On this bonus Episode of Trades Talk, Justin White sits down with Derek Clelan from Your Haven at the LeanScaper Conference in Florida to talk about one of the biggest bottlenecks in design build landscaping today: the design process.

From overwhelmed designers to slow project turnaround times, Justin and Derek break down why so many landscape companies struggle to scale their design build divisions and how the right systems can completely unlock growth. They also dive into how Your Haven is helping contractors streamline design production while allowing their internal teams to focus on relationships, creativity, and closing better projects.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why the design process is the biggest bottleneck holding many landscape companies back from scaling

• The common mistake of having designers also act as salespeople, and why that often leads to burnout and weaker project outcomes

• How Your Haven has produced over 1,500 designs for more than 400 landscape contractors, helping companies move projects forward faster

• The importance of having a single threaded leader managing the design process, rather than relying on scattered responsibilities across a team

• Why better intake meetings with homeowners dramatically improve project success, profitability, and client satisfaction

• How the Your Haven Design Academy is being built to train and develop the next generation of landscape designers

Justin and Derek also explore how improving the design system inside a landscape company can unlock faster growth, stronger client relationships, and more profitable design build operations.

If you are running or building a design build company and feel like design is slowing everything down, this conversation will give you a new way to think about the entire process.