If I were to relocate my first concern would be getting people to find me in order to have a chance to get their design work. (this is not a problem for you?)

2. Setting myself up to be a better option than the next guy when I get that chance. That is where the portfolio comes into play, but you can overcome not having a local portfolio. It is not easy, but if your knowledge is deep and you can convey how your design sense displayed on your old turf (existing portfolio of built work) can be applied on your new turf, you'll be alright.

Building relationships with contractors is easy IF you have work for them to do. That won't be a problem at all. If you have the idea that you are going to get landscape contractors to bring you design work, that is a lot harder without an established reputation. There is no incentive for a contractor to bring in a designer unless it gives them a better chance to upsell and there is next to no chance of losing the potential client - not a circumstance that lends itself to tryin out the new guy.

How you get paid is up to you and the other participants (client and contractor). One thing that you can't do is charge your client to oversee the project including selecting the contractor and then getting money from the contractor without being up front in writing to the client - that would bean illegal conflict of interest.

As far as establishing relationships for buying wholesale, that is a matter of individual nursery policies. Most require that you have a resellers license with your state that shows that you are properly established to mark up product and collect sales tax. Many will discount based on annual volume of sales to you after a smaller first year discount. Some will have a straight discount or only sell to wholesale clients.

From whom or where are you getting your job leads? The rest does not matter until that is established. People going into the design field often overlook this. There is considerable value in being the initial contact in the design/build process. If contractors are getting work for designers, the designer is not as valued (read that as not paid so well) as when the designer gets the work on his own.

If I were in your shoes and were to relocate, I would investigate busy nurseries to see if they have staff designers and whether or not there is some opportunity there. Again, they own the value in being the source for design leads, so they may take a significant part of the design fee. It also matters who else they can use to move their product. Designers and want-to-be designers are a dime a dozen unless they bring something more to the bottom line. I'd look to see if I could independently sub out the build to make my money if it was not there through plant commissions or design fees.

I moved to VA from AZ in '05, and worked at a design-build firm for three years before getting laid off and going solo. I have to say, if you can stick it out for a while to get at least a small portfolio of locally relevant, built work, do it. In a perfect world, yes, a homeowner will look at your old portfolio and think "say, this designer has a great eye for the design principles. I bet their work is just as good with local plants in a regionally appropriate style." In a perfect world...

That, and working for someone will let you learn who the good suppliers and vendors are, as well as what the typical designer-installer relationship is in your neck of the woods.

Don't get me wrong, I love being solo, but I've learned that a freelance design practice is a ton of work, and at least 60% of that work has little to do with design.

What was the issue with the install co. you were with?

From the nature of your questions, it sounds rather obvious that you don't really have the breadth of experience to be a successful solo landscape designer just yet. The others have given you good advice, but I would add to it by saying that wanting to be in business for yourself requires some actual experience and knowledge of local conditions and culture to be successful at it. I think you would be better off continuing to work for someone else and getting more experience in all the areas where you lack knowledge. Just because you want something to be so, doesn't mean that others will want to hire you. As Laag says, you have to bring something to the table that makes you stand out. At present, it seems that all you have is the ability to undercut the market price for your design work to get jobs. This isn't the best starting point, as any referrals you get from such work will also expect the same heavy discounting. Getting work based on your experience and portfolio and established working relationships with good local contractors and suppliers will give you a huge leg-up in getting good clients. I'd suggest you buckle down and spend the time getting such experience first.

I base my conclusions in part on my own experience of getting all my best design/install work based on referrals from previous satisfied clients, with no advertising at all beyond placing a garden or two every few years in one of the local well regarded garden tours that benefit local and/or national charities that support the Garden Conservancy or local schools/botanic gardens.

Or you might find that entering a garden design/build project in a local garden show might be your ticket to local recognition. I know one well regarded local designer who went from maintenance gardening to $200,000 landscape construction budgets after just her first display garden at the San Francisco Landscape and Garden Show, so it can happen if you have both talent and drive and the willingness to really work at it.

Hello plantgrl80. Its been 7 years and I am interested in how things are going? Florida is where I cut my teeth as a designer and man it was a blast.

A big question I have is did you use any resources to get your business started, i.e. online courses, ebooks, etc?

I see a ton of individuals out there giving advice but not a lot of training or centralized help. This is something I am very interested in and wanted to hear your thoughts.

Seeing your posts everywhere lately Township on old threads- trying to sell a concept for a resource. You are trying to set up your own marketing? that's really how you are coming across. It's annoying- maybe consider starting your own thread to be transparent about what you're trying to do.