Rich the Architect

Lisa Joswick runs a bookkeeping business, Blackbook.  She provides bookkeeping services for many different types of businesses.  In addition to Blackbook, she is also in the process of launching a financial training program called Black Method, which helps businesses and individuals with managing their finances.  Lisa and I had a great conversation covering her business and program,...

There were two experiences that I remember from Junior High that have stuck with me to this day.  Both happened in the classroom and help with my drive on a day to day basis.  I also tried something new with recording this episode and was recording video at the same time. Unfortunately I accidently lost the first clip so my Junior High experience is an exclusive only for the podcast. In...

Back in 1999-2000 my wife purchased a property in North Philadelphia. Around the same time we met. Eventually I got involved with the renovation of the house, while also starting our relationship together.  This episode is the beginning of the story of this house.  We discuss why she wanted to purchase a property, the few experiences of other properties she looked at prior to buying, and...

Some of the recent discussions in the Entrearchitect community have centered around the idea of value.  The value of the services being provided and how that value equates to the fees being charged.  I give two examples of a contract I had with a millionaire client and a different contract I had with a billionaire client, where in both cases I billed hourly for my services.  In thes...

There's a quote on my wife's ballet studio that hit a nerve with me today, and it led me to thinking of when in life should I be more like a ballerina.  I also saw a clip from an X-Men movie that led me to also think that there are other times in life where I should be more like the Dark Phoenix.  In this episode I cover what it means to be either of these figures and when to apply eithe...

In the past week or two I have been thinking of how to market my company, brand, and myself.  Initially I was wondering if attraction and marketing are the same thing.  After a few conversations with others online I've realized they are not, but the combination of awareness and attraction is what marketing is about.  In this episode I break down what these two concepts mean to me, a...

This morning I was having an issue finding sweatpants to wear.  This is because our house is having work done on it and all our stuff is not where it's supposed to be at the moment.  I speak about this experience and relate it to some of my BIM Consulting work.  In the consulting work there have been some situations that shortcuts were taken that make the project more difficult to w...

This past week I had to cancel a project with a client due to site and existing restrictions due to the layout of the home.  It's never a good conversation to have, but I cover how being honest with a client is always the best approach.  Then I came across a video from another architect, Eric Reinholdt of 30X40 Design Workshop, where he states that specifying or drawing an element now pr...

In recent months I realized some issues that clients have on projects are centered around not committing to the process to get approvals.  I go into detail from a recent experience and discuss why a municipality may or may not give you all the information when you initially contact that agency (9:26).  I then cover why time blocking and using a scheduling application where people can sch...

Starting the New Year with some new ideas for the podcast.  I start with some ideas I have for a new format of how I want to structure the podcast.  Then I introduce two new segments (Outsider and Insider) I will have in the this episode and future ones.  In the first Outsider segment (10:00) I cover factors that are involved in how long it takes to get a permit approval.  Then...

During the last few weeks, I have been outsourcing some of my workload with some level of success.  I started to notice the need to document what my steps are in my drawing process, which will help in training others, but also keeps me on track when I do the drawings myself.  In this episode, I identify what some of the first processes I have that need to be documented, and how I intend...

I wanted build on the previous episode, so in this episode I discuss the three main parts of any business.  These parts I call Production, Business Owner, and Entrepreneur.  Recently I found myself in more the Business Owner and Production areas of the business, and not much in the Entrepreneur side of things.  So the question now becomes how do I balance the business out and shift...

After returning from vacation one thought I had was how do I transition from doing everything in my business to delegating. I’ve reached a crossroad where I think that in order for my business and myself to grow I need to be an educator. Now how do I do that? Any thoughts? Message or comment and let me know.

Recently I was hired for a new project down at the Jersey Shore for a house addition.  At first, our discussions were over the phone for a few reasons.  The homeowners had objections to the fee while we spoke on the phone, but once we met in person those objections went away.  I speak how I try to relate to potential clients when meeting in person, and also go into how you never know how a previou...

As this current pandemic continues I started to think how are we going to start living with this virus.  This got me thinking about what changes and innovations in the design and construction industry will we see in the near future that is a direct response to the pandemic.  Some of what I cover here are building code related changes, material innovations, and also what construction proc...

This is more of a getting thoughts out of my head in this episode.  I end with this but if you would like to have a conversation on any topics i speak about here, whether its on my platform here or offline, let me know. I start with covering my thoughts on businesses and communities opening back up from the recent pandemic. Then around the 18 minute mark I start talking about race relations a...

Brandon Walker is a photographer and videographer with his business House of Aperture, based in Philadelphia.  We talk about how he went from working in the medical field to starting his business, ways he helps promote his clients, his passion for salsa dancing, and much more.

Justin Deal is the Vice President of Sales for Pay Day Payroll Resources in Washington Twp, NJ.  Justin and I speak about his experience playing football at the college level, arena football professionally, and going through the process of the NFL combine.  We also speak about martial arts, getting an RV to travel, among other things.  This was a great laid back conversation and I c...

In this episode of What's Next, Eileen Scardina of The First 7, Shana Fannon of SF Design LLC, Justin Deal of Payday Payroll Resources, and Jon Cooper of Perlow Productions join me to discuss ways we can help each other out during this current pandemic.  We also dive into some apps to use to help find ways to provide services in your business.

Excited to start this new series of episodes called What's Next.  This series will simply cover the topic of What's Next, with each episode diving into detail of what is next.  Each episode will be a rountable discussion of 3-4 guests offering their opinions and insights.  In this first episode of What's Next, I am thankful to have on Betty Maul of Front End Graphics, James Corbett...

I got on a call with Jeremy Fyfe of GLS Painters where Jeremy and I discuss how he got started, how he's been dealing with the current pandemic, and some ways he uses social media and targetted ads to gain more business.  Jeremy's company, GLS Painters is located in Sicklerville, NJ where they provide interior and exterior painting for residential and commercial clients.  The primary ser...

I finally broke down and decided to speak about the current situation right now with COVID-19/Coronavirus.   I first give an update on what I've been doing with work and dealing with being at home.  Then I revisit some thoughts I had about the cycle of the construction industry economics, and if this pandemic is truly the next recession.  

This is the first episode where I cover 3D scanning and its application not only in architecture and construction, but other industries as well.  I cover the two main types of scanning, Lidar and Photogrammetry, along with the benefits of both.  I also talk about two scanners that I have personal experience with, Matterport and Leica BLK360, and finish with how I use the scan data.    

Back in December I was a guest on RVNTV's show, Connect to Success, hosted by Ashley Owens.  This episode is the audio of that interview.  Connect to Success features local business owners and entrepreneurs in Philadelphia and South Jersey.  Ashley's guests talk about what they do along with offering their networking techniques, tips, and tricks.  Thanks again to Ashely and the...

Coming into the new year with a somewhere in between note.  I probably looked at too much social media over the break and I go into some things that got under my skin while online.  Two types of posts I saw a lot of involved people talking about what charities they contributed to or the goals they accomplished or plan on having in the new year.  Both of these I think are good to hav...