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www.landscapeirrigation.com Landscape and Irrigation November/December 2016 23 ALL PHOTOS PROVIDED BY BLACK RIVER LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT For more information about Black River Landscape Management, visit www.blackriverlandscaping.com. L&I: You mentioned Facebook and Instagram. Do you have a dedicated person handling your social media, and how important is social media to your sales efforts? Holland: That's part of my full-time job. I'm the owner, but it's a big part of what I do. I was very passionate about social media from the beginning, and I've learned a lot about it. There are a lot of companies you can pay to do it. But your money is better invested if you can find the time to do it yourself. Sharing testimonials is important. Anything in this field is visual, so Facebook and Instagram are ideal for that. L&I: Have you dealt with any out-of-the box requests from clients beyond the typical outdoor room? Holland: There's one we are working on right now in Montclair, N.J. The family gardens a lot. And scattered all throughout the lot are garden beds. But they were extremely dated. So they requested an outdoor living space that includes garden areas. So we are doing an entire landscape that includes tiny little gardens throughout the landscape, next to the patio and walkways. And I'm not talking planting beds — these are food gardens. We have had projects that include a vegetable garden in one area of the landscape, but for this project we incorporated gardens throughout the property. This job is gardens everywhere. I think people will really like it. L&I: What recommendations do you have with regard to hardscapes and materials selection? Holland: We do paver work. I take it house by house, but I try to stick with one material. Cambridge is the primary material I use. I think their warranties are better, service is better, plus they advertise themselves. When you present their product, people are already aware of it. Other products are sellable, but when the company markets itself, it makes it easier for us to sell. L&I: What recent projects really stand out to you, and what did you learn from those projects? Holland: We did one that was published in the Star-Ledger (N.J.) and on its website. That was a full backyard remodel. We learned a lot there because of the job and how it went. We took a big hit on the job because we had planned on excavating 100 yards of fill dirt, and it ended up being ledge rock. We learned that there needs to be a contingency for when something like that happens. It cost us two weeks and an immense amount of work. There was nothing in the contract that said if we ran into anything unforeseen that we could adjust the contract. So you have to be a good businessperson and honor your work. But we learned that you need to cover all your bases, and make sure that's accounted for. If there is anything I can tell other contractors, it's be prepared for the worst that can happen. If you don't prepare, it's on you to be a responsible businessperson and take care of it. But the client on that project was interviewed by the Star- Ledger about how we honored the contract, and about the work we did. So the word-of-mouth and goodwill we gained was great, and actually led to at least two other projects.