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/

Most lighting business owners don’t lose their companies overnight.They let them decay slowly by tolerating the wrong behavior for too long.

In this episode of Captain’s Quarters First Class, Captain Matt shares a raw, real situation straight from an active job site where a new hire showed exactly who he was on day two…and was gone the same day.

Not because of a single mistake.Because of how he chose to show up.

Inside this episode:

• Why hiring “just to have a body” quietly destroys culture
  

• The difference between coachable mistakes and non-negotiable behavior
  

• How one toxic employee poisons good people and drives your best techs away
  

• The real test of core values: will you enforce them when it’s inconvenient?
  

• Why crews should never feel unsafe or on edge around coworkers
  

• The shift from “I see potential” to “do they actually want this?”
  

• How letting things slide turns your values into empty words
  

• Why underpaying for hard outdoor work guarantees turnover
  

• The truth behind “no one wants to work anymore”
  

• How hiring the right people unlocks growth instead of shrinking your income
  

Matt also dismantles the solopreneur lie:

“If I hire someone, I’ll make less.”

On a spreadsheet it might look true. In reality, it keeps you trapped.

The right team frees you to sell, design, lead, and build a company not just a job you can’t escape.

If you say culture, standards, and values matter to you…this episode forces the real question:

Are you actually protecting them or just talking about them?

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/

Most lighting business owners think growth comes from something new.A new ad platform. A new funnel. A new strategy.

In reality, growth usually comes from fixing what’s already working.

In this episode of Captain’s Quarters First Class, Captain Matt dismantles shiny-object syndrome, the habit that drains momentum, profits, and focus in service businesses.

Before you chase more leads, more platforms, or the next guru tactic, this episode forces you to look at the leaks in your current systems.

Inside the conversation:

• Why “we need more leads” is often a misdiagnosis
  

• How the first phone call quietly determines the entire client experience
  

• Why unclear messaging lowers trust and spend
  

• The power of scripts, tone, and emotional framing on day one
  

• How small wording changes can dramatically improve close rates
  

• Why refining one proven system beats launching five new ones
  

• A real example of expensive marketing that failed because fundamentals weren’t dialed in
  

• When to keep testing and when to walk away from distractions
  

This episode isn’t anti-marketing.It’s pro-discipline.

Every business has something that works.Your job is to identify it, refine it, and compound it before you add anything else.

Optimize. Measure. Repeat.That’s how real companies are built.

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/

A lot of Christmas lighting installers think they’re elite at sales until they try to sell something without a deadline, nostalgia, or built-in demand.

In this episode of Captain’s Quarters First Class, Captain Matt breaks down why crushing it in Christmas doesn’t automatically translate to success in landscape lighting and why that disconnect catches so many installers off guard.

Christmas selling is easy because the value already exists.Landscape lighting requires you to create it from scratch.

Inside the episode:

• The psychological difference between seasonal buying and discretionary buying
  

• Why Christmas success doesn’t equal sales mastery
  

• How to establish value when clients have no reference point
  

• Why your holiday clients don’t instantly see you as a lighting designer
  

• The mistake of letting December momentum die in January
  

• How to structure a starter package that removes friction and still protects profit
  

• Using takedowns and over-the-ground demos to preload spring installs
  

• The mindset shift required to stop resetting every year
  

This episode isn’t about working harder in December.It’s about building a system that carries momentum into Q1 and beyond.

If you’re tired of sprinting for 45 days and scrambling the rest of the year, this conversation reframes the problem and shows you how to fix it by building value, not chasing it.

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/

Most lighting companies don’t collapse because of bad installs.

They collapse because they misunderstand their money.

In this episode of Captain’s Quarters First Class, Captain Matt pulls the curtain back on a financial trap that shows up every December when revenue spikes, confidence inflates, and bad decisions feel justified.

The problem isn’t cash flow. It’s false security.

This episode breaks down:

• Why seasonal revenue creates dangerous confidence
  

• How December money tricks owners into short-term thinking
  

• The hidden cost of spending just to “beat taxes”
  

• Why depreciation and capital improvements are misunderstood and misused
  

• The risk of operating mentally like a big company when you’re seasonal the rest of the year
  

• Why most businesses fail in the quiet months, not the busy ones
  

Captain Matt also walks through the Money Game framework how to track survival months, real operating costs, debt exposure, and risk so decisions are based on clarity, not emotion.

This isn’t motivation.It’s correction.

The calendar won’t save you.More revenue won’t save you.

Only better decisions will.

If you want the next year to look different, this episode forces the mindset shift required to let go of the old version of you and operate with intention instead of reaction.

👉 Instagram: @captainmatt_outdoors

👉 https://www.captainmattoutdoors.com/

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/

Most deals don’t die.They just get neglected.

In this episode of Captain’s Quarters First Class, Captain Matt calls out one of the most expensive habits in service businesses labeling silence as “ghosting” instead of taking responsibility for follow-up.

Here’s the reality:- Some clients never saw the proposal.- Some didn’t understand it.- Some needed a conversation, not another email.

Inside the episode:

• Why chasing “maybes” quietly kills momentum
  

• How falling in love with a clear yes or no changes everything
  

• What happened this week on Matt’s own real follow-ups
  

• Why walking a proposal beats sending one every time
  

• How to use Loom and video without hiding behind email
  

• Why calling while sending the estimate increases close rates
  

• When a real phone call outperforms texts and automations
  

This episode isn’t about pressure. It’s about clarity.

If you want more closed jobs, stop assuming people vanished.Pick up the phone.Confirm delivery.Have the conversation.

Because most clients aren’t avoiding you.They’re waiting for leadership.

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/

A lot of lighting guys think systems close jobs.They don’t. People do.

In this episode of Captain’s Quarters First Class, Captain Matt calls out a mistake that quietly costs lighting companies real money every fourth quarter hiding behind screens instead of showing up in person.

October isn’t admin season. It’s game time.

Whether you install Christmas lighting, permanent lighting, or landscape lighting, this is when homeowners are paying attention. And if you’re firing off PDFs, sending software links, and avoiding face-to-face conversations, you’re already losing ground.

Inside this episode:

• Why in-person meetings still outperform any virtual process
  

• How presence builds trust faster than polished proposals
  

• The difference between real reputation and online reviews
  

• Why acting “too busy” repels the best clients
  

• How showing up changes the entire sales dynamic
  

If your calendar isn’t full yet, this episode is the reality check.

Get out of the chair.Go meet people.Let them experience you, not just your quote.

Because the right clients don’t hire links.

They hire leaders.

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/