tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332601782024-02-27T22:24:43.182-08:00RICH ARCHITECTSThis blog is for architects to share ideas and war stories. In a small way this blog hopes to improve the business of architecture from the bottom up.
I think we need to unlearn a lot thing taught to us in architecture school....XARCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15912592791904203923noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33260178.post-11006743507175481752012-02-06T12:19:00.000-08:002012-02-06T12:19:14.870-08:00ProfitPassion must equal to profits. Unless you already have a ton of money, the passion we have for architecture as a business must equal the profit we received. <br />
<br />
We need good, solid profit to run the business. Without profit, the business will suffer and quality of our work will decline.XARCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15912592791904203923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33260178.post-37166738474281589692012-02-01T11:13:00.000-08:002012-02-06T12:23:13.681-08:00Make Things.Architects need to make things, invest in development, buying properties, fixing up old buildings instead of just dealing with authorities on behalf of clients.XARCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15912592791904203923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33260178.post-2630407188823967932011-02-06T10:22:00.000-08:002011-02-26T21:16:32.750-08:00OptimizationHow much can we really optimize ? All sort of CAD software tell us we can optimize and become more efficient if we use their software. But in real life does it really happen ? How do we factor in all the additional cost and time on training and upgrading of software and hardware ?<br />
<br />
Using some of these software is like driving a Lamborghini to do grocery shopping.<br />
I think if your firm is happy and stable with a certain software platform you should just stick to it as long as you can. The unending cycle of upgrading is not optimizationXARCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15912592791904203923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33260178.post-15015296395929403992011-02-06T10:18:00.000-08:002011-02-06T10:18:24.679-08:00ClientsA bad client is a big waste of time and effort. They will undermine your credibility and waste your talents. <br />
Check your client's background, interview them thoroughly before contracting to work with them.XARCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15912592791904203923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33260178.post-2399180242199313932011-01-22T21:07:00.000-08:002011-02-26T21:23:41.760-08:00ValueDesign service is very fragmented . It is hard for client to compare 'apple to apple".<br />
Many a time, I lost potential clients because someone down the street can do a few dollars cheaper. <br />
Typically client just focus on cost instead of value.<br />
I think the best way to educate a client to see value is to list all the detail services we are going to provide.<br />
For Example:<br />
Instead of saying " Site Visit", we should expand it to :<br />
<ul><li>Do I go alone or will I bring a survayor and civil engineer ?</li>
<li>How long are we going to spend at the site ?</li>
<li>Do I charge for any extra trips ?</li>
</ul>Instead of saying " Preliminary Design", we should expand it to :<br />
<ul><li>Do I provide freehand sketch or 3D CAD ?</li>
<li>Any cardboard/foam model ?</li>
<li>How many hours to be spend on concept design ?</li>
<li>What kind of software will be used ? ( show samples of cheap renderings VS high resolution renderings)</li>
<li>Are we providing any preliminary cost estimation ? </li>
</ul><br />
If we explain our service in details, I believe a reasonable client will see the additional value instead of additional cost. But again, trust your gut feeling about a client. Sometimes it is best to walk away from a project no matter how much the client wants to pay you.XARCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15912592791904203923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33260178.post-16080962632448131632010-11-10T21:08:00.000-08:002011-02-26T21:26:48.283-08:00Cash Flow- InvoicesCash flow is very critical to the financial health of any business. Make sure you collect payments from your clients promptly.<br />
<ul><li>Your invoices to client should be simple and easy to understand.</li>
<li>Call them right after you send out the invoices to make sure they have received it. </li>
<li>You should start charging a late fee if you don't receieve the payment within 7 days, 2 weeks or 30 days after sending out the invoices. The amount of late fee should be stipulated on your original contract. </li>
<li>You should charge a fee for all returned checks.</li>
<li>All work should stop until clients are current with their payments.</li>
<li>Put a lien on your client's project if he/she still refuse to pay. </li>
</ul>XARCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15912592791904203923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33260178.post-27047951553701542292010-10-13T17:33:00.000-07:002010-11-13T15:23:29.859-08:00Consultant's fee Mark UpFor any project, if you carry a consultant, you need to mark up at least 10% to 20% of the consultant's fee. There are administrative cost and risk to carry any consultants so make sure you get compensated.<br />
<br />
If your clients require you to coodinate with their consultants. You need to charged them a flat or hourly fee to deal with them . Personaly I will charge by hour or a flat fee for not to exceed a certain # of meeting.XARCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15912592791904203923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33260178.post-5909109145064079712010-08-08T08:54:00.000-07:002010-08-08T09:07:43.448-07:00Everything<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whenever your hear your clients say "EVERYTHING", right away you need to write down your "EVERYTHING" list and compare with theirs. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When your consultants or employee say "EVERYTHING" is done you need to do the same thing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anything that is not well defined should not be in the "EVERYTHING" list. Toss it out to avoid misunderstanding.</span>XARCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15912592791904203923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33260178.post-4947394696475170822010-08-06T19:01:00.000-07:002010-09-25T01:25:12.011-07:00Anti Trust Laws<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anti trust laws forbid architects to compare or discuss fees.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So the design fees are all over the spectrum. From patheticaly low to astronomical high. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">99 % of the clients are walking around shopping for the cheapest architects.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Regardless of their skills, architecture services are reduced to commodity.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Clients have all the numbers and architects are in a fog, r</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">educing or increasing fees on a whim without a clear understanding of profit and loss.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That is one reason architecture is not a profitable enterprise.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We don't know the real cost of doing business anymore.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The clients are holding all the cards.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://info.aia.org/nwsltr_nacq.cfm?pagename=nacq_a_0708_pc_stephens"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://info.aia.org/nwsltr_nacq.cfm?pagename=nacq_a_0708_pc_stephens</span></a></div>XARCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15912592791904203923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33260178.post-84965220958104859382010-08-06T10:15:00.000-07:002010-09-25T01:27:36.262-07:00AS BUILT<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How much can you trust the information on any AS BUILT drawings or documents your clients handed to you for reference ? It could be 99 % or 0.9 % accurate. How about all the things that cannot be seen ? Things hiddened under the slab, ceiling or walls. Do you have a fee structure to deal with all those unknown issues ? Have you explained them to your clients ?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How much time do you need to verify without taking down wall , opening up floor slab or move 10 tons of boxes?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ok the bottom line is you need to know how to charge and deal with all the unknowns before you start the project . You need to let your clients agreed to all these potential charges before you sign the contract with the clients. Or you should just walk away.</span></div>XARCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15912592791904203923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33260178.post-50626272748328794552010-08-04T11:31:00.000-07:002010-09-25T01:29:01.840-07:00Good Deals-Discounts<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Can you really afford to give your client a discount ? Selling a service is not like selling a car or a chair where most of the costs of products are known. A service is almost open ended, unless you can specify very tighly in your contract/proposal. I think we should only give discount to a well defined scope. In order to get the discount the client needs to play a part like for example paying cash ahead of the project . </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For Example:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Scope: Preliminary Planning Research for a restaurant</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Senior architect: 6 hours @ $120 per hour </span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Junior Architect: 2 hours @ $80 per hour</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Adminstration: 2 hours @$60 per hour.</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Drafting: To be determined if required. Drafting @ $40 per hour</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Printing to be billed at cost if paid within 7 days</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Proposed Time : 10 hours</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Total: $1000 </span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>10% discount if all are paid up front</strong>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So if the client wants to save $100. Ask them to pay up front. If not , break down into 2 payments the most for a small scope like this one. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>A discount is not free. It should be in exchange of something that is valuable to your firm.</strong></span>XARCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15912592791904203923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33260178.post-78558676759792368972010-08-01T09:52:00.000-07:002011-02-01T17:08:02.721-08:00Other People's BusinessArchitecture practices in general are about other people's business. We wait for other people to call us when they need a new house, a new mall, or a new township. I think we should not rely on other people to sort out our business and future. We should be a builder/banker/ developer/architect all in one.XARCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15912592791904203923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33260178.post-40943023477600712472010-07-16T16:08:00.000-07:002010-07-16T16:14:47.463-07:00Negotiation with clients<ul><li>Average architects typically are not negotiating from position of strength. </li>
<li>If you have too much to lose, walk away from the negotiating table.</li>
<li>Don't agree to anything that seems good currently. Always think long term.</li>
<li>If you agree too fast ,too soon, you will look weak to the client. Don't be desperate.</li>
</ul> XARCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15912592791904203923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33260178.post-36355537487498176342010-06-10T09:54:00.000-07:002011-02-26T21:32:34.531-08:00Scope of worksIf the architect and the client are both very experience, the scope of works can be defined in detail without much explaining.<br />
If the client is not very experience in the total scope and its various ramifications, the architect needs to take the time to explain to avoid misunderstandings.<br />
If the architect has not enough experience, he/she needs to tell the client to look for another architect or bring in additional experienced consultants to help. XARCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15912592791904203923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33260178.post-55035977877423372452010-05-30T11:13:00.000-07:002010-05-30T12:37:58.241-07:00Wealth GuidePhil Ruffin ( not an architect of course) turned $20 million to $1.2 Billion. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://videos.kansas.com/vmix_hosted_apps/p/media?id=13092850">http://videos.kansas.com/vmix_hosted_apps/p/media?id=13092850</a><br />
<br />
Dennis Felix's Wealth Guide<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article1084093.ece?token=null&offset=36&page=4">http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article1084093.ece?token=null&offset=36&page=4</a>XARCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15912592791904203923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33260178.post-38035988598846428352010-05-27T09:27:00.000-07:002010-05-27T09:27:44.867-07:00Architect Vs ClientWhat makes a project successful ? The architect’s ( + his/her consultant team) skill, judgement and experience is 50% of it . The other 50% is the client's project experience, intellect and budget.<br />
<br />
XARCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15912592791904203923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33260178.post-91702715635856276532010-05-13T11:23:00.000-07:002010-05-30T12:38:34.899-07:00Dr Garry's insights into the professionInteresting insights into the professoin and the training/conditioning of architects. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.archsoc.com/kcas/Socialise.html">http://www.archsoc.com/kcas/Socialise.html</a>XARCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15912592791904203923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33260178.post-78962368942708026072010-02-18T23:47:00.000-08:002010-03-05T13:22:08.509-08:00Bad Clients<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It took a few projects to teach me to stay away from bad clients. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So before signing up any project , I advise you to spend a few minutes, hours or days talking to your potential clients and get to know them .If you see the following signs you might want not to work with them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>These are the few bad signs:</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1-Bargaining dollars and cents with you right from the beginning. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2-No experience in dealing with architects, contractors or building projects.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3-Unrealistic schedule.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4-Unrealistic budgets.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5-Very high expectation. Expecting perfection,but has no real budget to support it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6-Cannot really define what they want or expect.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7-Mentally unstable, easily stressed out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8-Check or call you every 30 minutes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9-Rude.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10-Ask you for discount. Tell you there will be future projects.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">11-Bad mouth about other architects.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">12-Bad credit ( yes you need to check their credit histroy)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">13-Expect you to guarantee the work.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">14-Playing good cop and bad cop games with you.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">15-Knows someone in City Hall who can expedite things.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">16-Sleazy. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">17-Don't trust your judgement</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you have any bad client stories , please share<strong>.</strong></span>XARCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15912592791904203923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33260178.post-39266324305734455102010-02-11T11:29:00.000-08:002010-08-02T10:39:45.247-07:00Architect As Developer<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">think the best way for architect to gain control over design, reponsibility and making profits is by a being a developer/builder. Without it all we ended up with is a set of documents which the clients wants to pay zero for it and their lawyers can find all kinds of issues with it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are many successful and rich architect/builders. The top 4 that came to mind over here at USA are :</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">John Portman (</span><a href="http://portmanusa.com/founder.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://portmanusa.com/founder.html</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">David Hovey </span><a href="http://www.optimaweb.com/Company/corporate_profile.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.optimaweb.com/Company/corporate_profile.html</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jonathan Segal. </span><a href="http://www.jonathansegalarchitect.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.jonathansegalarchitect.com/</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Isadore Sharp ( Canadian) </span><a href="http://www.fourseasons.com/book/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.fourseasons.com/book</span>/</a>XARCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15912592791904203923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33260178.post-1156401072658872382006-08-23T23:16:00.000-07:002010-02-20T11:04:40.717-08:00RICH ARCHITECTThis blog is dedicating to all young and old architects who are starting or running their own business.<br />
I hope we can all share our passion for design and also the day to day war and success stories<br />
of running our business, dealing with red tapes and clients. From here I hope we can gain strength and confidence in dealing with all out there. <br />
And I hope this will all make us Rich Architect, in experience and also in monetary term .XARCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15912592791904203923noreply@blogger.com2