Getting Started in Hardscaping
Caleb started mowing grass for his neighbor’s company before he could drive.
“Britt and I joke that mowing is kind of the gateway drug to landscape construction or hardscaping. I’ve just always had an interest in building things and that was my main draw,” Caleb said. “…That was my key driver getting into hardscaping, especially,” Caleb said.
He launched his first business just a couple years after working for his neighbor but ultimately had to declare bankruptcy in 2008.
“I wish I could blame it on the economy in ‘08 and all that, but I can’t,” Caleb said. “I was a good builder. I was a good contractor. I just didn’t run a good business.”
But as his business was flaming out, his relationship with Brittany was heating up. And Brittany found herself at her own crossroads.
“I have a bachelor’s degree in marketing. I always thought that I was going to be like my mom and have a big girl job downtown and make a lot of money and do the 9 to 5 thing. That’s what I intended on doing,” Brittany reflected.
But once she actually started on her stated career path, she realized it didn’t make her happy.
“There was no passion for what I was doing. I was simply there to collect a paycheck. When I started to look at the rest of my life, and really become who I am now, I realized this is not for me,” Brittany said.
They decided to start a new company together, blending Brittany’s business background, Caleb’s lessons learned, and their shared passion for building for the future.
“I was able to be creative. I was still able to use the marketing side of things. But I was able to be in control of my own life again,” Brittany said. “…I loved it. I did some landscaping in high school and I didn’t mind working outside and getting dirty and just the ability to create something new every day. That’s the beauty of the hardscaping world, because no project is ever the same. We never use the same materials. It’s never the same backyard. It’s never the same client.”
“That’s what’s so fun and great about this industry,” Caleb said. “…The complexity and originality in everything is always thrilling.”
Lessons Learned
Determined to do things differently in their new joint business venture, Caleb went to Columbus State Community College in their landscape design build program to gain even more fundamentals.
“All the professors and faculty there were so influential in my career. I can’t say enough about that program of theirs. Just an incredible group of folks there,” Caleb said. “…A good trade school was great for me. Columbus State was wonderful. It’s like anything – you get out of it what you put into it. I ate it up. I loved it. I loved the design classes. I loved the hort classes,” Caleb said.
“You still reference your textbooks from there,” Brittany added.
Brittany highlighted the value of targeted education, such as learning essential skills like plant care, design, and drainage, but emphasized that going into significant debt for a degree isn’t always necessary to succeed. Caleb agreed, noting the wide array of learning opportunities from CMHA courses to their own Hardscape Academy to YouTube.
“It’s a wonderful time for education of trades and usable skills. I think if you find something that you’re passionate about your passion will make you a professional. Your passion will make you excellent. Just because you go to school doesn’t mean you’ll be excellent at what you pick,” Caleb said.
“I’ve learned more running a business than I ever learned in four years of college,” Brittany said.
It wasn’t just the education piece that was different with this new venture, it was also the Aumans’ mindset.
“One of the curses and blessings of being passionate about your work is you put up with a lot of junk to do what you love. I didn’t care if my company was tanking. I just liked building stuff,” Caleb said. “Now I consider myself a business person first and that’s made all the difference in running a successful company.”
Sharing on Social
Another difference? A surprise social media following.
In college, Caleb was encouraged to journal about his landscaping career and daily observations, but he dismissed the idea as unnecessary. When Snapchat came about a decade or so later, he found a different way to journal through daily posting.
“I would just walk around documenting, talking about the things I annoyed my wife and friends about like, ‘Hey, check out this tree. It’s got girdling roots. This is crazy.’ I just started doing that on social media channels and there is a whole sector of people there that think that stuff’s cool too or want to learn from that,” Caleb said. “I started journaling through Snapchat and started to build a little following there and then Instagram copied the Snapchat daily story formula and I just ended up on that because I already had a decent following there. Then it grew and grew. I just get to know all these people all over the country, all over the world that are nerdy like me.”
Caleb and Brittany said they have gotten multiple six-figure jobs because of referrals from their social media presence and they’ve been able to expand out into other areas of interest.
Building a Brand
“Our first focus was Auman Landscape, our design build company. Then as the social media channels inadvertently grew, the other businesses kind of grew out of that,” Caleb said.
The Kid Contractor podcast is aimed at other contractors and trade professionals. Caleb and Brittany share stories and lessons learned from running their business.
“The Kid Contractor harkens back to my first years in contracting. One of the things that tanked my first company was I was trying to be big time contractor and, really, I was just a kid contractor. I didn’t know anything about running a business or doing it properly,” Caleb said.
“I wanted to start a podcast and the overarching theme of it was to help other guys like me not make the same mistakes I did. That was the altruistic aim of it. I share our stories of just totally screwing up and making really bad business decisions. You just don’t know what you don’t know.”
From there, the Aumans launched Hardscape Academy, expanding the lessons learned that they share on the podcast into practical trainings, videos, and resources for aspiring and early career hardscapers.
They also run Together in the Trades, a marriage conference designed to support couples who run businesses together, alongside another entrepreneurial couple, Brian and Liz Fullerton. The event focuses on helping husband-and-wife teams, particularly those in the green industry, better understand each other and reduce the stress of blending work and personal relationships.
“When we think about the mission of the company. We know clearly what that is. We sell experiences. We don’t sell patios. I want people to feel good and want to spend time with their family when they pull in their driveway and not be stressed out about something that’s wrong with their house,” Brittany said.
“The other side of that is going through the bankruptcy. We don’t want other contractors to feel that way either. That’s really how all of the rest of the things snowballed,” Brittany continued. “…Everything just piggybacks on each other. But ultimately, we want people to be happy and feel good. Doing all these things that we’re doing makes all of that come together and we’ve been blessed with the platform to do so.”
Advice for Aspiring Hardscapers
Caleb and Brittany’s brand expansion has taught them valuable lessons that they strive to always pass along to aspiring hardscapers.
One of the most important lessons they’ve learned is the power of delegation. “Things we’ve learned over the years that make more possible is delegating and hiring good assistance, good staff,” Caleb shared. “Stick with the tasks you’re best at and find someone else for the tasks they’re best at. That’s how we juggle all these things.”
For those new to hardscaping, Caleb also warns against the temptation of taking on projects that may look impressive on social media but aren’t a good fit for your skill set or business.
“We lost a lot of money over the years trying to do the next big thing when we weren’t ready for it. You can’t get stuck in that mindset,” he said.
Honesty and a willingness to learn are key qualities the Aumans value when hiring and mentoring. Brittany emphasizes the importance of being upfront about your skills.
“Don’t be afraid to say that you don’t know something. If you’re open and honest with us about that, I’m happy to train you. But if you claim to have five years of experience and have zero, it’s going to make things really difficult,” she explains. “Be willing to ask questions. Be willing and wanting to learn and you can have a career in this industry.”
Accountability is another quality the Aumans prioritize.
“If you’re a person that blames other people for all the bad things that happened, we won’t hire you and we have ways of asking those questions to figure that out. We want people that are willing to be like, ‘yeah, I screwed up there and what I learned from that is and moving forward I’m doing this,’” Caleb said.
Their overall advice to aspiring hardscapers is simple: embrace continuous learning, take responsibility, and don’t let pride stop you from seeking help.
“The more questions we’ve asked, the better we’ve gotten,” Brittany said. “Don’t let fear or pride hold you back—this industry has so much to offer if you’re willing to grow.”
A Documented Journey
From bankruptcy to a booming brand, the Aumans have proved it is possible to carve out not just a monetarily successful career but a fulfilling life together doing what you love.
And through it all, Caleb has never stopped posting his daily “journals.”
“Every single day through Instagram Stories and I’ve done it for years. I don’t even know how many,” Caleb said.
“It’s evolved to the podcast now and now we have an oral documentation of our challenges and our problems every day. We could go to a podcast that we did two years ago and see how different of a company we were,” Rachel said. “We have our whole company’s life documented and we can see how far we’ve come. We can see our wins and our losses and failures. It’s just a really cool thing to have.”
It’s a documented journey they’ve generously shared with the world.
Caleb and Brittany’s online presence has become an invaluable guide for aspiring hardscapers, inspiring others to build their own paths to success.
