I belong to several LinkedIn groups, mostly related to my profession of Architecture. On one of the residential architecture pages someone asked the question of:
“What is it about our make up as architects and designers that make us so willing to work hard without reasonable compensation?”
It was my intent to merely respond on that page, but copying and pasting this into the site notified me that is was almost 1,900 words above the limit (far more now with this intro), so I decided to go to my long neglected blog, post it there, and post a link to the group.
I think it has to do with several factors, and it may even differ for those of us who have always loved designing from a young age. I fall into that category, knowing in one sense or another that I wanted to be an architect since I was 9. I always loved to draw and sometimes it is difficult to put yourself in the mindset that this is now a business. And if we cannot get ourselves into that mindset we may feel it is difficult to get our clients to feel the same way.
I agree that architects in general can be weak on business issues. I went to a university where the architecture college was next door to the business college. There was a mentality that the business college was where the jocks and greedy went for a degree and that we as designers in our altruism were above that. Once in a while an architect would give a lecture and encourage us to take business classes, and I for one ignored that. While it was a mistake I’ve done a few things to make up for it.
When I went out on my own even years ago it was with intent to go into a partnership with two others, an architect who was I business for 20+ years and an engineer who I thought was equally savvy. The more I worked with both of them the more I realized that while they knew a lot about running a business they were terrible at following through. In the long run, the slow down I the economy was a good thing because with the lack of work the incentive to form what would had been a disastrous partnership went away.
Many times I would look at what I do and think that anyone can do this. Then I see owner napkin sketches and an inability to visualize things and realize: no they can’t. Even for clients that are savvy I can sell myself as someone who has seen various scenarios for 23 years and can apply my experiences to their situation.
I worked with a business coach for two years and he helped me get out of that mentality. He reviewed my billings and my work and pushed me to charge for things I always treated like something I should do out of the good of my heart. That mentality has helped me not only as a businessperson but as a designer a well, I feel. If the client really wants to do something that you don’t care for, bite the bullet and keep in mind it is a business and you’ll get paid to do it, as long as the request is ethical of course.
Some of the books he had us read I would recommend to anyone in any business. The first is The E Myth by Michael Gerber. It is a good intro that puts one into the mentality of a struggling small business person. It does not spell out concrete solutions but gives one a lot to consider, the most basic premise being that one needs to think like an entrepreneur and less like a technician. Mastering the Rockefeller Habits by Verne Harnish and Guerrilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson were other books we used. I briefly served as a marketing person with an AV integrator who is in the process of closing his doors, I feel specifically because he could never get out of the technician mentality. I might be wrong about that, but of the three projects I brought to him, it took him a long time to get proposals together, and on the final home I brought to him it took him ten weeks to tell me that he’s decided to focus on commercial work. Then four months later he’s out, whatever.
I also belong to a leads club and try to network with local and regional chambers and events. The leads club is good, and even though I have not received very many leads from it, I surround myself with people who are business savvy in aspects where I am not. We had a mortgage broker who was at Arthur Andersen during the Enron debacle and mutual disintegration, and I’ve learned a lot from him. People in the business community know of me and I know them, so there should be some referrals from that. Granted I have slacked off from it a bit lately because I have been busy, perhaps partly from lapsing back into the designer mentality. We need to be sure to treat marketing and business development as equally important to the production.
Regarding fees I started raising mine based on a few things. First I stared a simple excel file that tracks how many hours I have and how it relates to the fee I charged. Perhaps this is something I could see through QuickBooks if I had the discipline to learn the software, but that’s another story. That was an eye opener to get me to see that I need to make things worth my while. So in upping my fees I haven’t seen a rate of acceptance of proposals go down, still the same – either acceptance or I never hear back, never anyone trying to talk me down. Ironically he only one to talk me down was a design build contractor I regularly work with, but I think now that he sees the value I bring he doesn’t talk me down anymore.
Finally, my business coach encouraged me to put together a seminar to educate the public on the profession. It is simply called “What an Architect Does and How You Benefit.” I went to a seminar put on by another architect on the future of the profession which was very good. But one thing that struck me was the mentality of many of the architects in the audience who complained that the AIA was not doing enough to promote the profession. My thought was that I’ve heard this complaint for 20 years and guess what folks – if you’re relying on others forget it. I’ve presented once to a group of 10 and I’m looking to present to other groups as well. I should be putting it on quarterly. I did received favorable comments from people outside of the profession not realizing all of the services, and specifically all of the work and aspects taken to arrive at a design. Writing this is helping remind me to get back into the marketing and promotion, and stop being mere technician!
Having twins who are now 15 and will start college in three years helps me take the business aspects more seriously as well, not to mention things I wouldn’t mind being able to do someday like build my own house or get a new car, things to not even think about until after I get the kids through college. Or at least know that I have the ability to reach those goals.
If you are interested in seeing comments from other architects on the topic you may do so here.
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