EntreArchitect Podcast with Mark R. LePage

How to Use Sketches to Pass the Architecture Registration Exam In and among the everyday workings of being an architect, or studying to become one, we often find ourselves with new and innovative ideas for doing what we do more efficiently, more effectively or just more enjoyably. We might develop these ideas into new systems or new processes to make our world a little better. If these innovative...

Happy clients are the result of clients knowing what to expect, when to expect it, and how much it’s going to cost when their expectations are met. This week on EntreArchitect Podcast, Mark R. LePage shares How to Build a System to Manage Your Architecture Clients’ Expectations . How do we deliver services to our clients in a way that meets or exceeds their expectations? How do we ensu...

In architecture school, we all had a dream of what we would become when we became architects; designing beautiful spaces and making the world a better place with each project. We each told ourselves a story of success as an architect. We imagined a studio filled with light, working with talented people and surrounded by the iterations of our creativity. Powerful projects, patrons and processes of...

What if you were going to start your firm today, from scratch, with the knowledge that you now have? Would you do things differently? How could you ensure that the firm is prosperous and encourages equity for everyone involved? This week on EntreArchitect Podcast, Rosa Sheng, AIA joins Mark R. LePage to share The 7 Essential Elements of an Equitable Architecture Firm. Creating a Culture of Equity&...

When we talk about firm culture, our first thoughts lead us to a busy studio full of staff working with dozens of clients. Don't we need a firm full of people before we can have a firm culture? What if we work alone, as many of you do? Do you have a culture? If so, how important is it to our ultimate success as an architect? As you may have guessed, Mark R. LePage has a few ideas on that subj...

Architecture Firm Culture Many of us architects are so focused on our business, our design and all the things we have going on that we don't think about culture. We may not even think it's that important to the success of our firm compared to financial management, design, sales or marketing. What if you were told that a positive, healthy culture is critical to the success of any business...

Every new generation of architects hopes that they will make a difference and change society for the better. We have so many new skills, access to new tools, and a driving passion to serve others. This week on EntreArchitect Podcast, Mark R. LePage talks with the National President of the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS), Danielle Mitchell, about How the Next Generation of Archit...

Presentation Skills for Architects Leadership is about visions and ideas and being able to clearly communicate that knowledge to an audience. This week on the EntreArchitect Podcast, I welcome back futurist and professional speaker David Zach and we talk about How to Successfully Prepare and Present Your Ideas as an Architect. What steps can you take when preparing for a presentation? Design the p...

Are you an expert on a specific topic or technique? Do you have a passion for a specific cause? Do you seek to influence a group of people? Are you a leader or want to be one for innovation and change? This week on the EntreArchitect Podcast, I will share How to Become a Thought Leader in Architecture. What is a Thought Leader? Jayson Demers, Founder and CEO of AudienceBloom, defines a Thought Lea...

How to Build a Strong Balanced Team in Architecture As leaders, we determine who's on our team and how it will work. Getting this right is the difference between experiencing frustration verses experiencing a thriving team working toward your dreams. This week on EntreArchitect Podcast, I will share The Three Rs of Team Building . Where does building a great team start? It starts with us. We...

Leadership for Architects Leadership can be overwhelming; where do we start? How do we grow a team and inspire them to work toward a common vision? Often, fear makes it difficult for us to try something new or take a step in a different direction. We find ourselves stuck in the same place we’ve always been, unable to change or grow into the person or business we want to be. This week on Entr...

How To Sell Architectural Services Throughout my years as an architect and since launching EntreArchitect in 2012, I have discovered that the number one weakness of small firm architects is Sales and the process of selling. We have no sales system or sales pipeline set up. We either don’t know that we should be selling, or we have a fear that we may become that stereotypical salesperson that...

Every week we receive calls from potential clients; people who have come our way through word of mouth, a Google search or in response to our amazing marketing efforts. We answer those calls and we begin a process that will, hopefully, lead the most qualified of the bunch to signing a contract. That process is called our Sales System. But… how many of those calls are qualified to be our clie...

When someone wants one thing and we want another, how do we successfully convince them to go our way? How do we find a solution that works for everyone involved? Negotiation doesn't always come easy to us small firm architects. We are lovers, not fighters. We just want to make beautiful art and live a happy stress-free life. Well, the truth is that we don't need to fight. Like much in bu...

Sales… It conjures up images of slippery slick salespeople pushing their unnecessary products on to people who don't even want them. For many of us small firm architects, the idea of high pressure sales tactics and dishonest tricks and techniques makes us squirm and sweat. Well, I have good news. Sales tricks don't work. High pressure will repel your prospective clients and send th...

With a twisted sense of pride, too many architects today accept the small firm stereotype of starving artist . Seeds planted in architecture school bloom into a full-on virus as professionals launch their own firms and find their way to small business. New firms are launched every day without proper planning, without an understanding of basic business fundamentals and often with an eager acceptanc...

It takes time and effort to learn what we need to know to be successful. As EntreArchitects, we need to build better businesses. Focusing on our finances must be a priority. Understanding how to prepare, and why to review, the financial reports for our business will make everything else we do easier. It will allow us to plan and predict and find the work we want. This week at the EntreArchitect Po...

Are you an award wining architect? Would you like to promote your firm through the recognition of your design excellence? Design awards are a great way to differentiate your firm from others. This week at the EntreArchitect Podcast, I am speaking with two residential architects about a new design awards program that is specifically created to help you earn the recognition you deserve. We’ll...

Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed your holiday and have started your new year with enthusiasm, determination and focus. It's going to be a great 2016. I'm sure you are noticing a few changes around here. We've been very hard at work during the year-end break. Today on the EntreArchitect Podcast, I am going to share what we've been doing here at EntreArchitect and why you should...

It's that time of year again. The bells are ringing for the holidays and we're all busy wrapping up deadlines before the turn of a new year. It's also time to look ahead to 2016. How are we going to make 2016 our best year ever? How are we going to find the work we want, make the money we need and live the life of our dreams? This week on the EntreArchitect Podcast, I am going to sh...

Architecture is a tough business. How do we find work? How do we find help? How do we grow, make more money and ensure that our small firms are profitable? This week I welcome back a friend of the show who, in the past 12 months has interviewed almost 200 small firm architects. He knows our strengths. He knows our weaknesses. This week on the EntreArchitect Podcast, I'm speaking with Todd Red...

A dream for so many of us small firm architects; design, build and develop our own residential architecture. No rules. No limits. No clients. You make the decisions for what gets built and what does not. There is much risk in residential development, but there is also much reward. Creative rewards, professional rewards and financial rewards. This week on the EntreArchitect Podcast I am speaking wi...

Starting your own design business while still in architecture school. Graduating, growing and building that simple idea into a thriving multi-disciplined design build company. That's what this week's guest did. On the show is a former guest from way back at Episode 8. He’s here to share an update after 2 years of business development. Learn what he did right and what he did wrong....

So, this is it! Episode 100 of the EntreArchitect Podcast. This is certainly a milestone in the history of the EntreArchitect Platform and there is no way this could have happened without you, the EntreArchitect Community. Those of you who subscribe and download and listen to this show each and every week have been the motivation and inspiration to continue and proceed with sharing what I know and...

You listened to Episode 97 and you have your upcoming self-published book all figured out. You know what you're writing about, to whom you are writing, how to actually sit down every day and write. Yes you can do it in addition to being a full time architect if you want to. You even know how to publish your book on the largest platform for selling books, Amazon.com . But that's only half...