Competitions are a integral part of the architecture experience. Since architecture school and throughout our careers, design competitions provide a vehicle for architects to promote our talents and showcase our skills.
Several architects have built their firms around the results of competitions, allowing them to leapfrog years of marketing strategies, accelerating their brands and business development. It’s a business plan strategy that has succeeded for many.
Business plans are critical to success of any business. A well developed plan will provide a map to live the life of your dreams. I wrote about creating a Life Plan, which should also include your business plan, in Session 002 of the Entrepreneur Architect Academy Blog Post Series. If you want to achieve specific goals and seek to be the best you can be, then you need to develop a plan.
If you are considering the launch of your own architecture firm or if you have launched within the past five years, I have some very exciting news. Its a competition just for you, but this one is not a design competition. Charrette Venture Group has announced a business plan competition.
Ready to take things to the next level?
The first prize winner of the competition will receive $10,000. That’s serious money and it would certainly help you reach your goals.
“The architecture profession is filled with many talented, creative individuals, and it is a highly entrepreneurial profession with many architects choosing to launch their own firms. However, the importance of entrepreneurship is often times overlooked or understated,” said Matt Ostanik, President and Founder, Charrette Venture Group, and himself a registered architect in state of Iowa. “The goal of the competition is to encourage more architects to start their own firms and to inspire a broader dialog about the role of entrepreneurship in our profession.”
I am so excited about this competition. It’s what Entrepreneur Architect is all about. Even better, Matt has invited me to join his team as a member of the competition jury. I’ll be in Chicago to review the final submissions and help select the winners.
If you’re a fan of the Entrepreneur Architect Podcast and you check out the list of jury members for the competition, you’ll see a couple familiar names. Fellow jury members, Rina Klein and Oscia Wilson are alumni of the podcast. I look forward to working with them on the jury.
If you are interested in entering the competition, here are a few details.
Eligible participants must be a licensed architect in the U.S. or Canada, and, if operating an existing design firm, must have been in business for five years or less. Interested architects should register online by March 28, 2014, and an executive summary of their business plan must be submitted by April 25, 2014. The winners will be announced at a special reception in Chicago, Illinois during the American Institute of Architect’s national convention on June 26, 2014. There is no cost to enter the competition. For detailed rules, the full competition timeline, and additional resources on how to write a business plan, please visit the competition website.
I hope to see you in Chicago.
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Photo Credit: Charrette Venture Group
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