Small Firms Ideas Exchange

Happy New Year!  I love yelling that at the top of my lungs at the stroke of midnight with my family, followed by husband kisses and children hugs. My family and I talk about what we want to personally do better in the new year. We talk about what we wished went differently in the past year and, most of all, we dream about how wonderful it can be; we are after all Americans.

I've mentioned before that each time I hear on the AM radio ". . .and now for the update on America's Financial Crisis. . ." I feel like saying, "Excuse me folks, it's the new reality; work with it." The hardest part of running my practice is not the tightened credit for my clients; it's not even the current regulations we accept that we have to work within. The hardest part is the uncertainty of what the federal government will do next, and how it will affect my ability to run my practice and serve my clients. Too many times I tell my clients they need to undertake some additional aspect of construction on a project just because the AHJ said so, especially when the codes clearly indicate not necessary.

Sustainable design and commonsense [re]development: those are two topics I want to spend more time on this year. I feel good that my clients are poised to do well in this area. Increased federal intervention into how my clients run their offices/businesses, however, that is troubling. I hope the goodness in people will prevail.  (Yes, I still hate how the "HOPE" mantra has been hijacked by hot air rhetoric.) My greatest hope is that good people running businesses will take a few precious moments away from trying to run their businesses and weigh in on the increasing intervention we are feeling at federal, state, and local levels. I hope there will be more tea parties. I hope there will be more entrepreneurs with the gumption to get things going. I hope government doesn't tax us to death. 

In short, I hope for America to be as great as she can be. God bless America. Best wishes for a great 2010.

- Lisa Stacholy, AIA

Ok, we’re inundated with information; Web sites, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, seminars, conventions, etc… you get the jist. Oh, I forgot a huge resource, the AIA. 

I’m on a treasure hunt for a seminar that Charles Matta of Virginia (currently working with GSA) put on at a few AIA national conventions. As I recall, the content was something like “Marketing to Get Government Contracts,” or “Small Firms Selling to the Federal Government.” If I recall correctly, it was sometime between 2003 and 2006, and it was sponsored in part by the AIA’s knowledge community Small Project Practitioners (SPP). 

I’m stumped. I’ve “searched” the AIA Web site and can’t find nary a popcorn trail to try and find it. You’d think that’s the kind of information they’d want to have available. So much for having an approachable membership-driven organization.  Maybe I’ll give Charles a call.

But my search gets me to thinking: what stupid things am I doing in my firm which are equally idiotic? Funny thing is, I know that if someone looks from the outside in and asks, “Why do you do this like that?” I’ll have a perfectly good, justifiable reason and logic. It may just not fit outside my reality. To combat this, I realize that I spend a good deal of time thinking things over, externally so to speak.  I’ve got a handful of colleagues/friends (nationwide architects I met through SPP) that I use as my “sanity board”; that is, I call them and say “Hey Karen, am I totally crazy, but this is the idea I had in the shower last night……”.  She’s in Denver (www.arcmatters.com ), I’m in Atlanta; geographically we do things differently but fundamental principles can be discussed and really good suggestions/leading-to-solutions result for both of us. This morning I spoke with my friend Laura in Long Island (www.homefreehome.com) about collecting and organizing data which is accessible for people who might need it.

Seems like there must be a better way; I want to find it.

- Lisa Stacholy, AIA

“You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself  one.” James Froude 1818-1894

I’ve found that my general design process is more of a thought process. I think my thought process was conceived somewhere during high school and gelled during college. Over the years, I have worked to refine how I think about “things”; this in turn has reeducated and refined my basic design process.

I’m noticing more reiterative and reinforming component to both as I’m considering and evaluating firm management and/or project management processes. On the one hand, it’s very tempting to take how we know to manage projects and apply that to our firms; on the other hand, the MBAs of the world say it should be different: quantifiable aspects should be first.

The quote above seems right, because we call it “the practice” of architecture; in that we are still striving for better ways (plural).

-Lisa Stacholy, AIA

I’ve had some discussions with architect friends and engineers alike on social media: is it worth it? There is Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter (just to name the major players). I have a Facebook account to share photos and jokes with friends and family; purely for fun. I started a LinkedIn account at the suggestion of a civil engineer friend. I was asked to start tweeting for the AIA at the San Francisco convention this past spring. I think 8 months is a fair shake.

Facebook:  It can be “fun” but also a huge waste of time, such as the game Mafia Wars for one (some friends/colleagues have blocked access to the site from their place of business). I’d say this makes sense. I set up a group (Tribe Artemis Circle) to discuss women in professional occupations (e.g., architects, engineers) and the challenges that may be unique to women and how we can share ideas/thoughts to a) work better, b) have fun, and c) have a life. I’m living this topic so it blurs the line between “work” and “not work.” However, I have an architect/friend who set up the firm as a group and has a page specifically for the office; this is in addition to a very well done web site. I don’t really understand the “how” or “so what” to this application; unless you consider the interface with Twitter.

Verdict:  It's just for fun.

Twitter: Twitter has some new cross-overs to others such as Facebook, allowing someone to mobile post to both locations. More of the same I think. My friend did explain to me that he can pose questions with special markers which his followers and groups of followers can see and possibly give him a speedy response (e.g., if you’re looking for a specific kind of insulation material). This makes sense, especially when our work environments may be becoming decentralized or isolated.

Verdict:  It's useful if you work their system.

LinkedIn:  LinkedIn offers professional resources; most folks don’t post personal items, which is fairly good. My direct experience is my updates get read by my connections; I get lots of comments, some of which are offers to help—but typically when I already have a relationship with the person (e.g., allied professionals who met because our kids to go school together). I did spend some time to sign up for groups or organizations and have made great use of posing questions and getting a wide variety of responses. I especially like the ability to tailor how/when I get what kinds of newsletters and updates.  LinkedIn has been very helpful to my practice.

Verdict:  a keeper.

So, I’m wondering if I’m in left field with this analysis or if you folks are finding the same results. I can’t help but think of a quote I heard a while ago (Glenn Beck, I think) on blogging, “Never in the history of man have so many people said so much in less words to so many people who aren’t listening."  Blog on, dudes.

—Lisa Stacholy, AIA

I recently followed a link from one of the AIA eNewsletters:

http://info.aia.org/aiarchitect/thisweek09/1023/1023b_billing.cfm Read the article; it’s worth it.

Actually I have presented seminars at state, regional, and national conventions on the topic of “reducing liability in the sustainable firm." Inevitably the question comes up on how to get paid. I tend to be way more proactive and identify problems before they become big (I don’t take a marginal client; as I’ve said before, “I’d rather have mac & cheese dinner with my kids and be happy than work for a bad client”), so I have a fair bit of experience leading me to that decision.

So, back to the article. I have some suggestions for improvement to “the end game.” Reread the article, paying attention to “final options” section.

I have successfully used liens to secure late payment from clients in the past. The article notes that a lien should be filed after 120 days. In Georgia architects file liens under the Mechanical Lien Laws, and the deadline for filing is 90 days after the last date of service, not the invoice date, not the last conversation, etc.  After the lien is filed, the filer has 12 months (from the last date of service, not the lien filing date) to perfect the lien. After that, we use the perfected lien to get a judgment (getting the judgment satisfied is another topic).

I have had the best success when someone is 45 days past due, starting the discussion and “blaming” the shortened timeframe on the state laws. At 60 days past due (which is about 75 days after last service) I’ll send a completed (not filed) lien form; any “on the fencers” will typically jump at paying when they know it’s only a trip to city hall and recording fee to being reality. Upholding good design and standard of care is essential, being “right” on being owed the money helps, too.

Most of all, what I took away from the article (ok, go read it again now) is that all firms and practices, regardless of size, should have a methodology in place (writing it down is very important) guiding business decisions. Include a brief discussion with your E/O insurance carrier when you’re developing your methodology and turn it into a real policy for your firm.

—Lisa Stacholy, AIA

When we were in college, we joked that we’d need to stand on the corner with a sign “Will Draw for Food." Hmmm, seems like we’re approaching that again? Well, not really, although current economic conditions are definitely affecting many more aspects of our practices, e.g., I called a courier to schedule a delivery and their phone was disconnected.  But I digress…

I came across a good article, http://www.di.net/articles/archive/when_youre_too_expensive/ 

which discusses perspective for understanding the comment, “Hey Architect… you’re too expensive.” It’s definitely worth a read.

After I read the article, I spent some time thinking about the proactive steps during the proposal process. For my firm, I think we have four key considerations on this topic.

• Make sure the client is serious and it is a viable project (i.e., “beer” or “Champaign” budget; both are equally valid, they just need to be reconciled
• Is this a client you’d want to work for or do you just need the fee? (be honest with yourself)
• Get a good handle on the project/client’s experience level and if you’re really the best to handle this type of job (Do you and/or your team have the right skill set; is it a good match between client and architect?)
• Can you describe how/what you’ll do during the early discussion so the “you’re too expensive” won’t be a factor (goes back to determining or reconciling what the project is and needs).

Please add your points too!  Let me know if your tact is completely different, or not.

—Lisa Stacholy, AIA

Editor's Note: We apologize for the misspelling of the word Champagne in the original post. Thank you for calling it to our attention.