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/