(813) 978-3900
Call UsRoyal Oak Landscaping NJ strives to bring your dreams to reality with landscape design and installation. From curb appeal to an impressive backyard oasis, we use planting, hardscape, and lighting to bring your yard to the next level.
Started almost 20 years ago to cut grass as a second income on the side, mowing grass, always enjoyed building ponds as a kid and planting, eventually started doing more planting and hardscape design and integrating landscape lighting to the projects.
Can you tell us about your business?
Started almost 20 years ago to cut grass as a second income on the side, mowing grass, always enjoyed building ponds as a kid and planting, eventually started doing more planting and hardscape design and integrating landscape lighting to the projects.
How did you get into the landscape lighting business?
It started as household chore as a kid helping out in the garden with my family. I gained a love and passion for it young. As I got older, for fun, I became interested in planting and ponds as a hobby that turned into a business.
What percentage of your business is landscape lighting/what other services do you provide (ie: landscaping, irrigation, electrical…)?
It varies a lot, we do maintenance as well as hardscape, and the hardscape and planting design is about 60-70% of our business, and that portion includes the lighting which averages about 10-15% of the projects. Additionally, we end up adding fixtures with lighting maintenance to systems every year.
How long have you been installing landscape lighting?
About 18 years
What AMP products do you prefer to use? Which fixtures are your favorite?
The pinnacle pro MR16 Spot Light, followed by the Mini PinnaclePro MR11 version are the 2 most common fixtures I use from AMP. The SummitPro and ConicaPro path are 3rd favorite and now the AMP Nano Spot and Flood, I plan to work into designs fairly often.
What tips or tricks have you learned that have benefited your work from a design/installation perspective?
Being able to properly use a voltmeter is probably one of the biggest things I understand that has helped do quality installs, next to that, being very good at geometry and math has helped understand degree spread as well as lumen output to correctly light areas without over doing it or falling short.
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…
99% of our work is word of mouth, friends of clients who come over for a party and see our work and want the same in their yards. I have brought a handful of lights with me for a demo of the product for quality and looks and I am working on putting together a display rental for an evening to get people hooked. I find once they see their house lit up, it becomes like a drug, and they want more lights and more effects through the property.
Where do you find inspiration for your lighting designs?
Sometimes you just have to put feet on the ground and feel what’s right. I just see a yard and think hey that would look nice, or let’s try this or that and really experiment with the areas I am planning on lighting. Play off designs and effects I’ve seen created by other designers as well. Gaining inspiration from the industry helps hone my skills even further.
What do you feel is the most personally rewarding part of installing a lighting system for a client?
It has to be the finished product, seeing the look on the clients face when we turn it on the first night and get the aim and angles tweaked just right and the almost immediate “lets add more!"
Tell us a little bit about you personally: What do you like to do outside of work? What are your hobbies?
All the same that I do for work.... just for free, ha-ha. I like always finding new products or designs and working on my houses, build new projects for fun, building water features or fountains. Helping friends do fun small projects. If time allows, take the kids/dogs places together, go to beach, or up to the mountain home, canoe, kayak, fish, hike.
AMP® Lighting appreciates the Professionals that make us who we are and why we strive, daily, to fulfill our vision statement. Our outstanding AMP® Pros deserve to be recognized for their exceptional landscape lighting work and to highlight some of our AMP® MVPs (most valuable professionals)!
Interested in being featured as an AMP® Contractor of the Month?
Contact Zach Evensen at: zache@amplighting.com
AMP® Pros have the skills and experience to design and install professional landscape lighting. They are also committed to the use of high quality products and best practices in the design, installation, and maintenance of their work. These distinctions qualify them to become AMP® Pros.
The goal of AMP® Lighting is to elevate the profession of landscape lighting by providing AMP® Pros with the high-performance products and the professional support they need to succeed.
There is no cost to become an authorized AMP® Pro.