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/

Oceanfront estates. Lakefront cabins. Snow-covered boardwalks. You might think they all need different fixtures—but most lighting guys are still screwing it up the same way.

In this episode of The Lighting Trade School Podcast, Captain Matt, Shane "Glow Daddy" Duffy, and Nate “The Illuminator” Mullen break down what really happens to fixtures in harsh environments—and how most “coastal rated” brass isn’t worth the box it ships in.

You’ll learn:

• Why cast brass cracks, splits, and fails near saltwater
  

• What to use instead (and how Nate’s fixtures stay beautiful on actual Miami docks)
  

• The secret to lighting docks that get removed every winter
  

• Why salt isn’t just an ocean problem—it’s under your shoes in New York and Minnesota too
  

• Smart design moves for lake houses, coastal mansions, and bug-heavy waterfronts
  

• How to turn a dock into a themed hangout spot using Polynesians, downlighting, and pro-level scene layering
  

This isn’t theory—it’s from real installs, real problems, and real fixes. If you want your work to last in coastal, lakeside, or frozen hellscapes, this episode is a must.

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/

🔥 The soft get soaked. The loud get ignored. But the elite—the lighting assassins—adapt to any environment and make money doing it. We're training 50 killers. Which one are you?

Most lighting guys are addicted to the chase—new leads, new clients, new installs. But what if the real money is sitting untouched in your own CRM?

In this episode of Captain’s Quarters First Class, Captain Matt breaks down one of the most overlooked strategies in any outdoor lighting business: re-engaging the people who told you "no."

Learn how he uses the “No for Now” mindset to pull in five- and six-figures from clients who once ghosted him… and why your ignored leads list might be your most valuable asset.

We cover: ⚡️ Why “No” isn’t the end—it’s just a delay ⚡️ How Matt’s email and text reactivation campaigns close $12K+ in a week ⚡️ Real scripts, systems, and follow-up psychology that create conversions ⚡️ The difference between a true “Do Not Contact” and a “Not Yet” ⚡️ Why your follow-up failures are costing you a fortune.

Whether you’re a Christmas light installer, a landscape lighting designer, or building your empire with Gemstone Lights, this episode will show you how to unlock the money you already paid for.

Stop hunting. Start harvesting.

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 do you do when a client asks you to hang Costco bistro lights… on a $70,000 outdoor kitchen?

If you're like most lighting guys—you say yes and cash a small check.

But if you're Glow Daddy Shane Duffy? You say, “That’s lame.” Then you quote a 40-fixture, multi-zone, high-end lighting portrait complete with downlit succulents in custom pots, fire-flickering sconces, and a switched system that turns a plain backyard into a luxury resort.

In this episode of The Lighting Trade School Podcast, Captain Matt and Shane break down the anatomy of a killer design that 99 out of 100 contractors wouldn't even attempt. From choosing the right viewing angles to integrating Polynesian fixtures and Enlighteners, this is a behind-the-scenes masterclass in design elevation—and how you build referable work that markets itself.

🎯 If you’re tired of being a lighting installer and ready to start designing masterpieces, this one’s for you.

You'll learn:

• The mindset shift that turns bistro jobs into high-ticket design projects
  

• Why sitting in your client’s favorite chair changes everything
  

• How to pitch the what if we went bigger? vision
  

• What Shane uses on every quote to separate from low-level competitors
  

• The exact fixture types and layout logic behind a 40-fixture outdoor kitchen upgrade
  

This is the type of design that gets talked about, posted, and shown off. Want more jobs like that? Press play.

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. We’re training the elite, and everyone else is background noise. You can chase jobs—or become the one others chase. Which are you?

In this episode of The Lighting Trade School Podcast, Captain Matt and Shane Duffy go deep on one of the most overlooked success skills in landscape lighting: staying calm in the chaos. From blown fiber optics to totaled trucks and irate clients mid-demo, they've both been through hell and back — and learned that not every fire needs to be put out immediately.

Instead of playing firefighter all day, learn how to let some fires burn. You’ll hear real-world examples of:

Turning a “no” from 2 years ago into $12K with one text blast

How a totaled car mid-job didn’t derail the day

Why obsessing over the small stuff weakens your leadership

What it really means to be the calm in your team’s storm

The high-dollar problems that must happen if you're scaling

🎯 Whether you're building your first six-figure lighting company or growing to seven and beyond, this episode will hit different. Because pressure doesn’t stop—it just evolves.

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. We’re training the elite, and everyone else is background noise. You can chase jobs—or become the one others chase. Which are you?