Professional Watershaping
'If you ask a roomful of watershapers about the toughest of the basic business challenges they face,' wrote Brian Van Bower in opening his Aqua Culture column for January 2005, 'there's little doubt in my mind that a large percentage of them would say that finding, hiring and keeping good employees is near the top of the list.' 'Depending upon several factors - the size of your company, its business volume, its focus and how much work you submit to outside contractors - your own approach
Here's a list of all 36 of Mike Farley's 'What Is It?' videos. The series ran for nearly seven years after starting in 2012 and forms a video catalog of trends in pool and spa design and accessorizing. #1: Rain Fall - click
'When you work with someone in a cooperative effort to achieve a common goal,' wrote Curt Straub in a trailblazing article in October 1999, 'the odds are greatly reduced that you will wind up one day facing that person in a courtroom. 'The neat thing about this form of cooperation, also known in business circles as partnering, is that it can do much more than keep you off your lawyer's time clock. In fact, partnering is something that all of us in the industry can
'Until quite recently,' declared Brian Van Bower in opening his October 2009 Aqua Culture column, 'it was difficult to find too many people in the watershaping industry who were willing to say much about "going green." 'For a while now, I've thought that was a mistake: It's been manifestly clear for several years that practices and programs related to energy conservation, water conservation and an overall sense of environmental responsibility are here to stay, and I always think it's better to
'One of the themes I've covered repeatedly through the years,' wrote Brian Van Bower in opening his Aqua Culture column in September 2009, 'has had to do with the need for all of us to become effective team players. 'True, there have been times when egos have gotten in the way and I've found myself in fairly dysfunctional groups, but for all that, I have to say that collaboration very often
'The notion that we should do all we can to exceed client expectations,' wrote Brian Van Bower to open his August 2009 Aqua Culture column, 'is one we hear trumpeted in almost every inspirational business seminar and in nearly every keynote speech during trade shows. 'There are very good reasons for
Of all the promotional tools Dave Garton has deployed to support his watershaping business through the years, nothing has been more effective than his business cards. Why so? As as he reports here, it's because there's more to them than the usual bits of contact information.
'To my way of thinking,' wrote David Tisherman to open his Details column in August 2004, 'professional design work requires a professional workspace in which all of the necessary professional tools are available. 'In fact, for the designer creating custom watershapes, I see the space in which the work actually unfolds as being critical and cutting to the very heart of what it really means to be a "designer." I know that
Most successful designers have a bit of show business in them. Whether you play the sophisticated artiste or radiate a quiet competence, it's all about making a connection with a client who is asking you to participate in a significant project, whatever your personality or approach. I've always wondered how those at the extremes of the personal-style spectrum find work, but the fact of the matter is that all of us, designers and clients alike, are individuals who respond in different ways to different triggers - and I know for a fact that the way I work isn't for everyone simply based on the fact that we don't win every contract we pursue. For all that, however, we at Lorax Design Group (Overland Park, Kans.) have developed our own pattern and have found that it works for us often enough to
'When it comes to just about anything that matters in life,' wrote Brian Van Bower to open his June 1999 Aqua Culture column, 'the difference between success and failure is often your mindset and the attitude you bring to each situation, event or occasion. 'That's a huge generalization,' he added, 'but it's something I consider each and every time I prepare myself for
