Episode 60 - Brendan Quigley of Three Acres

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/