The European Holiday Shut Down Every summer, much of the European continent takes holiday at the same time. During the month of August, the city streets empty and the summer resorts fill up. Many architects have experienced the result of this shut down when ordering products or materials from European suppliers. If you order tile from France in July, don’t expect delivery until September or October. They’ll be, unapologetically, on a beach somewhere during the month of August. For years, … [Read more...]
How do you measure your success?
There's a saying in business, “What gets measured, gets managed.” Winning companies track several metrics to gauge their performance and measure business success. ROI (return on investment), EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization), average sales, website traffic, employee churn and average inventory are all key business indicators. Large retailers track same store sales, days of supply and stock to sales ratio. Public companies are required to publish quarterly … [Read more...]
Why the Web?
At the last few meetings of the AIA Westchester / Mid-Hudson Practice Management Committeee, we discussed websites and how they could benefit our practices. I just wanted to share some of the work I've done online for my firm, Fivecat Studio. I thought it might be helpful for your own practice. Fivecat.com We built our first website in 1999. It has gone through a few redesigns since then, but it has always been intended to simply educate our potential clients. It answers some basic … [Read more...]
Partnering Architects
At this month's meeting of the AIA Westchester / Mid-Huson Practice Management Committe we were discussing the subject of partnering (two architects working with a joint venture agreement). Among many interesting comments, the question of legal agreements was raised and I wondered if the AIA offered a document for architects looking to partner. As assumed, they do. C801™-1993, Joint Venture Agreement for Professional Services can be used for just such an arrangement. "C801™-1993 is intended … [Read more...]
White Windows
Many years ago, before Annmarie and I started our residential architecture firm, I was a project manager with Kaeyer, Garment & Davidson Architects in Mt. Kisco, New York. I worked very closely with the senior partner at the time, Dick Kaeyer. My first assignment as Project Manager was a major addition and renovation project for a church and facilities in Yorktown Heights. Dick designed the project and I developed it through construction drawings. Then, in order to learn the tips and … [Read more...]