How Adam Anderson Expanded His Family Business and Boosted Year-Round Revenue with Christmas Decor Franchise Ownership

Christmas Decor, the leading holiday decorating brand in the U.S. and Canada, was originally created to offer landscapers and outdoor business owners — including pest control companies, irrigation companies, roofing companies, pool companies, landscape companies and tree care companies — a reliable way to offset fixed overhead costs, maintain key employees year-round and generate new income streams during the off-season. Adam Anderson, a multi-unit Christmas Decor franchisee in Roanoke, Virginia, originally joined the brand as part of his family’s business, Weed Control Inc., a commercial herbicide application company that works with utilities and electricity corporations, offering vegative management services with herbicides to keep brush and trees managed.

“My father and three of his college friends started the company back in 1984, growing it across the mid-Atlantic region to five different states,” said Anderson. “I have always been involved in the business and have always had a green thumb. After graduating from college, I came to work at the company full-time as the vice president of strategy and operations. In 2020, I took over as president of Weed Control. Inc. when my father retired.”

Anderson’s family business first expanded its portfolio with the Christmas Decor franchise in 2016. “I had only been on the team full-time for two months, but the next thing I knew I was on a plane to attend the annual Christmas Decor conference and learn about hanging Christmas lights professionally,” he said.

Christmas Decor president Brandon Stephens says the Andersons were a little different than the conventional franchisee profile for the brand. “Most of our franchisees are green industry entrepreneurs, but their core business was weed control for power stations,” he said. “But right away, it was clear they had intentions to make the Christmas Decor brand a big part of their company.”

According to Anderson, the Christmas Decor business model appealed to him for several reasons right off the bat. “Our primary goal was to continue operating during the winter months,” he said. “We weren’t even looking to make money or profit, we just wanted to fill a gap and break even so we didn’t have to lay employees off or cut overhead. Christmas Decor is a perfect filler for a seasonal business, and they also provide you with all the tools you need to build that business. The Christmas Decor team offers training and support on all aspects of the business, including marketing, hiring, sales and more.”

But Anderson says it was connecting with other Christmas Decor franchisees that really sold them on the concept. “There is some hesitancy when you join a franchise and follow someone else’s path and guidance,” he said. “But our family fell in love with the culture of the brand, and a big part of that was the network of franchisees and the Christmas Decor corporate team. That network is really where success comes from — you are able to learn from the success of other franchisees, reach out to them with questions, visit their locations and see how they operate. That connection is really the primary benefit that has led to our success.”

Now, going on their seventh season with the brand, Anderson says they have expanded to three locations throughout Virginia and North Carolina and are well on their way to surpassing $1 million in revenue.

“They’ve been able to scale up fast, and that is because they’ve really embraced all of the revenue offerings under the The Decor Group — which includes several different brands, like Nite Time Decor, PermaLites and Decor Smart,” said Stephens. “They came to training in earnest and engaged at a high level, and in just five short years, they are bringing in over $800,000 in revenue. They’ve done very well, and it all starts with their intent to make a successful business.”

Looking ahead, Anderson says he certainly has plans to grow, with a specific goal of transitioning to more commercial business as a way to maintain year-round revenue. “We are at about 60% residential, with 40% commercial, and we want to flip that based on where the industry is headed,”he said. “We’ve invested in a full-time lighting manager whose only job is to manage lighting business year-round. We have new projects coming in daily.”

Stephen says Christmas Decor has continued to evolve its business model as a way to provide franchisees like Anderson with more opportunities for commercial growth. “We were primarily a residential business model in the beginning, but we’ve seen specialty services become more in-demand, and we’ve responded to that by expanding our offering in terms of commercial sales,” he said. “Commercial lighting sales can happen 12 months out of the year, so we are trying to create a model that offers year-round revenue, not just a seasonal add-on.”

Now, with this continued expansion of the business model, Christmas Decor has seen double-digit revenue increases year-over-year for the last 11 years. Looking ahead, Stephens says the Christmas Decor team is looking for qualified and passionate franchisees like Anderson to help expand the brand to new parts of the country.

“The Decor Group brands are created to help franchisees generate year-round revenue and supplement other seasonal businesses,” said Stephens. “Now, after experiencing some of our strongest growth yet over the past two years, we are excited to continue partnering with franchisees and giving them the opportunity to service their communities all year-round.”

Learn more at https://www.christmasdecor.net/.