Maybe you've just finished school and you're ready to brave the real world. Maybe you're tired of working for other companies, or maybe you just have an entrepreneurial streak. Whatever the reason, you're thinking it's time you hung out your shingle and started your own architecture firm.
But before you start handing out business cards, you'll need to get your new firm properly established. In this article, we'll look at everything you need to get your architecture firm off the ground and give it the best possible head start.
Here's our guide for starting your own Architecture Firm:
Before you embark on any business decision – and starting your own firm is a HUGE business decision – you need to ensure you have goals in mind for the future. Your goals set the direction and focus of your business. They allow you to align your business with what you want for your life in years to come.
Goals for your architecture firm should always be SMART, and they might relate to the size of the firm, the revenue, the type of work you want to do, or where you want the firm to be in a certain period of time. Think about 3-5 goals for your business. They might include:
You need three things to start your own architecture firm:
Businesses need money to survive, and businesses in the startup phase need more money. You need money to rent office space, buy equipment, obtain licenses, build your website, hire a photographer, pay contractors, and keep the business and you running while you wait for client work to become steady.
The amount of money needed will vary depending on the resources you have available and the type of architecture firm you're starting. Are you working solo, or are you paying staff? Do you need an office, or can you work from home?
Before you begin to think about where the money will come from, sit down and draw up a preliminary budget. Work out what you need to get the business up and running, and the minimum you need to pay your bills for the first year. Knowing how much money you need is the first step to financing your new architecture firm.
Next, you need to explore avenues to obtain that money. You might:
All these options have positive and negative aspects, and you may use more than one form of finance to get your firm started. For example, you might loan half the money you need from your parents, and then take out a bank loan for the remainder. Whatever you choose, it's important for you to research all your options, and to talk to a chartered accountant or business advisor before taking the plunge.
Many up-and-coming architects choose to bootstrap their first firm. Holding your business up by the bootstraps means that, for a few years at least, you use your own money to fund the business – without any external support from investors, grants or finance.
Bootstrapping is hard work, but is one of the best ways to get ahead, as you won't have any loans to pay back or external shareholders to answer to. You have the knowledge that everything you purchase for your business has come from you alone.
There are many mistakes to be made on the path to success as an architect. But what if you could skip a few of those mistakes? What if you could learn from someone who has started where you are today and built a busy, successful firm?
When starting an architecture firm, you should find a successful architect to mentor you. He or she will be able to offer invaluable advice on what works and what doesn't.
How do you find a mentor?
From the onset, it is important that you chose the right company structure for your architecture firm, and chat to a lawyer and accountants about setting up your. It's much easier to get these things right from the beginning then to fix them later.
Liability is a huge issue in the architecture world. Talk to a commercial lawyer and insurer and ensure you are properly covered for all eventualities. Don't trust to chance when it comes to company structure and licensing.
Your brand is what you will be recognised for. It's like the suit you wear to a job interview – it presents an image to clients and colleagues of what your company is about. One of the first things you need to do when establishing a new architecture firm is to start thinking about your branding.
Unless you have experience as a graphic designer or brand specialist, it's best to hire a firm to take care of this for you. Talk to your friends and colleagues – has anyone used a branding agency before?
Your company branding will encompass:
I could write a whole article just on the importance and structure of contracts. Bob Borson, the writer behind the fantastic Life of an Architect blog, calls your contract "the most important document that you'll never use … hopefully." And he's right – a contract (if properly prepared by a professional) protects both client and architect in event of something going wrong. The contract sets out expectations about the job from the onset and establishes a payment schedule and due dates for services.
Where once a handshake might have sufficed as a contract, now it's vital for the survival of any business to have solid, legally-binding contracts in place before any work commences. The contract between architect and client might consist of a number of documents, including:
The American Institute of Architects offers a range of generic legal documents for the architecture profession. These documents can serve as an excellent jumping-off-point for a cash-strapped agency. In the US, these documents are now considered the industry standard, and other professional institutions across the world have followed their example and created documents of their own. Check with your local professional architectural board to see what is available to assist you.
You'll need someplace to work. A physical space where you can set up your table, computer and drawing tools, as well as some comfy chairs and a coffee machine for client meetings.
The space you choose will depend on the size of your firm (if it's just you, versus if you've hired ten staff), your particular aesthetic tastes, and location and proximity to the amenities you need.
Working from home is an option for many bootstrapping architects just starting out. There are numerous advantages, including lower overhead, comfortable and personal space, and no commute to work. Some architects work from home while raising kids and, while it's not easy, that can be very rewarding.
However, most homes are not set up to accommodate an architect's studio. You need the right space and light for your setup, and you need to be aware that you'll also be meeting clients at your home. Many families won't be comfortable with this and if you can't keep your home tidy, or the décor or design is a bit dated, then it won't make the best impression on your clients.
Some architects solve this issue by working from home and hiring co-working or meeting spaces in a city when they need to see clients. This can be a great option until a firm has built up the cash flow to rent a permanent office space.
If neither of these options work for you, you'll need to find a studio to rent. When choosing a studio, look for the following factors:
Just like a builder has a toolbox and a juggler has his balls, a good architect has a suite of tools and equipment that help him or her do the best work. Here are some of the essential items you'll need to get your office set up:
As an architect, you'll need to keep track of multiple aspects of each job – and this can be very difficult if you have more than one client at a time, or if you work with a range of subcontractors or employees. Managing workflow is one of the key components of a successful architecture firm – if you know exactly how long each job is taking, what stage it's at, who is working on it and what you earned from it, you'll be able to assess on a regular basis what is working and what isn't.
WorkflowMax offers workflow management software based in the cloud, designed with the needs of architects and other designers in mind.
All too often, I hear stories from young architects who start their own firms, and then get so bogged down in running the business that they don't get to do what they actually enjoy – designing buildings. This is the risk all business owners face – if you don't enjoy the strategy, networking, administration and other duties of running a business, you need to either outsource those duties to someone else or go back to being an employee.
Achieving balance in vital for a successful firm, and a fulfilling business. Unfortunately, it's something that is different for every person, so it's not something you can learn from watching others. You need to experiment with different ways of doing things until you find a business model and a balance that works for you.
If you want to start building a reputation and gaining clients, then once you've set up shop the first thing you should do is start networking and getting your name out there. One of the ways you can do this is by joining local business networking groups and events, and start meeting with and getting to know other local businesses. A good place is start is your local Chamber of Commerce branch, or formal networking groups such as BNI or Venus.
You can also start looking at online networking. Open a twitter account, set up a LinkedIn profile, and start looking for places online where potential clients might be hanging out. For example, if you specialise in passive design, hang out on forums where people are talking about sustainable design.
As a new firm, you're going to want to get your name out amongst the design community, and one of the best ways to do this is by entering – and winning – design awards. Often, the – many architects don't believe they have a chance, so they don't enter, and you'll be competing against a small pool of candidates. Winning or placing in design competitions will get you a bit of publicity and a body of work you can show clients – even if your projects never get built, they show the world what you can do.
Starting an architecture firm is not something that can be done in a weekend. It takes time, money and determination to pull together all of the required elements into a cohesive whole. Not only are you thinking about the practical side of doing business – ensuring you have all the tools you need to get the work done – but you have to start thinking of high-level strategy: what will your brand be? How are you going to attract clients? How do you want your company to grow? But once you start, you'll find yourself on one of the craziest, but most rewarding, roller coaster ride of your career.
Have you started your own architecture firm? What advice can you give to those architects just starting out?