I speculated at the end of 2023 that the initial slowness in my schedule may have had less to do with the inclement weather and more with “my lack of any regular clients. With the latter now in place, it’ll be interesting to see how the early part of 2024 plays out.” Well, the year started out both rainy and slow, but when the clouds parted and people emerged from their post-holiday hibernation, my theory proved prescient. Of the ten clients with whom I worked in January and February, only three were new.

I frequently get asked, “Do most people find you via word-of-mouth?” Though I do get a fair number of referrals, most people still find me via Craigslist. However, I suspect that I’m really being asked whether I get enough work to stay busy, based on the assumption that self-employment depends on a constant stream of new clients. The reality is that it only takes a handful of regulars to keep me on my feet—literally. This is because I only schedule one client per day, usually aiming to work for around six hours. Given that many projects require more than a single day, the ceiling on how many clients I can thus accommodate is quite low. Frankly, it’s a relief that I’m not being inundated with more clients, because at present, if I don’t block off time for myself in advance, I’d almost never not be working.

Here are some of the projects that kept me busy over the last year:

In February I rebuilt a section of fence that had been destroyed by a massive tree limb that fell during a windstorm. While the fence was down, the clients couldn’t let their dog into the backyard for fear that he’d run away, so this was something of a rush job.

In March I built my first deck for a client, to serve as the foundation for a kit shed, which I also assembled. This particular client was referred by a client, who was referred by a client, who was referred by a client, who I met while I was working, and they were out walking their dog. Moral of the story: say “Hello” to everyone.

In April I designed an IKEA kitchenette for a client’s ADU (which I also partially installed—they had a contractor do all the appliance work). This was the first time in more than 5 years that I got paid for work I did on a computer, and I’ll admit, when the design was done, I was pretty happy to return to working AFK.

From July through November I helped build a custom outdoor kitchen with a poured-in-place concrete countertop. This client didn’t have an explicit plan so much as a vision, therefore we did a lot of “figuring things out” as we went. It’s the type of behavior that might drive some “professionals” crazy, but I love iterative development like this.

In August I poured a hundred square-foot concrete slab to extend an existing patio, which required mixing seventy-five 60lb bags—that’s over two tons of concrete! The client was so happy with my work that she had me back again in September to build an adjacent deck. I often joke that my job is just a life hack where I get paid to work out.

From October through December I meticulously painted a dining nook, walk-in closet, and bedroom, each of which required about a week to complete. Though it was great that this client needed so much of my time, the experience confirmed that I’d rather do almost anything other than interior painting. On the plus side, I was able to listen to several audiobooks while I worked, including ironically, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance.

In November and December I replaced an entire length of fence for some longtime clients. They didn’t want the fence taken down all at once, because it screened the house from a school parking lot, so I removed and replaced one prefab panel per day over the course of several days.

I wrote in my 2023 summary that “[a]n annual report like this wouldn’t be complete without an income statement. Conveniently it’s both simple to convey and relatively modest,…[s]o I hope to avoid the appearance of being gauche or self-aggrandizing.” I also hope it captures how a series of small, seemingly inconsequential actions can coalesce into something greater over time, even when the path ahead is uncertain. My work has clearly begun to stretch the definition of “landscaping”, so I went back and categorized every job I’ve done as either Landscaping, i.e., working mostly outside, or Renovation, i.e., working mostly inside. No surprise, the renovation slice of the pie (after materials) grew from 11% in 2023 to 26% in 2024, even while the overall pie grew by an astonishing 83%. (Technically I only worked for eightish months in 2023, so if I were to scale that up to twelve, year-over-year growth would have been closer to 22%.) Though I bought a few tools in 2023, most of them speculatively, the only purchases I treated as business expenses were the work gloves I burn through at a prodigious rate. Armed with a new business credit card in 2024, I decided that if I’m buying a tool, speculative or not, it goes on the card, hence the 10X increase. Given my fondness for tools, it’s quite convenient to have a job that simultaneously justifies, affords, and restrains their acquisition.

So why do I continue doing this? Two years ago, I pictured myself helping people with their renovation projects for fun, while visions of timber frames danced in my head. When I realized that more people needed help with their landscaping projects (and were willing to pay me), I pivoted, and in the process, rediscovered how much I enjoyed being outdoors. It’s taken me longer to recognize the third leg of the stool: that while I’m helping people and spending most of my time outside, I’m happiest when I’m doing a variety of tasks that are physically strenuous. The result, for me at least, is a gratitude feedback loop: people are overwhelmingly grateful for my help, which I find deeply motivating, and I’m grateful for the sun on my face and the sweat on my brow.