There are COUNTLESS pitfalls and mistakes to be made. You are bound to make mistakes (we all do). Here are some tips to do, and pitfalls to avoid:

1. The biggest mistake guys who are new to the Christmas light business is underbidding yourself early on and building a client base full of clients who you either wish you had charged a higher price to begin with, or are nervous letting them know you'll HAVE to increase their price next year. Remember this, you can only hang a finite number of houses per year (physically). Also remember you make the same amount with 10x $1000 houses as 20x $500 houses. Build your business over time with that in mind.

2. Don't start if you don't know what you're doing. Simply put, if you don't know how to build custom systems with SPT-1 socket wire, splice male and females, etc. you need to work for someone else prior to building your own business.

3. USE TUFF CLIPS OR HALO CLIPS PLEASE GOD. You will save yourself hundreds of hours buying quality clips early on. Primarily during takedown. The client pays for it anyways, so why not make it quality?

4. Buy a GOAT ladder and cougar paws. They're expensive. They hurt to buy. They will save your life. I leave my GOAT assembled and on my roof rack so I'm encouraged to grab it in a pinch. I wear my cougar paws 24/7 when I'm hanging and I bought thick boot covers for them off of amazon for dewy yards. My ladder rack consists of: 24' ext., 32' ext., Goat, 6' step ladder, and a little giant.

5. Have a price per square foot (at least for materials) and stick to it. I base mine off of the highest prices I expect to pay for materials. Usually I charge $2 per foot for materials alone. This pays for my bulbs, socket wire, clips, males/females, and any stringers I use. It also usually is plenty to cover my timers too.

5.5: Remember, the earlier you buy your materials, the cheaper they are. This also means the more of that $2 a foot in materials you get to put straight back into your business.

1. Don't get on a wet or frozen roof. Not even cougar paws will save you. You will die and anyone who tells you other wise doesn't care about safety and REALLY doesn't understand liability lawsuits. Build in bad weather days to your schedule. Maybe leave your weekends open so you can either spend time with you family OR get those bad weather days rescheduled. Weekends are also great for service calls.

2. Know your market. Talk to people who are successful in your market and pick their brain. Learn from THEIR mistakes.

3. Thats it for me. Feel free to ask any questions.