What made you want to do the work you do? Please share the full story.
What we do combines my love of the outdoors, my passion to design and create, and my excitement in meeting new people.
I was born and raised in Farmville, VA where I started the first iteration of my business, “Daniel’s Lawn Care”, in 2005 at the age of 14. After graduating high school in 2009, I enrolled in the Landscape Designer Certificate program through the University of Richmond and graduated with a Professional Certificate in Landscape Design in 2012. During that time, I renamed my business “Appomattox River Landscapes” to reflect my primary focus on landscape design and installation. In 2020, the business transitioned to “Riverside Custom Hardscapes” after almost two years of explosive growth in the Greater Richmond residential market, designing and installing outdoor living areas with patios, fire features, outdoor lighting, and more. Now in 2025, with 20 years of experience in almost every area of residential landscape and outdoor living design, construction, and care, “Riverside Custom Outdoors” is proud to offer homeowners in the Greater Richmond area the highest level of quality, excellence, and customer service for all of their outdoor needs.
Tell us 3 surprisingly easy and 3 surprisingly difficult things about your business.
Surprisingly easy:
1 – Designing a new unique space for each homeowner is very rewarding and not as hard as you might think. With the character of the house, the terrain, and dreams of the homeowner, each property offers a new opportunity to create something special.
2 – Working with a large variety of materials gives us a chance to show detailed craftsmanship in the lines, curves, and patterns. The little details matter and are the key to ringing the excellence bell on every project.
3 – Training a team to have an extraordinarily high attention to detail takes time and repetition, but in the long run is worth the effort.
Surprisingly difficult:
The three most difficult and unpredictable things we deal with are the weather, equipment malfunctions, and homeowner associations.
What are the 3 things you like best about your work and why?
What I like best are the people, the designing, and the craftsmanship.
There is the occasional ornery customer who just can’t be satisfied, but the vast majority of our homeowners are overjoyed with what we create for them and help spur on our success. When you build a company culture that prioritizes the relationship with the customer, you earn their trust much easier than you would expect. Just simply being proactive in communication makes a world of difference.
What are your greatest 3 skills and how have they helped you succeed?
Residential landscaping, designing, and creating/constructing.
Most of our homeowners have a general idea of what they want in their outdoor living space, but I have the pleasure of combining their ideas with my skill to create something that surpasses their expectations. We are able to help them visualize what their backyard could be using our 3D design software to bring their vision to life.
Tell us about a time you were dead wrong about something.
There was a time I thought I could do everything myself. The designing, selling, managing the projects, running the company, essentially making ALL the decisions myself. This resulted in complete burnout. Yes, the company had reached a high level of success, but it was unsustainable. Things started to unravel and I was constantly putting out fires. I tried to hire the right help, but it was too late. We ended up closing the business
temporarily. It was basically a hard restart. Now we are rebuilding, careful to avoid making the mistakes of the past. We have restructured and refocused our priorities to insure a sustainable and successful organization we can be proud of.
How do you get yourself out of a funk? Please share the details.
Manual labor. I love the outdoors and sometimes there is nothing more rewarding than putting a plant in the ground, rolling out some sod, or trimming a hedge. It helps me refocus on why I chose this industry, to cultivate living things that bring beauty to someone’s home.
What is a habit you try to stick to and how has it helped you?
Seeking counsel from other successful entrepreneurs and experts in my field. Knowledge is power and it costs a lot less to learn from the mistakes of others to avoid making the same mistakes yourself.
What achievement are you the proudest of and why?
N/A
What is your favorite book and why?
My favorite book is the Bible. My faith is the foundation which shapes my values and determines how I run my company and how I treat others. In Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 11, starting in verse 37, Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” Loving my neighbor as myself requires me to always be honest, always do the best job possible, and always serve my customers, my team, and everyone I encounter with honor and respect.
What advice would you give to your younger self and why?
Spare no expense of time or money to build an exceptional leadership team. It’s great to have people who follow orders, but if you are the only one who can give the orders, then the company is limited by your own capacity to make ALL the decisions.
Who has been your biggest mentor in life (personal or professional) and how have they helped you?
My dad. He taught me how to be a man of integrity, to work hard and not cut corners, to lead by example, to be a gentleman, and much, much more. I am the man I am today because of the example my dad set for me.
Just for fun, what is your favorite food?
Anything I can fit in my smoker! Recently smoked a pork shoulder and it was incredible. I’m also experimenting with my own BBQ sauce recipe.