The mindset killing your creativity and your jobs is simple: designing like a technician instead of a designer. Too many guys hold back, skip the peak, avoid the island, and limit the portrait because they’re already worried about ladders, sidewalks, or wire runs. That thinking kills creativity and costs you work.

I break down why you need to switch hats and collect all the photos and site info during the walkthrough, then shut off the tech brain and go full designer. Sell the illumination portrait first. Figure out the install after you’ve been paid to do it. That’s how you push boundaries, close more work, and give clients the projects they deserve.

If you want to separate yourself from the “side hustlers” and the cookie-cutter lighting guys, this is the shift you need to make. Stop wasting time planning wire runs for jobs you haven’t even closed. Start thinking like a true designer, pitching the portrait your client deserves, and then let the install brain kick in once the deal is signed. That’s how you get better projects, happier clients, and a business that actually grows.

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/

Too many guys wait until September to think about Christmas and then wonder why their goals crash.

I call out the September scramble and lay out the systems that make Christmas lighting profitable: planning in takedown season, scripts that collect full client data (name, email, phone, address) before qualifying, a real CRM with next-interaction dates, multi-channel lead flow (yard signs, GMB, IG, referrals), and how to turn “no for now” into installs and upsells. I also hit rental vs. sell expectations, lookbooks that plant ideas (rooflines, ridge lines, branch wraps, wreaths, spritzers), and why arguing in Facebook groups won’t book you jobs, calling the damn leads will. If you want $100K–$1M seasons, this is the blueprint.

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/

Contractors keep hearing the whisper: “24V DC burns down houses.”

In this episode, we rip that rumor out by the roots. Captain Matt, Shane “Glow Daddy” Duffy, and Nate “The Illuminator” Mullen go deep on the real electrical science, why DC at 24V is safer and more efficient for LEDs, and how a past competitor literally weaponized a fake “white paper” until Nate took them to court, and won.

We also unveil TITAN, Lifetime Lighting’s mini-creator workhorse designed to replace a drawer full of niche fixtures (stake mount, subterranean, downlight, soffit, tree hang… it does it all). If you design, sell, or install outdoor lighting, this one gives you ammo for every objection and a smarter way to spec your systems.

What you’ll learn:

• The 24V DC vs 12V AC reality: code limits, efficiency, heat, and why LEDs hate dirty power.
  

• Safety that actually matters: fuses vs thermal breakers, overcurrent protection, surge immunity, and preventing wire melt in the real world.
  

• VA isn’t watts: how volt-amps shorten life, and wreck your math if you ignore them.
  

• Nate’s multi-tap origin story: exposing the bad voltage-drop math that shaped an entire industry.
  

• The TITAN reveal: American-made, modular, MR-compatible, and engineered to replace 10+ task fixtures with one family.
  

• Sales positioning: sell efficiency, safety, and fewer SKUs without sacrificing performance or margin.
  

• Bonus: Edison vs Tesla (AC electrocuted an elephant), King of the Hill returns, and advanced training dates tease.
  

If competitors are throwing shade at 24V DC or Lifetime Lighting, send them this episode. If clients are confused by “watt vs VA,” use this to educate and close. And if your crews are still hanging systems off 25A thermal breakers…fix that now.

Ready to Start or Grow Your Landscape Lighting Business?

🔹 Learn design, sales, and installation at: https://www.lightingtradeschool.com/

🔹 Buy elite fixtures from: https://lifetimelightingsystems.com/

🔹 Join The Illuminati Lounge Club — $47/mo weekly group calls with the 3 Lighting Amigos: https://www.lightingtradeschool.com/illuminati-lounge-club

🔹 Join our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2196456184072265

🔹 Apply for 1-on-1 mentoring with Captain Matt: https://www.captainmattoutdoors.com/captains-crew

🔹 Start your own lighting biz as a GloGeek: https://glogeeksgang.com/

In just 3 days with the 3 Lighting Amigos, you’ll walk away with the exact roadmap to build a 7-figure landscape lighting business and this is the only time we’re offering it in 2026. No fluff, no filler. Design, sales, installs, scaling, hands-on and real-world.

If you’ve wanted to start a landscape lighting business (or finally make it serious), this is your moment. In February 2026, Captain Matt, Shane “Glow Daddy” Duffy, and Nate “The Illuminator” Mullen are hosting a small-group, hands-on training at Nate’s place in Southern California—the first time the 3 Lighting Amigos have done this together since June 2024.

What you get (and why it matters):

• Design, Sales, and Install end to end. Real compositions, real demos, real jobs at night.
  

• A proven roadmap to go from “doing lights” to becoming a lighting assassin who closes bigger jobs with confidence.
  

• Weekly group calls (Wednesdays, 8:00 AM CT): early-bird gets calls before the event plus 90 days after bring live deals, designs, objections.
  

• Tight cohort, not a cattle call. Limited seats so you get one-on-one attention and a real inner-circle network.
  

• Meals & evenings included (because we keep training into the night, limo bus site walks, cigars).
  

• Resource vault: photo library, docs, frameworks, the playbooks we actually use.
  

Early-bird offer (through September 15):

• $1,250 or 4 payments of $325 (then it’s $1,600).
  

• Same value, smaller price, more runway on those weekly calls.
  

Who it’s for:

• New guys who want to launch fast and right.
  

• Contractors adding lighting as a real profit center.
  

• Operators stuck under 7-figures who need a system to scale.
  

Real outcomes from past cohorts: first jobs at 51, 85, 200+ lights and more importantly, repeatable confidence, bigger average tickets, and a network that sharpens you daily.

Lock your spot: LightingTradeSchool.com → Training page → pick pay-in-full or 4-pay.See you on next Wednesday’s call…and in California this February. Don’t be the one scrolling photos with FOMO while the others level up.

Ready to Start or Grow Your Landscape Lighting Business?🔹 Learn design, sales, and installation at: https://www.lightingtradeschool.com/

🔹 Buy elite fixtures from: https://lifetimelightingsystems.com/

🔹 Join The Illuminati Lounge Club — $47/mo weekly group calls with the 3 Lighting Amigos: https://www.lightingtradeschool.com/illuminati-lounge-club

🔹 Join our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2196456184072265

🔹 Apply for 1-on-1 mentoring with Captain Matt: https://www.captainmattoutdoors.com/captains-crew

🔹 Start your own lighting biz as a GloGeek: https://glogeeksgang.com/

🔥 50 lighting assassins. That’s it. The elite rise, everyone else is background noise. You can chase jobs…or become the one others chase. Which are you?

Hiring, training, and retaining the right people can make or break a lighting company. In this episode of The Lighting Trade School Podcast, Shane “Glow Daddy” Duffy, Nate “The Illuminator” Mullen, and Captain Matt dive deep into the realities of building strong crews and keeping talent long-term.

What you’ll learn:

• The 1-hour test to know if a new hire is worth keeping

• Why “hire slow, fire fast” isn’t always practical, and what to do instead

• Role-specific A-players: finding trench diggers, connectors, and foremen without misplacing talent

• The “working interview” day that filters pretenders from producers

• Video prompts and call-in lines that instantly eliminate 90% of bad applicants

• Background checks, social checks, and real stories that prove why they matter

• Retention over poaching: culture and pay

• When to use 1099 specialists vs. W-2 employees and the legal pitfalls to avoid

• Why a 3-man crew is often the most efficient setup in landscape lighting
  

Plus: The big announcement an advanced three-day training in San Diego, February 25–27. Hands-on installs, night demos, design, sales, and scaling strategies. Limited spots available at lightingtradeschool.com.

Ready to Start or Grow Your Landscape Lighting Business?

🔹 Learn design, sales, and installation at: https://www.lightingtradeschool.com/

🔹 Buy elite fixtures from: https://lifetimelightingsystems.com/ 🔹 Join The Illuminati Lounge Club — $47/mo weekly group calls with the 3 Lighting Amigos: https://www.lightingtradeschool.com/illuminati-lounge-club

🔹 Join our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2196456184072265

🔹 Apply for 1-on-1 mentoring with Captain Matt: https://www.captainmattoutdoors.com/captains-crew

🔹 Start your own lighting biz as a GloGeek: https://glogeeksgang.com/

🔥 50 lighting assassins. That’s it. The elite rise, everyone else is background noise. You can chase jobs…or become the one others chase. Which are you?

Everyone wants the big Christmas lighting payday. Few build the machine that earns it.

In this episode, Captain Matt breaks down the “Impossible Game” framework:

• Reasonable goals (if everything stays the same)
  

• Radical goals (stretch targets that make you uncomfortable)
  

• Impossible goals (so big they force you to become a new operator)
  

We walk through the real math of trying to pocket $150K when you only did ~$50K last year. Storage, hiring, scheduling, checklists, scripts, client experience… every piece that either makes you or breaks you.

If you want more profit with less chaos, this is your playbook. Build the SOPs. Automate what you can. Hire to your weaknesses. And stop letting employees “run your business” by default because nothing is written down.

Chapters: 00:00 – Big goals vs big reality 02:05 – The Impossible Game: Reasonable, Radical, Impossible 06:40 – $50K revenue → $150K profit (math and gaps) 11:15 – Storage, crews, and hidden costs 15:10 – Why inconsistency kills referrals 18:20 – Process = checklist, not a vibe 23:10 – My Christmas SOP flow 28:45 – Automations that save your time and voice 31:30 – Hiring: start with what you hate most 35:05 – Pre-qualifying correctly 39:00 – Runner math and windshield time 42:10 – Week-one action plan 45:00 – Wrap-up

Stop setting goals you can’t hit. Build the system that makes them real.

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/

🔹 Buy elite American-made fixtures at: https://lifetimelightingsystems.com/

What happens when the guy who’s been window cleaning since he was 10 finally says, “I’m done smelling like a pool guy”?

Meet Toby Blair, co-owner of Absolutely Clean Services and the founder of Ox Lighting Concepts in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In this episode of Captain’s Quarters First Class, Captain Matt sits down with Toby to talk about what it really takes to start over, pivot industries, and launch a lighting business when you're already running a seven-figure company.

From growing up in a family service business to managing crews, cleaning windows, breaking his foot, and launching a lighting brand that’s ready to transform Michigan homes, Toby holds nothing back.

You’ll hear:

• The gritty backstory of Absolutely Clean Services (flyers, rollerblades, minivans, and all)
  

• Why Toby’s stepping out of soft washing and into smart soffit lighting and landscape design
  

• How breaking his foot gave him clarity (and more hustle)
  

• His plan to hit $200K with Ox Lighting Concepts before Christmas
  

• The power of mentorship, humility, and hard-earned leadership lessons
  

Whether you're already full-time in lighting or just dreaming of breaking free 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/

🔹 Buy elite American-made fixtures at: https://lifetimelightingsystems.com/

You think you're ready for big commercial jobs? Think again. In this episode, Captain Matt, Nate "The Illuminator" Mullen, and Shane Duffy break down a real $80,000 HOA install that almost went nuclear. No scope of work. No decision maker at the demo. No progress billing. A lighting contractor nearly lost everything including Nate's $40K in fixtures.

What went wrong? What saved the deal at the last minute? And how do you bulletproof your bids, contracts, and communication so this never happens to you?

We cover:

• Why commercial jobs MUST have documented scope of work, even when there's none.
  

• The dangers of skipping progress payments and lien protections.
  

• How one rogue board member almost tanked the entire install.
  

• The rookie mistake of not identifying the true decision-maker.
  

• How subjective "brightness" nearly cost a contractor the job (and how Nate fixed it in minutes).
  

• Why change orders, CAD drawings, and demo photos aren't optional they're protection.
  

If you're chasing bigger jobs, this episode is mandatory listening.

🔥 50 lighting assassins. That’s it. We’re training the elite, and everyone else is background noise. You can chase jobs—or become the one others chase. Which are you?

Ready to Start or Grow Your Landscape Lighting Business?

🔹 Learn design, sales, and installation at: https://www.lightingtradeschool.com/

🔹 Buy elite fixtures from: https://lifetimelightingsystems.com/

🔹 Join The Illuminati Lounge Club — $47/mo weekly group calls with the 3 Lighting Amigos: https://www.lightingtradeschool.com/illuminati-lounge-club 🔹 Join our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2196456184072265

🔹 Apply for 1-on-1 mentoring with Captain Matt: https://www.captainmattoutdoors.com/captains-crew

🔹 Start your own lighting biz as a GloGeek: https://glogeeksgang.com/

Still waiting for leads to magically appear? Stop. This episode is your 20-minute battle plan to earn $100K before summer ends no excuses, no fluff. Captain Matt, Shane “Glow Daddy” Duffy, and Nate “The Illuminator” Mullen break down exactly what separates the six-figure earners from the guys still stuck spinning their wheels.

You'll learn:

• Why most lighting contractors fail to scale (and how to flip the switch)
  

• The real reason demos work and why they double your income
  

• How to get your first 20 demos even if you “don’t know anyone”
  

• The one-sentence sales philosophy that will crush every lighting book on your shelf
  

• Why people don’t buy fixtures, they buy you (the artist)
  

• How to close 80–90% of your jobs by mastering just two things: prequalifying and mockups
  

Plus, Nate throws down hard truth: if you’re not willing to work at night (or hire someone who will), lighting isn’t for you.

No more hiding behind YouTube tutorials or waiting for SEO to kick in. Action is the shortcut and this episode is your roadmap.

🔥 50 lighting assassins. That’s it. We’re training the elite, and everyone else is background noise. You can chase jobs—or become the one others chase. Which are you?

Ready to Start or Grow Your Landscape Lighting Business?

🔹 Learn design, sales, and installation at: https://www.lightingtradeschool.com/

🔹 Buy elite fixtures from: https://lifetimelightingsystems.com/

🔹 Join The Illuminati Lounge Club — $47/mo weekly group calls with the 3 Lighting Amigos: https://www.lightingtradeschool.com/illuminati-lounge-club 🔹 Join our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2196456184072265

🔹 Apply for 1-on-1 mentoring with Captain Matt: https://www.captainmattoutdoors.com/captains-crew

🔹 Start your own lighting biz as a GloGeek: https://glogeeksgang.com/

From pushing mowers and dodging debt to building a 7-figure hardscape brand, Chris and Rich Vazzana, aka The Patio Bros, did what most won’t.

In this raw episode of Captain’s Quarters First Class, we dive deep into how these twin brothers:

• Started with 19 lawn accounts and no clue about numbers
  

• Hit rock bottom and almost quit (more than once)
  

• Systemized their business to scale out of the field
  

• Built a 2,500 sq ft showroom, a loyal team, and a local brand that actually grows
  

Plus, they drop serious game on hiring, social media, and why systems, not skill, are the real difference between a hustler and a business owner.

Whether you’re a landscaper, lighting pro, or service business owner grinding your way up...this one hits deep.

💥 Follow them on Instagram: @thepatiobros

🎓 Join their free Process to Profits school: Link in their bio

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/

🔹 Buy elite American-made fixtures at: https://lifetimelightingsystems.com/

🔥 Two brothers. One shovel. Seven figures. They didn’t side hustle. They committed. Are you still playing part-time?