Published: January 03, 2021
Among the many reasons why I wanted to become a freelancer, one of the most important is that I wanted to have the opportunity to work on projects all around the world and to be able to express my knowledge and creativity in diverse environments.
I love the landscape architecture community and respect all my colleagues. In the following text, I am not trying to lower the importance or to question the knowledge of other landscape architects I am just trying to emphasize the good sides of having a freelancer do your project. Now, I want to think from a customer's perspective, and to find reasons why the clients should consider hiring a freelance landscape architect.
While working as a freelance landscape architect I got the chance to participate in projects for different parts of the world. Through that experience, I learned a lot more than I learned while working for a local landscaping company. For example, my horticulture knowledge has expanded enormously, since I always had to search for appropriate plant material and to learn about native flora. There is no such thing as repeating designs because locations change, different cultures are involved and a wide variety of challenges appear.
Big companies are consuming small businesses at a fast pace, so imagine how many hard-working and passionate people don't have the opportunity to follow their dream. Being a freelancer is similar to owning a small family business since we care more about the client and have an honest approach. As a freelance landscape architect, I have the opportunity to communicate directly with my clients and to understand their needs and wishes meaning that I will produce a project that is custom made especially to fulfill all their requirements.
I am afraid that not many people understand how the whole freelance community works. They often don't understand how much effort we put into our jobs and expect that we are relaxed working from a home office. It is definitely not like that for me but I am not complaining because I love my job. Freelancers are basically entrepreneurs who often run their businesses by themselves. It's like a whole company in one person. I am not just a designer but also an accountant, marketing and advertising manager, finance director, and customer success manager.
There might be many other reasons but these are the ones that I found the most important. Hopefully, the freelance landscape architecture community will expand and get the recognition that it deserves in the future.