Lighting the Way to North America

Steven J. Parker, LC, recently released a book on the industry and delves into the fundamentals of starting a lighting business. From the technical background, to the steps that need to be taken to go to market, to details on distribution and gathering sales representatives, Parker shares his expertise and experience in this valuable look into what it takes to succeed in the industry.

“’Lighting the Way to North America’ is a book about starting and building a lighting product business in the U.S. and Canada,” explains ALA director of engineering and technology Terry McGowan, FIES, LC. “It is a thoughtful, personal document that will guide you, expand your thinking, increase your chances of success, and help you launch your own ideas.”

“I wrote the book to help others and also to remind me of all the steps necessary to start a lighting company from scratch,” said Parker.

The book has a broad target audience – from someone starting a lighting business to someone running a lighting business who would like to know which metrics to monitor and when, to someone planning an exit from the business that would like to measure and increase the multiple of EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization). The book provides reference information, as well as predictions of where the market is heading.

“There are so many new companies with fantastic ideas entering the market,” said Parker. “In addition, we are seeing technology changes at a rate that we have never seen before. The lighting industry is unique, and to the best of my knowledge, the business aspects are tough to find out about unless you have been in the business for a long period of time.”

Parker entered the lighting industry in 1994 and now has 36 years of experience introducing new technology to the North American Market. Parker is an involved member in ALA, the Illuminating Engineering Society, and several UL standards technical panels, and has been a speaker at local and national conferences. ALA members interested in obtaining a copy of Parker’s book may contact him at sjp@stevenjparker.com.