Designing Homes: Safety, Security, and Style

In this episode of "Love Your Sales," host Leighann Lovely interviews Angela Lingle, the owner of Design Go Lighting. Angela shares her journey of starting her outdoor lighting business and discusses the passion and expertise she brings to transforming outdoor spaces into beautifully illuminated environments. They explore the importance of strategic partnerships with other small businesses, the benefits of outdoor lighting for both security and aesthetics, and practical advice for entrepreneurs looking to follow a similar path. Angela also highlights her approach to personalized lighting designs and offers insights into how she collaborates with clients to enhance their property's appeal. The episode concludes with a call to action for listeners to reach out to Angela for their outdoor lighting needs and information on how to get in touch.

Contract Angela –

Website – www.designgolighting.com

LinkedIN - https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelalingle/

Email – angela@designgolighting.com

 

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Leighann Lovely: Welcome to another episode of Love Your Sales. I am really excited today because I am joined by Angela Lingle, the lighting lady. She is the owner of Design Go Lighting with 15 years of outdoor lighting experience. You have lit everything from a flagpole to a tree. An entire village, bringing everything to what illumination I suppose would be the right word, but design go lighting is, out an outdoor lighting [00:02:00] company that offers truly personalized experiences that cater to, all levels of involvement.

And I'm really excited to talk to you about this today, Angela. So welcome to the show.

Angela Lingle : Thank you so much, Leanne. I really appreciate the opportunity to share information today.

Leighann Lovely: Yeah. So, well, why don't we start first, you know, when I hear outdoor lighting, I think, oh, let's throw a couple of, you know, lights on my house and, you know, that I can see when I drive, you know, home.

 but you, bring outdoor lighting to a whole new adventure and experience. Um, and I'm really excited for people to kind of, you know, check out your website and, and some of your posts on LinkedIn, but explain the difference between just throwing a couple of outdoor lights and what you do.

Angela Lingle : You

Leighann Lovely: know, that is

Angela Lingle : such an excellent question.

Angela Lingle: What I do as a lighting designer is try to put together the most beautiful [00:03:00] with the fewest number of fixtures. I think we've all driven past that property where it's just lit up and it's, it's too much. We've also driven past that property where it is almost depressing at night because there's so much beauty in the architecture but it, has just the fixtures on the outside of the house and One is warm and one is cool, and, and it just doesn't present well.

Mm-hmm . So when you have an opportunity to work with me or an outdoor lighting designer, uh, what we do is we look at. The architecture of the home or the business, the beauty in the nature around us, meaning trees and things like that, the outdoor living space that they have, what do they see when they look out of their windows, you know, and how can we bring that, um, enjoyment to that space into the evening hours.

[00:04:00] And then finally, what. Security and safety concerns are there. Are there stairs? Are there dark spots in a wonderful neighborhood, but there's been a little bit of crime? You know, what can we do to make that home so much fun to come home to each night? But then also, what is the purpose behind each fixture and how do we bring that all together?

 So it looks absolutely beautiful as you go by, as you come home. But again, with the fewest number of fixtures, each one Uh, having a purpose and whether it be an up or a down light or a path light, what do we need in each situation to make it unique? So it doesn't look like somebody just rubber stamped some up lights on the house.

You know, how can we make it? Much more, welcoming and more thought out, [00:05:00] uh, I guess that's a long answer, but no, but that you, it's clear that you have passion for what you do because just in the way that you explain all of that, which, you know, for me, the mundane person, when it comes to lighting, you know, first of all, when you drive up to my house, it's, it's a nightmare.

Leighann Lovely: It's dark. It's, um, the first thing I do is I push my door. My, button for my garage door because you can't see my house. It's dark, it's dreary. It's, and that's, that's actually my entire neighborhood right now. You know, we don't have a lot of lights and you don't, I guess you don't think about the safety.

You don't think about it for all of the, but the beauty of it, the, to be able to see a house lit up, to be able to have a clear path for guests who are just walking up and right now during this time of the year, wow, wouldn't it be so much nicer to actually have proper lighting where I can [00:06:00] see where I'm walking when I'm taking the dog out.

You know, outside to do his business. You know, and you, we do so many other things in our house to create environment, but we forget that there's other pieces that we can do to create that ambience that we want so that when we're having a party, we can flip on some really cool lights that. Cater to that.

Angela Lingle : Yeah, I just had an appointment last night in Heartland and one of the things that I offer is an outdoor lighting demo, so I can show you exactly what it would look like at night, uh, before you make any decisions or as you make the decisions. But it is exactly as you described,

Marker

Angela Lingle : it is on a country road.

completely dark. And so unless they remember to turn their lights on, for their kids when they come home and things like that, uh, [00:07:00] it is a little bit scary. And she described they have a detached garage because it's an old farmhouse. And her daughter came home and called her and said, Can you turn on the lights?

Because she didn't want to walk from the detached garage to the house in the complete darkness. So we met last night. You know, the ground is getting ready to freeze, so we're limited on what we can do yet this year. But we put together a simple plan. It's five uplights on the house and then one downlight on their stairs because.

it safety. They have grandmother who will be c and it's always been a st have always been a strugg how the conversation star but then to just add

Beautiful. They can add to trees and things like that in the [00:08:00] spring. But right now for their immediate need every night at dusk, their house is going to be illuminated with the soft down like going on those stairs and it's going to stay on until dawn and it's going to go on every day automatically without any thought.

It's going to factor in daylight savings time. It's just beautiful. See,

Leighann Lovely: this, it's, these are the brilliant things that, you know, these busy, busy people, I was going to say business people, but it's not, that's not just related to just busy people. Like, I can't remember to flip on the lights before I leave when it's when it's light out, because I'm not thinking about, Oh, I'm, I'm leaving when it's light out, but we're coming home when it's dark.

Yeah.

Angela Lingle : You know, and just along those lines, I really pride myself in being a lighting Resource as well as a lighting designer. [00:09:00] So in that situation, and I just shared this with my favorite networking group. I recommend GE makes an amazing dusk until dawn bulb that you can buy on Amazon, that you just put it in the fixtures on the outside of your house.

And it will go on every night at dusk. It'll go off at dawn. Make sure you get the warm white because that's. The pleasing color. But it's a wonderful place to start. I know as an outdoor lighting designer, uh, sometimes, and then any up uplighting that we add to your, to your home is gonna match that same color usually.

Right. Or I can work really hard to make that work, but a lot of times we're in a tricky situation where we can't get wire. right by the front door. And so that's how I discovered these bulbs. But so we can bring that those fixtures on the outside of the home into the outdoor lighting plan and have everything work together.

You [00:10:00] know, it's just a wonderful place to start. You should negotiate a contract with GE for selling their bulbs here. Seriously, I've shared their link so many times and people have taken so many pictures of my bulb. I should, I should have. You can't take the sales

Leighann Lovely: out of the sales lady, right? Yeah. The sales out of the, I'm sorry, the lighting lady.

So let's talk about your entrepreneurial journey a little bit. You know, it's, it's never a straight line, but I'd love to learn a little bit about what drove you, you know, your, you had the launch of your business not too long ago, which is amazing. Congratulations. That's Awesome. Um, you know, let's what, what was the pivotal moment when you said, I'm going to, I'm going to do this on my own.

I'm going to open up my own business.

Angela Lingle : Well, you know, it's, it has been, you know, a journey [00:11:00] and it started well over 15 years ago, uh, with a beautiful outdoor installation at my home. And it was like. I became obsessed and I was like, well, what if we added like something in the trees and, and I could not stop and I just dove in And, it's so much fun to have my own business.

That is actually also my passion. Do you know what I mean? Like, I will do demos. all day long or all night long, I should say, where some outdoor lighting, um, designers will stay away from it because it is labor intensive. It does take up your time. I like absolutely enjoy it. I love showing people the options and having my vision come to life, in front of their eyes as they're.

Putting together their, their [00:12:00] lighting plan. Right. But fast forward to, you know, how did I find myself in this situation today? You know, you have highs and lows and everything. And last year about this time, actually it was this, a year ago today, uh, my husband had some health concerns and it ended up being.

serious. The good news is that's all behind us and he's 100%. Uh, with that though, I had to take a pause and I took what turned out to be six months off just to make sure that I was there for my family and being, you know, just, um, You know, just focusing on what's important, and then it came time to, okay, now that we're be that's behind us, you know, what does the future look like?

Do I go back? Do I start something new? And I realized when looking at [00:13:00] the industry at a whole, as a whole, that, my passion was designing. I really wanted to build something that was my own and that could grow. It sounds strange, but on my terms, so I could lean into like demos and things like that.

You know, I could speak. I spend my time, um, where I was, I always try to make a win win situation, you know, where we're just whether I'm meeting with the client for the first time or the fifth time, it's fun. And we're, you know, going down that lighting road together. So I have been able to do that. And then.

As I've put that together, I've also thought about all the home shows that I've been at, and all the builders and the landscapers that I've met with over the years, and I thought there [00:14:00] is really another opportunity there, which I believe, um, I don't see any outdoor lighting designers or companies really trying to be a resource in this area.

And that is kind of where the name came from design go lighting. But if you are a do it yourself or, or if you have a new home with just the foundation, meaning, you know, the beginning of the landscaping in place, there is not a need, to spend. a great deal of money on labor. I can help you put together a phenomenal design, get the fixtures in place that fit your installation.

Meaning, is it just the most cost effective solid brass fixtures that go on and off? Or is it perhaps the next step up where you've got some zoning and [00:15:00] dimming so you can control the different areas? Or is it full color changing from an app on your phone? You know, what are the fixtures that you need for your installation?

How does that work? That's, that's where I can be a wonderful resource. Right. And so,

Leighann Lovely: Yeah, I mean, so what is, you know, you've, been in this industry, you understand this industry. Um, from a sales standpoint, how are you, how are you coming in differently or are you coming in differently than you have in the past?

 

Angela Lingle : Yeah. No, I, I completely understand what you're saying and I think, uh, part of what I'm doing now.

Having, conversations about, uh, the opportunities, the possibilities, budgeting, a more, you know, I think in the past, I've always talked about when putting together a plan, you know, [00:16:00] uh, I always tried to present options, you know, so, you know, as I just mentioned, you know, is it just, The, the standard fixture zoning, zimming, zoning, dimming, or color changing, you know, so I could help the, uh, client make decisions, help it work around their budget.

But for the first time now, also having that conversation about the installation. Okay. What makes the most sense? You know, is there an opportunity here perhaps to cut the cost of outdoor lighting in half? Oh, wow. You know, and, and have the same final result, or on the other hand, working with a landscaper who is in the ground already.

Maybe is designing the hardscape lights because they built this beautiful outdoor kitchen, but they don't, um, illuminate the tree that is 10 feet [00:17:00] away. So, you know, working with them as their partner, helping build their business, offer outdoor lighting as part of their installation, and then doing the work behind the scenes to make sure it works flawlessly together.

Leighann Lovely: Well, and that's And Angela, that makes, that makes so much more sense because if you're already digging in the ground why have somebody then go back and dig in the ground and ruin the landscape to, to lay any wires or any, Anything that you would need for your lighting.

Angela Lingle : Exactly right. And by taking that approach to come working with the landscaper, going in at the same time, it does a couple of things.

It keeps the cost down for the homeowner. Like you said, you're going in once. The other thing it does is, boy, it makes that landscaper look good. Do you know what I mean? Well, it makes [00:18:00] everybody investing all this money. Right. Do you want to enjoy it at night? Do you know what I mean? Absolutely. at night?

Right. And even if they don't, you know, even if they're like, you know what, I appreciate that, but we're not going to do that at this time. You've opened up the door, you've made it an opportunity for them to perhaps consider in the future. I just think it makes you look, uh, the very best you can be. You know what I mean?

 

Leighann Lovely: This is new small business. We as small business owners are figuring out that, well, why aren't we working together? Why aren't we as small business owners working together to all different aspects and what businesses make sense as affiliated partners. To work together. So a landscaping company, an outdoor lighting company, even a, water [00:19:00] feature, a water feature.

I was just, I was just thinking, that's another

Angela Lingle : podcast because

Leighann Lovely: right. That's the whole thing.

Angela Lingle : Yeah.

Leighann Lovely: Because you had, you had a gentleman who does water, all water features at your party that he puts in. You know, different type of water features from very small to extremely large, you know, even natural swimming pools, which was insane, you know, so those, and, and let me tell you, if I'm going to put in a natural swimming pool or a pond, I I'm going to want to see it, you know?

So, I mean, that's, it's a brilliant, And a lot of businesses that exist today, today that have been going for a long period of time, in my opinion, this is not, this is not a fact of any, but they have trouble shifting. to create those new partnerships because [00:20:00] they're just been chugging along doing really well the way that they're doing it.

And I hate this old, you know, break it if it ain't, or don't fix it if it ain't broken, but business is shifting and the way that people do business. You know, is shifting and you, it sounds like you're, you're doing it right, right away.

Angela Lingle : You know, I appreciate that. And I think you're exactly right. It's rather than working as all these different or individual businesses, you know, the ones that really make sense to work together.

Form that strategic partnership, do those home shows together, you know, put the lighting next to the water feature, uh, with some beautiful information about lawn service. You know, I mean, it just makes sense. And then on the other side, you know, I believe,

Marker

Angela Lingle : I really believe, and maybe that's why it all works, is as [00:21:00] I meet with a homeowner and I say, Spend, you know, like an hour, an hour and a half with them walking around, taking notes, drawing their property.

 I can't help but notice, opportunities for them to enjoy their property even more. And it's such a win-win to be able to share. You know, I know somebody that could really, you know, be a resource in this area. After our meeting, I'm going to share, I'm going to follow up with an email introduction and, you know, I hope that's helpful kind of thing.

I got to get you out to my

Leighann Lovely: win win. I got to get you out to my property one of these days because you're going to be recommending a landscaper, the lighting, the water feature. You're going to be,

Angela Lingle : right? Cause that's going to be expensive. But, you know, but you mentioned it earlier,

Marker

Angela Lingle : we spend so much money on decorating the inside of our home.

It is amazing how much fun it is to spend some money on the [00:22:00] outside of your home. Because it really, it's fantastic in the summertime when you're out there and the sunset is going down and you're still enjoying all the lighting. But right now it is amazing because it gets dark. Well, we know, my goodness, 4 30 at night, it's almost dark.

So what do I see when I look at out? I don't see darkness. I see the most beautiful trees at a season that all the leaves are gone. So now the character of their branches comes out, you know, it, and I see my hardscape and my, it's just beautiful. So, and, and now I. What I do is I swap out color, uh, red and green bulbs in my, in my path lights and things like that.

And so it just, it's like instant Christmas, with just swapping out some bulbs, but I, I absolutely love it. So I guess the reason I mentioned it is it is year round, whether you're outside coming home to it or inside looking out.

Leighann Lovely: I completely agree. And, and you know, it just popped into my head when you [00:23:00] said, you know, the trees, the way the trees look, there was a night when the, we had a full moon, a complete full moon that was bright, bright, bright, and we had just had fresh fallen snow last year.

And obviously, you know, we all know when there's fresh, fresh snow and the moon is full. Even in the darkest place, you can get that reflection where it seems bright. And I have a picture of a tree in my backyard that is just illuminated by the moon and the snow. Um, and I remember thinking, wow, this is beautiful.

One of the most beautiful Natural looking well it is it was 100 percent natural and we had had a heavy snowfall So that like the snow was just hanging on the trees But to be able to look out and see that all the time to see and I and I have a lot of wooded You know trees Area in my backyard, but to be able to look at that and actually see it like is, it would be amazing.

And, and I can't, I can't see most of my tree. It's too dark. But yeah. [00:24:00] What is

Angela Lingle : nature's most beautiful things is an ice storm.

Leighann Lovely: Yeah. I, I, not when you're standing in it, but when you look at it, when you're inside looking out, it's gorgeous. It's so cool being able to see the snow, but you can't, if you don't have any light and it's.

It's pitch black. You know, you're standing at the glass going, Oh,

Angela Lingle : you know, two things I have to mention real quick along those lines. One is, cause I get this question all the time. Uh, when, you know, if, if there, if there's a blizzard or on snow, do the lights continue to go on? Do you know what I mean? Or does it, is that going to cover the lights and they're not going to work?

 Fortunately for us, even though they're led bulbs. Uh, burning very cost effectively, uh, they do burn warm enough that they're going to melt the snow. Usually, yeah, if it's falling, they're going to melt the snow if it falls. If it falls all day long, it's going to take a little bit of time once those lights go on at [00:25:00] dusk for that to burn through the snow, but then they're going to be working and it is a Beautiful to watch a blizzard, um, from inside,

Leighann Lovely: It's so awesome.

How passionate you are about that. I mean, if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life. You know, it's, . And, and again, you're, you're speaking to somebody, you know, who loves what she does as well. So you and I are completely on the same page when it comes to that, you know, it's the passion just oozes out of you.

Angela Lingle : Yeah. And the other thing I just want to mention before we go any further is you mentioned the natural beauty of like, uh, the moonlight. And what that does to a tree. And it's, it's kind of like in the summer time or when the sun shines, you know, you get all these shadows of, of the branches and things like that.

Well, one of the things that we offer, and I just did an installation like that, is

Marker

Angela Lingle : coming down the driveway. You know, maybe typically they had trees on both sides, so they'd go up [00:26:00] like up late, up late. Yep. And you'd come down, you know, beautiful. But we took a different approach. We did downlight, downlight, downlight.

They are up in the trees, with branches in the way. And so as you come down the driveway, it feels like moonlight taking you down. It is so beautiful. So that's why You know, talking about as when we started the most beautiful effect with the fewest number of fixtures, it's just brilliant. Do you know what I mean?

One fixture up in the trees illuminates a large area. There's no maintenance as far as snow removal or anything like that because everything's up in the trees. Right. It just makes so much sense, but it's kind of sometimes out of the box thinking, you know, but, uh, I guess just circling back to beautiful lighting design takes advantage of like the beautiful trees and things like that.

And how can we [00:27:00] replicate, you know, the, the beauty of, you know, what nature would give us. So it does feel very natural and not, You know, real harsh or anything like that. Right.

Leighann Lovely: So we are coming to time, but I'm going to hit you with a hard question. So it's not that. And then I'll give you, you know, a 30 seconds, um, pitch where you can kind of, you know, pitch your company.

And, if you had. to reflect on this journey thus far. And you had to, you know, give advice to somebody who is considering going out on their own or, you know, a salesperson struggling, um, you know, to try to figure out, you know, how to level up. What advice would you give somebody from everything that you have learned and every, you know, over the course of your career, um, would you.

Still choose the [00:28:00] path you've chosen. What advice would you give to somebody?

Angela Lingle : Wow, that's a very interesting question. I guess I would because I have never been happier and more excited about my future. And as I meet with people, I just, I just have a passion now that has been elevated, because it's my own and because, um, and this is what I would recommend to people is whether I'm in, whether I'm meeting with a customer, whether I'm in a networking situation, whether I'm talking to my Kids, you know, it is, how can I help you today?

Do you know what I mean? Like what is going on? How can I be a resource? And so I think when you're always, [00:29:00] um, thinking about the future and thinking about the person that's across from you, you know, and how can I lift their day better or be a resour up coming back to you. An not even what's on your m up happening just about e So I guess I would say lo um, are closest to you, or that you think that you could be a real resource for and go ahead and go out there and do it and be the best you can be.

And I think you'd be surprised on how many people are, Going to take notice and, uh, kind of follow your journey as you go along. Uh, the other thing I would mention is, we talked about it earlier, strategic partners, you know, look for those people that have the same customer base, [00:30:00] form a relationship with those people.

So it's genuine and you believe in them and they believe in you. So when you get in front of your customers, you can talk about their companies like it was your own. Form those partnerships, see what you can do together, uh, marketing wise, you know, whether it be home shows, prints, advertisements, you know, whatever it is, uh, websites going back and forth together.

 You know, make the most of those relationships because then it just goes back to that win, win, win. All of a sudden now it's not just a win, win. It's a win, win, win your customer wins, you win. And you know, your strategic partner wins. So

Leighann Lovely: that's you, you have a true servant heart and that makes for a, an amazing human being and somebody who's going to truly succeed when it comes to, you know, making their clients happy and cultivating those relationships.

So that's amazing. Now you have a [00:31:00] 32nd pitch. If you would like to, you know, offer up how to reach out to you, if you are looking for lighting, you know, Take it away.

Angela Lingle : Well, thank you so much again. I appreciate this opportunity. I would welcome the opportunity to be an outdoor lighting resource for you, your home, your business.

 We talked a lot about, illuminating your home and making it fun to come home each night. Eliminating dark spots, uh, dangerous steps, um, at the same time as just increasing the beauty of your home. So love to be a resource. A lot of times that starts with a phone call talking about how I can help and then scheduling the best meeting time.

You know, is it an hour before dusk so we can talk about your needs and then go ahead and put up some fixtures and see what it looks like. I can do that all winter long. So I welcome the opportunity. The other thing I just wanted to mention is [00:32:00] I do help businesses. You know, I think a lot of times people drive past, uh, an established business and you do it a hundred times and all of a sudden it just, I call it, you know, it's almost like white noise, but it's light noise.

Mm-hmm . But anyway, so there's an opportunity there to add, uh, beautiful uplighting, color changing lighting, you know, just something that taps people on the shoulder that says, you know what, we are here, we serve the public. You know, whatever their message is, I can help with that. So, I would just love to be a resource.

Homes, businesses, landscapers, builders, you know, just about anybody who's looking to add a little sparkle. I'd love to be a resource. And how can somebody reach out to you? Oh, uh, I have a one, a wonderful website design, go lighting. com. I'm, on LinkedIn, uh, my email. is Angela at design, go lighting.

[00:33:00] com and feel free to call me and text me on my cell phone 262 893 6558.

Leighann Lovely: And all of that contact information will be in the show notes. So if you are looking to reach out to Angela, please refer to the show notes and you will be able to find that information. Angela, thank you so much. This has been an awesome conversation.

I really appreciate your time today.

Angela Lingle : Right back at you, Leanne. Thank you.