Local services · idea 24 of 52
Install holiday lights for homeowners
Six weeks of work, priced per foot of roofline, for people who'd rather pay than get on a ladder in November. Take-down is a second invoice.
- Who pays you
- Homeowners and some businesses pay you per installation, typically quoted by the length of roofline and trees, with a separate fee for removal in January. Many installers sell or lease the lights themselves as part of the package.
- Outcomes
- 0 receipts. Nobody's reported back on this one yet. Receipts open when accounts launch.
How it works
From late October to mid-December, homeowners in suburban neighbourhoods pay to have their house lit for the season. You measure the roofline, quote per linear foot, install clips and commercial-grade string lights on a set day, and come back in January to take them down. Selling the lights yourself, rather than hanging the tangled ones from the garage, makes the job faster and the result better, and gives you a client who returns every year because you store their lights.
What it actually takes
- Ladders, roof safety gear, clips, extension cords, timers and an initial stock of commercial lights. Several hundred to get started safely.
- Comfort on a roof edge in cold weather, and the judgement to refuse a roof that isn't safe.
- Marketing in September, before the season, in the neighbourhoods with the biggest houses.
- Liability insurance. You are on other people's roofs attaching things to their houses.
Where it goes wrong
- Falls. This is the highest-injury idea on the site. If you aren't already comfortable working at height, choose something else.
- Cheap lights. Consumer strings fail mid-season and every failure is a free callback in the dark.
- Everyone wants installation in the same two weeks. Book by date, take deposits, and cap what you can physically do.
- Forgetting take-down. It's half the work and needs to be in the original quote.
Published 28 Aug 2026