ENTERRA DESIGN GROUP

Roll the clock forward a bit – after spending several years with this poolscape, hardscape and landscape design|build company, I had further established my own name within the industry here in Charlotte. I was finding more success and felt as if I was on a career path with this company. In one of our weekly morning staff meetings, the owner with whom I had grown very close with, casually announced that he would be selling the company. This was one of those announcements that wasn’t all together surprising in hindsight, as he was the type of business owner where everything is for sell at the right price; although, it did catch me off guard in the moment. After the change in ownership, it was within a year’s time that the doors to the company were closed…abruptly and without warning. The closure left several of “my” projects still in various stages of construction and no plan by the new owner for completion. The full details of this occurrence are not particularly important for the purposes of this article, only to say that this left me in a position of feeling pretty desperate. I felt as though the rug had been pulled out from under me. I struggled majorly with the scenario of “my” clients, those that I had made promises to as a representative of a once strong company, now in an upside down situation with little recourse. This weighed heavy on me to say the least. The decision I faced was to cut ties with the clients, leaving them even further hanging and make a lateral move for myself within the industry, or, stick it out, by finding solutions on how to carry out the completion of these projects. After careful consideration it was obvious that there was no real decision to be made, that all things considered, I had to see these projects out, fulfill my promises, and in turn protect my reputation…and allow me to sleep at night. As with many challenging situations, the circumstances can seem overwhelming at the onset, but with some time and hard work, what once seemed insurmountable, then becomes another opportunity to build from.

Although I didn’t recognize it initially, this was the beginning of EnTerra Design Group. I was very fortunate to have had several great clients that afforded me the trust to continue work in a revised format. It was extremely rewarding to help see these projects to the finish line and to be completely in the driver’s seat. This opportunity not only provided the short term need of paid employment, but the more I progressed with these projects, the more it became obvious that it was time to do this for myself…officially. I can confidently say, this would not have been a decision I would’ve made, at least for several more years to come, had it not been somewhat “forced” upon me. Thinking back on this occurrence provides perspective on much of life in general to me, as what initially seemed to be a total setback was actually one of the best things that has happened to me in my professional career. Many important events often tend to unfold in this manner, not exactly as planned but ultimately lead you on the path you were meant to follow.

As I began brainstorming and outlining the business model of my future company, I knew I wanted to focus on the design aspect of the process. I was accustomed to working on higher-end projects, many of those previous opportunities being the poolscape and outdoor living portion of new luxury home builds. I looked at the luxury home market for inspiration as to how I wanted to position myself in the market. As with custom home construction, the process typically begins with a design professional – the architect. I felt Charlotte and the surrounding areas had/has the clientele and outdoor living demand that would support the need for a true design professional that specialized in luxury poolscape design. With this basic concept, I was off and EnTerra (In Earth) Design was born.

I immediately began setting meetings with the previous material supply vendors and specialty trades I had developed relationships with over the years to let them know my plans. I felt networking with the various leaders in our market would be a great way to begin gaining some traction. I also reached out to a select few poolscape and outdoor living contractors, all of which had previously been “competition”, for the opportunity to share my portfolio and offer my services as the design leg of their process. I was specifically interested in building relationships with those that were exceptional on the build and management end, but who could use some help on the front end design and planning process. Ultimately, these relationships have proven to be the foundation of my business, providing great opportunities stemming from both sides and the ability to grow each others’ businesses through truly collaborative teamwork. The core principle of these partnerships being a significantly higher value being placed on the quality over the quantity of projects.

Success didn’t happen overnight; however, the business was sustainable from the beginning and with time, word traveled of the work we were producing. The market was hungry for a quality option to provide a step-above approach for luxury poolscape and outdoor living design, planning and execution. Now, five years in, my reputation is established and we’re fortunate that clients are now seeking us out both here in our home market of Charlotte and beyond. Our client’s appreciate our design abilities, attention to detail, communication, and hands-on approach to ensuring their projects are completed as designed and to the highest standard of construction.