Today we’d like to introduce you to Robert Childers.
Robert, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Was working for a lighting company and noticed that installation service was not offered for customers who purchased new fixtures. This was something that the owners were not interested in doing, so I did some research to see if this was offered by anyone in the city. I found no one who offered complete chandelier and lighting service, including installation, cleaning and repair. So in 2012 I launched TLC Lighting Pros to fill this niche. I gave myself 6 months to get off the ground, and promised myself that if I could not make ends meet after that time, I would go back and get a real job again. It was a big leap of faith. I borrowed no money, and our family went into extreme economy mode for the first few months. I called on local lighting stores and got to know them and their salespeople, and began getting referrals and phone calls. At the end of the first six months, I was making ends meet and was able to put together my own web site through a really great local web site builder, who also was very successful getting me to the top of the search results in Google. Now five years later, I have all the business I can handle.
With my own website, tlclightingpros.com, along with listings on Angies List and Home Advisor, I am well represented online, but still get 30 to 40 percent of business through referral. It seems the need I thought existed in the field was indeed real.
I call myself a specialty electrician, but what we do is not really an electrician service.
We do not wire houses or put in electrical panels. Our focus is lighting. We offer design services, as well as on-site installation, repair, and cleaning of chandeliers and light fixtures. We install chandelier lifts so that a chandelier can be lowered by the homeowner for cleaning and changing of light bulbs without the need for a ladder. We can take a room that has no lighting or poor lighting and make it a bright, livable room with both fixtures and recess lights. We also design and install landscape lighting.
Although the business has expanded, our core is, and will probably always be focused on chandeliers. Where some shy away from large crystal chandeliers, we specialize in their assembly, installation and care. It still amazes me to see a box full of parts transform into a beautiful chandelier, and I don’t think that joy will ever grow old.
Has it been a smooth road?
Starting any business is never smooth. I promised myself when I started that I would not borrow any money, and if it did not work out I would give it up. But I was passionate enough about doing this work, and about the opportunity to fill a need in this market to go out on my own and give it a try. As it turns out, there really was a need for this service in our city, and I am thankful that I made this choice. The biggest struggle was in getting my name out there and giving people a way to find me. For the first year, I relied on referrals from lighting companies for most of my business. I always had in mind to create my own web site, and after the first year, naively thought I could buy some software off the shelf and do it myself. I quickly learned that while I am an expert in lighting, I am the opposite when it comes to web design. I prefer to do business locally whenever possible, so instead of going with one of the big website builders, I was searched and was fortunate enough to find a great couple in Cumming that built my website for me. They did an excellent job with both the site and the SEO and now when you google “chandelier installation in Atlanta” I am the top of the list. This really got my name out there.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I call myself an electrical contractor, but I do not really fall into the category of an electrician. TLC Lighting Pros is focused on lighting, and in particular, chandeliers. If you have ever broken a chandelier, you will know how difficult it is to find someone to come and fix it. There are several places in town where you can take your fixture to be repaired, but chandeliers, particularly crystal chandeliers, are not easily transported, so this is not an option on many occasions. I can come to you and repair your fixture on site, or remove only the broken part to take back to my shop and repair, then return and re-install it. Most electricians do not offer this type service, either because they do not want to, or have no knowledge of how to work on a chandelier. For example, if a glass arm gets broken on an all glass chandelier, it is possible to repair that arm. Only a handful of people in the city know how to make that repair, and even fewer will come to your home to take on that job.
There are also a lot of companies who offer chandelier cleaning, but very few who will properly clean a fixture. If you google chandelier cleaning you will see a multitude of window cleaning companies who also offer chandelier cleaning. While some are indeed good at cleaning fixtures, I cannot tell you how many times I have been called to come behind a cleaning company because in the process of cleaning, they have broken the fixture. TLC Lighting Pros does not clean windows or houses. We only clean lighting fixtures, and we are very good at it.
So we are a little bit electrician, a little bit interior designer, and a whole lot lighting experts. Whatever your lighting need, chances are we can help. I am a licensed residential contractor, and am good at solving lighting problems, whether it is bracing a ceiling to hold a very heavy fixture, installing a lift so you can lower your chandelier with the turn of a key or getting light where there is no light in your home. I believe this is a unique skill set that I am able to bring to your home and offer solutions to your lighting problems.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Atlanta is an excellent market for this type business. Our services are tailored to higher end homes where income allows the luxury of high end lighting fixtures. There is also a great mix of newer and older homes, which come with different needs. The lighting allowance for most new home builders does not cover a house full of high end fixtures, so many home buyers will use their allowance and then have to go out on their own and purchase the fine fixtures they like after moving in. An electrician tends to stay away from high end fixtures because they can be very time consuming to assemble and install.
These are the fixtures we love to take on and excel at installing. In older homes, there often is not enough light in many of the rooms. We can come in and offer suggestions for better lighting and then turn those ideas into reality. Kitchens are a prime example. In houses built in the 80’s and 90’s the trend was to put one big light in the middle of the kitchen. Now people want lights in and under their cabinets as well as great overhead lighting, so we can remove that one big light and put in recess lights as well as cabinet lighting to make the kitchen a modern, well-lit space.
Atlanta is a great market for any area of home improvement, and if you are good at what you do, and treat people right, you will do well here. You just have to get used to the traffic. If the city could do one thing to improve, that would be it. Make it so that us contractors can get to our jobs quickly and not spend hours sitting in our trucks that could be used to work.
Pricing:
- Fixture installation prices are based on the fixture and the ceiling height of the room. A 2 story chandelier installation starts at $249.00
- Recess can installation is $160.00 per can with all materials provided including light bulbs
- Landscape lighting prices run from $140.00 to $190.00 per fixture and includes all materials.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tlclightingpros.com
- Phone: 678-963-6998
- Email: tlclightingpros@gmail.com
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
