Faith, family drive Outdoor Impressions

Jason Smith's work ethic is built into his DNA. The 2002 Bloomingdale High School graduate launched a landscaping business his senior year and has had his sleeves rolled up since.

"My brother and I maintained a little over 100 properties a week," Smith said. "We'd go to class then cut grass till the sun went down."

Born in 1984 and raised around Birmingham, Ala., Smith moved to Brandon when his dad's pharmaceutical sales business relocated in 2000.

"It took me a while to adjust to Brandon," Smith said. "I didn't feel rooted here in the beginning - Alabama was my lifestyle. But I'd call Brandon home now; it's the best place in the country for me."

His change of heart came in response to difficult circumstances, soon after graduating high school, selling his business and buying a house.

"I found out I was going to be a dad. It changed my life and got my attention," he said. "I like to work, but I was a great starter and a horrible finisher. That had to change."

Smith grew up in a Christian home but had turned his back on faith.

He said the sudden thrust of responsibility was - in a sense - a godsend.

"It was good for me to learn there's more to the world than my lifestyle," he said. "What I was doing had no meaning. Having a baby changed my whole concept. I recommitted my life to Christ. I wanted to be a good dad, a provider, a person with integrity and character; not just living for myself."

Eventually, after "a few more struggles," Smith met and married 2003 Bloomingdale grad Emily Hensley.

"She understands me and she's such a supporter," he said. "We just had a daughter, Rilynn, and we're expecting again."

Smith reinvented his Outdoor Impressions business, finding his niche in design and installation. In 2006 he moved from the back of his pickup to an expansive showroom on Bloomingdale Avenue.

"Having a showroom has been a big turning point," he said. "It's impactful, and brought a sense of credibility and establishment.

"People are investing sometimes upwards of $50,000 to $70,000. They want to see and touch what they're buying."

Still driven, Smith is hands-on from design to finish.

"But it's hands-on managing my team," he said. "Outdoor Impressions isn't built on me; it's built on Jesus Christ and my team. My vision couldn't be implemented without good people."

As a Christian business, "I want people to see the difference," he said. "Our goal is integrity, honesty, high morals. We won't jeopardize ethics to make more money."

That business plan has worked, with measurable growth every year, even through the recession.

"More than I could ever imagine," Smith said. "But it comes down to buying labor, buying our service. We do what it takes to provide quality and we put our heart into it to do it the right way. We're by all means not perfect, but we try to learn from our mistakes and not make them more than once."

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