Veteran · Contractor · Builder

I install outdoor lighting.
I build tools for the contractors who do.

Solo operator in Central Kentucky. Running Evening Glow LLC in the field, and shipping LightDeck for contractors who are still doing proposals by hand.

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3+ Years in the Trade
8 min Proposal Time with LightDeck
$49/mo LightDeck Founding Member
Central KY Service Area

What I'm building

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Evening Glow LLC

Permanent outdoor lighting installs for Central Kentucky homes and commercial properties. Pathway systems, architectural uplighting, Christmas lighting. Veteran-owned. Installed right the first time.

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LightDeck

AI-powered estimating and proposal tool for outdoor lighting contractors. Took me 3+ hours per proposal to do by hand. Now it takes 8 minutes. Built it for myself. Now shipping it for the rest of the industry.

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Contractor Supply

Wholesale pricing on professional-grade fixtures for lighting installers. The same product I use on my own jobs, at contractor pricing — no distributor markup.

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Contractor Cashflow

Templates, calculators, and checklists I built for my own business — now available for other contractors. Pricing tools, marketing copy, the stuff I wish someone handed me when I started.

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The Build

Following the whole thing in public. Real installs, real numbers, AI tools in practice. What it actually looks like to run a solo contracting business while building a product in a 2.5-hour daily work window.

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The short version

I served, came home, and eventually ended up installing outdoor lighting in Central Kentucky. Three years in the trade. Evening Glow LLC — residential and commercial installs across Nicholasville, Lexington, and surrounding areas.

Along the way I got tired of how long proposals took. Three-plus hours per job, every time, writing everything from scratch. So I built a tool to fix it. That became LightDeck — an AI-powered estimating tool that gets you from job description to finished proposal in about 8 minutes.

I've got a 2-year-old at home. My work window is 10:30 AM to 1 PM most days. Everything here was built in that window — the business, the product, the systems. That constraint turned out to be a feature.

Now I'm sharing what I've learned along the way — on YouTube, and through some tools I've put together that I think other contractors would find useful.

I'm not building a startup. I'm building an empire — bootstrapped, permanent, cash-flowing. The lighting business is the proof of concept. The systems business is the wealth vehicle.

One lesson from the field, every week

What I'm learning about running a contracting business — pricing, systems, and the stuff nobody teaches you. Short, practical, no spam.

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Quick answers

Who is Zach Collins?

A U.S. Army veteran and outdoor lighting contractor in Central Kentucky. I run Evening Glow LLC, a landscape lighting company serving Lexington, Nicholasville, and the surrounding counties, and I build LightDeck, an AI proposal tool for contractors.

What is Evening Glow LLC?

A veteran-owned landscape and outdoor lighting company serving Lexington, Nicholasville, and Central Kentucky. Design, installation, and a free after-dark demo on your own property before you commit. Call or text (859) 403-3303 or visit eveningglowllc.com.

What is LightDeck?

An AI-powered estimating and proposal tool for outdoor lighting contractors. Proposals that took me 3+ hours by hand now take about 8 minutes. Founding pricing is $49/month at lightdeck.tech.

How do I get in touch with Zach Collins?

Email ZC@EveningGlowLLC.com. For landscape lighting installs in Central Kentucky, go through eveningglowllc.com or call or text (859) 403-3303.


Get in touch

Lighting installs, LightDeck questions, wholesale accounts, or just want to talk contractor systems — email is the fastest.