The Thriving Landscape Designer : A Practice Guide to Client Management, Marketing and Profitability

'There are thousands of well-educated and highly-qualified landscape designers in this country but only a fraction of them make a decent living. For too long, this talented community has placed its artistry above charging fairly for its services. It is time to figure out a better, fairer way.' Chapter one This hands-on book discusses all the elements of Catherine Wiersema's top rated, semester-long, professional practice course for landscape designers, taught at Radcliffe/Harvard's Landscape Institute and the Boston Architectural Center over the past 15 years. Richly illustrated with lessons learned and war stories from her own and others' practical experiences, the book is a step-by-step guide to building a profitable, client-focused business. Both early-career and advanced landscape designers and landscape architects will find much of value to help them target the best clients, promote and price their services, and above all, manage the multiple phases of happy client relationships. About the Author: This book is the culmination of Catherine's career as landscape designer and educator. For many years, her sought-after design/build practice - Boussard Garden Design - focused on large residential properties. With her professional practice course she addressed a big void in the curriculum for landscape designers - how to build a profitable business. She is a recipient of the Harvard Landscape Institute's Distinguished Faculty award and has been an acclaimed lecturer at numerous conferences including those of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers. Catherine is a graduate of Radcliffe's Program in Landscape Design, is APLD-certified, and holds an MBA. Her earlier career was in marketing/sales in the corporate world and as associate professor of marketing and strategy.