Context & Clarity for Small Firm Architects

Have you ever said, “My clients aren’t on LinkedIn”? Is that really true? Are they really not on LinkedIn or do you just think they’re not on LinkedIn? Are you actually trying to reach clients or are you trying to connect with consultants, or maybe even people that influence your clients? Whatever your goal, if there's someone on LinkedIn that would be valuable to connect with, what are best pract...

Lack of repeatable systems is a real threat to any architecture firm, but if you don’t know you have a problem, or what the problem is, you can’t have a system to solve it. I don’t care if you don’t have a certain system in place today. What I care about is that when you realize you have a problem, when you realize that you need a system, that’s when you need to develop the system, or more likely...

I believe that you’ll be most successful if you develop a niche and keep digging deeper. I realize that there are times, like the time that we’re in right now, that you can get burned. If your niche is hospitality or entertainment industry projects, the last 11 months have probably been very hard for you and the next few years may be too. You may feel like you lost the bet, but we’re in a rare his...

I’ve run across a number of projects over the years that I didn’t want to take for one reason or another. Maybe they were too small or outside of my comfort zone. There have been some where something didn’t feel right, maybe the client didn’t feel like the right fit. Some of those, despite everything in front of me I took anyway, usually because I just needed the work. What about you? Are there pr...

Context & Clarity LIVE - Your first year owning your own firm What are the things you need to know in your first year of business on your own? That's the question we'll start with today on Context & Clarity LIVE. My Co-host, Katharine White MacPhail, and I welcome Rion Willard, Host of the Business of Architecture UK podcast, to talk about his experience as a firm owner and draw on what he...

How do you know what kind of architect you want to be? It’s an interesting question. From my own experience I know that despite what we hope or dream, many architects start with a job in a firm that may not relate to what we really want to do, what we really want to work on, the kind of architect we want to be. Have you had a singular, unwavering focus on what kind of architect you want to be or h...

Have you set up your business page? Whether you have or not, there’s most likely an entry on Google for your business. Fleshing out your business profile is one of the easiest, cheapest, it’s free by the way, quickest ways for your business to show up in search results and I think it’s one of the most over-looked must-do’s on the list. Do you have any tips for architects that are working on buildi...

Your first year in business may be your most critical year? It's a time when the old adage that the entrepreneur wears 17 hats was never more true. How do you balance all of those hats? How do you develop the systems and processes necessary to set out on the right foot and set you and your firm up for success? Even if you don't want to own your own business, every employee should understand what t...

What are your best tips for passing the ARE? The architect’s registration exam. Depending on which of the ever-evolving versions you take, there’s section upon section to pass. You’ll probably schedule your test taking efforts out over a number of months. Of course COVID-19 may have thrown a wrench into your schedule… will the test-taking sites be open or not? There’s a lot of studying and worryin...

Should you get licensed? Do you need to be licensed? That can be a contentious topic, but what are the pros and cons to licensure? There are roles you can play and project types that you can work on that don't require a license and there are plenty of things outside of the realm of traditional architecture practice that your skills, and experience, and education have prepared you for, so in the en...

Today, we welcome Evan Troxel, Host of the TRXL podcast, and Co-Host of Archispeak podcast, to talk about how technology is changing the profession and ask, who's driving the change. Technology is evolving at an ever-increasing pace and it's changing the way architects practice architecture. • How much of that is technology evolving in our offices and how much is technology evolving our offices? •...

If now is the time for you to start your own firm, what are the first steps that you need to take in order to set yourself and your firm up for success? Getting started is the hardest part, so you can take the 'just start' advice to heart, but how do you know that you're doing it right? How do you set up your legal entity? What type of insurance do you need? How do you find your first client? How...

A few years ago, studies started to spring up warning that lack of available talent was the biggest, most immediate threat to the A/E/C industry. As wild and crazy as the past 10 or 11 months have been with a roller coaster economy, massive layoffs and unemployment numbers, and yet somehow, many firms continuing to be very busy, recruiting new talent may be even tougher today than it has been in r...

Technology is evolving at an ever-increasing pace and it's changing the way architects practice architecture, but how much of that is technology evolving in our offices and how much is technology evolving our offices? How has technology changed how you practice? And, who's actually driving that change? Mentioned in this episode: To Build is Human EntreArchitect

Do you have a YouTube channel? It's important to understand that YouTube is the second largest search engine on the internet and it's owned by Google. When it comes to visibility, search, and building a brand, YouTube can be a great place to invest time and resources, but what are the best ways for architects to use YouTube? Mentioned in this episode: EntreArchitect To Build is Human

You shouldn't do any work for your clients without an agreement in place, but how do you make sure your contracts cover all your liability and risk, have you compensated fairly, and simply keep you out of trouble? Do you have your attorney review your contracts? How much will that cost? Do you have your insurance carrier review them? Is that enough? It can be hard to make the right decisions to ba...

What do you do when you’re the employee of a firm and you go to meet with someone, let’s say a client or a contractor, and that person tells you that they want to hire you, not your firm. They want to you, specifically, to work on their project, on your own. A question of ethics can be the hardest to answer, but they're the foundation of professional standards. Mentioned in this episode: To Build...

Context & Clarity is launching February 1, 2021. Mentioned in this episode: EntreArchitect