Small Firms Ideas Exchange

I heard on a syndicated radio show yesterday afternoon that, with the current financial upheaval, personal (consumer) charge cards are now offered new protections against raising interest rates, slashing credit lines, required time period for issuer to make notifications prior to changes in policies, etc. The interesting part is the same protections and fair credit requirements are not extended to business credit. The host suggested obtaining personal accounts for business purposes and reimbursing; plus the fees aren’t as high. 

In my small firm we’ve been doing this for years, mostly because when we “started” we couldn’t find a bank to give us the time of day. Now they are falling at our feet; personal cards worked for us in the early lean days and are continuing to function well. 

I’m wondering what other tactics are folks taking from “personal finances” and applying to how the business is run?

-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.