Today I was watching a recent talk by Chris Brogan and among many thought provoking ideas, he proposed one tasty tidbit that stuck in my head. Chris is a successful marketing pro, NY Times bestselling author, magazine contributor, blogger, speaker and mega-nerd (he knows more about comic superheros than anyone... ever). He didn't just decide to be successful... and BOOM, he had 220,000+ followers on Twitter. It took lots of time and dedication. Today he writes 4,000 words a day and earns … [Read more...]
My Time Online: Presenting Portfolio, Creating Context and a Top Google Rank
This week, we've been exchanging website URLs over at the Entrepreneur Architect Linkedin Group. It is very interesting to learn some background on the people we're interacting with on that forum. I shared our website URL (which is in the midst of an upgrade from our original site to a new one). Then, I posted links to all my other work online. Here is my original post: In addition to our website at http://www.fivecat.com, below are the other places I spend my time online (and with my spare … [Read more...]
Great Architecture Will Not Build a Great Business
1) Design great architecture. 2) Get noticed. 3) Thrive! Isn’t that how it is supposed to work. Well... it doesn’t. The trick is step 2. Getting noticed. How do you get noticed? The answer in a word, is Marketing. Even uber-successful “starchitects” have a marketing team working to get their "great architecture" noticed. Whether you want to be published in national magazines or looking to get noticed by the homeowners around the corner, you can’t reach your audience without marketing. Great … [Read more...]
Are You “Locally Famous”?
What are you doing to become "locally famous"? Do you have a facebook account with which you post regularly and interact with your fans? Do you follow Twitter feeds for people who have influence in your local communities... and respond to their tweets? Do you blog... consistently, and have a website which reflects the expectations of the market in which you wish to become "famous"? What happens when you Google your name? Your firm? The term "architect" followed by your location? Are you … [Read more...]
BUILD LLC… the documentary
Check out the new short film documenting the life and times of the Seattle-based architecture firm, BUILD LLC. It is beautifully done. A film like this can be used for so many purposes. First, it documents a specific time in the life of this specific firm. Andrew, Kevin and their team will have a great record of what they were thinking in the early days of BUILD LLC. It is fantastic for marketing. How many firms have a well produced documentary film created for them? I would not be surprised … [Read more...]
How do your clients find YOU?
At the end of an interview with a prospective client, I ask them to complete a short questionnaire. Most of the questions are names, address and telephone numbers, but near the bottom of the page is this question, "How did you learn about Fivecat Studio?" The question is followed by a few choices, "Magazine or Newspaper?", "Lawn Signs?", "Internet?", or "Other?". I track this information and have found that most of our clients start their search for an architect at Google. Although, many … [Read more...]
How important is your firm’s name?
Our firm's name is Fivecat Studio. It took quite a long time to settle on the name when we launched the firm back in 1999. Our intent, then and now, is to build a great and enduring firm that will long outlive its founders. We did not want to build the firm around any single person or personality. We wanted a name that was not only memorable and differentiated us from our competitors, but a name that we could build a brand around. We think Fivecat Studio does that. What do you … [Read more...]
Do You Tweet?
From Architectural Record: It seems like everyone these days is constantly plugged into their technological devices, tweeting their whereabouts, Facebooking their statuses, and publicizing anything and everything about themselves. Companies are even engaged in the phenomenon, using social media tools to market their products and services. But for architects, do these online pursuits pay off? Design firms that have integrated social media into their practices report a spike in interest in their … [Read more...]
Non-Traditional Architecture Firms
A member of our Linkedin group, Entrepreneur Architect, posted a response to my discussion, "Learning From Other Industries: Could an architecture firm be successfully structured to run like a high-end salon?". Amy Burke, NCARB is a member of a design group named Hyperform Design Co-op located just outside Denver, Colorado. Hyperform is an informal collaborative with approximately 50 members and shared studio space. Members of the co-op (architects, designers, landscape architects, … [Read more...]
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"] … [Read more...]
Are You Remarkable?
Becky Shankle (@ecomod) is thinking out of the box... the IKEA box to be more specific. Becky is the founder and lead designer at eco-modernism. In addition to designing and installing custom kitchens and baths in the Raleigh, NC region, she has launched an innovative IKEA kitchen services. By promoting her firm as IKEA specialists, she differentiates eco-mod from the dozens of other kitchen designers in her region. She's a Purple Cow. She's remarkable. She has found a way to inspire people to … [Read more...]
The New Networking
From ResidentialArchitect.com: Marketing is a chore for most residential architects, who would rather draw than dream up ways to attract new business. It's easier to rely on word-of-mouth advertising and the casual connections formed at kids' soccer games, dinner parties, and board meetings. Conventional wisdom says that personal networking is, in fact, the most powerful marketing tool there is. Consumers place far more trust in people they know than they do in advertising messages, and that … [Read more...]