Show notes
In this episode of the Liquid Weekly Podcast, Karl Meisterheim and Taylor Page talk with Shopify partner Brendan Quigley (founder of Three Acres) about building a sustainable solo business. Brendan shares his path into Shopify development, lessons from freelancing, and practical financial strategies—including YNAB and Profit First—to create more control and stability.They also discuss moving from one-off projects to retainer/membership models for predictable income, strengthening long-term client relationships, setting clear expectations, scaling thoughtfully, and managing time well. The episode wraps with Brendan’s perspective on selling expertise, improving productivity, and protecting work-life balance.*Support Heroes*For more information about the sponsor of this episode, Support Heroes, check out: http://thesupportheroes.com/?utm_source=liquid_weekly&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=sponsorshipsTimestamps00:00 Exploring Money and Business02:21 Brendan's Journey into Shopify Development04:37 The Journey of Freelancing06:40 Building a Business in E-commerce09:09 The Power of Automation and Scripting15:23 Understanding Finances as a Solopreneur27:12 Implementing Profit First for Business Success29:44 Membership Models and Client Relationships36:05 Understanding Project Tiers and Workflows38:47 The Importance of Time Management in Client Projects39:48 Building Relationships with Clients43:35 Scaling Your Business Effectively47:22 Utilization Rates and Work-Life Balance52:51 Transitioning to the Changelog and New Developments01:07:06 LW podcast intro video.mp4Dev ChangelogAll changelog updates are posts on the forum - https://community.shopify.dev/c/changelog/28 Shop Minis January 2026 update - https://shopify.dev/changelog/shop-minis-january-2026-update Automatically copy cart metafields to orders at checkout completion - https://shopify.dev/changelog/automatically-copy-cart-metafields-to-orders-at-checkout-completion New: Persist cart metafields to orders with `cartToOrderCopyable` - https://community.shopify.dev/t/new-persist-cart-metafields-to-orders-with-carttoordercopyable/29264 Increasing the app block limit to 30 for theme app extensions - https://shopify.dev/changelog/increasing-the-app-block-limit-to-30-for-theme-app-extensions Picks of the WeekKarl - Quest Protein ChipsTaylor - Waste King L-8000 1HP Garbage disposal affiliate link https://amzn.to/45OnoIKBrendan - YNAB - https://www.ynab.com and Raspberry Pi + Pihole - http://pishop.us/ or https://pishop.ca/ AND https://pi-hole.net/SEO KeywordsLiquid Weekly Podcast, Shopify, Brendan Quigley, finances, budgeting, solopreneur, Profit First, YNAB, development, entrepreneurship, business model, membership, client relationships, pricing, freelancing, productivity, time management, scaling, services, deliverablesSubscribe to Liquid WeeklyDon't miss out on expert insights and tips—subscribe to Liquid Weekly for more content like this: https://liquidweekly.com/