EntreArchitect // Small Firm Entrepreneur Architects

Business training and resources for small firm entrepreneur architects.

Architects Can Learn Much from Other Industries

What can we learn from other industries to make the traditional architectural and construction processes better? Hospitals are filled with checklists and other systems to make sure that every step of a procedure is done correctly. NASCAR racing teams also use checklists and directives from multiple layers of team members, each with their own specialty. […]

Fivecat Studio: Interviewed on WVOX 1460AM

Last week, Marsha Gordon, President and CEO of the Business Council of Westchester, invited me to join her at WVOX 1460AM in New Rochelle, NY. I enjoyed speaking with her about Fivecat Studio, the business of architecture and our annual campaign to support local animal shelters, Pillows of Puppies. [soundcloud url=”http://soundcloud.com/fivecat/wvox020110″]

Too Many Choices?

When performing our Design Development phase with clients, we typically assist them in selecting all their finishes, plumbing fixtures and lighting. This process is completed most efficiently when we discover and learn, through questionnaires and images, what our clients like and what they dislike. Then, with thorough knowledge of their taste, we offer a limited […]

Are You Loving the Low End?

Scott Anthony, author of the new book, The Silver Lining, contributed a recent HarvardBusiness blog post about “loving the low end”. Few architects are seeking the “low end”, but maybe there is something we can learn here. Is there a way we can restructure our basic architectural service and provide an alternative “stripped down” version […]

The Process of Architecture?

At Fivecat Studio, our process of delivering architectural services includes a very highly developed set of construction documents. Every possible decision is made. Every product is specified. Every fixture is scheduled, ready for purchasing. Our intent is to obtain very competitive bids from general contractors, minimize change orders and reduce construction time by eliminating delays […]

How to Stand Out

In the tradition of Seth Godin’s Purple Cow, Dan Heath, co-author of Made to Stick, has posted How to Stand Out in a Crowded Marketplace (video) to the AmEx OPEN Forum. Are you doing something new that no one has seen before? Are you doing one thing ferociously? According to Heath, we need to be […]