Nite Time Decor Proper lighting isn't just good for reading--with this franchise, it's good for your bottom line.
By Devlin Smith
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
It all started when Blake Smith was six and his father bought alawnmower for him and his half-brother, Curtis Hogan. While Hogangave up mowing lawns to work in retail, Smith kept at it. By thetime he was 16, he was making about $1,200 a week mowing 60lawns.
As his business grew, Smith added landscaping services likefertilizing to his list of offerings.
But as the weather got cooler in the winter months, so didSmith's business. Looking for an opportunity that would appealto seasonal workers like him, Smith founded Christmas Décor in1996. The Lubbock, Texas, company, which is used as an add-onbusiness by landscapers, pool installers and other outdoor workers,decorates homes and businesses with lights, signs and other piecesfor the winter holidays.
Inspired by the success of Christmas Décor, which currentlyhas more than 300 franchisees in the United States and Canada,Smith worked to create a similar business that could be operatedyear-round. With Hogan's help, Smith founded Nite TimeDécor in 1999.
Nite Time franchisees design and install landscape lighting forhomes and businesses. Before any installation, franchisees meetwith customers to do a night demonstration, showing them exactlyhow their yard, patio or pool area will look with the new lighting.Once the lighting is installed, maintenance visits, which includechanging bulbs and cleaning fixtures, occur every six months.
But the first time the lights go on, that's a moment thatmakes Smith proud. "We really paint a portrait withlight," he says, "and when we're finished, people arepretty overwhelmed with what it looks like."
