We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Stephen Carcello. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Stephen below.

Stephen, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start big picture – what are some of biggest trends you are seeing in your industry?

In the landscaping industry the most notable trend is towards sustainability. Throughout this past spring which is the most demanding industry wide I found the number of customers asking for specifically “native species” and “pollinator friendly” designs to be much higher than even the year before. While I always push for natives and pollinator friendly species I’ve found that numerous homeowners I met with were interested in supporting the native ecosystem through attracting the flora and fauna within our beautiful zone 7b ecosystem without my provocation. While “permaculture” and “regenerative agriculture” are still not household terms many customers who saw themselves on their property mid to long term had an appreciation for birds and wildlife, especially bees, to the point they wanted to orient their plantings to best support this biosphere.

Stephen, 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?

I’ve always loved plants and wildlife. Before I had any ability to read and understand the principles of good husbandry or best practice when it came to cultivation I observed. Observation and attentiveness to the surroundings is something that often isn’t afforded young children in a traditional government education. Being homeschooled allowed for my interests in horticulture and animals to spearhead my interest in life science before I even knew what biophilia or permaculture were. What I champion myself as is an advocate for the customer. While humans all appreciate living things around them even subconsciously they often don’t have the understanding of principles that drive great landscape design. While there is an aspect of sales in my work the nature of the relationships built with customers over the course of the process from initial consult to install are what defines success in my eyes regardless of the size of the scope. My pockets are not the customer’s pockets but I endeavor to give them the highest value product for their budget and everyone regardless of zip code has a budget.
My goal from the beginning in starting my own design llc and seeking out a designated installer/team to work with has always been integrity. My industry like many industries unfortunately are rife with dishonesty and a lack of transparency and this drove me to wanting to be the backstop in a sense as to preserve the relationship with the customers that in my mind spurn more business in the most organic and positive way possible. Contracts preserve relationships and when you as a service provider understand this and truly believe it (and are detailed) I find that everyone is happy, including the wildlife.

We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.

One of the things that lead me to starting my own llc was the need to be the primary contact with the customer. I needed to be the one hearing, creatively problem solving and relaying information important to the goals established in part by the customer and myself as an extension of them. In this industry a close relationship with the install team is very important for achieving goals as it would be for most businesses. What is unique in the landscaping field is the fact that 99% of the work takes place outdoors in the elements year round. What I needed was a company to work with that had a performance standard that echoed mine and ideally drove me to bettering myself as well. I needed a community that was bought in for more than just the money to be made.

In early spring 2020 at the height of the C19 lockdowns I was at a point where I needed (strongly needed) to generate design work and I began seeking out landscape design positions within Knoxville. I found a post for a designer + project manager with Seeds of Change Landscaping and applied. I was in the shop office within 12 hrs speaking with Ian Dovan the owner, Toby Morgan (GM) and Robbie Overton (Production Mgr). What I immediately understood was that Seeds of Change was different than any other landscape company I had ever worked with. With “Integrity” in their core principles I knew I had found a company I could grow with. After two years designing for them I can say that partnering with them has been one of the biggest success of my professional and personal life.

Seeds didn’t just support the goals I made for starting my own design llc but also created an environment for the crews that supported their personal goals and held everyone accountable through community to achieve those goals. We have a unique mission at Seeds started by Ian Dovan from day one to working with the otherwise unemployable, individuals in recovery and the formerly incarcerated. While initially I thought this to be a disadvantage in an already tough industry labor wise it has proven to be the factor that I see as being our strength. When many teams at previous employers may share beers on a Friday our crews meet on Monday mornings for a team meeting which includes a guest speaker and prayer. I’ve come to see the value of caring for a worker’s emotional and spiritual well being inside and outside work as a more genuine and rewarding basis for respect and understanding when working in 90 degree+ weather. When we have success stories and guys celebrate receiving their license or no longer reporting to a PO, receiving a raise and being promoted to a leadership position it is sweeter for the community.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My ambition in that office in February 2020 talking to my future team was to be the top landscape designer in Knoxville and the surrounding areas. I wanted to design the dream backyard. Ian and Toby and Robbie’s ambition was to be the premier dream backyard installer in Knoxville. This unity in vision before even meeting has proven to take what was a 3-5 year goal set and turned it into a reality in less than two years. In many ways living in a beautiful part of the world in a place like Knoxville where people are flocking to for all of our many benefits is what has driven this growth. We’ve had an opportunity to serve many people from out of state in need of services to new builds and remodels alike. This city is growing, quickly and while a recession is also growing and could get even worse before it subsides we are enjoying the benefits of cultivating great relationships with the community and serving our prospective customers with integrity and equity.

For the remainder of 2022 and into Spr 23 we are continuing to focus on the dream backyard. With many people installing pools we’re finding that we get tapped to finish the vision. Even with pool prices having doubled in the last two years the added value of this luxury item is clearly seen and we hope to break into installing luxury fiberglass pools in house as an alternative to the gunnite counterpart which can come in at a breathtaking and sometimes prohibitively expensive 125k – 150k. Combine this price tag with the 1 -2 year waitlist and you can imagine the potential for an equally prestigious alternative.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.growingseedsofchange.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seedsofchangellc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seedsofchangelawncare
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-carcello-91183436/