Lighting Franchise Adds Luster To Lagina Glass' Shining Career

Home-Improvement Specialist Switches From Big-Box Retail to Independent Business Owner

SAN DIEGO (Monday, February 19, 2007) - LaGina Glass had spent 17 years climbing the career ladder — both literally and figuratively — at Home Depots throughout San Diego County. Then a light went on. A real one.

She resigned her position as a human resources manager Feb. 10, 2006, and got down to business researching franchise opportunities. Four months later, she opened Outdoor Lighting Perspectives at Emerald Plaza on West Broadway, the first San Diego location for the North Carolina-based company.

Accustomed to setting five-year plans for herself, Glass had expected to depart the company at the 20-year mark, but decided the time was right to take the plunge a little earlier.

"I had been thinking about doing it for a while," said Glass, 37. "I knew that I wanted to start my own business. Why not now? There is so much out there, and so much to learn, and I wanted to challenge myself as well. You get comfortable when you stay someplace so long."

Glass started doing research on the Internet, and hooked up with a franchise broker, who helped her find a good fit.

"He asked tons and tons of questions," she recalled. "We had phone conversations every week. We narrowed it down to five franchises."

Glass ended up going with Outdoor Lighting after speaking with several of its franchise owners across the country.

"The owners were all very enthusiastic about what they were doing," she said.

Glass also traveled to North Carolina to meet the principals, and stopped by one of Outdoor Lighting's factories in Tennessee to observe the manufacturing process, spending some time with installers in Nashville.

"I was surprised that I liked it so much," she recalled. "I had done big-box retail, and it was nice to be outside."

Having worked her way up to management at Home Depot, "the business side was natural for me," she observed. But Glass wasn't a complete novice to the outdoor lighting field either.

"I started out as a cashier, then went into lighting," said Glass. "My area of expertise was electrical, and my second was painting and design."

As seed money, Glass was able to tap into her 401(k) plan, and applied for a Small Business Administration loan. Her franchise fees came to about $160,000.

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