ENSŌ

2023–2026

Finished circular fire pit terrace with timber seating, a stone water feature, and integrated lighting — FIG. 01 / Finished circular fire pit terrace with timber seating

Role	Founder, landscape design, operations, general contracting
Services	Residential landscape design + construction

Overview

I founded ENSŌ to focus exclusively on larger design/build projects instead of continuing the previous company’s mix of projects and maintenance. During this time I was the designer, salesperson, accountant, office manager, foreman, and laborer, responsible for landing work, designing and bidding new projects, and executing them on-site - a valuable and painful lesson on the importance of delegation. I also became a licensed GC (ICC National Residential Building Contractor C) and handled site plan reviews, permitting, subcontracting, and large, complex builds.

To help manage the volume of information I had to deal with on a daily basis, I created a purpose-built operating system for the company using Airtable, Zapier, QuickBooks, and PandaDoc. I developed it continuously over several years. By the end, it could:

Track inbound leads and schedule appointments
Convert potential client records into pending bids
Build estimates from an internal database of material, labor, and operational costs
Convert those estimates into client-facing bids, and accepted bids into live projects
Populate “packing lists” of the needed tools and equipment
Maintain maintenance and availability records for all trucks/trailers/equipment/tools
Track in-field hours and material costs against the original bid
Display dashboards showing projected versus actual costs and labor hours, which could then inform future bids

I’m forever grateful to Kyle, Joe, Luke, and Matt for sticking with me through some extremely challenging times, and will always be proud of what our scrappy little team was able to accomplish together.

Completed courtyard with curved seat walls, a fire feature, water feature, and integrated lighting — FIG. 02 / Completed courtyard with curved seat walls and integrated lighting

FIG. 03 / Aerial view of curved retaining walls and planted terraces

FIG. 06 / Landscape design model for an outdoor living courtyard

Operator working from a tracked excavator

FIG. 04 / Finished paver courtyard with curved seat walls

FIG. 05 / Segmental retaining wall under construction on a steep slope

FIG. 09 / Raised dining terrace with integrated planting and fire

Steel structure under construction on a snowy wooded slope

FIG. 10 / Compacted base course prepared for mountain site construction

FIG. 11 / Illuminated masonry seat wall and water feature

FIG. 12 / Equipment access through a wooded hillside site

Curved paver walkway installation in progress

FIG. 13 / Stacked-stone outdoor fireplace with timber mantel

Limestone retaining wall installation beside compact equipment

FIG. 14 / Completed retaining terraces transitioning into lawn

FIG. 15 / Geometric patio base and inlay layout in progress

FIG. 16 / Aerial view of a completed courtyard and outdoor kitchen

FIG. 18 / Hillside lounge area framed by boulders and timber railing

Crew installing landscape infrastructure on a wooded slope

FIG. 19 / Water feature and pathway lighting at night

Builder standing in front of a completed curved retaining wall

FIG. 21 / Outdoor fireplace masonry during construction

FIG. 22 / Natural stone steps descending through a wooded slope

FIG. 23 / Finished covered patio with privacy fencing

FIG. 24 / Excavator working beside a stepped retaining wall

FIG. 25 / Paver cutting during courtyard installation

FIG. 26 / Deck framing coordinated around an integrated spa

FIG. 27 / Contrasting paver inlay and stone border detail

FIG. 28 / Hillside retaining wall base during excavation

FIG. 29 / Covered patio demolition and site preparation

FIG. 30 / Circular patio foundation under construction

FIG. 31 / Retaining wall construction on a steep residential slope

FIG. 32 / Wildlife beside temporary construction fencing

FIG. 34 / Patio construction coordinated around an integrated spa

Retaining wall base course laid out beside a compact loader

FIG. 35 / Curved retaining wall nearing completion

Concrete wall construction on a steep mountain site

Red fox resting beside construction equipment

Concrete foundations stepping down a wooded mountain slope

Steel beam installation above a mountain terrace