All the lights — without the ladder: Businesses find success helping homeowners illuminate

In warmer weather, you’ll find Dan Larson working in lawn care and landscaping. His longtime friend, Damian Giraldo, spends summers in the fireworks industry.

This year, though, they came together as the temperature dropped to form a new off-season venture: 605 Lighting.

“We saw a trend with Christmas lights in other markets,” Giraldo said. “This year specifically there have been a lot of lighting businesses that have started.”

Home and business owners eager for the look of lights, without taking on the ladders and the cold, are finding appeal in professional crews — especially when they will set up, maintain, take down and store the lights for you.

That was the case for Jackson Rentschler, manager of Gateway Bar & Grill in western Sioux Falls. Rentschler said he has become friendly with Larson over the past few years and was intrigued when he heard about Larson’s new venture with Giraldo. 605 Holiday Lighting put up lights for Gateway as well as both Rentschler’s house and his father’s house. 

The new business owners also report a larger season than they originally anticipated, speaking to the great demand for holiday lighting around Sioux Falls. They said most of their customers have requested LED lights, with all warm white or alternating red and white being the most popular color choices. 

Rentschler said he preferred having professionals install lights on his house and business this year because of the high-quality look as well as not having to store the lights himself. With a fear of heights, he’s also grateful to avoid mounting a ladder and getting on his roof.

“I did it last year, and I was sweating the entire time,” Rentschler said.

He also said his family loves having Christmas lights to look at each night.

“It gets you in the holiday spirit and takes your mind off what’s going on,” he said. “It puts a smile on everyone’s face.”

As customers around town are introduced to their work for the first time, Giraldo and Larson hope to make a positive impact on a community they love

“We were both raised here and spent a lot of time around Sioux Falls,” Larson said. “We both hope to grow into being good members of the community, and hopefully we’ll be around some events soon.”

Roofing business adds holiday lighting

A nationwide brand with more 250 contractors around the country, Roof Maxx specializes in roof rejuvenation. The Sioux Falls location is in its third year in operation but has branched out into holiday decorating for the first time this season. 

Like competitors, Roof Maxx creates “custom cut” lights for each individual home or business. AJ Nelson, who runs the Sioux Falls location, said his lights come on 1,000-foot spools that can be tailored to each specific structure. 

He said each house can take anywhere from an hour and a half to seven hours to finish, depending on the size, with crews of one to three people on each job.

Nelson said the first season has been successful despite entering into a market with multiple established options.

“It’s been really good,” he said. “I’m gonna guess there are probably 5 to 10 other custom-cut businesses out there. The demand is there, anywhere from somebody who wants to spend $300 up to $4,500 in lights.”

Established light installers see growth

Landscape Garden Centers, a garden center and greenhouse now located on 271st Street, has long been in the holiday decorating business. While the center has sold Christmas trees, garlands and wreaths for much of its 46-year existence, it has been only in the past few years that light installation has been one of its services.

Owner and president Erik Helland said all types of holiday decorating have trended upward in that short time. He has noticed, however, the weather has a major impact on whether residents will attempt to do it themselves or opt to hire professionals. 

“People are going to hire contractors to go out and put lights on no matter what the weather is, but if it gets warm in the next two weeks, you’re going to have all the wives telling their husbands to go hang lights because the weather is nice,” Helland said. 

A major trend in the past few years is the proliferation of LED lights that customers can customize to display any color they would like, Helland said. 

“People get to pick and choose,” he said. “It used to be when we first started doing this we’d put up white lights or multicolored. (Now,) there are really no specific trends because people can make it their own.”

Like many in the industry, Sioux Falls Holiday Lighting started setting up lights in October. Co-owner Jeremy Fink said his crews will start with their existing customer base Oct. 1, completing those jobs before starting on any new clients, which are picked up on a limited basis. Sioux Falls Holiday Lighting will hang only custom lights, not install those you purchased yourself.

“We provide the product, we provide the service, we provide the knowledge, we provide the troubleshooting,” Fink said. “When they call us and they want Christmas lights on their house, it’s maintenance-free. They don’t touch anything.”

Fink said he wants people to know that his business, which started five years ago, is the original to operate under the name Sioux Falls Holiday Lighting. Fink’s services can be found at holidaylightingsiouxfalls.com.

A potential technological competitor for seasonal lighting businesses is trim lights, he said. Those are programmable, permanent additions to one’s home. A homeowner can change the colors to match any season year-round, making them a threat that Fink said he’s tracking.

As for why residents should go with a professional rather than a DIY approach, Fink said a business like his can provide peace of mind. 

“Everybody wants to have a genuine Christmas,” he said. “It’s a time to come together. They don’t want to deal with the hassle of getting a ladder out. Our guys are trained — they work on heights every day.”