Small Firms Ideas Exchange

Following up to last week's posting, it occurred to me that architects should be “happy.”  How do you define happiness?  Is it always being right?  Is it doing your very best job?  Is it what you do outside of being an architect?  I try to find happiness in everything I do and I’ve learned that the most positive aspect my repeat clients say when they come back again and again is that,  “You’re fun to work with. If you don’t know the answer, you don’t give us a line of BS. You say you’ll go find the answer and get back to us. You do what you say you’re going to do. You’re willing to learn. You’re willing to teach us.” This sort of underscores how I try to approach business; that, along with what my stepdad told me when I was learning to sail and got frustrated that the power boats didn’t pay attention to the rules of the water. He said, “Lisa, it won’t make any difference if you had the right of way… if you and the boat are on the bottom of the lake. Pay attention to the right things.”

—Lisa Stacholy, AIA, NCARB

It has occurred to me that one way to “recession proof” our profession and our practices is to maintain good relationships with our clients. Now that’s a really “duh” comment but to talk about or consider the types of things that make happiness is worthwhile. Some things may make our clients happy (i.e., beautiful projects, great value, sustainability) and some things make us happy (i.e., creating beauty, making money, doing good things for the world). I find that when I can get the greatest cross-section of happiness, the end result is not an end but rather a continuum. Oftentimes it makes me happy to make my clients happy.  The alignment between both makes it better for both. What do you do to make your clients happy . . .finish on time?  help the contractor control costs?  pick the right materials?

In her article, Embracing Change in the current issue of SPP Journal, Margine Biswas notes that having your own firm is a constant learning experience and it includes being prepared. The more prepared you are, the better your outcome will be. What lessons learned can you share about being prepared . . . or not being prepared? 

Popular media and news all seem to be about doom and gloom (unemployment rate, inflation rates, the price of gas, etc.) but rarely about smiles and sunshine (champions of green and sustainable, advances in medicine, things just working right). Some of my clients are affected by the negative, some see the world only through rose-colored glasses. It gets tiring but seems like a necessary evil in what we do. To combat the “glass-is-half-empty” syndrome in my office, we go out of our way to find positive ways architects can get involved in neighborhoods and communities to spread a little goodness. It usually brings a smile to at least a few. What do you do to maintain an even keel for your practice? How do you manage to smile in the face of adversity? How can you “capitalize” on current market conditions?  How can you do good in your neck of the woods? 

—Lisa Stacholy, AIA, NCARB

When Apple Inc. announced its enterprise upgrades to the iPhone and the accompanying software development kit, the company also announced a $100-million venture capital fund for software development. What would this look like in architecture for small firms? Imagine if a consortium of energy firms and construction materials suppliers announced the establishment of a $500-million venture capital development fund to specifically fund sustainable community projects being managed and developed by innovative small architecture firms. The fund requires the firm size be under 15 people and that the project size be under $20 million. What innovative project would you propose that would profitably change the nature of sustainable community development? How would this change the way your firm operates? How would it change your goals and methods? Please do not reveal any actual projects or project locations as they may preclude actually carrying out your vision if such a fund should ever be developed.

—Louis B. Smith Jr., AIA, NOMA

According to AIA Small Project Practitioners’ National Issues Convocation, which took place at the 2007 AIA national convention, affordable green design ranks as one of the top issues confronting small firms. What are some strategies or methodologies that you use to incorporate sustainability at a low cost?  How can the AIA better serve your needs in this area?