If your installs feel smooth…but stuff keeps slipping through the cracks…this episode is your wake-up call.

Captain Matt and Shane “Glow Daddy” Duffy go deep into the real backbone of a scalable lighting company: process. From daily install checklists to marketing rituals that pay off months later, this episode reveals how the pros keep quality consistent, even when they’re not on site.

Inside this episode:

Why your team needs a checklist (even if they’ve done 100 installs.)

How Captain Matts crews complete non-install marketing tasks like signs, reviews, and door hangers

What Shane tracks on every single job to avoid chaos later

A behind-the-scenes look at CompanyCam as-built documentation

Why playing the right music at a job site changes your brand perception

And how not using a table might cost your knees and your sanity

Plus, they dive into Lifetime Lighting’s full color and material lineup, because no, they're not “just the plastic fixture guys.”

This is an ops-heavy, field-tested episode every growing lighting company needs. Whether you’re managing a team or doing installs yourself, the details in here could save you thousands (and hours of frustration).

If you're calling your crew ‘1099’ but treating them like employees… you're playing with fire.

In this episode, Captain Matt tackles one of the most misunderstood (and most dangerous) topics in the lighting industry: the difference between true 1099 subcontractors and W-2 employees.

If you’ve ever:

Paid a guy under the table and called it a “1099”

Let someone clock in at 8 a.m. and drive your truck using your tools

Skipped workers' comp to save a few bucks

Told yourself, “I’ll fix it later…”

…this episode could save your business from an audit, a lawsuit, or worse.

Inside:

The exact difference between a true subcontractor and a misclassified employee.

Why insurance, worker’s comp, and payroll tracking aren’t optional as you scale.

How to set up clock-in systems and tax structures that actually protect you.

The audit nightmare Matt went through so you don’t have to.

How to budget the costs into every job and run a real business, not just a side hustle.

This episode isn’t legal advice. It’s battle-tested owner advice from a guy who’s grown crews across Christmas, landscape, and soffit lighting and has seen how fast things can go wrong when you’re not protected.

If you're still operating in the gray...this is your line in the sand.

Captain Matt is back with a raw, unfiltered look at what it really takes to start, and restart, in this business. This episode dives deep into what it looked like when he launched The Christmas Guys in 2009 with nothing but printer paper, mailbox flags, and relentless grit. No ad budget. No training programs. Just hustle.

But this one goes beyond the glory stories... It’s about being wrong and why that’s a necessary part of your growth. Whether you're pivoting from power washing, letting go of a lawn care brand, or just afraid to admit the first move didn’t go as planned, Matt breaks down how quitting one thing to build the next doesn’t make you a failure, it makes you free.

You’ll hear stories about:

Why his first target market (nursing homes) was a complete bust

How he turned 3 clients into 9 using flyers and guerrilla tactics

The expensive lessons from Groupon deals and failed TV commercials

Why ego keeps too many guys stuck in businesses they hate

And the hard truth: If nobody knows what you do, nobody can hire or refer you

This one’s for the underdog. The guys staring at a pivot but afraid to pull the trigger. The one who knows they were meant for more, but can’t shake the fear of looking like a failure.

If you're ready to start, and keep going even when it hurts... this episode is for you.

You want to know what separates real lighting pros from the weekend warriors? It's not the gear. It's not the budget. It’s the hard-won knowledge and the willingness to admit when your early installs sucked.

In this unfiltered episode of the Lighting Trade School Podcast, Captain Matt, Shane Duffy, and Nate Mullen go deep into:

The dangerous myth of resettable circuit breakers (yes, your transformer might be a ticking fire hazard)

Why 6-inch burial depth is a lie and what Nate’s Electrical Code really says.

How soy-based wire insulation from China is triggering rodent attacks nationwide.

Why you should never trust the screw until you ask what it’s for.

Common mistakes pros STILL make when converting halogen to LED.

The origin of the term “prenatals” (hint: it's not from a maternity ward)

Plus: a sponsor spotlight on Lifetime Lighting Systems and why smart contractors are switching to armored cable in rodent-heavy zones.

This episode is one part lighting masterclass, one part group therapy, and one part comedy roast of every mistake you’re probably making.

Warning: Contains strong language, and blunt truth.

In this episode, we keep the questions coming, diving deeper into our list of the Top 40 Questions to Ask a Landscape Lighting Coach so you can grow faster, avoid costly mistakes, and build a lighting business with serious legs.

But this episode’s not just talk we also go behind the scenes of our first live lighting trainings in our home states.

🎤 Captain Matt breaks down what went down in New York, the wins, the surprises, and how the guys left fired up and ready to sell

🎯 Shane shares what he’s planning for his upcoming event and how he’s setting it up for max impact

📋 Real questions from attendees, real results, and the real reason live training hits different

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to get mentored by people actually doing the work and not just talking about it this is the episode you’ve been waiting for.

Training is the cheat code. Mentoring is the accelerator. Let's go.

Every legacy has a beginning.

This is mine.

Long before The Lighting Trade School.

Before the podcast.

Before the coaching.

Before the mentoring.

Before the installs that made millionaires and billionaires say “damn.”

There was a broke dad in upstate New York hanging lights to buy his kid Christmas presents.

In this premiere episode of Captain’s Quarters First Class, I take you back - back to the hot cocoa clients, the winter hustle, and the hard lessons that forced me to evolve from seasonal side-hustler to full-time lighting artist.

You’ll hear:

The real reason I had to go beyond Christmas lights.

What it really felt like jumping into landscape lighting blind.

How a stranger named Nate Mullen changed the trajectory of my career.

And the mindset shift that changed my business, and life forever.

This podcast is the continuation of something bigger…

A mission to raise the standard in business and life. To train the next generation. 

Hit play and step into first class.

This isn’t just a podcast.

This is a call to build something real…

To be the guy who stays when others tap out.

To be the name people remember because you chose to master your craft when others played it safe.

If you're ready to stop dabbling and start dominating...

Welcome to Captain’s Quarters First Class.

The China tariffs just hit. Prices are rising. Most manufacturers are scrambling, or quietly passing the pain onto you. But not us.

In this episode, we bring in Nate Mullen, founder of Lifetime Lighting Systems, to lay it all out. He’s spent millions of dollars and years of relentless work to bring manufacturing back to America. While the rest of the industry is panicking, we’re already built for this. No price hikes. No excuses.

💥 Nate goes off, calling out big-name manufacturers by name

💥 Why most companies can’t pivot to U.S. manufacturing without a decade of pain

💥 The hidden cost of buying overseas, and why it’s killing your business

💥 How real installers (not desk jockeys) build better products AND support

If you're tired of delays, broken promises, and getting ghosted when you need help... this episode is your wake-up call.

Support American-made. Support real lighting pros. And tell the rest of the industry you're giving America a chance. 

This isn’t just a product pitch. It’s a movement.

Think your lighting coach knows their stuff? Time to find out.

In this follow-up to our hit episode, Captain Matt and Shane Duffy dive back into the Top 40 Questions Every Lighting Coach Should Be Able to Answer, and this time, we go deeper.

From supply house sales reps acting like pros to Facebook group “experts” giving garbage advice…

We’re calling out the BS and handing you the questions that expose who's real and who's just pretending.

✅ Can your coach design, install, AND service their own jobs?

✅ Do they know NEC code... or just quote memes?

✅ Are they teaching you artistry… or how to bury wire and pray?

Whether you’re brand new or scaling to 7 figures, this episode will sharpen your filter and make sure the voice in your ear actually deserves to be there.

Stop wasting time taking advice from broke coaches and clueless counter jockeys.

🎧 Listen now and protect your business from the blind leading the blind.

#lightingtradeschool #shaneduffy #captainmatt

🔥 The lighting industry is under fire... and we’re naming names. 

In this no-holds-barred episode, we pull back the curtain on the industry BS being thrown at Lifetime Lighting Systems—and the man behind it all, Nate “The Illuminator” Mullen, sets the record straight.

From inventing the multi-tap transformer to getting sued for being right, Nate has a history of shaking up the industry… and being attacked for it. Now, it’s happening again. Competing manufacturers, shady sales reps, and clueless supply house "gurus" are spreading lies—and we’re done staying quiet.

Why does this episode matter?Because if you’re building your outdoor lighting business based on bad info from people who’ve never installed a damn fixture in their life…You’re being lied to.And it’s costing you money.

🚨 Whether you’re brand new or a seasoned pro, this is the episode you can’t afford to skip.

We cover:

🔧 The real origin of multi-tap transformers (hint: it wasn’t your supplier)

🔥 Why history is repeating itself with today’s attacks on Nate’s new products

📉 The myths that keep your installs underperforming

💥 Why bad advice from non-installers is killing your growth.

🎧 Listen now and find out who’s full of it—and who’s been quietly helping you win all along.

Who’s really guiding your lighting journey?

In this episode, we drop the Top 40 Questions you should be asking anyone who claims they can help you grow your lighting business—whether it's a “coach,” someone behind a supply house counter, or a smooth-talking sales rep.

Because if they’ve never walked the walk...Why are you listening to their talk?

We’re pulling back the curtain and giving you the exact questions that separate real lighting pros from and not a guy who has never put a light in the ground. If you’re going to invest your time, money, and future, make sure it’s with someone who’s actually done the work.

🔍 Think of this as your BS detector for the outdoor lighting world.

🎯 Whether you’re just getting started or trying to scale, this episode will make you rethink who you trust with your business.

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