Economic forecast

David Young
Founder, DWY, Sarasota | Landscape Architecture

Company: The past year has been solid, and Young is confident it will keep on going into next year. The market for landscape architecture has improved so much that Young plans to open a second office, in Naples, in 2015. The firm also has projects in North Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale. A chunk of the work comes from high-net-worth clients. “When the stock market is strong, we're busy,” says Young. “When it's not, that affects us.”

DWY, which Young founded in 1999, gets a lot of work from referrals. It's also active in the architecture community on the Gulf Coast and in Florida. It recently redid its website, and the firm expanded its marketing presence with the help of Michelle Esposito Young, David's wife and business partner. “I'm really optimistic about 2015,” says David Young. “We are doing everything we can to stay out and be visible.”