Amanda Eastridge is a woman in a male-dominated industry, but that just makes her work all the harder at her business, Eastridge Lawns & Landscapes LLC of Hayes.

Four years ago, Eastridge started her business with just a handful of mowing jobs, but she has since grown to offer landscape design and installation, along with lawn maintenance. She creates and executes turf programs for lawns; installs plants, shrubs and trees; and repairs drainage issues caused by excessive rain and improperly graded lawns.

Because she’s a woman, Eastridge said she had often been disregarded as a knowledgeable source of information, and sometimes people have questioned whether she could do the work required to get the job done. But that hasn’t stopped her from becoming a successful and respected landscape designer with an equally respected lawn maintenance business.

A Newport News native and graduate of Denbigh High School, Eastridge started working at the age of 15 in a small neighborhood ga...