communication
As I discussed in the June installment of this column, the construction of a backyard watershape environment requires careful and clear coordination - and sensitivity to the fact that watching the process unfold can be unpleasant or even traumatic for your clients. Without a doubt, the key to managing the process so that your clients don't become unhappy requires purposeful, up-front communication that sets realistic expectations for how the project will progress - and when. Similarly, you should also set up expectations for the inevitable
I take a lot of pictures of my work - so many, in fact, that friends and colleagues often tease me about it. Chief among those antagonists are my Genesis 3 compatriots, Brian Van Bower and Skip Phillips, who have a running joke about how I always have a slide show ready, whether it's two in the morning in my home or off in some location far removed from classrooms or offices. And it's true: Because I shoot 35-mm slides of every aspect of every one of my projects, I usually
Last month, I began a discussion of things that those of us in the watershaping trades can do to improve our collective profile with the public - not to mention enhance our collective self-image. Education, of course, is a huge factor. And so is the level of professional courtesy with which we treat both clients and prospects. But those two points, discussed in detail last time, have less to do with the way we approach the practicalities of our businesses than is the case with another point that bears discussion: that is, project management and how we
"Without goals, you become what you were. With goals, you become what you wish." -- James Fadiman As I've grown in my personal life and as a businessperson, I've come to recognize a powerful relationship between basic axioms (such as the one just above from James Fadiman) and the setting of my own goals. To paraphrase Mr. Webster, an axiom is a self-evident truth or proposition. Many are quite familiar, so much so that phrases including "Honesty is the best policy" or "Nothing
Let me introduce you to an exciting project I've been working on most of this year. Right from the top, I'll say that even in the realm of the unique and rarified, this one is truly amazing. The clients are quite well-to-do, and the moment you walk into their home, you can't help recognizing that they are accomplished art collectors with an eye for modern masters as well as folk art. Their beachfront Malibu, Calif., home - one of
I don't know if it's because I work in the pool and spa industry or if this is common to other fields, but I know a great many people who run businesses who are ill-prepared to do so. Architects and landscape architects might have taken some classes that introduced them to basic business principles, but their counterparts in the pool and spa trades are far less likely to have taken such classes and tend to run things by the seat of their pants. In my case, I've learned what I know about business through seminars and business-oriented reading. I've made
Working outside your home region is exciting stuff. It opens you to a broader and often more dynamic arena for doing business and lets you work with new sets of clients and their architects, landscape architects and designers. The projects are typically interesting and often unusual, and you can make a good dollar while reaping the personal benefits that come with travel to faraway places. On the one hand, being in demand for long-distance projects represents a measure of success in your business and shows the high degree of confidence others are willing to place in your skills. The simple fact that clients are willing to
As a contractor, do you ever wish that you could avoid fussing with clients about design and could instead just get down to the business of building watershapes and getting all the details right? Do you ever think you're wasting the time you spend on design, because you know your prospects might go with another contractor despite the time you've spent drawing pretty pictures? Not every watershape contractor will answer "yes" to the first question, but I'm sure most of you have at least thought "yes" about the second one. That's because most contractors I know don't charge for design, at least not directly. As necessary, you'll hire
One of my least favorite activities is testifying as an expert witness in legal disputes over watershaping projects gone awry. As a rule, I try to stay out of courtrooms for any reason, but from time to time, I reluctantly agree to offer my opinion as a witness if I think I can help generate a fair outcome. Despite my best intentions, however, I seldom see it as time well spent. The process is often stressful, and I know deep down, regardless of who's right and who's wrong, that lawsuits are
I'm always looking for projects where I'm brought in to design the entire exterior environment, complete with hardscape, planting plans and watershapes. Working this way gives me a straight shot at integrating all of these major elements into cohesive designs that fit the setting. But I believe in collaboration, too, and in giving interested clients an opportunity to participate in the process. I listen carefully to what they say, factor in their budgets and then start working toward a suitable design. This integrated approach often requires intensive and extensive interaction with homeowners. Through it all, I'm flexible - but I'm also confident in my abilities, experience and expertise and generally end up installing something that closely matches my sense of the way things should be. When it works, everything goes smoothly. In the case of the project pictured in these pages, however, the process has been much more involved and is, 18 months into it, still ongoing in
