Where are the jobs? In a different market, maybe a flower shop with mothers day coming. I used to work at a flower shop and they make bank if your in a good location. Think about all the holidays, wedding, deaths, graduations, birthdays, etc why doesn’t Landscape architecture have special days like this, like earth day you think people would think about getting their yard converted into a sustainable ecofriendly moneysaving landscape design. May be they do but it doesn’t show like selling a dozen roses for $80 on valentines day.
I have been laid off since 08 a year after I graduated and I love what I do but it just isn’t paying me enough to move on with my life. I’ve been self employed as a designer and sometimes a builder if I believe I can handle the installation. Was bartering alot on craigslist to get my name out there and some good has come from bartering and also a few headaches. Lets see in the last two years I have bartered just for plans a few cool items that sounded like a good idea at the time such as: a 22′ catalina sailboat (which i eventually gave to a buddy for a thirty pack of coorslight) I bought a bigger boat and didn’t want to pay rent for two slips, a flat screen tv which I use as my pc monitor, two dentist (one rootcanal and the other cleaning and whittening), a mountainbike (which I gave to my buddy, I have too many bikes), business advice coaches, advertisement services, and a sailing charter before I had a sailboat and thats about it for the cool stuff. All through craigslist I was trying to get more jobs and get my name out there as a designer. i believe it takes a real passion for this profession to deal with these homeowner so if you don’t like dealing with them then I would keep looking for a firm position. As for me I have seen alot more of my ideas come to life working for myself and have made a name for myself and my designs but I would like to have that firm steady income job and be working on the biggest and best projects. But those projects are scarce and limited to those firms with 30plus years in the business.
So I guess the point of all this is to make a name for yourself and your designs and the jobs will come.
Stay up from Cali,
I want to own a flower shop.
neil
