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=sponsorships Timestamps 00:00 Exploring Money and Business 02:21 Brendan's Journey into Shopify Development 04:37 The Journey of Freelancing 06:40 Building a Business in E-commerce 09:09 The Power of Automation and Scripting 15:23 Understanding Finances as a Solopreneur 27:12 Implementing Profit First for Business Success 29:44 Membership Models and Client Relationships 36:05 Understanding Project Tiers and Workflows 38:47 The Importance of Time Management in Client Projects 39:48 Building Relationships with Clients 43:35 Scaling Your Business Effectively 47:22 Utilization Rates and Work-Life Balance 52:51 Transitioning to the Changelog and New Developments 01:07:06 LW podcast intro video.mp4 Dev Changelog All 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 Week Karl - Quest Protein Chips Taylor - Waste King L-8000 1HP Garbage disposal affiliate link https://amzn.to/45OnoIK Brendan - YNAB - https://www.ynab.com and Raspberry Pi + Pihole - http://pishop.us/ or https://pishop.ca/ AND https://pi-hole.net/ SEO Keywords Liquid 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, deliverables Subscribe to Liquid Weekly Don't miss out on expert insights and tips—subscribe to Liquid Weekly for more content like this: https://liquidweekly.com/