How We’re Making It, A Top 10 List
We’re zooming into 2010 and while the design and construction industry is still taking a beating, we’re keeping busy here at the BUILD world headquarters. We get a lot of questions about how we’re keeping busy and what we’re doing in an economy like this – so we figured we’d put a post together on the top 10 tips for not only staying alive but attempting to flourish in the current economic climate. As per usual, take our list with a grain of salt; this list isn’t right or wrong and it’s certainly not the only way to do it. It’s worked for us for several reasons; we haven’t had to decrease our staff, everybody is getting paid, we feel good about the way we’re spending our time, and we’re still taking on projects of a high quality. So here goes:
1. Diversify: and we’re not talking about doing hand renderings in addition to being a CAD monkey. We’re speaking of real diversity; learn how to engineer a simple wood structure, sign up for a welding class, take on some construction management. The age of specificity and spending every day comfortably designing a certain type of project is over. We’ve learned enough engineering over the years to do a structural package for simple projects and remodels. It’s rewarding, brings the engineering cost down a bit for clients, and puts more work on our plates. We’ve also taken on our own finished photography and we’re never going back.
2. Get Scrappy: get your hands dirty, make something. There is always a market for sensible, useful products. In our case we opened a cabinet shop and we’re in the process of designing and manufacturing a pre-fab re-usable Christmas tree for the next holiday season.
3. Get humble: we don’t particularly care where you got your degree from and what your masters thesis was about. In the new economy, if you can’t do something useful then you won’t be needed. Each of us here at BUILD (partners included) have put in some elbow grease at the SPD shop refreshing and upgrading our knowledge of craft and putting quality together, physically. This includes sanding, sweeping floors and making dump runs too.
4. Time is always valuable: the extra time you have now is not “free-time”, it’s a valuable commodity to be spent in different places like marketing, networking and blogging. We’ve made time to rework the BUILD website and have established a design blog full of valuable content.
5. Become part of the new social network: if you’re not running a blog you need to become part of one. Tribes are being formed in the digital realm based on beliefs, philosophies and the trading of significant information; it’s also where the important conversations are happening. These tribes are banding together, promoting each other and helping each other tackle things like a tough economy. All it takes is seeking out some blogs that speak to you, following along and getting involved in the discussion – so hit that comments button. Most magazines are slow, static and have politically correct agendas to abide by; the blogging world is fast, fluid and can be brutally honest.
6. Eject the distractions like a virus: what you spend your time and effort on is more important than ever. Down economies are victim to marketing seminars, round-table lunch discussions and walk-in-without-an-appointment cold callers. Entire industries are set up to take advantage of the fact that you’ve got more “free-time” than before (refer to #4). If they are not directly and substantially useful, eject them. God help the unfortunate sales people that walk into our office with their optimistic smiles and binders full of irrelevant things.
7. Re-appropriate your skills: take all the skills you’ve accumulated and find new avenues for them. One of our previous diversifications was developing our own projects. Given the lack of financing available, we’re pointing our property development expertise to start up new ventures outside of, but supplementary to, architecture. We’re currently in the development stages of some secret projects that we’ll release in a future blog post.
8. Get (stay) small: wear more hats and push your team to take on a wider spectrum of responsibilities and skill-sets. We’ve been a team of 4 for years now and we plan on staying lean. We’re each wearing so many hats these days that there’s hardly reason to add to our team, at the same time each team member is critical to the overall operation. At the project level, revisit previous clients to see what limited services you can provide. The risk of small projects is diminished when you perform them for highly trusted clients.
9. Sharpen the focus: it seems that there is more of a lackadaisical cultural shift we’re mired in currently. Our economy and our industry have been kicked squarely in the _____ (pick your favorite colorful term) and it seems like we’re more easily distracted than ever. As a profession, we’re sliding deeper into procrastination. Recognize this ‘slide’ into distraction and reset the focus. Make sure you do at least 5 important things a day. Just being busy is unacceptable; taking worthwhile and seemingly ‘hard’ steps to progress is all that matters.
10. Keep working hard: it’s important to be intentional and deliberate even if you’re not billing. There’s still an enormous amount of work to do, it’s just in a different arena now. One of preparation for work you’ll get later.
So there it is, your vitamin BUILD; take it, leave it, or better yet let us know your tips for tackling the obstacles out there.
13 Comments
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Survival: How’d YOU do it? « Entrepreneur Architect — April 6, 2010 @ 5:01 pm
By mike, February 18, 2010 @ 8:22 am
luckily for us, the ‘unfortunate sales people’ haven’t been walking into the office, but they do seem to be cold-calling 10x more than a year ago. maybe it’s time to eject the phones?
get creative about finances – now may be the time for a lot of people to renegotiate a less costly lease.
get smart(er) – find avenues for advancing your knowledge
don’t worry about things not in your control – it’s hard not to if your office is going through rounds of layoffs, but two key points:
1. it’s business, not personal.
2. worrying about things out of your control can have a seriously debilitating effect on your mental health
By Tom Glenn, February 18, 2010 @ 9:18 am
Excellent points all around. I’ve been supplying materials from China for over 6 years now. In the hey day and beyond. Get creative about your product sourcing and go as direct to the manufacturer as possible. This isn’t possible in the U.S. but since 90% of materials originate in Asia, it must be seriously considered.
1. It’s business, not personal.
2. Join the global sourcing community or be left behind and pay WAY TOO MUCH!
By Nicholas Williams, February 18, 2010 @ 11:38 am
great tips! It’s times like these that architects need to get entrepreneurial:
Take control of your destiny and stop waiting for clients to walk into the door!
Go to Home Depot and look for that housewife that doesn’t know what she is doing…odds are it could lead to a bathroom or kitchen remodel.
Take this down time to learn a new industry…get into construction, even if it is at an entry level labor position.
NETWORK….go to conventions, bars, gallery openings. Develop a killer website and business cards.
Go work in a coffee shop, as many contractors survive on coffee and can refer you to more work.
Work on your licensure….architectural and construction (most architects don’t realize they have the experience level to qualify for a contractor’s license)
Do pro-bono work…it could lead to something greater and profitable.
By Gus, February 18, 2010 @ 1:54 pm
Thanks for telling it like it is guys.
By Jonas, February 18, 2010 @ 2:21 pm
Really good post to keep everyone focused on the ultimate goal. As a very small design/build firm, we are jumping from the computers to the table saw daily and it couldn’t be more rewarding. Our clients love all the extra attention they are getting and our projects just keep getting better. As Architects we are born problem solvers, this is just another one of those problem we will all end up being better from having gone through. Thanks to BUILD for continueing to inform.
By Ryder, February 18, 2010 @ 2:24 pm
Great post!
There seems to be two strains of thought going thru the field now:
1. Hunker down and do whatever it takes to make $ without any regard to the quality and/or type of work.
or
2. This is the time to get your house in order, learn something new and be ready when the “tide rises”.
I know in my office I’m seeing why too much of the former while I’m trying to expand on the later in my own personal work.
Thanks for articulating what I’ve been trying to tell co-workers and friends!
p.s. Just found your site today and you’ve got yourself a huge fan.
By brad, February 18, 2010 @ 5:29 pm
Long time reader, first time commenter!
Just wanted to say thanks for all of the great posts! I stumbled across your post on “basic photography for architects” about a year ago while researching …. well architectural photography.
I have been a constant reader since and for whatever reason never commented. But figured I follow your #5 tip and start now.
Love this post and appreciate the clear directed plan. It can be difficult to remain clear headed and calm when the panic of “how am I going to pay my bills next month” tries to take up all your head space. (for unemployed designers such as myself)
Certainly having a top ten list to direct your professional development keeps you on track even if you are not able to work in architecture at the moment.
Thanks again for all of the solid posts and for giving a crap about more than your ego.
By Barry, February 18, 2010 @ 6:03 pm
Thanks for distilling your own thoughts into this post. I find many of these points I undertook some time back and am surviving (Thriving?) today as you note.
BUT there is a recurring theme I read in a couple of comments. One that was addressed last year by a client with whom a professional colleague I were consulting as he took his highly successful commercial real estate business of nearly 20 years to a private non-franchised status. He wanted a new name that reflected a purpose and the values of the company. He reflected on the statement oft used: “It’s business, not personal.” pretty much rejecting it outright with this statement: “If your business practices don’t align with and reflect your personal values and existence – that’s a poor excuse for living. It’s always personal, it’s always about people. Business is an equation. People are what it’s always about and always should be about.”
I realize I’m pulling out of contest both his remarks and those posted in comments above. And I’m not trying to pick an argument over semantics. Just commenting on the idea behind the words and the power of saying or writing stuff that is actually contrary to what you truly believe and wish to live up to. just say’n not arguing.
By adam crain, February 19, 2010 @ 7:26 am
fantastic. As you guys have seen, I’ve been following many of these guidelines through the market downturn, and so far its worked out great. As a plus, it’s kept this interesting and allowed us to design & build some killer furniture pieces that have gotten us a decent amount of press!
By andrew, February 19, 2010 @ 1:14 pm
“Make sure you do at least 5 important things a day. Just being busy is unacceptable.”
Very wise.
Regarding this talk of business≠personal. I love that this is not what Build is about–that your work is a natural outgrowth of your passions and positive personal traits. The way it oughtta be in my opinion– one’s best self as his/her commercial interface with society. Makes commerce meaningful . . . personal.
Cheers, fellas.
Andy
By Xarch, February 20, 2010 @ 11:48 am
We need to learn to say “NO” to clients who want to exploit us. We need also to say ” NO” to vendor like CAD companies who try to sell us faster and better software which we don’t really need.
By jeff bender, February 22, 2010 @ 12:38 pm
another great post guys! especially the part about lean and mean and wearing a lot of hats… i think it’s imperative and really an elemental part of success in our profession.
in my last round of job searching (thankfully it was a few years ago… – knock wood!) i was rebuffed by many firms who could find no use for a architect and designer that worked, on a regular basis, on projects of all shapes and sizes. {what? you don’t work on performing arts centers? all the time?} i hope the current envoironment will lead us as a profession back to being problem solvers – open to all comers, not just turning out the same stuff all the time.