Life of an Architect Bob Borson and Andrew Hawkins

The vast majority of practicing architects view the time spent practicing their craft as a calling, but what happens when you don’t want to get out of bed? Today we discuss the role of "optimism" in architecture.

Today we are tackling a topic that we have never covered before, not even a little. Imagine walking into a crowded room and not knowing who to talk to or what to say, a situation I have found myself uncomfortably in more times that my therapist can ignore. The ability to build meaningful relationships and strategic alliances is a critical part of the success of any business. Today, Andrew and I will discuss a topic that at least from my side of things, have zero training in but is nonetheless a part of my job description and responsibilities in the office. Time to have a frank conversation about the indispensable practice of turning professional interactions into valuable assets. Welcome to EP 154: Networking



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Today we are going to be discussing the topic of Networking as it pertains to business development, not the cat5 cables running from your computer to some windowless closet in the building.



On a scale of 1 to 10, I rate myself as a solid 5 when it comes to networking - which I define as “better than most” but worse than those that are actually skilled at the process, and my skills drop off once you get past charm and Leprechaun stories. So when I decided to make "networking" as a topic for today's conversation, I knew it would require a lot of research and a fair amount of self-reflection specific to what I think I am actually good at doing. In preparation I started with the most basic definition of what networking actually is:



Networking is a part of business development that ultimately addresses the question of how leads come into the office.



This is a topic that I have wanted to talk about for a long time, mostly because I have some pretty significant responsibilities in my office to network and bring in business. I am constantly asking myself “How do I go about networking?!?” There are a million questions on this and depending on your goals, or responsibilities, there are a million different answers to this question. When I talk to the more experienced principals and owners in my office, they tend to answer the “How do you network” question in a similar manner - almost all of them say that it has very little to do with talking about work, but rather it's about making a personal connection and finding people you like and want to work with.











What is Networking and Why is it Worth Your Time jump to 7:53



Networking is the eventual evolution for anyone who is in a professional services profession if you have any sort of leadership and business responsibilities. The long and short of it is that networking is the engine that drives your business and as a result, its value is self-evident. Now that I am 15 years into that portion of my career where I have some responsibility to bring in work, I have come into the decision the hardest part of networking is showing up. The second hardest thing is walking up to someone and saying hello and asking people questions. What makes these simple things hard is the idea that you are putting yourself out there and have opened yourself up to some level of embarrassment and rejection.



Andrew and I talk about our own experiences networking, the good, the bad, and the ugly, and with the experience and success we have achieved, we have broken this topic down into 8 key areas for consideration.



1. Relationship Building: 





Initial Contact: Making the first connection, often through introductions, events, or online platforms.

Nurturing Relationships: Consistently maintaining and strengthening these connections over time through regular communication and engagement.





2.

Inspiration can come from many different sources - but can you actively seek it out when you are feeling like you are in a dry spell?

When you are starting a new job, even you very first job, here are some tips that might make the transition a bit easier and potentially, more fruitful.

We are finally conceding to a request that’s been made a thousand times – do an episode on starting an architectural business – a topic that I have resisted for essentially 6 years, and I think I’ve finally broken. This is not as easy of a topic to discuss as you might think because there are a million different ways you could answer a question this broad. In an attempt to make this conversation of value, we are going to start at the beginning, and we are going to eat this whale one bit at a time. Welcome to EP 151: Starting a Business



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Starting at the Beginning jump to 1:36



Business plans are not that difficult to prepare, and when created properly, they can be used as a guide to help make long term decisions on to best set up you new firm. Since we are going to go about today's conversation at the beginning, we are going to adopt the strategy of "eating this whale one bite at a time".







Student Example Business Plan from Andrew's class



Executive Strategy jump to 4:40

The first thing to do is to take some time to figure out exactly who you are, and more importantly, who you want to be - which means creating an overview of your firm, its mission, and goals. For me, the most important part of this process is to focus on your goals. This can mean a handful of different things, (type of work, geographic location, size of your new firm, how much money do you want to make, etc.) but how you decide to answer this question will fundamentally guide your behavior in the beginning



Summary of services offered and target market jump to 7:12

This should be an easy one for most people to figure out. What type of work will you be providing and who will you be providing it for? Let’s say you want to start a residential architecture firm. Will you be focusing on developers, builders or end users as your client base (maybe all three?) Will you be designing new houses, additions renovations, full documentation or something at a reduced capacity (i.e. “Builder set”?) Maybe you think you will simply be taking on whatever you can and for whomever – which is a reality for most people starting out in a residential firm but you still need to have some sort of understanding at what level of service and documentation each of these user bases will require and how to establish an appropriate fee for each one (which is probably the most asked question I get on this topic).



For the record, there is no canned ready-to-serve answer to this question due to the number considerations that fall into place.



Firm Description jump to 11:10

History of the firm (if any if it is a modification of an existing firm) and its partners. This is exactly what you think it is and might be the easiest thing about creating a business plan. The purpose of this section is to really demonstrate competency to the people you want as clients. This is really a personal history of the individuals that make up the firm (which could be one) but it explains how and why you ventured out to create this firm.



Develop a Vision and Mission Statement jump to 12:40

I am not a big fan typically of mission statements, mostly because I don’t think people use them properly. A mission statement is typically used to clarify what business you are in, focus your goals, and identify your business objectives. They should be internal vision statements to help guide the decision making process not some pandering message shared with the public espousing things you should be doing anyway (like providing excellent service, providing solutions, or any sort of “listening to your clients”)



I wrote a post on Mission Statements back in 2014 (https://www.lifeofanarchitect.com/mission-statements/) and my thoughts on the matt...

So here we are ... Episode 150, and I am a little surprised that I made it this far into this Life of an Architect experiment, but due to the support and interest we have received over the last 6 years, we find ourselves as what I believe to be a fairly significant milestone. When it came time to pick today’s subject matter, there was really on one topic that was up for consideration … Welcome to EP 150: Drawing Stuff!



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Today we are going to be talking about "drawing stuff", and if you are wondering what that really means, you are in the right place because that’s what Andrew and I are going to try and figure out. There are all sorts of examples and references in today's post so this is a good post to earmark for future reference (if you're into that sort of thing).











Life of an Architect and Drawing Stuff jump to 01:00



When I say “drawing stuff” to you, what comes to mind? Do you think there is some relevance to the fact that the question is framed because I said “drawing” and not “drafting”? I will confess that there is a difference for some, but not for me. I make drawings. I can draft them, I can sketch them, I can get on a computer and use software like Revit (well, I can’t use Revit), AutoCAD, or whatever your drafting software of choice might be. Drawing stuff can mean anything and in any software - I am just referring to visual communication and how we think and talk through ideas. I'd like to say that I don't think there is a wrong way to draw stuff - but we all know that's not true. Sketching, drafting, 3dmodeling, rendering, I've talked about all of it at one time or another but there are some particular moments that stand out for me ...



Notable Blog Posts for "Drawing Stuff"  08:47



https://www.lifeofanarchitect.com/do-architects-draw-too-much/



It wasn’t that long ago that I could produce construction drawings for a 6-figure residential project in little more than a dozen sheets of drawings. The last one I worked on was quite a bit more as the architectural set having around 45 sheets to it. That is a 400% increase within the last 20-years. Once I add in the structural drawings, grading and drainage drawings, as well as the dedicated HVAC drawings, we will approach 60+ sheets in this set.



What is going on? What is the reason for all the increased drawings? Is it the complexity of the projects? Maybe it’s because architects anticipate a contentious relationship with contractors? Maybe it’s the overly-specific design intentions that architects are wanting in our projects and we know that we can’t expect the contractor to read our minds?!? This entire post was a bit of a rant because things are starting to feel as if some residential contractors are punishing those of us that produce drawings that tell them how we want things done - that this makes us appear difficult and fussy when the exact opposite is the goal.







https://www.lifeofanarchitect.com/design-process-redlines/



I might not always be a nice person and I like to complain as much as the next person but if there is one trait someone who visits this site with any regularity knows, I do like to be helpful. During the design process, this typically manifests itself as “redlines”.  For those of you that may not be familiar, redlines are typically created when architects make editorial notes on a set of drawings to convey changes that are needed to be made. This process typically occurs during the construction drawings phase, but I find that they are more helpful for how I like to work during the design development phase of the projects.