We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lauren Wilson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Lauren, thanks for joining us today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later

If I could go back i definitely would have started by business sooner! I have always done Landscape Designing on the side, but it took the Pandemic to finally push me out of my comfort zone (cooking) and get an LLC, Business cards and promote like crazy!

Lauren, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hi my name is Lauren Wilson, and I am a wife and mom of two cuties. For 11 years I worked as a chef for a corporate hospital. It was easy and had great benefits.
Then the pandemic hit and as a mom, I chose my kids over my job all day, every day!
I am very lucky to have a supportive husband and within two years, I was able to quit and focus on my family and dream job.

When 2020 hits I started with buying 1 kid free day a week to focus on landscape designing. I took any job I could and practiced using a computer program for design so that I could make changes for clients easier, faster and more budget friendly.

By 2022, my husband and I had enough and cut the cord to corporate world. I was off and free to do what I needed to do.
That first year I made $10k more working less than I did working in corporate!

This year is already booking up fast and I am so thankful I get to be a wife, mom and boss all in the same day!

Have you ever had to pivot?

When I started off, I was just going to do just design work. Stay home, work from my kitchen table and take care of the kids and home.

Then I had so many requests for personal garden projects that I couldn’t say no, and I needed to get out of the house. I have run a busy kitchen for years; I don’t know why I thought I could sit for work. lol

So, I changed the name (a bit) and focused my social on not only my designs but small projects I did for clients.
In that time, I was able to find an installation company to start installing my designs and working with my clients to see their dream come true.

So now I Design, Install, Manage and Maintain!

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Thankfully I am very blessed to have the best In-Laws in the world! When my mother-in-law heard I needed a computer she said, “for your birthday we will get you a computer!”
I could have died right there!!!

So, my husband and his parents pitched in a got me my computer and all the little add on’s I wanted!

During covid the hospital was giving bonus money away and I took that and bought my design program, got my licenses, opened a bank account, bought business card and a sign for my van!

I was off to the races!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sfldesign.org
• Instagram: @straughtforwardlandscapedesign
• Facebook: @sfldesignco
• Yelp: Straightforward Landscaping