bunch of lifters out there, like different stages, and I'm sure you have learned some valuable lesson. And if you had a phone that went back into the past and gonna call your younger self, Rob, what wisdom, insightfulness, or something you would advise? There you go.

SPEAKER_01 14:05

I mean, I think the biggest one is you have a passion for a reason. And if you're not feeling like you're using that passion, then you're probably not in the right place. Like for me, it goes back to those childhood stories of playing with wires and really liking the landscape world and being outside. But it's also like I always had this inner desire to own my own business. Like growing up in a family business, you're kind of wired a certain way. So that phone call to my younger self would be like, hey, do this furniture thing for a while, but that's not necessarily gonna be your thing. And don't be afraid to take risks. When I signed my franchise agreement initially, I sent a photo, like a little meme of somebody jumping out of an airplane to the person at Empower Brands I was working with. And she's called me right away. She's like, nobody's ever sent me anything like that. I was like, honestly, I went skydiving like when I turned 30, and I was like, my gift my wife got me for my birthday. And I said, But that moment when you fly up in the airplane and they open the door and you put your feet out of the airplane and you think to yourself, What the heck am I doing? That's exactly how I feel right now. Like, I've got four kids, I've got a mortgage, I've got cars. Like, what am I doing? Owning your own business. That thrill, it doesn't go away because you're continuing to push yourself. So, like sitting in church one Sunday and they're talking about something and like whatever it was, I said to my wife, you know, what's the worst that could happen? I mean, we could be almost on the street, I guess. She goes, Shut up, Robert, that doesn't make me feel better. But like in the grand scheme of things, we're gonna have the family and you're gonna take a risk, but risks are typically worth it. And it's scary because it's unknown. It's like you're going blindfolded into these things. But the more you take risks, the more your comfort for risk builds up, and the more apt you are to take that next step. It's still scary to go out and do new things and try to take on really big projects, but that portfolio of experiences just continues to be another building block that says, I can do this. Yes, it's scary, but the best things in life are scary. It's scary to leave your family and go off to college. It's scary to, you know, get married. It's scary when your wife is pregnant and then you're heading to the hospital to have that baby. And it's scary when you leave the hospital. But what are the best things in life? I mean, this person you chose to marry, the kids you're raising, and the business that you birthed.

SPEAKER_00 16:11

Rob, I I tell you, this is the best analogy I've heard of business ownership. I will never think of jumping out of a plane ever the same again. Because that's probably what most people feel in that moment. And you know, like they're probably some of them are right now in the flight heading down to Earth and helping the parachute open. 100% is, you know, when you're getting on that plane, they go, There's only one way off this plane, and it's by jumping out. So once you commit, you're jumping. And it's like that in business. Like 100%, you put down the money, we're only going one direction now and forward, you know. Rob, you have been absolutely so interesting of a story and backstory. And I've enjoyed all the stories and the four kids part I can relate. There are probably people working in your business as well. And we know that people need to go check you out in the local markets. But thank you again for being a guest on Built for Profit. I can't wait to see what you're going to do. And I'm not ever going to think of lights in the backyard the same anymore. Yeah, I am becoming more of the open-minded wife. My husband's already on board.

SPEAKER_01 17:11

And oh, so there's a secret story behind this interview. Oh, okay. Well, this part. Well, you know, it's funny. I have been telling my wife for years, like, we need to put lights here, and she's like, I don't want that. I'm like, no, I like our calm, peaceful nights. And so I came home from my training. Part of the training was building and assembling the demo kit of lights, the battery packs and all of that. And then doing a nighttime demo with a potential client and going through the whole sales process and then going out and installing it. And so they have all these lights that we built and assembled, and they're like, hey, Clark, these are yours. So I came home with those and it was like, I pulled in the drive, I was like, You gotta see this. And I went out and done did what I had talked to her about doing for years, and she's like, That's gorgeous. Why haven't you done that?

SPEAKER_00 17:52

Yeah, definitely Rob is here to light you up.

SPEAKER_01 17:55

That's right.

SPEAKER_00 17:56

Elizabeth, do you know that when you're launching a franchise, one of the biggest expense and the biggest risk typically is the build out? I can see this. With missed deadlines and overrunning budgets and stuff like that, they can increase anywhere between 10 and 25% of unexpected expenses. No good. That's where Build Point USA comes in. They everything from pre-construction to the grand opening, they're with you every step of the way to make sure those things don't happen. Yeah, and they've got over 25 years of experience in building franchises nationally. So when you've got that much on the line, why would you trust it to anyone other than someone who's got a right team who can get it done? They've got the reputation, the proven expertise, and the national resources. So if you're ready to get your doors open faster with no an expectative surprises, go to buildpointusa.com or click in the show notes below to schedule your 30-minute discourse call with whether experts about your project. It kind of is. So again, buildpointusa.com. We'll see you in the next episode.