Scientific Papers Series B Horticulture

Scientific Papers. Series B, Horticulture. Vol. LVII, 2013Print ISSN 2285-5653, CD-ROM ISSN 2285-5661, Online ISSN 2286-1580, ISSN-L 2285-5653PLANNING A LOW COST LANDSCAPING STUDIO AS A CAREER STARTFOR YOUNG PROFESSIONALSAbstractAlexandru Paul LAZAR-BÂRAUniversity of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest,59 Marasti Blvd, District 1, 011464, Bucharest, RomaniaCorresponding author email: alexandru.lazarbara@gmail.comDespite the market opportunities, dramatically low ratios of the Romanian landscape architecture graduates choose tostart private businesses in their professional field. In an attempt to improve these facts, the present paper provides someof the start-up data required for any business plan. Following a brief market analysis there are identified the maindesign and counseling jobs that a small landscape studio should be able to perform. The personnel requirements, the ITinfrastructure (hardware and software) as well as miscellaneous equipment scheme are configured for minimum startupcosts. The medium financial indicator of the landscaping specialist work-hour is calculated after integrating theliquidation period of the studio assets at 1/3 of their usage expectancy and the general benefit ratio at 10%. Inconclusion, the landscape architecture students are advised to gather up the start-up sum for the rewarding businessthat they are preparing for.Key words: business management, landscape venture, residential landscaping, Romanian market, studio infrastructure.INTRODUCTIONwith consultancy services targeted at publicadministrators or public services contractorsThis paper addresses the landscape architecturethat might require landscape marketinggraduates that are looking to developexpertise (Russel, 2010), mainly forindependent careers in their area of expertise incommercial or political-aimed manipulationRomanian market context, in support of theirefficiency (Lazar-Bâra, 2011, 2012).business plan building effort (Stark, 2003).The mass group of the residential servicesRomanian landscaping market, 10 years afterconsumers consist of several market segmentsthe field professionalization start, still has(Thilmany, 2008) by demographic and culturaltogether the goods and the bads of the newfoundniches:considerations, but they share common lifestylefeatures and buying behaviour. They areFor landscape design, the customers are fewusually people between their 30’s to 50’s,but generally wealthy these days, as it was thesocially active, living in suburbs, stronglycase 10 years ago;connected with city life, travelling abroad on aThe landscape architecture and planningregular basis, having above average self-imagebranches target the public sector, but this isstandard, highly vulnerable to marketinghardly a feasible choice for a start-up venture,techniques but also relying on their friend’ssince abusive national regulations favour newcomersexclusion from public auctions; privateadvice, they would rather go for top advertisedproducts than investigate proposals based onenterprises occasionally require landscapequality assessments. Their culture concerningexpertise for marketing purposes, but occasionsenvironmental and landscape substance is notare few and inexperienced small firmsinvolvement are rarely accepted;above the general society’s level –Landscape restoration is a shallow niche tounsustainably low – while their formalpoint at, since historic gardens and parks are expectations concerning the gardens they payscarce in this country.for are high, since their landscape quality benchThis state of facts leaves the new businesses marks are built mostly on short exoticwith the small to medium sized residential escapades or based upon soft media’s visuallandscaping opportunities, extended at best marketing. They pay for landscape servicesrather for social image or property value345