Josh Trees doesn’t do a ton of podcasts...and that’s exactly why this one matters.

If you’re in Christmas lighting, this is a real conversation with one of the original builders of the industry. Not fluff. Not recycled motivation. Real talk on what it actually takes to build a Christmas light installation business, scale it, keep customers, delegate, and stop racing to the bottom on price.

In this episode, Josh and Captain Matt get into business growth, training, retention, systems, commercial work, perception, branding, and the mindset required to stay in the fight long enough to become a legend.

Whether you install Christmas lighting, build a landscape lighting company, or sell permanent soffit lighting, this episode hits the real operator side of outdoor lighting business.

In this episode:

• How Josh Trees got started before We Hang Christmas Lights became a known name

• The truth about growing a Christmas light installation business

• Why selling on price is a losing game

• How to sell the experience, not just the lights

• What delegation really looks like when you want to build a business instead of owning a job

• Why commercial Christmas lighting can change your numbers fast

• The role of systems, evaluation, and leadership in long-term growth

• How bold branding moves can make you unforgettable in your market

• The tiny house tour story and what it teaches about attention, marketing, and industry authority

Josh also shares hard-earned lessons on risk, change, hiring, retention, and why most guys stay stuck doing everything themselves.

This one is especially important for operators in the Christmas lighting world...but the principles apply across landscape lighting, outdoor lighting, and permanent roofline / soffit lighting too.

If you want to build a stronger lighting business, keep better clients, and stop thinking like a technician only...this episode is worth your time.

#ChristmasLighting #OutdoorLighting #LandscapeLighting #PermanentLighting #CaptainMatt #JoshTrees #BusinessGrowth #ChristmasLightInstallation

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Lights. Legacy. Living. Captain’s Crew. Sink or Swim.

Ready to build a real outdoor lighting business?

🔹 Work with Captain Matt: https://www.captainmattoutdoors.com/  

🔹 See Barefoot Lighting projects: https://barefootlighting.com/  

🔹 Learn landscape + Christmas + permanent lighting: https://lightingtradeschool.com/

It’s mid-February.

You felt like a king in Q4.

So why are you already out of cash?

In this episode of Captain’s Quarters First Class, Captain Matt breaks down one of the most common and destructive patterns in the Christmas lighting industry:

💸 Blowing through “Christmas cash”

💸 Using Q4 profit to patch the other 9 months

💸 Mixing service divisions and hiding real losses

💸 Robbing Peter to pay Paul just to survive installs

If you’re doing six figures (or more) in Christmas lighting and you’re stressed by February…this is not a slow-season problem.

It’s a planning problem.

You’ll learn:

• Why Christmas must be bucketed as its own division

• How mixing services hides the real financial leak

• The January–March funding model Captain Matt uses

• How to set aside payroll + overhead before touching profit

• Why “bridge loans” and panic selling are red flags

• How to stop the Q1 collapse permanently

This is real operator talk from 17+ years in Christmas lighting and outdoor services.

If you don’t own your market, someone else will.And if you don’t own your cash flow, it will own you.

🧠 Core Concepts Covered

• Separate accounts for each service (Christmas, landscape, soffit/permanent lighting)

• Funding slow months before they arrive

• Payroll reserve planning for installs + takedowns

• Overhead planning (5 months minimum during Christmas cycle)

• War chest vs. planned slow-season reserves

• Identifying repeating collapse patterns vs. fluke months

Lights. Legacy. Living. Captain’s Crew. Sink or Swim.Ready to join Captain’s Crew?

🔹 Apply to work with Captain Matt or hire him for elite outdoor lighting design: https://www.captainmattoutdoors.com/

🔹 Explore design + install services at Barefoot Lighting: https://barefootlighting.com/

🔹 Join the movement at The Lighting Trade School: https://lightingtradeschool.com/

Most lighting business owners say the same thing every year:

“I want to do a million dollars.”

And then they wonder why they feel overwhelmed, behind, and defeated by February.

In this episode of Captain’s Quarters First Class, Captain Matt breaks down why big, vague revenue goals destroy momentum and how translating those goals into simple daily and weekly numbers changes everything.

Instead of chasing a million dollars, what if your only job was to: • Sell 13 lights a day • Close 2 permanent lighting jobs a week • Hit a realistic, seasonal monthly target

Same goal. A completely different mental game.

Matt dives deep into:

• Translating top-line revenue into daily production goals

• Why “break-even” jobs are usually a lie

• The difference between material cost vs true operating cost

• How to calculate your real daily minimum

• Why seasonality matters and pretending it doesn’t will bankrupt you

• The “Money Game” framework for knowing exactly how long you can survive with zero sales

• How weekly number tracking allows real-time course correction (instead of year-end regret)

If your business feels busy but your bank account doesn’t reflect it…

If you’ve ever said “I sold a ton but don’t know where the money went”…

If your goals sound good but don’t feel achievable…

This episode is for you.

🎯 Stop chasing fantasy numbers. Start winning daily.

Lights. Legacy. Living. Captain’s Crew. Sink or Swim.Ready to join Captain’s Crew?

🔹 Apply to work with Captain Matt or hire him for elite outdoor lighting design: https://www.captainmattoutdoors.com/

🔹 Explore design + install services at Barefoot Lighting: https://barefootlighting.com/

🔹 Join the movement at The Lighting Trade School: https://lightingtradeschool.com/

Welcome back to Captain’s Quarters First Class.

I hear it all the time:

“I didn’t make enough money last year in outdoor lighting.”

And here’s the uncomfortable truth…

Most guys who say that didn’t do the work required to win.

In this episode, Captain Matt breaks down why some lighting business owners:

• Miss their goals

• Barely scrape by

• Or completely shatter expectations
  

…even when they all have access to the same mentorship, the same systems, and the same information.

We cover:

• Why focus beats talent every time

• The danger of splitting your energy across side hustles

• Why mindset kills more lighting businesses than pricing

• The simple math behind $100K+ profit (that most people ignore)

• Why demos still work today (and always will)

• The non-negotiables: 30 demos, 10 at-cost jobs, 20 fixtures a week

• Why blaming your market is the fastest way to stay stuck

• Why Christmas lighting success doesn’t translate automatically to landscape lighting
  

This episode isn’t motivational fluff.

It’s a gut check.

If you didn’t make enough money last year, the answer isn’t your area, your competition, or the economy.

It’s your inputs.

And the good news?You can change those starting today.

Lights. Legacy. Living. Captain’s Crew. Sink or Swim.Ready to join Captain’s Crew?

🔹 Apply to work with Captain Matt or hire him for elite outdoor lighting design: https://www.captainmattoutdoors.com/

🔹 Explore design + install services at Barefoot Lighting: https://barefootlighting.com/

🔹 Join the movement at The Lighting Trade School: https://lightingtradeschool.com/

Welcome back to Captain’s Quarters First Class.

It’s a new year, and everyone is talking about goals. Revenue goals. Growth goals. “This is my year” goals.

But most people skip the most important part of goal-setting entirely.

The look-back.

In this episode, Captain Matt breaks down a brutally honest review of his own business…where he missed, why he missed, and how easy it is to stay busy, exhausted, and still off-track.

We talk about:

• Why working harder doesn’t fix broken focus

• How ignoring the look-back keeps you stuck on the same hamster wheel

• The real cost of doing work you’re no longer meant to do

• Why staffing, roles, and timing matter more than motivation

• How excuses sneak in disguised as “logic”

• Why most marketing “doesn’t work” (and what’s actually broken)

• How to course-correct weekly instead of burning a year

This episode isn’t motivational fluff.

It’s about radical honesty, personal responsibility, and building systems so you don’t repeat the same mistakes year after year.

If you’ve ever said:

• “I’m working my ass off but not hitting my goals”

• “The leads just aren’t there”

• “Ads don’t work”

• “I’ll fix it next quarter”

This one’s for you.

Lights. Legacy. Living. Captain’s Crew. Sink or Swim.Ready to join Captain’s Crew?

🔹 Apply to work with Captain Matt or hire him for elite outdoor lighting design:⁠ https://www.captainmattoutdoors.com/⁠

🔹 Explore design + install services at Barefoot Lighting:⁠ https://barefootlighting.com/⁠

🔹 Join the movement at The Lighting Trade School:⁠ https://lightingtradeschool.com/⁠

The installs are done.The lights are up.And now comes the phase most companies ignore…takedowns.

In this episode of Captain’s Quarters First Class, Captain Matt breaks down why poor takedown systems quietly destroy profit, consistency, and next season’s efficiency and how to fix it before January eats your margins.

If reinstalls feel harder than brand-new installs, the problem isn’t your crew.It’s your process.

Inside the episode:

• Why “everyone does it their own way” collapses at scale
  

• The real reason reinstalls take longer and how to reverse it
  

• How to document jobs properly with photos, videos, and checklists
  

• Simple labeling systems that let any tech reinstall next year
  

• How to avoid tangled chaos with smarter storage methods
  

• Why takedown speed matters more than you think
  

• How geography-based routing beats “by request” scheduling
  

• The urgency factor in cold climates and why early matters
  

• Why fast takedowns unlock clean numbers and smarter planning
  

This episode reframes takedowns as what they actually are: the foundation for next season’s success.

If January feels sloppy and October feels painful, this is where it starts.

Lights. Legacy. Living. Captain’s Crew. Sink or Swim.Ready to join Captain’s Crew?

🔹 Apply to work with Captain Matt or hire him for elite outdoor lighting design: https://www.captainmattoutdoors.com/

🔹 Explore design + install services at Barefoot Lighting: https://barefootlighting.com/

🔹 Join the movement at The Lighting Trade School: https://lightingtradeschool.com/

Most lighting business owners don’t lose their companies overnight.They let them decay slowly by tolerating the wrong behavior for too long.

In this episode of Captain’s Quarters First Class, Captain Matt shares a raw, real situation straight from an active job site where a new hire showed exactly who he was on day two…and was gone the same day.

Not because of a single mistake.Because of how he chose to show up.

Inside this episode:

• Why hiring “just to have a body” quietly destroys culture
  

• The difference between coachable mistakes and non-negotiable behavior
  

• How one toxic employee poisons good people and drives your best techs away
  

• The real test of core values: will you enforce them when it’s inconvenient?
  

• Why crews should never feel unsafe or on edge around coworkers
  

• The shift from “I see potential” to “do they actually want this?”
  

• How letting things slide turns your values into empty words
  

• Why underpaying for hard outdoor work guarantees turnover
  

• The truth behind “no one wants to work anymore”
  

• How hiring the right people unlocks growth instead of shrinking your income
  

Matt also dismantles the solopreneur lie:

“If I hire someone, I’ll make less.”

On a spreadsheet it might look true. In reality, it keeps you trapped.

The right team frees you to sell, design, lead, and build a company not just a job you can’t escape.

If you say culture, standards, and values matter to you…this episode forces the real question:

Are you actually protecting them or just talking about them?

Lights. Legacy. Living. Captain’s Crew. Sink or Swim.Ready to join Captain’s Crew?

🔹 Apply to work with Captain Matt or hire him for elite outdoor lighting design: https://www.captainmattoutdoors.com/

🔹 Explore design + install services at Barefoot Lighting: https://barefootlighting.com/

🔹 Join the movement at The Lighting Trade School: https://lightingtradeschool.com/

Most lighting business owners think growth comes from something new.A new ad platform. A new funnel. A new strategy.

In reality, growth usually comes from fixing what’s already working.

In this episode of Captain’s Quarters First Class, Captain Matt dismantles shiny-object syndrome, the habit that drains momentum, profits, and focus in service businesses.

Before you chase more leads, more platforms, or the next guru tactic, this episode forces you to look at the leaks in your current systems.

Inside the conversation:

• Why “we need more leads” is often a misdiagnosis
  

• How the first phone call quietly determines the entire client experience
  

• Why unclear messaging lowers trust and spend
  

• The power of scripts, tone, and emotional framing on day one
  

• How small wording changes can dramatically improve close rates
  

• Why refining one proven system beats launching five new ones
  

• A real example of expensive marketing that failed because fundamentals weren’t dialed in
  

• When to keep testing and when to walk away from distractions
  

This episode isn’t anti-marketing.It’s pro-discipline.

Every business has something that works.Your job is to identify it, refine it, and compound it before you add anything else.

Optimize. Measure. Repeat.That’s how real companies are built.

Lights. Legacy. Living. Captain’s Crew. Sink or Swim. Ready to join Captain’s Crew?

🔹 Apply to work with Captain Matt or hire him for elite outdoor lighting design: https://www.captainmattoutdoors.com/

🔹 Explore design + install services at Barefoot Lighting: https://barefootlighting.com/

🔹 Join the movement at The Lighting Trade School: https://lightingtradeschool.com/

A lot of Christmas lighting installers think they’re elite at sales until they try to sell something without a deadline, nostalgia, or built-in demand.

In this episode of Captain’s Quarters First Class, Captain Matt breaks down why crushing it in Christmas doesn’t automatically translate to success in landscape lighting and why that disconnect catches so many installers off guard.

Christmas selling is easy because the value already exists.Landscape lighting requires you to create it from scratch.

Inside the episode:

• The psychological difference between seasonal buying and discretionary buying
  

• Why Christmas success doesn’t equal sales mastery
  

• How to establish value when clients have no reference point
  

• Why your holiday clients don’t instantly see you as a lighting designer
  

• The mistake of letting December momentum die in January
  

• How to structure a starter package that removes friction and still protects profit
  

• Using takedowns and over-the-ground demos to preload spring installs
  

• The mindset shift required to stop resetting every year
  

This episode isn’t about working harder in December.It’s about building a system that carries momentum into Q1 and beyond.

If you’re tired of sprinting for 45 days and scrambling the rest of the year, this conversation reframes the problem and shows you how to fix it by building value, not chasing it.

Lights. Legacy. Living. Captain’s Crew. Sink or Swim. Ready to join Captain’s Crew?

🔹 Apply to work with Captain Matt or hire him for elite outdoor lighting design: https://www.captainmattoutdoors.com/

🔹 Explore design + install services at Barefoot Lighting: https://barefootlighting.com/

🔹 Join the movement at The Lighting Trade School: https://lightingtradeschool.com/

Most lighting companies don’t collapse because of bad installs.

They collapse because they misunderstand their money.

In this episode of Captain’s Quarters First Class, Captain Matt pulls the curtain back on a financial trap that shows up every December when revenue spikes, confidence inflates, and bad decisions feel justified.

The problem isn’t cash flow. It’s false security.

This episode breaks down:

• Why seasonal revenue creates dangerous confidence
  

• How December money tricks owners into short-term thinking
  

• The hidden cost of spending just to “beat taxes”
  

• Why depreciation and capital improvements are misunderstood and misused
  

• The risk of operating mentally like a big company when you’re seasonal the rest of the year
  

• Why most businesses fail in the quiet months, not the busy ones
  

Captain Matt also walks through the Money Game framework how to track survival months, real operating costs, debt exposure, and risk so decisions are based on clarity, not emotion.

This isn’t motivation.It’s correction.

The calendar won’t save you.More revenue won’t save you.

Only better decisions will.

If you want the next year to look different, this episode forces the mindset shift required to let go of the old version of you and operate with intention instead of reaction.

👉 Instagram: @captainmatt_outdoors

👉 https://www.captainmattoutdoors.com/

Lights. Legacy. Living. Captain’s Crew. Sink or Swim. Ready to join Captain’s Crew?

🔹 Apply to work with Captain Matt or hire him for elite outdoor lighting design: https://www.captainmattoutdoors.com/

🔹 Explore design + install services at Barefoot Lighting: https://barefootlighting.com/

🔹 Join the movement at The Lighting Trade School: https://lightingtradeschool.com/