Chad Quenneville started Natural Design Landscapes in Cornwall, ON, ten years ago. Early on, a lot of the company’s work was small and lacking in creativity. Gradually, Chad started taking design chances, which led to greater satisfaction in his work and improved profits for his company. By elevating his company’s project “standards” he was able to attract a more discerning clientele that was willing to hire him for his expertise and his creativity. Another key lesson he learned in the process was to go the extra mile to make his clients happy. For example, he filled in the planting beds with quality topsoil, even if it wasn’t part of the original project scope or contract. Sometimes, those smaller details go a long way in building a reputation and earning quality testimonials and referrals, the latter being Chad’s only form of marketing.

In this episode, you’ll also hear about:

Shaking off the starving artist mentality
Doing cool stuff to gain referrals instead of advertising
Balancing larger corporate jobs with smaller artistic jobs
Building an amicable reputation among competitors

Chad’s million-dollar company has a phenomenal reputation and a strong relationship with their vendors, sub-contractors and other tradespeople. He may have grown his company backwards according to business wisdom, but his art speaks for itself.

Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:

Natural Design Landscapes is a certified Techo-Pro
Find photos of Chad’s work on Instagram

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Building a Reputation as a Technician & Artist w/ Chad Quenneville