Today we’d like to introduce you to Damian Morales.
Hi Damian, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
Hello! My name is Damian Morales, and I own a Charleston-based landscape company. I first got into landscaping because of my father. He has been doing it for a couple of years, and in my first year of high school, I began to work in his company. I spent my summers working with him and weekends for extra cash since I didn’t have a part-time job. I remember I was only getting paid around $20 a day at the time, but I understood since I was new to landscaping. Time passed, and I gained more experience; I learned how to install fences, build hardscapes, and install irrigation. As I got closer to my junior year in high school, I had to get serious about what I would do for the rest of my life. At the time, I was planning on joining the military. I was starting to take on my landscaping jobs during that time. I was only doing lawn care, and in the coming spring, I would have some clients who wanted spring cleanups from the previous winter. As much as I enjoyed lawn care, It wasn’t something I thought I would like to do with the rest of my life.
Fast forward to May of 2022. I am a senior, and I was signing up for the military. A week before I was sent to MEPS to begin my process, I had one last-minute landscape job to complete. As soon as I finished that job, I realized my passion for landscaping. I’ve always wanted to be a business owner, and I truly loved landscaping and what I did for most of my life. After talking with my parents, they hesitated about me dropping my plans for the military and starting a landscape business. However, I owe my success to my family, especially my sisters Abby and Denise. They were the ones who told me to chase my dreams and never look back. With their support, I dropped the military and entered college a week before classes were to begin to get a horticulture diploma to further my landscaping knowledge. During this time, I stopped doing lawn care and focused more on landscape construction.
December of 2022 was when I officially started my business. I advertised my services on Facebook, and after 3 long months, in March of 2023, I landed my first job. It was a landscape design project, and with my newly found knowledge from college, I completed it. These were my first clients, and I’ll forever be thankful for them taking a chance on an 18-year-old to take on their landscape project. Little did I know those clients would launch my company into the spotlight. Within days of completing that job, more clients reached out for me to do work! I was very excited that my company was taking off. From there, I landed more projects such as hardscaping, landscape designs, and more. May of 2023 was a big milestone as I finally reached my first project, over $10,000! They were an amazing couple, and with their help in spreading the word about my company, I was slowly getting booked, and the projects kept getting bigger. My dreams were finally coming true! I started to buy more equipment and build my team up.
Around October 2023, things started to slow down since landscaping tends to be seasonal. However, I reached my first big milestone that month. I went over 6 figures in sales, all at the young age of 18! As November and December slowed, my company exploded in January of 2024. Clients were calling and emailing me left and right to begin work for the new year! I was booking up quickly for the spring season even though it was still months out. February was a hectic month as more and more clients wanted hardscaping, landscaping, irrigation, and much more! My schedule quickly filled into summer; today, we are almost booked for fall. With that, the project became more considerable as well. The small $1,000 jobs quickly turned into $30,000-$80,000 projects, all at only 19 years old. I am proud of where I am today. With all the hard work and dedication I saw before my eyes, my company grew from absolutely nothing to one of Charleston’s sought-after landscape companies!
Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
It hasn’t been a smooth road. Building a company from the ground up is mentally and physically challenging. I had no experience running a business, and trying to be booked was difficult, especially since I had to stop working in the family business to pursue my dreams. It put a financial strain on me trying to pay my bills while also paying to advertise my company so It could keep growing. There were many times when I had to scrap every dollar and penny to pay my bills after spending it all on advertising. I was determined to make a name for myself. No matter how often I wanted to throw in the towel, I persisted in turning nothing into something. There were many nights I lost sleep, putting together quotes, emailing clients, or working on creative ways to advertise so more people would hire me. In the beginning, I also underbade many jobs, which cost me a fortune and put further financial strain on me. I spent hundreds of dollars monthly on advertising, hoping someone would hire me. Sometimes, after spending over $500, I was still waiting for someone to hire me, and I still had to find a way to pay my bills. My family motivated me to keep going no matter how hard It would get at times. I did not give up, though, and just when I was going to lose hope, I would receive an email or call that someone wanted to hire me! I am thankful for all my struggles, as they taught me not to give up and that achieving great things won’t come easy.
I appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Carolina Blue Landscaping?
Carolina Blue specializes in landscape/hardscape services. We design, build, and transform properties across the low country, whether a simple home install or a full-scale commercial project. We always put quality over quantity. We are lucky to be partnered with other companies, such as Irri-green and AMP Lighting, from simple lawn care to a massive outdoor living space. We can make any of your landscape dreams come true. We do pavers, concrete, pergolas, landscape lighting, and more!
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson I’ve learned is to be patient. Initially, I would get frustrated with not getting hired or spending a lot of time creating an estimate, never to hear from the client once I sent it. Great things take time to build, especially starting from nothing. My family told me always to be patient and that all my hard work would pay off. It just was going to take time. They were 100% correct about that; after struggling with my first year of business, it has been a lot easier going into my second year, and I’ve learned to be patient with building a business.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.CarolinaBlueLandscaping.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolinabluelandscaping/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarolinaBlueLandscaping/
