In this episode I speak to Sean Collinsgru of Premier Outdoor Living in New Jersey, USA.
Sean runs a successful deck and patio business of which he attributes about 90% of the source of work from his hugely popular social media accounts. He currently has 82,000 Instagram followers, 165,000 on TikTok and 196,000 YouTube subscribers. Throughout the chat, Sean gives some great advice about his most popular videos/posts and also explains the target audience for each platform.
Sean also hosts a great Podcast called The Hardworking Happy Hour with his employee Catherine, where they provide plenty of advice for landscapers on Social Media and Networking and also discuss the reality of making mistakes as well as a great episode centered around mental health.
You can follow along with Sean on Instagram @premieroutdoor on YouTube @premieroutdoorlivingllc and on TikTok @premieroutdoor
You can follow along with the projects we're currently working on via our Instagram page
@instyle_gardens
@thelandscapingpodcast
You can view each episode on our YouTube channel or on our website
instylegardens.com.au/the-landscaping-podcast
The Landscaping Podcast - Ep41 - Ben Hutchinson - Ben Hutchinson Landscapes
In this episode I speak with Ben Hutchinson from Ben Hutchinson Landscapes based in Melbourne.
Ben is a great example of how you can be a landscaper and not do all of the various roles within landscaping. Ben's niche is native/natural gardens, usually featuring an amazing water feature/pond. He's a certified Aquascape contractor and has travelled to the USA to hone his skills and make valuable contacts.
I love talking to people who are passionate about their work and Ben is another lucky person who loves what they do for a living. I also enjoyed realising in this chat how vast the roles of a landscaper are, when Ben mentioned that he often doesn't just design the pond/water feature for a project, but also specifies which fish will do best in the new habitat.
You can follow along with Ben's beautifule projects in Instagram @benhutchinsonlandscapes1
You can follow along with the projects we're currently working on via our Instagram page
@instyle_gardens
@thelandscapingpodcast
You can view each episode on our YouTube channel or on our website
instylegardens.com.au/the-landscaping-podcast
The Landscaping Podcast - Ep40 - Ian Barker - Ian Barker Gardens
In this episode I speak with Ian Barker from Ian Barker Gardens and it's one I thoroughly enjoyed recording.
Ian runs a landscape design, construction and maintenance business based in Melbourne and will celebrate 25 years in business later this year.
Ian has designed and built multiple show gardens at both The Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show and the Chelsea Flower Show, winning Gold at both events. We talk about them as well as Ian's experience meeting the Queen.
Ian shares some great experience and advice about how he runs his business, particularly the construction arm of the business, so there's a lot to learn from this episode.
You can follow along with Ian on Instagram @ianbarkergardens and visit Ian’s website www.landscape.net.au
You can follow along with the projects we're currently working on via our Instagram page
@instyle_gardens
@thelandscapingpodcast
You can view each episode on our YouTube channel or on our website
instylegardens.com.au/the-landscaping-podcast
The Landscaping Podcast Ep39 - Clint Adams - Hectogon
In this episode I speak with Clint Adams of Hectogon in South Australia.
Clint runs four different businesses under the one umbrella including an irrigation supply store called WaterPro, landscape supply yard called Railways, lawn fertiliser business called LawnHub and is about to release an app called Dirt Cart. So with all of this in mind, it's obvious Clint knows a thing or two about business, and businesses related to the landscaping industry.
Clint is also a current board member of the Master Landscapers Association of South Australia, so we discuss the work they're doing there. And Clint also hosts The Full Landscape, another landscaping podcast, of which I was a guest on episode 55 and also which Tim Harper from Space Capsule and Mitch Davies from Sand and Stone have both been guests on.
You can follow along with Clint on Instagram @veryclint or YouTube here and you can also follow along with the different businesses @waterproau @railwaysls @lawnhub
You can follow along with the projects we're currently working on via our Instagram page
@instyle_gardens
@thelandscapingpodcast
You can view each episode on our YouTube channel or on our website
instylegardens.com.au/the-landscaping-podcast
The Landscaping Podcast - Ep38 - Meg Geary - MG Gardens
In this episode I speak with Meg Geary from MG Gardens, a landscape design company based in Melbourne. Meg is not only a landscape designer, but also a plant nerd, and they're a great guest to have on as they're always passionate about what they do.
We talk about how Meg started in the industry and how she got her name out there so that people knew she existed, and we also discuss the strength of having a landscape designer design a garden and how what the client wants, sometimes isn't the best solution.
You can follow along with Meg on Instagram @mggardens
You can follow along with the projects we're currently working on via our Instagram page
@instyle_gardens
@thelandscapingpodcast
You can view each episode on our YouTube channel or on our website
instylegardens.com.au/the-landscaping-podcast
The Landscaping Podcast - Ep37 - Joel Kean - Aquadreamz
In this episode I speak with Joel Kean from Aquadreamz, a boutique pool building company based in Melbourne. Joel is a well respected person within the pool building industry and is currently the President of the Master Pool Builders Association of Australia.
There are many parallels in this chat with Joel between the pool building and landscaping industry, such as when Joel mentioned how he changed the structure of his business after he realised he was working way too hard just to keep employees employed. He also mentions how he won't quote a pool project unless a design has been done, so that there's no grey areas and so that the potential client can compare quotes on the same project.
You can follow along with Joel on Instagram @aquadreamzpl
You can follow along with the projects we're currently working on via our Instagram page
@instyle_gardens
@thelandscapingpodcast
You can view each episode on our YouTube channel or on our website
instylegardens.com.au/the-landscaping-podcast
The Landscaping Podcast - Ep36 - Paul Bangay - PRB Design
In this episode I speak with world renowned Landscape Designer Paul Bangay of PRB Design.
Paul has been a landscape designer based in Melbourne for more than 25 years and is easily the most well known Landscape Designer in the country.
Paul's home garden, Stonefields, features in this chat a few times and I had a guided tour of it in 2016 and it is the most amazing garden I've ever been through and I couldn't recommend visiting and higher!
Paul also offers some advice throughout our chat about how people should get into Landscape Design, tips for designing a small garden, and what he'd tell his 21 year old self if he was starting out again.
You can follow along with Paul on Instagram @paulbangay or visit his website, where you can book tours of Stonefields or purchase his books at paulbangay.com
You can follow along with the projects we're currently working on via our Instagram page
@instyle_gardens
@thelandscapingpodcast
You can view each episode on our YouTube channel or on our website
instylegardens.com.au/the-landscaping-podcast
The Landscaping Podcast - Ep35 - George Jones - Matipo Landscaping
In this episode I speak with George Jones of Matipo Landscaping. George is a landscape designer and builder currently based in Stafford in the UK, but spent the first 5 years of his landscape career in New Zealand. So we discuss the differences between the two as well as his perception of the Australian landscape industry.
As well as having his own podcast, The Matipodcast, George also has a YouTube channel and has recently being diving deep into the analytics of getting viewers engaged in the content he's producing, so we discuss his findings and tips there.
And throughout the chat, George mentions a few times how he felt himself being stretched too thin, trying to keep everyone happy while still doing what he wanted to do, and he realised, after taking some time off over the New Years break, that time off was exactly what he needed. I'm sure plenty of people will relate to that!
You can follow along with George on Instagram @matipolandscaping or on his YouTube channel at Matipo Landscaping and Design
You can follow along with the projects we're currently working on via our Instagram page
@instyle_gardens
@thelandscapingpodcast
You can view each episode on our YouTube channel or on our website
instylegardens.com.au/the-landscaping-podcast
