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?

Today we kick off the first-ever guest interview on Captain’s Quarters First Class, and I couldn’t think of a better person to launch this with than my friend and fellow lighting savage Shane “Glow Daddy” Duffy.

Shane’s not just another entrepreneur. He’s a guy who:

• Started with vending machines in schools.
  

• Built Glass Geeks into a seven-figure window cleaning empire.
  

• Transformed GloGeeks into one of the fastest-growing lighting brands in America.
  

In this episode, we dig into: ✅ How he clawed out of a $90,000 tax disaster. ✅ Why imperfect action beats perfect planning. ✅ The unfiltered truth about licensing, scaling, and staying scrappy. ✅ What he’d do if he had to start all over with only $500 and a Home Depot gift card.

If you’ve ever thought you can’t build something big because you’re broke, busy, or scared—listen to Shane’s story. You’ll rethink what’s possible.

👉 Learn more about GloGeeks: https://glogeeksgang.com

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: https://lifetimelightingsystems.com

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

Captain Matt is coming in hot with one simple truth: the words you use shape your client's perception—and your paycheck.

If you're still saying "pots" instead of "urns," "pergola" instead of "pool cabana," or calling it "landscape lighting" instead of an "illumination portrait"... you're leaving money—and authority—on the table.

In this episode:

• Why verbiage is value in the lighting game
  

• How to rewire your mindset to match your ideal client’s
  

• Why DIY mindset = broke contractor energy
  

• What to read, watch, and listen to so you stop sounding like a rookie
  

• How Captain Matt used Nate Mullen’s book and walkthroughs to reprogram his sales language
  

• Why clients can afford you—but they won’t believe it if you don’t
  

• Real-world story of a mentee who didn’t believe people would pay...until he looked in the mirror
  

This one is for the lighting assassins who are ready to stop selling parts—and start selling transformations. Your words matter. Your confidence matters more. Study. Elevate. Speak like someone worth $40K lighting contracts.

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/

On Episode 20, we’re switching things up.

For the first time ever, we brought on one of our own Lighting Trade School students—David Andrew Flores, founder of Holiday Light Installations in Southern California at https://www.holidaylightinstallationsco.com/ 

Andrew was already a seven-figure Christmas lighting pro working massive projects like the Ritz Carlton and the Mission Inn. But when he decided to step into landscape lighting, he started almost from scratch—just like most of you listening.

In this conversation, Andrew shares: ✅ How he landed a 6-figure landscape lighting project (and why he almost blew it with drill batteries). ✅ Why he believes 24-volt systems are a total game changer compared to old-school 12-volt setups. ✅ The moment he realized most manufacturers don’t have a clue about real-world installs. ✅ What it’s like working side-by-side with Nate Mullen and the Lifetime Lighting Systems crew to design and deliver next-level illumination. ✅ Why you should never let your own wallet decide what your clients can afford.

We break down every part of Andrew’s journey: the fear, the first sale, the massive hedge walls, and how he evolved from “just a Christmas guy” to a true lighting artist.

Whether you’re still trying to close your first lighting job or you’ve been installing for 20 years, this episode is loaded with real talk and practical lessons you won’t find in a manufacturer’s brochure.

🔥 50 lighting assassins. That’s it. We’re training the elite. Everyone else is background noise. You can chase scraps—or you can become the one others chase. Which will it be?

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/

Captain Matt sold lights at $240 a fixture...and still walked away with over $1,000 in profit on a single job. This episode isn't about bragging—it's about breaking the industry's worst habit: pricing by fixture and comparing your rates like you're swinging for ego points.

Inside this raw breakdown:

• Why per-fixture pricing is killing your business
  

• How to calculate your daily operating number (the real number that matters)
  

• Why small fixture counts don’t scale—and how to quote smarter
  

• When $275 a fixture is a win…and when it’s a train wreck
  

• A real job breakdown that made $1,300+ in net profit at $240 per fixture
  

• Why guys charging $400/fixture are still going broke
  

We’re not here to play the average game. This episode is a callout—and a blueprint—to stop flying blind and start pricing for profit, not for pride.

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/

Truth bomb: Most lighting contractors will never sell a 60+ fixture job—not because the clients can’t afford it, but because the contractor’s scared to even design it.

In this episode of The Lighting Trade School Podcast, Captain Matt and Glow Daddy Shane Duffy show love to the real ones inside our system who are dropping bombs on their market with massive jobs, high-end clients, and elite-level designs—because they’ve been trained to think bigger and execute cleaner with Lifetime Lighting fixtures.

This isn’t theory. This is:

• One guy landing a $32K job just weeks after training
  

• Another building a 70-fixture front-yard layout that blew the builder’s mind
  

• And guys with zero lighting background who now outshine 20-year veterans in their city
  

You’ll learn:

• Why 95% of contractors default to small jobs—and how that’s sabotaging their growth
  

• What it actually takes to design and close 5-figure projects without flinching
  

• Why big jobs are more profitable and easier to sell—if you have the right system
  

• And how our Lighting Trade School is breeding the next wave of elite
  

If you’re done with basic installs, this episode is your wake-up call. You don’t get elite results with average thinking.

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/

🔥 Most contractors sell safety lights. Our guys design masterpieces. 50 lighting assassins. Trained. Equipped. Unstoppable. You in?

Still sending line-item quotes in Jobber or Joist? You’re losing deals you should be closing—because you’re not building value.

In this episode of Captain’s Quarters First Class, Captain Matt breaks down his evolved proposal process that closes more jobs, faster, often without stepping foot on the property.

Inside this masterclass in client experience and sales psychology:

💥 Why “just sending the price” kills trust and kills the sale

💥 How to create proposals that pre-frame, educate, and close

💥 A breakdown of what to include in every line item (and why it matters)

💥 How Captain Matt stacks value with video walk-throughs of every quote

💥 Why this works especially well for color changing soffit lights and remote sales

Whether you're slinging permanent lighting or pitching high-end landscape design, this episode teaches you how to stop being a contractor—and start closing like a pro.

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/