Glenn Frey shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Glenn, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What is a normal day like for you right now?
I typically get up around 7:30-8:00 and take my dog Tia out for a nature call. I let her run around a little while I enjoy the garden. We come in, she eats and I prepare my breakfast and latte. I consume both at my desk while browsing over news and sports. Reading the news can be a fine balance between wanting to be informed and not being annoyed. After the news I play Wordl and then my workday follows. Yes, kind of boring but I enjoy not having to race around first thing in the morning.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My son Alex and I have a landscape design business. Most of our work involves doing CAD(computer aided design)
renderings of a landscape. We are all about water conservation and creating livable outdoor spaces for dining and living. In the past 2 years San Diegans have seen their water rates increase 24.4% with more rate increases on the horizon. A waterwise landscape is more important now than ever before. We show you how you can still have a green landscape and use less water. Black Mountain Landscape Design has been in business since 2009 and technology has lent a great assist to water conservation, including rain harvesting, drip irrigation and Smart irrigation controllers. We are very service centric and work with you on a custom design for your landscape that fits your lifestyle and needs.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who taught you the most about work?
I did not realize it at the time but both of my parents taught me about a good work ethic. They owned a greenhouse and flower shop in a small midwestern town in Viroqua, Wisconsin. They had slow times and extremely busy times, and seeing how they handled the business, their personal lives and parenting was quite amazing when I look back. When you own a business, you are never really off, as you are attached and not only have a financial investment, but an emotional investment too.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
I was in healthcare and it was extremely demanding with on-call and crazy hours. I decided I wanted to switch careers and get some normalcy back in my life. This involved going back to night school. About 2-3 years in, I really had to give myself a pep talk to continue school and I am glad I made that decision. I enjoy what I do now and that spills over into other aspects of my life.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. How do you differentiate between fads and real foundational shifts?
As this pertains to landscape design, I think fads can be interesting but they have to hold up over time. If you like something in your landscape but in 2 years you want it out of the garden, then you probably don’t really want it. An exception might be something that is of little or no cost to you, so if it is removed in a couple of years, you are not out alot of money. The test is if something will will look good to the client down the road, then do it.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. How do you know when you’re out of your depth?
For the last few years I have tried to do things out of my comfort zone. This involves a little more investigative work
on my end and I usually am happy I pursued something. I know when to decline something when it will involve a specific skill set I don’t have or I don’t think I am strong with that skill set,
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.blackmountain-ld.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmldesign/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glennfrey/
- Twitter: https://x.com/fezandmario
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BMLandscapeDesign
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/black-mountain-landscape-design-san-diego
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/BMLDTV
Image Credits
Photography by San Diego Filmworks
