Today we’d like to introduce you to Shawn Rich.
Hi Shawn, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I spent about 15 years in sales and sales management in furniture and roofing. Due to self inflicted hardships, I needed a change and went to work for a service company in 2013 that did window cleaning and Christmas lights. In 2018 I started Rich Lighting Co and Rich Cleaning Co, and we were building slow and steady until Covid sent everyone home, and homeowners started noticing they needed our services now that they were home to see their house more.
We installed Christmas lights on about 60 homes and businesses our first year in business. In 2019 we were chosen to decorate Marietta Square for the Hallmark movie “Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses,” which then led to a couple of other Christmas movies, as well as started our relationship with Marietta Parks and Rec, where we have been decorating the Square for Christmas since 2019. This year we have added fake snow showers to our offerings and will be “snowing” for the tree lighting in Marietta.
We’ve grown from one 15 year old truck that did everything and a storage unit, to having a new pressure washing truck and two Christmas vans, and a small warehouse to operate out of.
We also love to give back! Last year we were blessed to provide Christmas lights to a young lady who was undergoing major back surgery while still in high school. We will likely be donating lights to another family or two this season. And, this year we sponsored the Harvest Fest in Marietta, where we handed out a few thousand pieces of candy and roughly 700 toy frogs. We will have a game / candy / prize booth set up at the Bartow Parks and Rec Fall Festival on Halloween as well.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The first couple years were slow but we made it. We struggled with marketing and gaining business, but when the going got slow I knocked doors to keep work on the schedule. (see previous statement about covid as well.)
Within the first 30 days of being in business I had an employee fall off a ladder and break a leg, but luckily I was smart enough to be insured to the teeth from day one. That incident actually put me off having employees for a while, I felt like I knew I could do the job without getting hurt but didn’t want to put anyone else in that position. I’ve grown past that and we have great full time and seasonal help now, and I spend the majority of my time doing behind the scenes and sales work.
Our first truck was retired with 280k miles on it, and it was constantly in a state of being repaired. We bought our 2 vans a few years old, and even after test driving and having them checked out by a mechanic they both needed transmissions in the first month of owning them, by the time we paid for those repairs and wrapped the vans, they had basically doubled in price, oops!
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Rich Lighting Co?
We provide full service seasonal holiday lights, we can light anything from the curb to the top of the roof, and all the trees in between. I design and make sure our displays are on point, no sloppy wiring, or bunched up lights, or nets (yuck!) in bushes. We make neighbors jealous!
We also provide snow showers for events and gatherings.
We are also the only Invisilights (premium app-controlled permanent lighting) dealer in the area. They can be used as accent and security lighting year round, as well as limitless colors, patterns and motion effects for holidays or special days throughout the year. These lights disappear during the day but shine bright at night, and carry a lifetime warranty.
With Rich Cleaning Co we provide top-notch pressure washing and window cleaning services to homeowners and businesses throughout the year.
We adopted our current logos about 2 years ago, and we are very proud of our “frog of many hats.” We get compliments on our froggy all the time!
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Spending time with my wife and cats. Spending time with my niece and nephews. Recording videos of possum drinking out of a water bowl on our back porch ring camera. A quiet beach and a big fish on the line! We vacation a few times a year to Jekyll or Tybee, and I bass fish locally. As a 42 year old lifelong “sufferer” of ADHD, quiet time at the park or on the boat really helps keep me level.
Happy in business? Nothing is better than lighting up a families home for Christmas for the first time, and seeing their reactions when they come out and we turn them on! Kids scream, (some) moms cry! We love what we do and the joy it brings people.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.richlightingco.com
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/richlightingGA
