Coastal Source’s parent companies have been in the high-end residential, hospitality and commercial development business for 60 years, so when president Franco D’Ascanio speaks from authority about the market. With the U.S. in the grips of social isolation due to the coronavirus pandemic, D’Ascanio says the custom installation market is still ripe for outdoor projects, especially since integration companies are designated as “essential, critical infrastructure workers” and still permitted to work.

“We’ve got dealers reporting to us that although customers won’t let them into their house, they are able to work outdoors perfectly fine,” says D’Ascanio. “For people who know our system, it can be installed as both an indoor and outdoor connected system, but also it can remain completely outdoors and integrated with the house through wireless technology. So integrators can install a complete lighting and audio system without entering the customer’s home.”

Coastal Source’s focus is solely on bringing high-performance audio and lighting solutions for the outdoor environment.

10 Reasons to Do Outdoor Installs Right Now

D’Ascanio outlines the 10 reasons why outdoor projects are simpler, faster and more profitable for integrators:

1. Outdoor living and expenditures are substantial and on the rise. According to the latest CE Pro Outdoor Deep Dive Study, the median number of outdoor projects done by integrators in 2019 was 10 for an average price of $6,734 each. That price point is up 21% from 2018.

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2. Clients are looking for trained and passionate outdoor living specialists.

3. True outdoor specialist competition is weak.

4. Outdoor design, placement and layout are more flexible while offering a huge bang for the buck.

5. Lead time and project time are short: get in, get out, get paid.

6. Retrofit installs are low-hanging fruit.

7. In general, the required installer skill level and costs are lower.

8. Third-party oversight and deadlines are lower pressure and less critical.

9. Total project size can rival full indoor projects with a fraction of the required resources.

10. Profit margin dollars per man per day can be the highest of any system category

“Bottom line, we find outdoor projects to be faster, more profitable and very enjoyable,” adds D’Ascanio.

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