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Hi everyone , 
No one has mentioned Marketing and Sales and how you are using all of these tools to promote your business ??   Especially internet marketing and how you have designed and structured your web sites to drive enquiry to your companies/entities.  Or have you ? 
I am really really old and still have lots to learn , but I am up to dat…[Read more]

Thanks. That’s a great site.

Hi Jane , we have been using Vectorworks ( about $1500 to 3000) for years and it allows us to do Landscape Design , Architectural Design , Product Design and it comes with Renderworks that allows us to not have to export to other programs to get a great 2D and 3D result . There are also a couple of hundred training videos on youtube for it , so…[Read more]

I made some of the plant symbols for Idea Spectrums software in 2009 when I really needed work.

these are good problems to have..

1. I like myPantone, although it may be more helpful for computer work/graphics. It lifts the color palette from an image and gives you the recipe to match (RGB, etc) in photoshop, etc.
2. Sun Surveyor is good for plotting sun/shade in smaller scale work. You can look through the camera on your phone to see where the sun will be at different times…[Read more]

Crossvine might do, although the texture is a bit coarser than Jessamine and it wants full sun. Bignonia capreolata. It’s native, climbs by twining and with adhesive cups that don’t damage mortar. Flowers are red-orange, and attract hummingbirds. I have it in my yard, and the species performs better than the cultivar I purchased at the local…[Read more]

I have the same problem as well! I am in a position where I need additional people but afraid to hire because I am afraid the work will dry up. The Spring here in Ga has been a busy one.

It depends on what level of detail you want to get into in addition to cost. Many residential places use software that is designed just for that type of work with lots of plant symbols already in there and 3D objects. Kind of like better versions of the landscape programs you can get at Best Buy…and even those may actually suit your needs for…[Read more]

D’oh! Based on all these responses, all of us newbies (2 years or less) will never be hired, will we? Good to hear there’s enough business that you’ve (briefly) thought about hiring, though.

no software will or should make the design process easier.

Autocad lt I hear is a good, economical option. Then there is vecterworks and the dept store programs. You can do anything in photoshop.

-n

Depends on whats under the hood so to speak–I run a custom machine–win 7 64bit, 16 gb ram, nvidia graphics, core i-7 processor, etc. Also a SSD will make a big difference in a PC. From what I understand this is the main difference hardware wise between a mac and pc–its a $75-150 upgrade.

great responses.

laurent-

I am that freelance designer, but I am getting pulled in several directions on a regular basis. I think the type of projects and how theyre structured will need to evolve before I can realistically think about hiring or contracting help as well as office space. 

I dont know if its true or just what I am imagining, but…[Read more]

Max. $500 maybe $1000.

Agreed. Stick with Win7 and you can get a much better machine for much less money. Plus, they are much easier to upgrade.  

Now days the solution seems to sub-contract/collaborate with freelance LA or LD. A great way to reduce overhead.

Hire on contract – it’s not a bad thing to show your growth off initially and reward those that stick with you in the beginning.
Some copy/print shops have conference rooms for you to use for meetings; I’ve also seen a few folks use local workshare spaces.

We are in the same position as a design/build company. There are two of us currently that do both project management and design. The last couple of years have been very slow/intermittent but this year we have been borderline overwhelmed to the point that my construction management time is taking 90% of the time I have for design work. After trying…[Read more]

PC.

Youre paying for the brand with a mac. You get a lot more horsepower with a comparably priced PC.