I would look into joining MELA and/or a Wild Ones chapter. There's a WO's chapter that meets over in North Park Village in Chicago once a month. These groups support sustainable gardening - with a focus on natives. But they're also a couple of good places to network. With MELA in particular, you'll be able to meet quite a varied group of professionals in the various hort trades from growers, designers, LAs, to garden center managers.

I would not waste my time with LDA in Chicago. Of the 175+ members - it seems more like a club of bored housewives who think they can do design rather serious entrepreneurs. There's a few real contenders but the rest don't seem to produce very good and/or sustainable work. I work at a house in Oak Park that was designed by a prominent member and it's a maintenance nightmare for the new owners. It's about making money but also creating sustainable spaces that can look and develop well without a huge drain on water resources or constant replacement of inappropriate plantings.

You could also network by passing out your business card at the various garden centers in your area. You have to talk the folks in charge of course, but I've had some luck doing that.

Check out this thread below - much of it seems relevant to your situation.

Here is a link that might be useful: charging for garden service

This is a tough subject because only part of it has to do with your ability to design. Much more of it is to do with how you position yourself in the market. It is a whole different skill set that you need to develop in order to command good money.

What is an appropriate rate for one can be way too high for another or way too low for yet another. It is value and perceived value and that is something you can not set by proclaimation. It is something that others (the market) applies to you. The more confidence someone has in your value the more they are willing to pay you. Part of your perceived value has nothing to do with you and everything to do with the values of those you are trying to work for. If they do not, or can not, apply a significant amount of monatary value on what you do, your abilities will not raise your value to those people (and there is nothing wrong with people who can not do that*).

*I remember an employer of mine in a high end design/build landscaping company talking to his friend the custom cabinet maker about a client in his mid forties. He said "this guy is only our age and he can afford us".

It is not a list of things you need to do. It is more of a dynamic that can be built up with a combination of skills, experience, and knowledge that may be very differently balanced than other successful people out there.

The best thing to do is aim high in the first place and see if you get work and leave behind satisfied customers. Get work to get a feel for what this entails. Idealisticly, you will be able to talk to someone, get a general feel for what they want, and then do your thing and collect your money. Reality is that it does not work that way. You will be faced with challenges, small or big, on a daily basis that you had not thought of or had to deal with. Few of those are going to do with plants or plant arrangement.

You also have to be aware that whatever you do introduces a change on that property. Sometimes changes cause unintentional problems that can have a financial impact. Even if you do not build yur work, you are responsible for its impact, so be aware of that.

Some of the value that more established designers have is not for their stunning plant combinations, but for their knowledge and experience in solving or avoiding the creation of other problems.

Take on a job and see how it goes. See if you are getting enough money for it and see what your clients expect and how happy they are with the bill. Build your portfolio because in the short term it has more value than building your bank account.

I used to free-lance as a photo stylist in the commercial photography biz and I was great at the job itself but hated dealing with the money biz part of it. However I did this for 10 yrs and had plenty of work.I want to learn from the past which is why I agree that just because I'm a knowledgeable gardener doesn't mean I can run a successful buisness or be prepared for every problem.Here is what I have going for me. I am much older and wiser than I was then, more experianced with life in general and I feel much more confident that my overall integrity in my work and talent should be be valued and appreciated. Not just in a thrilled customer and a beautiful job result but also by my final compensation . I am not so desparate for work that I will take a job that is over my head or with someone who wants something for nothing. I would rather take on a few smaller jobs with peolpe who are willing to pay for a thourogh job. I have seen so many bored housewife garden buisnesses come and go and to tell you the truth when i have learned what people have paid for work that is marginal at best I had to finally accept peoples requests to hire me.I knew there was a market not only for my work but for me as person.(I hope that doesn't sound like I am an ego maniac. I am very willing to admit when I don't know something! Like typing, for instance!) I can't stand the fact that so many designs are not created or executed for the years ahead. What a waste of time and money.The first thing I did on both of my first jobs was to tell the clients that before anywork could be done we had to properly prepare the soil which in both cases needed amending and more soil brought in.I know it wasn't the most exciting place to start but I said an architect can draw a beautiful addition but it's worthless built on a lousy foundation.I was so pleased that in both cases they trusted me that they needed to spend a chunk of the budget money on dirt!Around here the skilled landscape labor is 30- 40$ per hour per guy. Even the cleaning ladies get $12.00 an hour. So where do I fit in?40- $45.00? Maybe less for shopping? I really don't want to do by the hour but for the first few I might, just to see how long certain jobs take.I really appreciate the help so far.I will let you know by pictures and details how these first jobs go with the money end as well as the garden results .Maybe it will be helpful to someone else thinking of doing this. I promise to even report on my problem areas as well and how they resolved.Keep that experianced advice coming! p.s. Any opinions on the name of my buisness and how it works for my particular nich? Also thanks for the organiztion tip because i am very intersted in using more sustainable plantings!

You will find that it is much easier to make sales if you charge a flat rate rather than to charge by the hour. The uncertainty makes people balk. You can come up with that flat rate based on your estimate of how long it will take you at $45 an hour or more, but if people do not know what kind of production they will get from you, they will often be afraid to hire at $25 per hour. People have a fear of open ended commitments and paying more for low productivity.

I like the name, and I agree about flat rate being more palatable for the client. They don't really care how long it takes (unless it drags on forever), they just want it DONE. I think your price range seems in the ballpark.

Remember that design work is not done on site. No one knows how many hours you actually put in. That is another reason that hourly contracts are not as welcomed by the consumer.

I feel you are right on several levels about coming up with a flat fee.I decided to make a 'guesstiment' on the time and just deal with it if I am off, counting it as part of my education. If I come in too low on my time at least I won't be panicking if things take longer and feel they are stressed about the hours I am spending if they think they are paying by the hour.I think that the design part of it will take longer because of my lack of professional experiance.I am sure I will work longer just to make sure I have thought of everything and a client shouldn't have to pay for my learning curve.I also won't have to keep track of every hour.Part of doing some of my first projects will be doing research to keep on hand for future similar situations, shade, slopes,certain styles and good product resources etc.I already have my own files but I need to make them more formal for clients.I have a question. With so much confidence in my design abilities, is it normal to be less confident with coming up with a final number and then sharing it with the client? Will a full list of services provided and a basic break down of the job help me to feel more assured that the amount is fair for the final result? Should I give them a few options if they can't go for the full amount? I am so anxious to get the money part of my current projects laid out so that everyone will feel comfortable and excited to go forward with a clear view of the final product and cost.

Your anxiety over pricing is normal. It is what you don't know. It is also amoving target. It never stays the same since both what you produce will change and who you produce it for is likely to change as well.

After a while, you will have a better grip of how long and how much it costs you to produce the work. Then there is the variable of how much the client can interfere with that. Again, you will figure out ways to write contracts that limit how much a client can meet with you, make revisions, and all of that nonsense (not nonsense until it goes beyond a certain point). That is probably one of the things people do not expect going into this - the balance between interacting with clients and having them messing your time estimates and scheduling all up.

Dear Ladyslipper,

Just an idea. A good friend of mine in the business was worried about all the same things you have mentioned above. She and I met 13 years ago when she decided to apprentice part-time (2 days a week) with a professional gardener who happened to work on the North Shore. She had 2 clients of her own that she worked with the rest of the week when she wasn't working for my boss. This experience really helped her tremendously. Both she and I really got a feel for what it took to maintain these gardens at their best.

We were out there when it was 32 degrees and freezing raking leaves in early spring (late winter?) to a couple of 100 degree days pulling weeds and pruning groundcover in the summer. We learned that every day was a work day: rain or shine, hot or cold. You don't work, you don't make money was her motto. Even a snow day meant a good day to spend in the shop cleaning and oiling equipment.

Personal experience working in one's own yard does count for quite a bit but it might help to spend a season working under sometimes else's tutelage. That way you get a real good feel for different types of gardens - and all the seasonal maintenance that goes into maintaining them as well the problems that crop up with some of them. For example, we maintained many a garden full of euonymus groundcover which required much pruning and an annual spray of dormant or summer oil to keep the scale to a minimum. These are things that our boss had worked into a routine throughout the season. Things that we on our own would have never thought of until it was too late. Knowing all the routine maintenance that goes into a garden ahead of time really helps with costing things out; that's why this experience was so valuable to both of us.

I know you're eager to be off and running but sometimes it pays to bide one's time and really learn the craft through someone else even if it's just on a part-time basis.

That is an intriging idea. Do you think someone would still be interested if they knew I was planning to go out on my own or already had my own clients? It would be valuable to learn a broader knowlege on longtgerm maintenance (even if I am not planning to maintain anyones garden) I have already begun a few projects and even though I have several other people who have asked for me to do some work I told them could look at it but it may be next summer before I could take on the project. I plan to complete the projects I have, do them well and not get too overwhelmed or distracted.I need to really observe what parts of the job I am the best at and the areas I really am hoping to avoid, hire out or that I am just not ready for. Today I built a low curving dry stack limestone garden wall for a raised bed.While I was pleased with the end result I am not sure I ever want to do the work myself again(at least not alone). I keep thinking if I do the research and am willing to do things myself at least once(within reason) I will have a better idea of how the process should be done.Anyway I think I will try to find someone who might need an extra hand. When I go to an association meeting perhaps I could ask around.I feel so grateful to those of you who have taken the time to e-mail.I am considering many aspects of this buisness that will hopefully help me to be more prepared and to avoid a few of the pitfalls.I am a sponge, so throw out anything I should consider, even some of your own mistakes and how you later resolved them.