Business of Architecture Podcast

How does one grow a successful practice that does meaningful work? In this interview, you'll hear from architect Wade Weissmann, founder of Wade Weissmann Architecture with offices in Milwaukee, Nashville, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Santa Barbara with a staff of 35. You'll discover how Weissmann grew his design practice from a one-person part-time gig to a successful practice with multi-million dolla...

Wow, what an episode this week as Business of Architecture UK host Rion Willard speaks with the phenomenal entrepreneurial force that is Jo Cowen, co-founder, and director of Jo Cowen architects. Jo's story, her business expertise, and acumen is massively impressive. From a 2-person practice in her loft to a 40 person strong practice on the King's Road working on multi-million pound developments,...

Today I speak with Peter Kienle, a business development and marketing expert. Peter past president of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS). Peter has worked for over 30 years as a business development leader in top ENR 500 design firms, including NBBJ and Moody Nolan. Today we talk about everything from how to grow your network to how to do business development even if you're a d...

Today we're joined by Gerri Detweiler, a small business financing expert. Gerri is an educational advocate at Nav.com, a lending resource center to help small businesses succeed and navigate the complex waters of business financing. On this episode you'll discover: When should you think about financing. The appropriate sitations to get financing for your architecture firm. The types of financing a...

Today I speak with Mike Koger and Salvatore Verrastro about risk management for architects. Listen and let me know what you think. ► Subscribe to my YouTube Channel for updates: https://www.youtube.com/c/BusinessofArchitecture ******* For more free tools and resources for running a profitable, impactful and fulfilling practice, connect with me on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/business...

ArchitectCEO Update: How do you create an overachieving culture in your architecture firm? Recently I and 1000 other people spent Saturday in 100+ F degree (38C) heat harvesting a grape vineyard to make raisins. My church owns an 80-acre grape vineyard in Madera, California. Every year local members of the church volunteer their time to harvest the grapes. The grapes are dried into raisins which a...

Is self-promotion unethical? In today's ArchitectCEO update, we address this critical question and dive into some 'architect mindset.' Let me know what you think. If you're looking to build your DREAM Practice, and want to figure out how to promote in a way that aligns with your values and vision - that's exactly why I created the DREAM Practice Accelerator - to help firm owners like you create a...

Recently at a restaurant I bought a soda fountain for each of my kids - a special treat that doesn't happen very often. My daughter asked me a very interesting question - why would anyone buy an extra large soda when they can get free refills. Good question.

Once again, we're joined by Rion Willard, the host of Business of Architecture UK, as we get right into the nitty-gritty of the interviewing process.   Some of us like to fancy ourselves great conversationalists but even professionals, in their excitement, sometimes forget the most important element of an interview: the guest.   For part 2, Rion and I discuss our interviewing techniques, making co...

ArchitectCEO Update: Lessons from the Burger Shack Recently we went out for dinner for my son's 12th birthday. He wanted to get burgers at Five Guys, a popular burger spot. As we were ordering, I noticed a number of certificates on the call above the cash register. In today's update, you'll discover one critical key for building a 'Class A' team. If you're looking to build a team so your business...

Recently I took my kids to the burger shack for my son's 12th birthday dinner. My wife was out of town and this was his special request. While there, I was reminded of an important lesson about getting what you want out of life. Helping you get what you want is why I created the DREAM Practice Accelerator - to help you build a practice built on consistency, freedom, fulfillment, and exceptional fi...

Today, I'm joined by Rion Willard, the host of Business of Architecture UK, as we look back on our experience in running our individual podcasts. Opening up and sharing your process to an audience can be quite daunting - the anxiety, the shaky first few steps, the very loud, very annoying, hesitant inner voice. What do you even talk about? Why? For part 1, we start off with how podcasting not only...

ArchitectCEO Update: A Time to Speak, A Time to Listen Have you ever done or something really stupid that makes you cringe when you think on it? Back when I was a newly minted architect I did such a thing. Listen to today's episode to discover my dirty little secret. Many firm owners want to get to the next level in their practice, or set up their firm to transition. That's exactly why I created t...

Last week while camping I saw a sheepdog stalking a chipmunk sitting on a log. The dog stared intently at the chipmunk while remaining perfectly still. Every so often, the dog would take one small step forward. The chipmunk remained frozen ... perhaps wondering what was happening. I didn't stay to watch the conclusion of the battle of the dog vs. chipmunk to see if the dog got her prize, but it ma...

ArchitectCEO Update: Manufacture Lack of Competition and Dominate Your Market - the parable of Marshmallow Marketing. This past weekend we camped at Huntington Lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains - sailing and getting dirty. Upon arrival (a 2 1/2 hour drive), we discovered that we'd forgotten a critical camping item ... the marshmallows. The kids were in an uproar. Oh no! What to do? Fortunately,...

ArchitectCEO Update: why referrals can be your firm's death knell. I know today's post will be controversial - you'll discover why depending on word-of-mouth alone can be a death knell for your architecture firm. To discover how to escape the referral / death knell cycle, register for my next FREE Architect Masterclass on the 4 keys to building your DREAM Practice: http://architectresources.org/9m...

ArchitectCEO Update: One Key to Winning Better Projects and Clients. Recently I went to the auto parts store buy some oil for my car. I walked through the store and was greeted by an entire wall of oil - expensive oil, cheap oil, brand name oil and no-name oil, high performance oil and well ... regular oil. This got me thinking about the foundational key I teach every architect who I work with. Th...

ArchitectCEO Update: One Critical Sales Mistake Architects Make Truth be told, we architects don't think of ourselves as 'selling.' That's a dirty word. Architects are artists, we create not sell ... right? Semantics aside, we're ALWAYS selling, as author Daniel Pink eloquently points out in his book, "To Sell is Human." In today's ArchitectCEO Update, you'll discover the parable of the Glass Shop...

ArchitectCEO Daily Update: today's topic is ... One Critical Mistake Architecture Firm Owners Make (everyone makes this mistake - me too). The other day I got a package from Amazon, and I noticed something remarkable about the box. Listen to today's ArchitectCEO Update to discover the parable of the Amazon box. Discover how to prevent this mistakes from happening in YOUR firm by attending my next...

ArchitectCEO Daily Update: today's parable is - Little Whiteboard. When I work out in the morning, I use a small whiteboard to track how exercises I've done. Recently, I did a workout that included a set of complex movements repeated 10 times. I'm not sure, but I think that somewhere along the line I lost track of the number of rounds I'd done. :( Everyone else finished at least 1 round ahead of m...

ArchitectCEO Update: the parable of Lollipops at the Carwash. The other day I was driving around with my two oldest daughters (14 yrs and 12yrs old) and decided to drop by the car wash. My oldest daughter asked excitedly, "Ooh, can I get a lollipop?" "Don't you think you're a little old to be getting lollipops from the car wash?" I joked with a smile. She asked her sister if SHE wanted a lollipop....

ArchitectCEO Daily Update: today's parable is - Milk on the Back Wall. As my wife and I were driving home today from the gym at 6 am I realized that we're out of bananas at home for my daily smoothie. Oh no! Red light emergency! ;) So we dropped by our local grocery store to pick up bananas - and some milk. There I was - armed with my mission: get milk and bananas. Simple enough right? The bananas...

ArchitectCEO Daily Update: parable of the Giant Sequoia. Recently I visit Sequoia National Park, which is a 45 minute drive from my home. This national sanctuary in the Sierra Nevada mountains is home to the largest living things on the planet - the magnificent Sequoiadendron Giganteum trees, otherwise known as Giant Redwoods. The oldest of these trees are over 2000 years old. Wow. As I was walkin...

Today's ArchitectCEO Update: Stretch Yourself Old Man! Understanding the difference between symptom and cause is key to adopting the CEO mindset. Recently while working out I pulled my lower back. This injury stopped me from working out for over a week because I had to take time off to recover. I realized that this recurring injury is a symptom of another problem with my body. Watch or listen to t...

The topic of today's ArchitectCEO Daily Update is: my firm is in chaos. This morning when I came home from the gym I was greeted by an amazing sight. More on that later, first let me tell you about a call I had with an architecture firm owner who lamented, "my firm is in chaos!" Remember that clip from Jurassic Park where Ian Malcolm explains Chaos Theory? He tells Dr. Ellie Sattler (played by Lau...