Context & Clarity for Small Firm Architects

A new class of architecture students will begin their studies in a few weeks. What advice do you wish someone gave you when you were starting your architectural education? What advice do you have for new students, especially in light of how you think the profession will (or won't) change in the next 10 years? Mentioned in this episode: EntreArchitect To Build is Human

Have you used any non-traditional financing for an architecture project? What does that even mean? I'm wondering if you've done something or somehow participated in financing some part of a project. Maybe you've invested something in the construction of a project. Or, maybe you've come up with a non-traditional approach to coming up with your project fees or even helped your client by somehow fina...

Bolanle Williams-Olley loves math and she sees numbers everywhere. She recently presented an excellent Expert Training Session on Cash Flow For Architects for the EntreArchitect membership. We've been talking all week about financials for architects and I think this topic of cash flow may be the most important. If you don't have a handle on what's coming in and what's going out and how fast, you'r...

When it comes to financials… What do you track? What do you report on? And When? It's awefully hard to plan for something if we don't know where we're coming from or where we're going. I know this is something that can be really complicated and time consuming or it can be boiled down to its essence and simplified. I’m a fan of the simplified version. Mentioned in this episode: To Build is Human En...

Finances may not be your favorite responsibility in your business, so it would be understandable if you struggled with some aspect of them. Off the top of my head, I could possible struggle points being, cash flow, inconsistent invoicing, inconsistent income, income projections, savings, even profit. With the reputation the profession has for the continual feast or famine roller coaster, you could...

Why Modernism? That's where we'll start our conversation on today’s Context & Clarity LIVE. Katharine White MacPhail and I will welcome preservationist, tour guide, podcast host, and the go-to source for information on MCM homes, George Smart, aka Mr. Modernism to Context & Clarity.  Join the conversation today as we talk about George's journey from a visit to Fallingwater to founding...

What do you use to manage the finances of your business? I guess this could be anything from Post-It-Notes to accounting softwares. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the most sophisticated when it comes to managing my business finances, but the tools that immediately come to my mind are CRMs to track and project pipelines, Freshbooks or Quickbooks for invoicing and accounting, Stripe or a mi...

I feel like I’ve gotten to know a number of people over the past 15 months that I’d call friends and that I could count on, even though for some of you, I’ve never seen your face, and for most of you, we’ve never met in person. So we've started a new regular Context & Clarity feature that we're calling Member Spotlight, and this week, Revit Coach and Guru, John Kinney will join Katharine and m...

If you're listening to this podcast, you're probably passionate about architecture. Have you ever been so passionate about some aspect of what you do that you created an organization, a not-for-profit, or you led a movement? When we talk to George Smart of US Modernist about preserving architecture, we'll certainly talk about his journey to creating the largest open archive of mid-century modern h...

George Smart's road to starting US Modernist started with wanting to find out more about modern architecture and houses in his area. Now, George is focused on advocating for the preservation of modernist architecture. What’s one aspect of the profession or of architecture in general that you feel passionate about promoting or advocating for? Mentioned in this episode: To Build is Human EntreArchit...

What advice would you give to someone looking for an architect? I think if we want to change the perception the public has of architects, then we need to do a better job of setting expectations, and educating, even inspiring the public, so how would you help set the clients’ expectations of the relationship, the work, the investment, the process? What advice would you give? Mentioned in this episo...

This week, our special Context & Clarity LIVE guest will be George Smart. He's called Mr. Modernism because he's devoted himself to being THE resource for preserving modernist architecture. George's favorite style is modern, so what's your favorite architectural style? And, why? Mentioned in this episode: EntreArchitect To Build is Human

Architecture without Archibabble That's where we'll start our conversation on today’s Context & Clarity LIVE. Katharine White MacPhail and I will welcome marketing strategist and copywriter for architects, Nikita Morell to Context & Clarity. Join the conversation today as we talk about the mistakes most architects make when designing their websites and talking about what they do… and simpl...

We all need to get better at self-care. I've gone through periods of my life where I didn't do a good job of self-care. Here's a little bit of my story about how I went from Context & Clarity to the ER and a few serious thoughts about why we need to take care of ourselves and take breaks. And speaking of breaks, Context & Clarity is going to take a break, but we'll be back on July 19th! Me...

Copywriting is taking all the things you say about yourself, and your business, and your work and writing them down. The trick is, the result needs to be interesting, and compelling, and something that your prospective client understands. Donald Miller says, "If you confuse you'll lose" and if the copy on your website, or marketing brochures, or social media, or proposals are confusing you might w...

Let's play The Words Matter Game! We've learned and used a lot of lingo and jargon over the years and unfortunately, it's confusing to a lot of our prospective clients. Kathy Klotz-Guest calls that jargon-monoxide poisoning, so the game today is to take your favorite architecture words and phrases and translate them into the words your clients would use. Mentioned in this episode: To Build is Huma...

Let's play The Flip The Script Game! You're an expert, a professional; you're experienced, maybe you've won awards, but your prospective client wants to know what any of that means for them. The game today is, take something you say often and flip it around to be about your client instead of about you. Mentioned in this episode: EntreArchitect To Build is Human

How do you learn how to market your architecture firm? That's the question we'll start with Thursday, June 24th on Context & Clarity LIVE. Katharine White MacPhail and I will welcome marketing mentor and trainer, Lindsay Diven to Context & Clarity. Join the conversation as we talk about learning how to market and develop business for your architecture firm.  Share your perspective, an...

Let's play The Elevator Pitch Game! If you had just a few seconds to explain to a prospective client what you do and why that matters to them, what would you say? Get ready, because this works whether you're in an elevator, in line at Starbucks, or it's on your website, or social media. Mentioned in this episode: To Build is Human EntreArchitect

I feel like I’ve gotten to know a number of people over the past 15 months that I’d call friends and that I could count on, even though for some of you, I’ve never seen your face, and for most of you, we’ve never met in person. So we've started a new regular Context & Clarity feature that we're calling Member Spotlight, and this week, Ambright Muller will join Katharine and me. Join us for a l...

Most of us didn't learn many actionable lessons about marketing in architecture school, so what are we supposed to do? How do we learn to build and implement, and stick to the systems that are necessary for us to even just be functional marketers? Mentioned in this episode: To Build is Human EntreArchitect

Leads, pipelines, contracts, timelines, and sales cycles may not be your favorite terms when it comes to the business of architecture, but they're all things we need to pay attention to. Maybe that's why we need to pay attention to them. Those terms may represent somewhat tedious, possibly uncomfortable work that plays out over a long period of time. That’s why it’s so important to track your mark...

I often use the analogy of a pipeline because that's a visual that helps us understand that we have to put leads in one end and that sometime later some of them will come out the other end as signed contracts. It’s also important to understand that not every lead will or should turn into a project, so we have to know where our leads come from and how to find more so that we can keep that pipeline...

How do you build momentum for your business? That's the question we'll start with Thursday, June 17th on Context & Clarity LIVE. Katharine White MacPhail and I will welcome speaker, author, educator, and marketing thought leader, Mark W. Schaefer to Context & Clarity. Join the conversation as we talk about building momentum for your ideas, business, and life. Share your perspective, and br...

Everyone needs a plan, right? After all, it’s hard to have a system if you don’t have the plans to design it and run it. I’m sure your life and your work revolves around plans… master plans, demolition plans, framing plans, all kinds of plans… so, why wouldn’t you have a marketing plan? If marketing is not your favorite thing, having a plan in place will make it easier and make you better at it! M...