By Christopher Manson
“You wouldn’t know it’s the holiday season around here,” says Doug Kuba, owner of the Gulf Breeze-based Everlights by Design as well as Everlights Orlando. “Things don’t die down in January.”
Today, Kuba is in Fairhope, Ala., installing 551 feet of Everlights and over 700 feet of gutters (his other business, Gutters by Design, has been going strong for years). The site is a new neighborhood of upscale homes, and it’s Kuba’s second biggest project of 2024.
Kuba’s work entails a lot of travel. Everlights by Design’s service area covers Biloxi, Mississippi through Panama City and everything in between. Plus, Orlando, where he employs a full-time sales manager and visits at least once a month.
A typical day runs about 12 hours, and Kuba’s companies install six days a week. Come mid-November, Sundays are added to meet customer demand.
“On the Gulf Coast alone, we’re selling around $10,000 of Everlights every day.” Based on that success, Kuba decided to take on the Orlando territory. “A lot of people didn’t want to buy it because it was such a big area, and expensive.”
Along with residential lighting, Everlights by Design has taken on commercial projects, including the Chick-Fil-A restaurant in DeFuniak Springs. “Customers are making the investment and earning it back,” says Kuba. “They thank us for setting them apart from other businesses.
“We can custom install Everlights anywhere. You tell us where you want them, and we can do it.”
Everlights by Design is one of the fastest growing businesses on the coast and is celebrating its one-year anniversary this month. “This is the only company in the world that does fourth-generation red-green-blue LED lighting,” says Kuba.
“If you mix the colors, you can get every color on the spectrum, over 20,000. The lights have multiple effects for every occasion, every holiday – everything you can think of. Some of our customers use the lights for security.”
Before Everlights was added to Kuba’s gutter business, his customers often called on him and his team to put up and remove their Christmas lights. “So, I toured the Everlights factory in Utah, and my wife and I decided to make another company.”
Actually, two other companies if you include Orlando. “It’s one of the hottest markets in the country,” Out of 271 Everlights dealers, Everlights of the Gulf Coast is currently the second largest in the country after Sacramento, Calif. “We may overtake them by January,” he says.
“One day, we’re a gutter company in Gulf Breeze, and the next we’re a multi-million-dollar business. Our product is for everyone. You don’t have to be a millionaire.”
One benefit of Everlights is the ability to mix and choose for any occasion. “With the touch of a button, you can go from Fourth of July to Saint Patrick’s Day,” says Kuba. “Every holiday on the calendar is pre-programmed, and you can do it from your smartphone.”
Everlights employs AI technology to identify and diagnose potential power and data issues. “We call and then we go out there and take care of it.”
The company is growing as fast as Kuba can enlist more installers and gutter people.
“Gutter installation is a skill,” he says. “You need about 17 years of experience, and usually you apprentice for five to seven years to get onto a crew.”
Customer feedback has been consistently positive. “We refuse to take your final payment if we don’t earn a five-star review.” Kuba also offers a referral program where clients can earn a $200 VISA gift card. “Our customers get to share in the profits.”
Learn more by calling 877.646.7367 or visiting everlightsbydesign.com. But don’t put off your home makeover too much longer. “I had seven requests for appointments yesterday,” says Kuba.
