When Annmarie and I launched our architecture studio in 1999, we knew that we wanted to give our firm a unique identity. Every other firm in the region was named for their founders. Another “Smith and Smith Architects” was not what we wanted to be. (No offense to any Smith and Smiths out there.) Our plans were to create a firm unlike anyone else and we needed a name to separate us from the pack. After a few days of considering alternatives, the name Fivecat Studio consistently rose to the … [Read more...]
The Order of Operations
The Critical Differences Among Mission, Vision, Purpose, Strategy and Goals Are you confused about the difference between mission and vision? Or, between purpose and mission? You’re not alone. I am frequently asked about the differences among mission, vision, purpose, strategy and goals... and where do values fit in? Many people don’t care about definitions. That’s certainly unfortunate. Having clear definitions distinguishes these important concepts. And since there is an order of … [Read more...]
Seeing the Forest AND the Trees
Can Your Firm Benefit from a Third-Party Business Assessment for Architects? As a busy architect and business-owner, it’s easy to become so focused on day-to-day tasks that we forget the importance of stepping back and taking in the big picture. How is my business performing as a system? What are the weak links that I don’t see? What are my team’s unique strengths that we take for granted? But even if you do have the time and the vision to reflect on your business, your individual … [Read more...]
Make Your Social Media Content More Shareable
Many (if not all) of us are using social media on a daily basis. Some of us restrict our time online to personal social interactions, while others use these powerful networking platforms to help promote our architectural businesses. Social media can certainly be a powerful tool, but if not carefully and intentionally managed, our time online can waste away the precious few hours that we are afforded each day. There are a dozen different channels from which to choose. Each has its strengths … [Read more...]
The Simple Profitable Power of 1%
There’s a very simple, easy method to demonstrate to your staff the critically important issue of how to constantly improve effectiveness and efficiency. We have all heard the phrase, “work smarter, not harder” and yet I would venture to guess that few of us really understand how to apply that lesson on a daily basis. June Jewell, a professional colleague of mine, has written an excellent book, Find the Lost Dollars: 6 Steps to Increasing Profits in Architecture, Engineering and … [Read more...]
How To Improve Your Architecture Fee Proposals
A featured clip from this week's episode at EntreArchitect Podcast Listen to the entire interview with Ian Motley of Blue Turtle Consulting Subscribe to EntreArchitect Podcast Subscribe to our new YouTube channel … [Read more...]
Merry Christmas 2018
Six Ways To Earn More Profit As A Small Firm Architect
The Passion Profit Cycle of Success Prior to starting our own firms, we business-owner architects experienced an “entrepreneurial seizure”, as Michael Gerber so accurately described in his book, The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It. It’s the precise moment when a passionate employee commits to starting her own firm. Frustrated by the process (or lack of process) established by her employer, she decides that she can do better. Do you remember that … [Read more...]
How Custom Proposals Overcomplicate Your Business
This is the third guest post by Ashley Gartland in a series of three about simplifying your business. Save Time and Make More Money By Developing a "Signature Package" Do you spend too much time creating custom proposals and delivering custom work to your clients? Nine times out of ten, my business coaching clients answer this question with a definitive YES. They have good intentions for creating custom proposals and delivering custom work. It feels generous, personalized and valuable. … [Read more...]
How To Systematize Your Marketing
This is the second guest post by Ashley Gartland in a series of three about simplifying your business. Marketing Without the Overwhelm Let’s just call it like it is: marketing takes up a lot of time in your business – not to mention space in your head. Between social media, content marketing, networking and pitching, you’re working what feels like a full-time job trying to get the word out and stay on people’s radar – and not surprisingly so, because big companies actually have marketing … [Read more...]
How Systems Support More Success in Your Business
(and Freedom in Your Life)
Back in the early days of my coaching business, I didn’t place much importance on systems. They simply didn’t seem necessary, and they certainly didn’t strike me as something that would contribute to my success. Plus, creating systems just felt like more work, a way to waste time I didn’t really have. That changed as I got busier with my business and realized that NOT having systems was preventing me from reaching the next level and achieving more growth. Before I had systems in … [Read more...]
5 Principles of Servant Leadership for Small Firm Architects
Forever Changed as a Leader Late one winter night, under a bare bulb in an empty under-heated DC university dorm room I read Leadership Is an Art by Max De Pree; a book that influenced my approach to leading others from that night forward. Earlier that day, our hosts at the 1992 American Institute of Architecture Students Grassroots conference gave each student leader a copy of the inspirational paperback following a motivational speech about leadership. Full of excitement, eager to make a … [Read more...]
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