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LANDSCAPING FEATURE

no variation or real design challenge. The
company was kind enough to let me stay
on in a half day position for six months
after I resigned, and this gave me some
financial security while I worked on setting
up my own business.

Going on my own was the best career
decision I have made. It was an immense
learning curve and with each successful
project, my confidence grew. I now often
work overtime and on weekends (much
more so than before) but I do it gladly as
it is for my own business, and hard work
translates directly into income. I can also
determine when I want to work and if I
have to sort out personal business during
Alice Lane by Karen Marais
working hours, I can always catch up in
the evening. At this point I’m working
from home, so it saves on driving time and
graphic designer and delivery truck! If Other advantages include growing in traffic stress!
you can’t be all these people, you need areas you normally wouldn’t be exposed
to be able to budget for assistance; to because as a business owner, you need
• it can get lonely, especially in the to be able to do many things yourself, Although having to pay my own salary is
stressful, I do feel more relaxed and have
beginning, and I missed being able to such as admin, accounting, marketing a better family life because working for
bounce ideas off a colleague; and the core component of the service oneself gives many options and more
• there is no pension, medical aid or your business provides. Although this is flexibility. However, one can feel lonely
professional indemnity structure to fall an advantage, it can also be considered a working alone at home and I miss having
within, and there is definitely no such disadvantage as time management can be someone as a sounding board, to bounce
thing as a sick day! challenging – sometimes you are so busy ideas off. Fortunately though, I do have
with completing projects that the business quite a few friends who also work for
GS: When my husband and I decided to side of things takes a back seat. themselves and they are really just a phone
start a family, I knew that I wanted to spend call away. Networking is very important to
as much time as possible with my kids, so Another disadvantage is that the journey ensure that you keep challenging yourself
in 2015 I started my own landscape design can be lonely but I have tried to combat to produce better designs, not just those
business, Sprout Landscapes, working this by connecting with other professionals that are easy or quick.
from home. This has been one of the best through forums such as SACLAP, ILASA
decisions I have made, and I’ve loved and social media. In the near future, I For tax purposes, working for oneself is a
being able to spend so much time with my hope to arrange a few opportunities for good idea as there are so many expenses
children, as well as being able to work at creative professionals to get together and you can write off against tax.
the same time. discuss the challenges of running one’s
own business. I’m often asked if it is difficult to have the
The advantages of running your own discipline to work from home when there
company means that you can decide EVW: At the last company I worked for, the are so many distractions, but my response
when you work and when you don’t, and hours were very long and inflexible and I is that it’s not when you know you have a
this profession allows you to be flexible. I felt that the workload was unreasonable. monthly income target to reach! LSA
can arrange site visits at times that suit me, So were the clients sometimes! I also felt
and catch up on work at night when my that I was getting into a rut, doing the
children are asleep. same kind of work day in and day out, with

Elize van der Walt, owner of Walt Landscape Gina Switala, owner of Sprout Landscapes Karen Marais, owner of The Ochre Office
Architects. Nova Pioneer, Paulshof Jasmyn Residence upgrade, University of Alice Lane Piazza, Sandton
Pretoria

Landscape SA • Issue 93 2020 21