Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur | Start and Grow Your Own Business 1261: From Firefighter to Founder: How a Side Hustle Became a Lighting Empire w/ Chris Rios
From firefighter and paramedic to the CEO of a multi-location lighting company, Chris Rios shares the gritty details of how he turned a simple side hustle into a thriving, multi-service business. His journey with Ultra Shine Holiday Lights is a masterclass in grit, strategic growth, and the power of continuous learning. This episode is packed with value for any entrepreneur feeling stuck, as Chris breaks down how he navigated pricing a premium service in a small town, leveraged technology to manage a massive seasonal sales influx, and expanded his services to create year-round revenue. Get ready to learn from someone who embodies excellence and a relentless drive to make things shine.
💡 What You'll Take Away For YOUR Business
- How to transition from a passion-fueled side hustle into a full-time, scalable business.
- The critical mindset shift required to price your services as a premium, luxury offering—and stop discounting yourself.
- A breakdown of a multi-channel local marketing strategy using yard signs, door hangers, Facebook Ads, and direct mail to dominate a market.
- How to use systems like GoHighLevel to manage a huge influx of leads, track proposals, and automate follow-ups during your busiest season.
- The strategic advantage of expanding your service lines (like from holiday lights to permanent lighting and window cleaning) to create year-round cash flow and serve the same customer base.
- Why continuous learning through conferences, forums, and courses is the single most important habit for avoiding plateaus and ensuring long-term success.
📝 About Chris Rios
Chris Rios is the founder and CEO of Ultra Shine Holiday Lights, a full-scale professional lighting company serving Kansas and the Dallas-Fort Worth area. After 15 years as a dedicated firefighter and paramedic, Chris transformed his side hustle into a booming business built on passion and a sharp eye for design. He brings a hands-on approach and a commitment to excellence to every project, whether it's a home glowing for the holidays or an entire downtown square showing its town pride. Chris’s story is a powerful example of how a service-oriented mindset can build an incredible and scalable business.
🎯 Chris’s BEST Piece of Advice for Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs
"Never stop learning. The moment you quit learning is the moment that you kind of hit a plateau or stall or even fail."
📢 Memorable Quotes
- “It was about three or four years into it before I really realized this is a luxury product and service that we provide and it needs to be taken care of that way.” – Chris Rios
- "I didn't want to lose a customer. I was discounting here, discount there. Then I really started weighing the risk of being on a roof that's two or three stories up in the air." – Chris Rios
- “If the moment you quit learning is the moment that you kind of hit a plateau or stall or even fail. So never stop learning. Always be an open book.” – Chris Rios
🔗 Links & Resources