My Personal "Generation Gap": A 90s Director Meets 2026 Tools

For me, a person who started their business in the turbulent 90s, encountering modern automation tools, especially AI, was a true "generation gap" but also a huge breakthrough. I've seen how management and design approaches change, and how what once seemed like science fiction becomes a reality accessible to everyone. This journey from manual calculations and intuitive decisions to creating formspace.design is my personal answer to the challenges of the times.

Management Lessons from the 90s: Chaos and Survival

My experience at NPF "Alkar" and "Alkar-invest" in the 90s was a school of survival. We built a business in conditions where there were no stable markets, let alone developed IT solutions. Everything relied on my memory, notebooks, phone calls, and incredible intuition. Client, project, and financial accounting—all of it was fragmented. I assigned tasks to programmers for management accounting, but even then, from 1991–1995, these were isolated, often disconnected solutions. We dreamed of a system that would provide a complete picture, but at the time, it seemed like a luxury available only to giant corporations. I remember how we tried to maintain a contact database in simple spreadsheets that were constantly lost or outdated. Errors were frequent, and correcting them consumed a lot of time and resources.

First Attempts at Automation: Custom Solutions and Pain

When I founded "Dom i Sad" (House and Garden) in 2000, I already understood that some form of automation was essential. We tried to create our own internal systems for tracking projects, estimates, and work schedules. These were "custom-built" solutions, often based on simple databases, which only I and a few key employees could maintain. The problem was their inflexibility and the high cost of modifications. Every change in a business process required rewriting code, which was expensive and time-consuming. For instance, changing the width of a standard pathway from 1.2 meters to 1.5 meters in a project, or recalculating an estimate when replacing one type of plant with another, meant hours of manual adjustments. This took time away from designers that could have been spent on creativity and client interaction. Sometimes it felt like we were spending more time on administration than on landscape design itself.

The Evolution of CRM: From Spreadsheets to Comprehensive Systems

Over the years, CRM systems became more accessible, but for small and medium-sized landscape businesses, they remained complex and cumbersome. I saw how a client's history would get lost between the estimate, sketch, and completion certificate. In one department, a client was listed as "potential," in another as "active," and in a third as "forgotten." The lack of a unified picture led to duplicated efforts, missed opportunities, and most importantly, a loss of client trust. This was one of my main pains as a director: how to ensure a seamless client journey from the first inquiry to years of servicing a 20-are plot. You can read more about this in the article How a client's history gets lost between the estimate, sketch, and completion certificate.

The Cost of Error: When Manual Labor Costs More

One of the typical mistakes I encountered was underestimating the true cost of manual labor. We could spend hours recalculating estimates, drawing sketches by hand, and coordinating every detail over the phone, instead of having a centralized system. For example, on a large landscaping project for a 30-are estate, changing the layout of just a couple of paths or adding a new pond could lead to reworking 30-40% of the documentation. This not only delayed deadlines but also increased project costs by 10-15% due to reworks. My experience showed that A typical contractor's mistake is not calculating the real cost of an hour's work, and this fully applies to management as well. Inefficiently spent employee time translates directly into losses.

Changing Mindset: From Routine to Strategic Management

The key moment is not just implementing tools, but changing one's mindset. I realized that automation is not a way to replace people, but an opportunity to free them from routine for more creative and strategic tasks. My path to formspace.design began with the realization that I needed a tool that not only records data but also helps make decisions, forecast, and analyze. I saw how potential was lost because we were drowning in operational tasks instead of looking ahead. This was a shift from reacting to problems to preventing them.

AI as a Catalyst: Accessibility for Everyone

At 61, I started coding with the help of AI, and it became my second wind. I realized that you no longer need to be a professional programmer to create complex tools. My experience as a director, landscape designer, and marketer—all of this became the foundation for developing formspace.design. AI allowed me, a person with deep domain expertise but without a specialized IT education, to independently create a product that solves real problems. This is proof that modern technologies make automation accessible not only to IT giants but also to every expert in their field who is willing to learn and experiment.

How to Plan a Landscape with formspace.design

formspace.design is the quintessence of my many years of experience and pursuit of efficiency. I created it as a tool that helps plot owners avoid the mistakes I observed and made myself. It's not just a drawing program; it's an intelligent assistant that simplifies every stage of planning, making it transparent and predictable.

Imagine you have a 12-are plot and want to turn it into a cozy garden. Instead of drawing on paper or struggling with complex CAD programs, you go to formspace.design. Module 2.1 "AI-Concept" allows you to upload a photo of your plot or a simple sketch, and the AI will suggest zoning options: where best to place a relaxation area, a small vegetable garden, or a children's playground, taking into account insolation, terrain, and your preferences. Then, in Module 1.x "Plan/Zones/Objects," you can easily adjust these zones, add specific elements from the library—from gazebos to trees—and instantly see how they fit into the overall picture. Want to check how a new flowerbed near the house will look? Module 3.1 "Design by Photo" allows you to overlay elements directly onto a photograph of the existing space. This enables quick experimentation with ideas, visualization of the result, and informed decision-making before any construction work or plant purchases begin, saving time, money, and nerves.

FAQ

Could the landscape business have managed without automation?

Theoretically, yes, but with huge losses in efficiency, time, and money. In the 90s, we managed, but it was a time of constant firefighting and missed opportunities. Automation is not a luxury but a necessity for modern business, allowing it to compete and provide quality services.

How can I (or a plot owner) use these lessons today?

The main lesson is not to be afraid of new technologies. Start small: systematize your tasks, use digital tools for planning. Even for a personal plot, formspace.design can be the first step towards more conscious and effective planning, helping to avoid costly mistakes.

What is the main difference between modern tools and those of the 90s?

The main difference is in intelligence and accessibility. Modern tools, especially with AI, don't just store data; they analyze it, suggest solutions, and automate routine tasks. They are accessible to almost everyone, not requiring a staff of IT specialists and huge budgets, as was the case in the 90s.

Do you need to be a programmer to use formspace.design?

Absolutely not! I created formspace.design precisely so that anyone, whether a plot owner or a landscape designer, could use it without any programming skills. The interface is intuitive, and AI handles all the complex work.

What challenges did I face while creating formspace.design?

The main challenges were related to integrating AI into a SaaS platform and ensuring its stability and scalability. It wasn't just about making the AI generate images, but also ensuring it understood the context of landscape design, considered real-world conditions, and was accessible to thousands of users. This required a deep dive into technical aspects that I, as a non-programmer, had to learn from scratch.

What specific "generational" habits hinder the adoption of new things?

The most significant habits are inertia and distrust of the new, as well as the conviction that "if it works, why change it?" Old-school directors are often accustomed to manual control and are afraid to delegate part of the work to a machine. Furthermore, there is a fear of learning and mastering new interfaces, which is sometimes stronger than the desire to optimize processes.

How does formspace.design help avoid the mistakes I made?

formspace.design minimizes human error and chaos. It provides a single space for all project data, allows for quick visualization of ideas, testing different zoning and object options, and calculating preliminary material volumes. This prevents information loss, duplicated work, and costly reworks, which were the bane of my business in the past.

What is my advice to those just starting to automate their business/planning?

Start small, but start. Don't try to automate everything at once. Identify the most painful points in your processes and look for tools that solve precisely those problems. Be ready to learn and don't be afraid to experiment. Modern technologies are a huge resource for growth that is accessible to everyone today.

My journey from a 90s director to the creator of formspace.design is a story of how technology can transform even the most conservative fields. Today, with AI making complex tools accessible, everyone has a chance to build their ideal landscape or manage their business effectively. Don't miss this opportunity.