Not long ago, Russel Feldman taught a class that looked at the right kind of light for various uses. He brought out different bulbs, and he did some demonstrations. He had what passes for a high CRI light bulb at Home Depot, he brought in one of the high CRI bulbs he uses, and he brought in a bulb that could give off different kinds of light at different temperatures.
He turned the lights off and, for a group of people in the business of designing and selling high-end homes, lit some pieces of wood and some fabric. The results were noticeable. Some light brought out the fullness or richness of the wood or fabric, other light left them looking dingy and underwhelming. Feldman, owner of Simply Wired Pro, explained to the group of home sales and design professionals that this is what can also happen in an entire house.
“You’re taking this client around. You’re selling them all these beautiful things and they’re like, whatever. It looks washed out,” he says. “High CRI lighting pulls all those features out. It makes them feel good about their purchase.”
Meanwhile, that light that makes you feel warm and cozy might also make a beautifully decorated home look dingy. “People might like the way it makes them feel, but they don’t like the way it makes their furniture look,” he says. Sometimes, it’s possible to get you a light that does both.
Feldman is in the business of making homes look and sound good, often through the kind of work that isn’t the first thing you notice when you walk through a front door. Simply Wired Pro designs, consults on and installs lighting solutions, including LED lighting, lighting controls and window treatments. The company also deals with automation systems for home and business, audio-video systems, network and Wi-Fi solutions, and security systems.
“We market to builders and architects, and the occasional homeowner,” Feldman says. “I think we’re unique in our marketplace in that most of the companies in my realm are all doing control systems—that’s their primary focus. Our primary focus is lighting and control—making your life a little bit easier, little things like walking into your closet without having to turn on the light. We cover a lot of stuff.”
Often, clients or designers reach out mid-project. Something’s gotten tricky, some lighting just doesn’t quite work, and an expert touch is needed. Feldman describes himself as not a hard-pitch kind of salesman. He’s happy to collaborate with others on jobs. But often, clients hear what his team can do and want to keep things simple. “The words will come out: ‘Can you just handle it all?’” he says. “The answer is usually, ‘Yes, we can.’”
Feldman has been saying “yes we can” for a decade; he started Simply Wired Pro in 2014. But he’s been in the business since 1995. He started out in home security for Brinks before going into business for himself. Various industry moves led him to found a company called Satellite Broadcasting Corporation, which had contracts with DirecTV and AT&T. Eventually he sold that company. “Then I thought about what I wanted to do when I grow up,” he says.
A decade on, and his grown-up decision looks like a good one. The technology is growing and improving every year, and that means more and more that he can offer to clients. “The main game changer these days is linear lighting and LED,” he says. LED light bulb regulations remain vague—he compares it to driving from Atlanta to Miami and only being told you have to choose either the east or west coast of Florida. And Simply Wired Pro has found a niche.
Many in the industry are electricians who know the ins and outs of wiring but aren’t as interested in the nuance of lighting design. Others are primarily focused on TV installs. In that landscape, Feldman saw an open door for creative problem solvers. “We found that there was this void, this niche in the business where we’re consulting others on which tech to use rather than just saying no that can’t be done,” he says.
That goes back to Feldman’s soft approach to sales. Sometimes he gets called in on a project where something like the lighting has become a debacle. The client might vent to him. Feldman’s response is to first offer help. “Let’s see if we can solve your fire spots—can you keep your current contractor and just hire us to see you through?” he’ll ask. If that’s not working then, yes, it might be time for Simply Wired Pro to step in entirely. “On a new project where a client just reaches out to us, we have designers we have a long-term relationship with,” he says.
Because so much of this is new and relatively unknown, Feldman also views education as a key part of the job. “I’d rather an educated consumer than someone who says, ‘I don’t know,’ because someone who doesn’t know, doesn’t know what to expect and might not be happy at the end,” he explains.
Sometimes it’s the initial sticker shock—yes, that 9,000-square-foot house with $300K in lighting fixtures is also going to require a $50K lighting control system. Other times, it’s just making people comfortable with the tech going into their home. Sometimes when you’re dealing with cutting-edge tech, you’re not always dealing with experts who are great at explaining that tech to newbies. “They’ll geek out on your home, and it’s like, super cool man, now how do I turn the lights on?” Feldman says. As much as Simply Wired Pro makes it look amazing, they also make it easy to understand. “We keep it super simple,” he says.
Feldman finds customers are getting more savvy about what’s out there, but the industry keeps bringing out new advances as well. It’s a good recipe for a continued career in solving problems. “There’s so many concepts,” he says of what’s new in the industry. “It’s slowly getting known.” *
Erik Petersen was formerly editor of Fort Lauderdale Magazine, columnist for the Nottingham Post (U.K) and reporter for The Kansas City Star. He likes his homes how he likes his bourbon: neat, Southern and significantly more than 10 years old.
