I always knew I would someday have my own firm.
I’m a born entrepreneur… quite literally.
Dad’s a retired auto mechanic and he taught me entrepreneurism early. As a child, I watched how he bought old Corvettes and flipped them for a profit. When I was 13, I started doing the same. With savings from working summers at the shop, I purchased a navy blue 1972 Camaro for $1200, brought it home, cleaned it up, applied a fresh coat of wax and sold it for $2400.
I bought and sold seven or eight cars (hard to remember how many exactly) in three years. In 1986, at the age of 16, I bought a black 1969 Camaro Rally Sport; a car which I still own to this day.
I worked hard, stayed focused and move forward in incremental steps until I reached my ultimate goal. That was when I knew I would someday own my own business.
My First Job in Architecture
I graduated from Roger Williams University twenty years ago. (My reunion is scheduled for the end of this month and I can’t wait to see everyone.) The economy in 1993 looked much like it does today. The nation was recovering from recession and architects were not hiring.
I mailed out over 100 resumes and received rejection letter after rejection letter (I still have every letter to remind me of how it all started). After several months of searching, I received a call from Barry Poskanzer, AIA, an architect in Ridgewood, NJ. He needed a young starving intern to spend the rest of the summer measuring every unit of a condominium development he recently completed. The floor area calculations were being disputed by new unit owners and the developer hired Barry’s firm to document the exact floor area of each one of the 200+ units.
I was happy to take the position and spend day after day documenting the existing conditions of every unit. I needed the experience and I certainly needed the money. The complex was a former brick masonry mill building and every unit was different. Some had multiple bedrooms and others, open loft studios. All had exposed brick walls and large windows flooding the space with natural light. It was interesting work… until I completed all the mill units and moved on to the new new high-rise residential building. Each unit on a floor was a mirror image of the other and each floor plate was the same as the one below. Twelve floors later, my head was spinning.
That summer taught me many lessons. I had become an expert at measuring existing conditions; a skill that benefits me to this day. Even more importantly though, I learned that small choices lead to big progress. When I finished the task of measuring every space, Barry, impressed by my attention to detail and determination, asked me to stay on and take the full-time position of intern with his firm.
I owe much to Barry. He taught me the importance of keeping the client happy and getting the work done efficiently. I learned the basics of running a small practice and after working at the firm for about six months, Barry hired Annmarie (now my wife, business partner and mom to my kids). Barry changed my life forever.
The story of how Annmarie and I kept our relationship a secret and lived happily ever after is too long for this post. I’ll share that story another day.
The Large Corporate Firm
When I left Barry, my intention was to experience and learn what I could from a large corporate firm. For the next 9 months, I worked at URS Consultants (Currently URS Corp and one of the largest EA firms in the world). Located in my hometown of Paramus, New Jersey, I performed facility inspections at New York City schools, spent hours at the CAD station and occasionally had the opportunity to design small insignificant details for new buildings.
I knew when I took the position that I wanted nothing to do with a corporate firm for long. I just want to experience that structure and take away what I could.
Each step would lead me to my ultimate goal.
The Big Decision
While I was at URS, Annmarie had moved to Westchester County, New York and was working for a sole proprietor, designing custom residential projects. Engaged to Annmarie and with plans for a wedding, I decided to find work in Westchester too.
I found a home at Kaeyer, Garment and Davidson Architects, also known as KG&D Architects in Mount Kisco, New York and for the next three years I grew my skills to become a valued project manager for large K-12 additions and alterations projects. I moved through the ranks at KG&D and reached the point of needing to make a big decision. Should I stay with KG&D and work to become a partner, or move on to take the first steps toward my own firm?
A partnership in an established practice was not part of my plan, but with the growth I experienced and the relationships I developed, leaving such an opportunity behind was no simple decision.
The day I gave notice was not easy for me or the people with whom I worked. Choosing the path of risk and uncertainty appeared to many as career suicide. Many expected that I would soon return in failure, asking for my position back.
I left that day with all the confidence and optimism of a born entrepreneur. I would find my own way and I would succeed. I had no doubt.
With my IDP credits fulfilled, but not yet a licensed architect, I set out on my own and launched The Construction Documents Company. I consulted for local firms, preparing construction drawings and documenting existing conditions for large residential projects. The plan was to earn a steady income through consulting while preparing to launch the firm that would one day become Fivecat Studio.
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Next week I will share Part 2 of How I Started My Own Architecture Firm. Annmarie and I launched the practice in our basement with no money and no clients. I will tell you how we did it.
We remember those days. They were not only scary for you but for your entire family. We knew you would be a success. After all you are a LePage and as we have always told you, LePages can do anything, but we also knew you would have lots of bumps and bruises. (We left that part out in our discussions.) You and Ann have obviously made the right decisions, lived through the bumps and bruises and we are so glad you did. Our whole family is proud of you both, the firm you have created and the people you are. Keep up the hard work, “live well, love much and laugh often”.
Love you, MOM xoxo
Thanks Mom. Love you too : )
Thank you for sharing your story. I’m going through my basement phase right now and it brightens my hopes for the future. Keep up the great work on the blog and your business, and especially your family.
Thanks for the support and encouragement David. The basement phase is so important. Don’t be in too much of a rush to move on to phase 2. Looking back, I moved too soon.
Well, Mark, this post hit spot on and is rather timely considering my current situation (more on that later). But great post and you’ve definitely piqued my interest for Part 2!
I am glad I can help. Enoch, if you need any advice during your transition or even just someone to bounce ideas, please give me a call. You know the number.
Mark. Many thanks for the story. The steady income is the basis of the selfemployment.
I’m leading my own architectural practice, but the real problem here (Poland) is not a lack of business – there’s a lot of going on here… The problem is the client is not paying the invoice on time. So, maybe it’s the time to differentiate the business – lectures, computer training programme. Any advice, Mark? Many thanks. Regards, Peter
Steven Burns of BQE Software (makers of ArchiOffice) guest posted a series of articles for me this past winter. You may want to take a look: http://www.entrearchitect.com/2013/02/17/entrepreneur-architect-academy-007-1-how-to-become-the-richest-architect-you-know-part-1-of-3/
Thanks for the comment.
I look forward to part two: I will tell you how we did it. I was opening a firm over three years ago and ask Julie Snow this question. And she said she had a client from before and that was it! It’s great to hear how people got started. I worked for Daniel Libeskind and was laid off in 2008 along with a lot of other people. I had no choice but to find work, and I did.
Hey Mark
I started our little landscape architecture firm 8 years ago, and honestly it boiled down to a question of “will I regret this if I don’t try?” I suspected I would, so with a little cash from our re-mortgage house I took the plunge. It was scary and exciting at the same time, but holy jeez did I learn alot in a short period of time. Architecture schools need to incorporate business courses into the curriculum…….
This does bring back a lot of memories. My husband and I met in architecture school and never thought we’d go off on our own. We started not in the basement (not too many of those this part of VA), but in the room above the garage. It was just the two of us, only one of us licensed (I did finally go for it after the whole mom stint), and we did do some side work for other firms. But we survived, and here we are, in business for 20 years (next month!), and more importantly, still married (34 years). We are not big, but just added our 12th employee… and though we’ve maxed out the line of credit a few times… we’ve been blessed to have always managed to pay it off.
It’s been an adventure!
Mark, Don’t underestimate the fact that you married one of the most talented and gifted designer known to man, or at least me!
You made Annmarie cry : ) That comment means the world to her.
No doubt, Annmarie’s talent is a critical part of success. So too, were all the people involved and who supported us during our early years… including you. Next week, I will be writing about exactly that; how the support of others is critical to the success of any new firm.
Hope you are well.
Hi Mark,
Thank you for sharing your story. you made me cry! I left the firm in dreaming of opening my own business few month ago. I don’t have a partner & my husband is working in totally different field.
The problem is I still don’t have my license & I need income. what kind of services my company can offer without having license with NY rules?
Sharen:
When I first left the security of a full time position to start our own firm, I transitioned by starting a company called The ConDoc Company. I provide drafting services to established architects and specialized in measuring, documenting and drafting existing conditions for residential projects. It was very successful and gave me the freedom to prepare and plan my own firm, which launched soon after.
Thanks for great story,I just start my little architecture business but I have not has any office, is it logical to rent an office at the beginning or its better to prepare a room of my appartment as an office? Does it matter for a client to see i,m working at my living appartment?
Regards
Fredy