The Russell Brunson Show – Ep. 79

Title: When You Follow the Framework, This Happens… Ryan Lee’s Inspirational Story and Strategies Revealed!
Date: October 15, 2025
Host: Russell Brunson
Guest: Ryan Lee

Episode Overview

In this engaging episode, Russell Brunson reconnects with his elementary school friend, Ryan Lee, now a successful entrepreneur and coach in the landscape lighting industry. The conversation traces Ryan’s journey from running a landscape lighting business to building a thriving high-ticket coaching business for lighting professionals. Together, they dive into the key frameworks and turning points in Ryan’s story, unpack strategies that can apply to any niche, and share candid insights about overcoming doubts, leveraging mentors, and the power of modeling what works.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Reconnecting & The Unlikely Spark (00:40-03:45)

• Old Friends, New Worlds: Russell introduces Ryan, sharing their shared history and surprise reconnection after 15–20 years. Ryan then reveals how he first rediscovered Russell while watching "The Profit," ultimately leading him to ClickFunnels.

  “I’m watching The Profit…and I’m like, da, da. There’s Russell Brunson. What? What’s Russell Brunson doing on The Profit?...all of a sudden, a couple clicks later, I’m pulling my credit card out.” – Ryan (01:46)

• Initial Exposure to Funnels: Ryan explains that despite a marketing background, he had no clue what a sales funnel was before 2018, and only attended his first Funnel Hacking Live in 2020—right before COVID hit.

2. Building the Lighting Business: Trials & Lessons (04:00-09:00)

• Starting Out: Ryan details his foray into entrepreneurship, stemming from a window-cleaning side hustle to founding Majestic Outdoor Lighting with his brother in 2007.

  “All good ideas happen in a hot tub…we go to godaddy that night, and we buy majesticoutdoorlighting.com and that’s how we got into the outdoor lighting business.” – Ryan (05:36)

• Growing Pains and Partnerships: He opens up about the early challenges (long hours, small profit margins) and learning the reality of business partners with diverging visions.

Notable Learning Moments:

• Premium Pricing: Lower prices held their growth back—raising prices was fundamental to scaling. (09:30)

• Mentorship Via Clients: Many lighting clients were successful entrepreneurs; Ryan leveraged their advice for free.

• Qualified Leads: Pivoting from direct-to-consumer marketing to building referral partnerships with landscapers and homebuilders was a game-changer for scaling.

• Sales Mindset: His aversion to follow-up drove him to refine his close-on-the-spot strategy.

  “You have to start acting like the company you want to be, not like who you are today.” – Ryan (10:00)

3. The Leap into Coaching: From Doubt to High-Ticket Success (13:10-18:30)

• Imposter Syndrome & Finding His Calling: Ryan struggled to see himself as an "expert," doubting that his experience in lighting meant he could lead others.

  “I’m not that egotistical… Who am I to say I’m better than you?...I really struggled with that, Russell.” – Ryan (14:36)

• First Forays into Info Products: Inspired by other niche experts at Funnel Hacking Live, he built a funnel targeting home services. Initial low-ticket offers made sales but weren’t profitable—prompting Ryan to hire a coach for the first time.

• The Power of High Ticket: A coach encouraged him to make a $6,000 offer; Ryan immediately got four beta clients, validating the concept and launching Landscape Lighting Secrets.

  “I literally followed, like, their whole blueprint step by step…It would have taken me 10 years to figure this stuff out. I figured out in a month.” – Ryan (19:49)

4. Building Authority: Facebook Lives & Relationship Selling (24:20-28:45)

• Content as Trust Builder: Prompted by Russell’s challenge, Ryan started doing daily Facebook Lives—even though it terrified him.

  “I go create a fake Facebook group and go live in that so you can get used to seeing yourself…All sudden, it goes to two, then it goes to three…oh, I’m live, I’m on my real feed.” – Ryan (25:06)

• Community Engagement: He became an active helper in industry Facebook groups, giving away value. This content compounded trust with prospects and warmed up cold DMs.

  “I didn’t realize that people watch Facebook lives later…People would say 'We saw you took your family to Moab.'” – Ryan (27:09)

5. Expanding the Business: Events, Awards, and Multiple Offers (28:45-32:30)

• Following Proven Models: Ryan borrowed from Russell’s own frameworks (awards, events, high-ticket offers).

• Light It Up Expo: Ryan describes his first large-scale pitch at his event—resulting in over $250,000 in a one-hour presentation.

  “I literally made in a one-hour presentation…at least $225k, probably $250k off a one-hour presentation.” – Ryan (31:29)

• Product Ladder: Developed offerings from a $97/month Lighting Academy up to high-ticket coaching, with a clear path for members to ascend.

• Recognizing Members: Created awards (100k Club, Lighting Millionaire Club, LMCX for $10M+) to celebrate client wins.

6. Purpose, Patterns, and Paying it Forward (32:30–39:00)

• The Riches Are in the Niches: At first, Ryan just wanted to support his family—but realizing the impact he could have on others has become the true reward.

  “It’s not about the money. It is so rewarding now that I get to help these people…It changed my life.” – Ryan (34:23)

• Recognizing Superpowers: Both Russell and Ryan encourage listeners: the skills that come easily to you might be the very thing you’re called to teach, even if you don’t see yourself as exceptional.

  “You did a thing and you had success in it…when you’re trying to figure out your calling, it didn’t make sense…But that actually is your superpower.” – Russell (36:22)

• Taking Imperfect Action: Overthinking kills momentum; “imperfect progress” wins the day.

  “I’m just a fan of, like, imperfect progress. Let’s just go.” – Ryan (37:59)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Time | Speaker | Quote | |--------|---------|-------| | 01:46 | Ryan | “I was like, that’s cool, because I was…trying to figure out marketing…So I saw that and I was like, heck yeah, take my money. And then the rest is history, man. I’ve been brainwashed ever since.” | | 10:00 | Ryan | “You have to start acting like the company you want to be, not like who you are today.” | | 14:36 | Ryan | “I’m not that egotistical…Who am I to say that I’m better than you and that I’m going to, like, be the leader? Like, I really struggled with that, Russell.” | | 19:49 | Ryan | “I hired a coach. It literally collapsed time. It would’ve taken me 10 years to figure this stuff out. I figured out in like a month, you know?” | | 25:06 | Ryan | “I go create a fake Facebook group and go live in that so you can get used to seeing yourself because it’s awkward…All sudden, it goes to two, then it goes to three…oh, I’m live, I’m on my real feed.” | | 31:29 | Ryan | “I literally made in a one-hour presentation…at least $225k, probably $250k off a one-hour presentation.” | | 37:59 | Ryan | “I’m just a fan of, like, imperfect progress. Let’s just go.” | | 36:22 | Russell | “The more you serve, the more you make…it’s such a cool path.” |

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Beginnings and light bulb business origin: 03:30–06:45
• Hard lessons and scaling pains: 08:59–13:10
• Finding his calling and imposter thoughts: 13:10–14:45
• Shifting to high-ticket coaching: 17:00–19:49
• First Facebook Lives/building an audience: 24:20–28:45
• First six-figure event pitch & scaling the coaching biz: 28:56–32:30
• Reflection on purpose and modeling what works: 34:23–39:00

Final Thoughts

Russell and Ryan’s conversation is a testament to the power of modeling proven frameworks, the hidden potential in even seemingly “niche” expertise, and the rewards of pushing through self-doubt by simply taking action. Whether you’re in landscape lighting or any other field, the episode dramatically illustrates that the impact, success, and fulfillment you seek may be hiding in the experiences you already have—and the frameworks are out there, waiting for you to follow them.

Where to learn more from Ryan:

• Podcast: lightingforprofits.com

“It’s not about being smarter…it’s just about being a page ahead…if I can do it, you can do it.” – Ryan (38:21)