My wife and I launched our architecture firm, Fivecat Studio, in 1999. We were 29 years old. Young, ambitious and a little crazy, we started with no money and no clients. One good lead and some help from a few local architect friends gave us the courage to take a leap of faith, and we went for it. In the 13 plus years we've been in business, I've learned a bunch. Today, I thought I would share a few secrets to our success. Dreams really do come true. If you haven't figured it out by now, I … [Read more...]
The Courage to Proceed
The difference between those who succeed and those who don't? The Courage to Proceed. Dream. Plan. Proceed. Succeed. Step 3 is the most difficult. photo credit: Express Monorail via photopin cc … [Read more...]
How To Complete an Overwhelming Project
Last week I announced the 12/12/12 Project and with it, an invitation for you to join me in committing to your own life altering decision. On December 12, 2012, together, we'll start the next phase of our lives. A life altering commitment is pretty heavy. A 12/12/12 Project is overwhelming by definition. So, how in the world do we approach such a thing? How do we accomplish, quite possibly, one of the most important decisions of our lives? This week, I want to show you a simple way to get … [Read more...]
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 moment? The passion required to … [Read more...]
My Micro-Economy is Broken
My residential architecture firm designs, builds and renovates homes for high-earning individuals living in Westchester County, NY, one of the nation’s wealthiest regions. The success of our firm depends on these people having the income and confidence to invest in their properties. With much effort and perseverance, our boards have been filled with work throughout the recession, mostly with smaller scale projects offering lower overall fees. Since 2008, revenues have decreased each year, with … [Read more...]
The Power of Stopping
When my brain is rested and not required to complete a specific task or stay focused on success, amazing things happen. During scheduled breaks, like vacations and holidays, I often develop my biggest ideas, like new business systems, strategies or concepts for future entrepreneurial endeavors. My right brain (the creative side) is free to roam, shifts into a lower gear and finds some additional horsepower. Some of my most interesting, most innovative ideas have been discovered during these … [Read more...]
3 Steps to a Better Life: Stop, Drop and Roll
STOP and take time to evaluate your life. Ask yourself... Are you doing the things that make you happy? Are you making the world a better place? Have you found your purpose? What are your goals? Are you working toward a better life? Make two lists; Things That Matter and Things That Don't. DROP the things that make you unhappy. Eliminate the the things that are distracting you from reaching your goals. Do more things that matter and fewer things that don't. When times are tough and the next … [Read more...]
Life of an Architect Blog Reaches 3 Million Readers
As a follow up to yesterday's post... if you aren't already a fan of Entrepreneur Architect Bob Borson and his Life of an Architect blog, meander on over and take a read. His hard work and dedication online has resulted in much earned success. He posts almost everyday with interesting and thought provoking ideas. He made his blog his job. He shows up every day and does what it takes to succeed. Last night, Life of an Architect passed 3 million readers. Yes, thats million with an … [Read more...]
Make it Your Job
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...]
Dream Big: Develop Your Business Plan Using a Narrative
ArchDaily.com picked up my friend and Entrepreneur Architect Linkedin Group member Bob Borson's blog post today. If you haven't read Bob's writings, I recommend that you visit him at LifeofanArchitect.com. Leave him a comment and tell him we said "hi". Bob describes how he uses a narrative during the programming phase to learn what his clients want, both functionally as well as emotionally. At Fivecat Studio, we use a similar process using a questionnaire and other fun programming exercises to … [Read more...]
My 5 Rules
I am sharing my latest post over at the Living Well in Westchester blog, My 5 Rules to a Successful Architecture Project. What are your rules to a successful project? http://fivecat.wordpress.com/2012/03/10/5-rules-to-a-successful-architecture-project/ … [Read more...]