Englewood resident Patrick Dunivan, owner of the newest Blingle! outdoor lighting franchise set to open Aug. 11, is ready to light up homes, businesses and landscaping around Charlotte County.
Blingle! parent company Vice President and franchise leader Nels Peterson said he plans to launch two new franchisees per month, with the goal of opening 24 new locations this year. Dunivan’s franchise is the 33rd for the Omaha, Nebraska-based company.
Dunivan, a Marine Corps veteran, left T–Mobile last November as an information technology manager.
“As part of the package, I got an entrepreneurial coach in Jacksonville,” Dunivan said.
Knowing that Dunivan wanted to own a franchise business, the coach helped him narrow the choices down to five, then to two. It was Peterson’s enthusiasm for the company and his vision of the franchises’ future that led Dunivan to choose Blingle!, Dunivan said.
After securing a Small Business Administration loan, Dunivan purchased a Blingle! van with 8,000 miles on it from another franchise owner in Nebraska. He also purchased a new car emblazoned with the company’s logo.
Dunivan’s three-county territory includes Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda, Babcock Ranch, Arcadia, Venice and Englewood.
He also partnered with a Cape Coral–Fort Myers franchise owner who will share advertising with him.
Dunivan said his crew will install residential and commercial lighting for holidays, special events, such as weddings, landscape, pool cages and any other areas his clients wish to illuminate.
There is a flat rate, and lighting costs approximately $8 per linear foot.
Most of his clients will lease the lights that he owns, but others will buy their own.
In the case of holiday lights, his crew will begin to install them in October then remove them after the holidays. In addition to homes and businesses, his crew will also drape shrubbery and wrap lights around palm trees.
Landscape products from Sterling Lighting, Gemstone Lights and Luminaire Lighting will be used, he said. The landscape lights will mostly be permanent fixtures although Blingle! could install temporary ones.
It takes a bit of creativity to create a home’s design, and Dunivan said he’s partnering with a firm that will do the design work.
“Outdoor lighting is increasingly becoming one of the leading trends in outdoor living. It’s a transformative experience that everybody wants in their home,” Peterson said.
Dunivan’s website is up and running and will be accepting bookings Aug. 11.
