Natural Landscaping Contractors in 5 Useful Answers

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• What type of precautions does your company take to ensure client safety?
• How did you get into this industry?
• What’s the favorite thing you enjoy about the work that you do?
• Tell me a short story about an interesting job or customer.

So, obviously, during the pandemic, you know, we followed safety protocols. You know, social distancing, masking up, not visiting clients when you're sick or you have flu-like symptoms. And generally, construction is an inherently dangerous process. Um, we're working in homes, we're working in confined places, very small areas, and we use a lot of different equipment that can cause harm. You know, whether it's bobcats or chainsaws that create a lot of dust. So, we try to, you know, take precautions to protect the home, protect the homeowners. Um, and then we also, one big part of it is creating a garden that's safe for homeowners. You know, there are things that you have to pay attention to. You're not creating a space that could injure a guest or injure a homeowner or injure kids. So, in the designing process, you have to really think about building something that's safe. Um, you know, during the construction process, there's also a lot of dangers. Um, you know, we try to clean up and organize our jobs when homeowners are coming out looking at the projects when we're gone. Um, we ensure all the tools are put away. So, those are some of the safety things that we, you know, do when we're doing the projects. I'm, you know, you can consider me like a second-generation landscaper. My dad is a landscape contractor. Um, he was not a contractor forever. You know, he was a bit of a gardener, but he has his contractor license. I graduated from school studying accounting, and I thought I was going to be an accountant, except last year or so, I realized it's not for me. I just didn't think it suited my personality, and I was at a loss for a bit. But then my dad had a lot of demand for construction projects, and he didn't know what to do other than asking me for help. So, I started helping him out with the, you know, estimating cost of projects, and, you know, whatever the plans came, we would create proposals to do the calculations of it. And that was sort of how I got introduced to the landscape profession. And then I ended up eventually starting on my own and getting my own contractor license and starting my own company separately from him. That was kind of the beginning of how I got in the industry, and I really actually enjoy the work. It's fun, fun. It's a creative process. It's building something that you enjoy. I love helping people, and, you know, it's not just about building, you know, fancy gardens or, you know, nice gardens just a byproduct of working with people. It's about improving people's lives. Um, what I learned is like, no, every person works so hard, and they toil every day, you know, for whatever they're doing. At the end of the day, you're coming to a home where it relaxes you, and then it kind of improves, you know, improves your day. That's what I love doing. I think that's where, like, enjoyment comes from, is seeing your clients enjoying their homes a lot more once the garden is done. So, one of my probably favorite customers, and then she was probably the first customer that was a large project when we started out. This happened in 2006. We had started my business in 2005, and this was the first large project over $50,000, and it was a very large, you know, Lafayette garden, huge sloped area. We have to cut the slope, put retaining walls, create patio space, create play areas, create lawn areas. So, it was a really fun project, and it came out really great. And then that customer eventually sold the house, moved into a newer, bigger house, but with a very difficult yard. I mean, you walk in there, you're just like, man, how would we ever build this garden? So, fast forward today, actually, we're about to finish that new garden, and then, you know, it's a very terrorist garden. It was very challenging to plan and design, but it's coming along really great. Um, it's one of those, like, difficult gardens that no contractor really wants to go bid at. And it was a, you know, it's a challenging and a fun project. And I love stuff like that. You know, sometimes that's unique, and it's hard to do, and it's challenging for me. That kind of, you know, keeps you on the edge of growing, and I like that.