January 2024 Contractor of the Month is: Callidus Electric + Air

Can you tell us about your business?

We are a full-service electrical contractor and an HVAC contractor. We specialize in anything electric or fiber optic as well as all HVAC equipment and systems.

How did you get into the landscape lighting business?

I first started by looking at landscaping projects at night and seeing what I liked about installations and what I did not like, I knew lighting was the icing on the cake I was missing. I sold my first project with the honor of being allowed to design it. It was a hit for the client. It gave me confidence that I could do larger and more elaborate projects.

What percentage of your business is landscape lighting/what other services do you provide (ie: landscaping, irrigation, electrical…)?

We are a full service Electrical and HVAC contractor, and the Landscape lighting portion is about 5% of our daily business. We also design and program smart houses (Lutron, Crestron etc.), Residential and Commercial electrical and HVAC maintenance, network cabling (fiber optic, LAN, coax etc.), Residential electrical and HVAC restorations, new construction, design builds electrical and HVAC for the UNITED STATES MILITARY, as well as the Bureau of Land Management. We also operate a 24/7/365 emergency service for both branches. We are also a fully licensed solar electrical contractor.

How long have you been installing landscape lighting?

20 years alongside the various other services we provide daily for our customers.

What AMP products do you prefer to use? Which fixtures are your favorite?

The brass HydraPro MR16 well lights are the best in the industry. Strong construction and ease of installation and use makes this fixture a go-to selection for many of my projects.

What tips or tricks have you learned that have benefited your work from a design/installation perspective?

Before you begin to listen to the customer, ask them what he or she wants, take notes, draw a map of what you are doing, stay with what you know will work. Try new stuff out at your own house before you attempt to install at a customer’s house. Look at the final product, if it isn’t good enough for you then it should not be good enough for the customer. You are only as good as your last job.

Tell me about your sales process. How do you find your customers? What is your sales process? Do you use sales tools such as a free demo?

Many of our customers come from word of mouth or google. Our reviews are so stellar that it’s really hard for the customer to not believe in us. We follow up with all of our customers after our installation and ask them for images. In the images we pick them apart to see what WE do or do not like about the set up. If don’t like it we go back and fix it. Word of mouth travels fast when you continually do quality work that provides the client value.

Where do you find inspiration for your lighting designs?

We are very passionate about our craft and our client’s happiness. If any client has a vision and is enthused about their project, then it makes it extremely easy for our inspiration on their project by making them happy. Once again Value! Our goal is to make our clients so happy they cry. Happens more often than you would think.

What do you feel is the most personally rewarding part of installing a lighting system for a client?

Their absolute pleasure in how we did the project, the final result, and of course how clean we left the project, so they don’t have to go behind us to clean up our trash. Turnkey projects!!!

Tell us a little bit about you personally: What do you like to do outside of work? What are your hobbies?

I was raised extremely poor, I worked my tail off every day and still do every day to better my mind, my craft, and to stay ahead of my customers first and foremost. Life was not and is not easy for anyone. We all have our paths that we must walk. I luckily fell into mine. My craft is my no. 1 hobby. I don’t think that will ever change. I love the satisfaction of creating my art. When I’m not doing the above, I travel and learn new techniques, I study architecture, all mediums of art including canvas, sculptures, music, culinary, etc.