EntreArchitect Podcast with Mark R. LePage

AIA Contract Documents for Small Firms The man behind AIA Contract Documents, the comprehensive legal document system from AIA. For years, small firm architects have been a bit disgruntled about the bulky, intimidating documents. In the past few years, AIA has been working hard to serve the small firm community and AIA Contract Documents have evolved to provide documents specifically for small firm architects. This week at EntreArchitect Podcast, AIA Contract Documents for Small Firms with Ken Cobleigh of the American Institute of Architects. Background Ken serves as Managing Director and Counsel, AIA Contract Documents. He works with a team of lawyers, specialists and support staff, and the AIA Documents Committee, in developing and publishing AIA Contract Documents, and in providing support services to contract document users. Ken joined the American Institute of Architects in October 2006. Ken is a graduate of the University of Maryland where he earned both his B.A. and J.D. with honors. After earning his law degree, and prior to joining the AIA, Ken practiced for eighteen years as a construction attorney in private practice Maryland law firms. During that time he represented owners, contractors, subcontractors and design professionals in a number of dispute resolution forums, including State and Federal Courts and administrative agencies, mediation and arbitration. Origin Story After graduating college, Ken was a police officer for several years before he decided to move on to something different. He graduated from law school and went to work at a general practice firm. One day, he ended up an associate to a partner on construction cases where he learned a lot of information at an incredibly fast pace. Once he developed his expertise in construction, he moved to another firm where he had a majority of architect and engineer malpractice cases. Now, every day, he gets to work with bright architects, lawyers, and others in the industry to develop good tools and put the law to work in a good way. Why should we be using AIA contract documents? The contract is an essential part of the relationship. At the end of the day, you’re in a business relationship built on a set of understandings and promises. Architects make promises about services rendered, and the owners make promises about payment. What each person understands can be different, so the contract is where everyone lays out rules for issues that could arise. We never like to think that a project could end poorly, but sometimes there are disputes. All of these potential issues can be addressed up front with the contract. What type of documents does AIA provide for small firms? For those practicing in residential and commercial, there’s a wide range of documents available. Many vary in size for different firms. The smaller the contract, the less things have been fleshed out for clarity and the more things will be open to interpretation by the parties. AIA cautions everyone that, depending on risk tolerance, they suggest the contract that will do the best job of making things clear and minimizing risk. Small, low-cost projects may allow use of a shorter form. Longer forms may have more potentials for alternate dispute resolution or licensure for the services. There’s a specific agreement (B107 2010) for an architect and a developer builder where there’s some replicated spec houses in a development. The contract lays everything out and clearly limits the roles and responsibilities of the architect, assuming that the builder is experienced and should be able to take on responsibility for the selection of finishes, equipment, etc. Essentially payment is for the design, and the architect agrees that the design will be replicated. When providing pro bono services, one document (B106- 2010) starts with a standardized limitation of liability and prompts the architect and owner to agree on different line items and set limits on number of meetings the architect will attend and number of revisions. This way, the owner understand that the architect will meet certain expectations for their unpaid work. In order to encourage this work, the form is free to download in PDF format. Rather than renegotiating contracts with a previous client, architects and negotiate a working set of terms and conditions. This group of documents (B121- 2014 and C421- 2014) that came in response from feedback from small firm architects. Where can people find this information? There’s a guide that AIA published with input from various groups called the Guide to AIA contract documents for small projects: Resources for small project practitioners, sole practitioners and custom residential architects. What’s new with AIA contract documents? AIA launched an online, web based product that addressed a lot of concerns that Mac users experienced. It also allowed people access to documents anytime, anywhere. Most importantly, small firms wanted to be able to have documents on a one-off basis. The new, web based product allows architects to purchase fully functional documents one by one based on need. Like any software, it’s subject to development quirks. What about construction management documents? There are two distinct construction management delivery models. One where the construction manager is ultimately the project constructor, but they come on early to help with pre-construction services. The construction manager also may come on as a separate consultant or advisor to the owner to oversee the work, they’re not actually doing the construction work. What is the one thing that small firm architects can do today to build a better business tomorrow? “Understand contracts and develop a contracting process that you can repeat project after project. It’s critical to get in the habit of utilizing written contracts and understand the content and how it works.”  – Ken Cobleigh Check out the documents online at AIAContracts.org. Visit our Platform Sponsors Freshbooks is the easy way to send invoices, manage expenses, and track your time. Access your free 30 day trial at EntreArchitect.com/FreshBooks. (Enter EntreArchitect) Core by BQE Software is a brand new software designed specifically for architect’s project management! Get a free 15-day trial at EntreArchitect.com/BQE. ARCAT has huge libraries of free content, Specs, CAD, BIM and more. No registration required. Want to collaborate with colleagues in real time? Visit EntreArchitect.com/ARCAT and click Charrette for more information. Referenced in this Episode EntreArchitect Foundations: Business Forms and Checklists Download the Profit For Small Firm Architects course for FREE. Leave a Rating and Review at iTunes   Guide to AIA contract documents for small projects: Resources for small project practitioners, sole practitioners and custom residential architects A145 2015 Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Design-Builder for a One or Two Family Residential Project B106- 2010 Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Architect for Pro Bono Services B107 2010 Developer Builder Architect Agreement for Prototypes for Single Family Residential Projects B121- 2014 Standard Form of Master Agreement Between Owner and Architect for Services provided under multiple Service Orders C421- 2014 Standard Form of Master Agreement Between Architect and Consultant for Services provided under multiple Service Orders The post EA213: AIA Contract Documents for Small Firms with<br>Ken Cobleigh of AIA [Podcast] appeared first on EntreArchitect // Small Firm Entrepreneur Architects. Mentioned in this episode:All AccessContext & ClarityBuild Your Brand

The Slow Space Movement with Mette Aamodt of Aamodt Plumb Architects “In 1986 Carlo Petrini protested the opening of a McDonald's restaurant in Piazza di Spagna, Rome and launched the Slow Food Movement. Carl Honoré explains in his book, In Praise of Slowness, that Slow Food stands for everything that McDonalds does not: fresh, local, seasonal produce; recipes handed down through the generations; sustainable farming; artisanal production; leisurely dining with family and friends. But ultimately the movement is about the sensual pleasures of food. Thirty years after Carlo's protest, organic produce, artisanal cheeses and craft beer are everywhere. Foodies flock to ever more specialized restaurants serving only food cultivated in their own backyards. Whole Foods is considered mass market and Michelle Obama is promoting farm-to-table in public schools. Carlo should be proud. He saved food! Since then, the Slow Movement has touched almost every industry except ours. Slow Cities. Slow Aging. Slow Religion. Slow Cinema. Slow Education. Slow Sex. Slow Medicine. Slow Fashion. Slow Parenting. Slow Travel. Architecture, design and the building industry are conspicuously absent from the list. We find that strange. So we decided to do something.” – Slow Space Movement This week at EntreArchitect Podcast, The Slow Space Movement with Mette Aamodt of Aamodt Plumb Architects. Background Mette Aamodt is an architect, CEO and cofounder of Aamodt Plumb, an architecture, interiors, and construction firm in Cambridge, Mass. She’s a former AIA member, a design activist, and cofounder of the Slow Space Movement to promote good, clean, and fair buildings for all. She publishes biweekly thought pieces on her blog, SlowSpace.org, to explore ideas around slow space and slow architecture. She’s a mother of two with her husband and partner, Andrew Plumb. She was diagnosed with MS in 2002 upon graduation from Harvard’s GSD. Origin Story Mette’s story goes back to her parents, who did not want her to be an architect. Her father was an architect, and her parents taught her that architecture was a very hard business. She remembers the highs and lows and recessions. She found her way to architecture through a long path through urban planning and ending up at the GSD. When she graduated, she was diagnosed with MS. There she also met her husband and partner, Andrew. A week before her thesis review, she went blind in one eye and couldn’t hold the exactor to cut her model. Thinking it was stress, she pressed on. When she went to the doctor, she realized it was worse than she t thought. Mette and Andrew were starting their careers as architects with this horrible diagnosis and no idea how it was going to affect them. They were unsure of what to do because they believed in the power of architecture to make an impact on people’s lives, but they saw how much it sucked to be an architect and what little value society places on architecture. They were faced with a dilemma: how could they do good work, have a good life, and make a good living? Since then, the challenge has been to work to balance all three of those things. After a few years of working, they were lucky enough to start their own firm to figure out how to do things differently. How could they run their firm that was different from the way all the other architects were doing? How could they persevere to their triple threat: good work, good life, good money. They began looking at other business models for good examples of how to run a company well. Through trial and error and their own learning, effort, and mistakes, they’ve gotten to where they are today. There’s no status quo, they’re constantly innovating on the design side and the business side. They picked a speciality and chose to stay in their lane. The goal was to be profitable so that they could leverage that position to make a greater impact. Recently, they became an architect-led design build firm to get away from the crazy, combative relationship with builders that’s often typical. Now, they have so much more scope out of the same client AND have found that their clients love it. It’s a win-win. They don’t have to go through all the paperwork, it’s one hand talking to the other hand to streamline what’s a very overcomplicated process. When you start from a model that’s comprehensible to your prospective clients, you set yourself up for success. Before, doing the architecture alone meant that the projects had to be a certain size to make any money. Now, if they design and build, they have a better opportunity to earn more at the end while helping more people. How do you provide the construction? Aamodt Plumb brought in a partner who is a construction manager with a great interest in architecture. They’d worked with him as their builder on another project and found a great fit. They created a sister company that he runs. Do you give your clients one fee? They give one proposal for the entire contract, AIA has a document (A145) that outlines that. There’s an amendment after the design phase when the construction fee is known, and that triggers the start of construction. Were there any surprises? There’s so much that’s bad about the typical design build process, and they went through the wringer on much of that already. Where did slow space come from and what does it mean? For Aamodt Plum, it’s part a design philosophy and part practical social movement. Architects tend to know little about social movements, so Mette wanted to model the movement off of anther successful one. The idea of the “slow movement” fit so well with her philosophy on life; slow and steady wins the race. The idea blends so well with the interest in the experience of space as opposed to the objectification of architecture of recent. How do the spaces make you feel? What were your goals? Running a profitable firm and doing good is a challenge in and of itself. What they wanted to be able to do was to get to that point so that they could leverage that position so that they could to have a greater impact. Their mission is to improve the lives of one million people by creating good, clean, and fair homes.  The number is intentionally large to get them thinking big and dreaming beyond what they could do. They decided on the bottom up approach: Starting a movement to change ideas and change minds. This is the genesis of the slow space movement. How much is wrong with our industry? How can we give consumers options and change what’s available? Can we help people build custom homes in a reasonable time frame? Their philosophy is to build less but better. It’s a waste of resources to build buildings that will last less than 50 years before they are torn down and rebuilt again. If things are done better, buildings can be around for 100 or 200 years. How do you serve a market that’s looking for the fast developer process? First we have to change people’s hearts and minds. The slow food guys went out and protested McDonald’s. Architects need to protest this kind of fast development. The slow food movement is about the sensual pleasures of eating and the experience of sharing food around a table with loved ones. That part that translates so well to architecture because it’s about connecting, being together, and enjoying the sensual pleasures of being fully immersed in architecture. Instead of competing with the builders, teach the clients that those houses are unhealthy and temporary, and that there’s an alternative for them to consider. What are your tenants? The ideas are good, clean and fair – which are borrowed from the Slow Food Movement. Good means good design, human-centered around empathy. It must be beautiful; no one will take care of an ugly building. Architects used to be specialties in beauty. Clean is a different take on the sustainability side. Are the things we’re building homes with clean? It might be a new silver bullet, but clean things like wood work great and have been around for as long as we can remember. Would you let your kids eat it? If not, should we be living in it? Fair has to do with labor exploitation in the construction industry. People are being paid under the table, they aren’t paying into the social security system, and there’s no benefits. When workers get hurt, they’re out of luck. Many production builders are guilty of withholding wages unless workers come back to the job over long times. This lowers the bar for the whole construction industry that could be a great source of middle class income jobs. Changing this will take away the possibility of building a huge house for cheap: less but better. How can we get involved? To sign up for her mailing list, visit SlowSpace.org. Join the conversation. Start talking about these ideas and get them to more people. The more people who start asking these questions, the more the movement progresses. This is how change happens. Connect with Mette online at AamodtPlumb.com and SlowSpace.org. Follow her on social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Visit our Platform Sponsors Freshbooks is the easy way to send invoices, manage expenses, and track your time. Access your free 30 day trial at EntreArchitect.com/FreshBooks. (Enter EntreArchitect) Core by BQE Software is a brand new software designed specifically for architect’s project management! Get a free 15-day trial at EntreArchitect.com/BQE. ARCAT has huge libraries of free content, Specs, CAD, BIM and more. No registration required. Want to collaborate with colleagues in real time? Visit EntreArchitect.com/ARCAT and click Charrette for more information. Referenced in this Episode EntreArchitect Foundations: Business Forms and Checklists Download the Profit For Small Firm Architects course for FREE. Leave a Rating and Review at iTunes The post EA212: The Slow Space Movement with Mette Aamodt of Aamodt Plumb Architects [Podcast] appeared first on EntreArchitect // Small Firm Entrepreneur Architects. Mentioned in this episode:Context & ClarityAll AccessBuild Your Brand

The Girl UNinterrupted Project with Juliet Chun & Zhanina Boyadzhieva These two young, emerging architects have decided to take the lead in the profession and build a powerful resource that informs and empowers other emerging professionals. Hear what can happen when two women refuse to allow anything to block their way to success. This week at EntreArchitect Podcast, The Girl UNinterrupted Project with Juliet Chun & Zhanina Boyadzhieva. Background With a B.S. and M.Arch from Northeastern University, Juliet, Associate AIA, joined Leers Weinzapfel Associates in 2008 and has worked on a diversity of projects such as Ohio State University East Regional Chilled Water Plant and the UMass Design Building. She has taught at the Boston Architectural College as a studio instructor and thesis advisor and has been a guest critic for various institutions including Wentworth Institute of Technology, Mass Art College of Art and Design, and Pratt University. Originally from Bulgaria, Zhanina, Associate AIA, received her MArch from Harvard GSD and a BA from Mount Holyoke College. She joined Leers Weinzapfel Associates in 2014 and has worked on variety of academic and infrastructure projects: Condorcet Campus Competition, UMass Design Building and currently Harvard Allston Energy Facility Plant. Zhanina is an active member of WID and Culture NOW. She has taught at Boston Architectural College and has been a guest critic at Harvard GSD, Northeastern, Wentworth, Mount Holyoke College and Kuwait University. Zhanina is an avid world traveler and an occasional writer with work published at TEDx Bulgaria, Metropolis Magazine, Oculus, Dnevnik, Ureport and SciencexArt. Together, they are the cofounders of The Girl UNInterrupted Project which seeks to bridge the gap between young female designers and leaders in the architectural field. Juliet’s Origin Story Juliet didn’t know she wanted to be an architect until she was in college. She grew up in Tampa and attended Northeastern because of her love for the city of Boston. At the end of her freshman year, her advisor encouraged her to pick a major. She decided on architecture and loved everything about her experience through school. Northeastern does a coop program, so Juliet had the opportunity to do a coop with Leers Weinzapfel Associates. There she was able to get her foot in the door to return full time after graduation. Zhanina’s Origin Story Zhanina was always interested in the arts and tended to be good at math, systems and organizations. In Bulgaria, when applying for college, you tend to know what you want to study right away because of the technical nature of the programs. She was always searching for a school with a big population of international students and an architecture program. She also works at Leers Weinzapfel Associates, where she connected with Juliet. Where did the name “Girl UNinterrupted” come from? The name comes from the unique environments that haven’t interrupted them. Both Juliet and Zhanina have been lucky to be in places that allow them to grow. How did The Girl UNInterrupted Project start? Both Juliet and Zhanina work at Leers Weinzapfel Associates Architects, a firm that was started in the 1980s by Andrea Leers and Jane Weinzapfel. Last year, Andrea and Jane were nominated for an award that brought them to London for the ceremony and, when they returned, they brought a copy of the Architecture Review Magazine that focused all about the history of women in architecture. On Women’s Day, they had an office-wide lunch to discuss any general observations about equity of the architecture field. Juliet and Zhanina were quite shocked to see the statistics due to the incredible support that they’ve always felt at Leers Weinzapfel Associates, and wanted to learn more about what was happening with the other emerging professionals in Boston. They submitted an application to be a part of the ABX in Boston and were accepted. They launched the project soon after. What is The Girl UNinterrupted Project? The project is divided into three phases. Phase 1 is the Designers Data Survey that they distributed to emerging professionals in Boston. The survey included questions on general info, salary negotiation, work/life balance, and career growth. All of the data was professionally analyzed and the results were presented at ABX. Phase 2 was the Conversation Series between Juliet, Zhanina and top leaders in the field like women principles, landscape architects, and human resources associates. What challenged did they face? How did they come up in the field? Do they have any tips for emerging professionals on what to do to jumpstart their carers? Phase 3 was a manual to publish all of the information that they gathered to promote transparency within the office culture. One side includes tips for emerging professionals and the other side was tips for leaders on small tweaks they could try to maximize and retain the talent they have. Where have you completed the survey? After surveying Boston and analyzing the results, they were really encouraged to expand to other cities to compare contents. Currently, it’s now available in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC and New York. If you’re in one of those cities, you can CLICK HERE to complete the survey. What’s the big picture of what you’re hoping to achieve? First of all, they’re hoping to bring transparency around certain procedures. Many policies are hidden, and they want to give a voice to people who may not feel supported in their work environments. Second, they want to understand what emerging professionals are struggling with and and what issues need to be tackled for future progress. A lot of emerging architects may be in a bubble like Julie and Zhanina, where they don’t necessarily recognize many of the issues that other emerging professionals are dealing with. How have professionals reacted to the project so far? Often, there’s a disconnected communication where designers assume that leaders know how they feel and leaders assume that they’re being transparent. Girl UNinterrupted is trying to create a dialogue instead of assuming that everyone can read each other’s minds. They were very surprised on how principles reacted to the project, as they were surprised by the questions that emerging professionals were asking and really sought to make that connection. Were there any surprises in the data from the Boston survey? One surprise was when they would ask questions about policies in their office, many emerging professionals responded that they didn’t know. This either meant that those issues weren’t important to the emerging professionals or that there wasn’t transparency with office policies; either way, the two groups needed to communicate more. When they started asking more questions about how people felt about initiating ideas in the workplace, the percentages drastically dropped. How can the work environment be more open so people can share their ideas? Another interesting result was in terms of negotiation. When asked if you negotiated, more women than men replied that they had. For those who didn't negotiate, when asked why, women responded that they did not feel confident doing so whereas men responded that they did not need to negotiate. What is the one thing that small firm architects can do today to build a better business tomorrow? “It’s important to have a personal connection with your employees, regardless of the size of your firm. What are their personal struggles and goals? Those connections create a relationship of mutual respect.”  – Zhanina Boyadzhieva “Promote good morale throughout the office to show people they are appreciated. Even a simple thank you' from time to time can be incredibly encouraging.”  – Juliet Chun Connect with Juliet & Zhanina by email at mail@girluninterrupted.com or find them online at The Girl UNinterrupted Project and Twitter @grlUNinterrupt. Visit our Platform Sponsors Freshbooks is the easy way to send invoices, manage expenses, and track your time. Access your free 30 day trial at EntreArchitect.com/FreshBooks. (Enter EntreArchitect) Core by BQE Software is a brand new software designed specifically for architect’s project management! Get a free 15-day trial at EntreArchitect.com/BQE. ARCAT has huge libraries of free content, Specs, CAD, BIM and more. No registration required. Want to collaborate with colleagues in real time? Visit EntreArchitect.com/ARCAT and click Charrette for more information. Referenced in this Episode Download the Profit For Small Firm Architects course for FREE. Leave a Rating and Review at iTunes The post EA211: The Girl UNinterrupted Project with Juliet Chun & Zhanina Boyadzhieva [Podcast] appeared first on EntreArchitect // Small Firm Entrepreneur Architects. Mentioned in this episode:Context & ClarityAll AccessBuild Your Brand

Lessons Learned from Investing in 15 Architecture Firms Today is the FINAL day to enroll for the EntreArchitect Mastermind for resources, training, and a powerful peer group that will help you accomplish your most ambitious goals. Learn more at EntreArchitect.com/mastermind. One of the most surprising things about small architecture firms is how similar we all are. We’re all struggling with the same issues and trying to contribute to the world the best that we can. Charrette Venture Group invests in small firms, partnering with us to address the issues we face and helping us to plan for success. This week at EntreArchitect Podcast, Lessons Learned from Investing in 15 Architecture Firms with Todd Reding of Charrette Venture Group. Background Todd Reding is the President and CEO of Charrette Venture Group. Todd has been a guest of the podcast on EA103: 3 Roadblocks Experienced by Every Entrepreneur Architect and What To Do About It [Podcast] and EA151: How to Grow Your Architecture Firm [Podcast]. Charrette Venture Group (CVG) is a firm that provides a wholistic approach to building a business; they provide services from management, leadership, finance, marketing, business development, and more to architecture firms who are seeking to build a strong business in the design space. CVG’s mission is to be the best company in the world to help small architecture firms become stronger and more profitable businesses. Their eleven-member team is all based virtually, ranging from Mexico City to London. They work with small firms on every aspect of their businesses except the actual design work. Todd’s background is in the entrepreneurial world. With an MBA from Northwestern University, he’s has been involved in starting and running businesses throughout his whole career. What’s the biggest experience you’ve gained working with small firms? The most surprising thing as Todd has learned more about this space is the depth of the relationships with each firm. The CVG team cares deeply about each investment partner, and truly gets invested across a long period of time. All 15 firms have a very close, trusting relationship. Interactions at times are very honest and direct, sometimes telling firms what they don’t want to hear. The firms CVG partners with are totally trusting and focused on growing their firms and earning a profit so they can do the design work that they’re passionate about. Is this investment an equity deal? CVG is paid a percentage of the architecture firm’s revenue instead of an equity stake. They look at the board and figure out how they can increase the revenue of the firms that they’re partnering with. What tips do you have for those trudging through finding good client fits for their firms? Check out High Performance Habits: How Extraordinary People Become That Way by Brendon Burchard. It can be a little sale-sy, but there are some great lessons in the book. One of them is the clarity of focus and creating a clear idea of what you want to accomplish. Among all the firms CVG has worked with, that’s been the greatest challenge. Architects are great at focusing on details, but, when you’re running a business, you have to make sure you’re focusing on the right details. CVG helps firms have a clear understanding of what they do and don’t need to focus on. Do many firms have a business plan in place when you first meet them? Most firms have put little to no effort into planning out their business. Sometimes they have budgets or revenue plans, but they aren’t sure where it fits into market segment, project types, and more. Operationally, how are you structuring your budget so your marketing and business development dollars are allocated by each market type and segment to achieve your goals? CVG works to understand the efficiencies of the firms. Your revenues can be up, but profits are down. Why is that? Are you making sure that everyone in your firm understands the budget and allocated hours for each project? What’s expected at each phase of the project? What is the Architecture Business Plan Competition? The Fourth Annual Business Plan Competition encourages small firms to put together and submit their business plans. CVG wants small firms to spend time creating high quality business plans. Registration asks a few simple questions, such as: What’s the vision for your business? What are your projected revenues for 2018? The goal is to ask specific questions about where your business is headed. Then, four jurors review submissions and select 15 semifinalists. The semifinalists will each be interviewed about their plan and the lifecycle of their business, as well as receive feedback from the jurors. From those 15, there will be 5 finalists who present their plan on a video conference and pitch their full business plan. The jurors will select 1 winner, who is awarded over $5,000 in cash and prizes, including round trip airfare and hotel in New York City during the 2018 AIA Conference on Architecture. Anyone who currently owns or plans to start an architecture firm within the next year. You must have a listened architect on your team and be located within the US or Canada. Registration is free and all submissions are confidential. Deadline for registration is March 26, 2018. For more information and to register, click HERE. What do you have going on for AIA 2018? CVG is currently working on a space near the that’s exclusive to small firms. EntreArchitect will have a presence there, and the entire CVG team will be in New York for AIA 2018 with programs that are appealing to small firms. Come connect with other small firms and create community. Stay tuned for more information!   Connect with Todd online by visiting Charrette Venture Group online, or by connecting on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Visit our Platform Sponsors Freshbooks is the easy way to send invoices, manage expenses, and track your time. Access your free 30 day trial at EntreArchitect.com/FreshBooks. (Enter EntreArchitect) Core by BQE Software is a brand new software designed specifically for architect’s project management! Get a free 15-day trial at EntreArchitect.com/BQE. ARCAT has huge libraries of free content, Specs, CAD, BIM and more. No registration required. Want to collaborate with colleagues in real time? Visit EntreArchitect.com/ARCAT and click Charrette for more information. Gusto is making payroll, benefits, and HR easy for small firm architects. Get an exclusive, limited time detail. Sign up today and get three months free.  Visit EntreArchitect.com/Gusto and claim your free three months today! Referenced in this Episode Download the Profit For Small Firm Architects course for FREE. Leave a Rating and Review at iTunes   The post EA210: Lessons Learned from Investing in 15 Architecture Firms with Todd Reding of Charrette Venture Group [Podcast] appeared first on EntreArchitect // Small Firm Entrepreneur Architects. Mentioned in this episode:Build Your BrandAll AccessContext & Clarity

How to Become an Influential Speaker Whether you’re proposing a project to a new client or presenting to a powerful decision making authority or spreading a message to the world one stage at a time, your voice and how you use it will be the difference between falling flat and persuading your audience to see it your way. Do you want to make a difference? Use your voice to change the world around you. This week at EntreArchitect Podcast, How to Become an Influential Speaker with Dr. Michelle Mazur of Communication Rebel. Background Dr. Michelle Mazer founded Communication Rebel on the belief that communication changes the world. She helps speakers rebel against the status quo and make a difference by crafting their message, create their positioning and decide on pricing. Her speakers have gone on to book $100K speaking gigs, become international speakers, and raise more money than they ever expected. Origin Story Michelle figured out that she was passionate about public speaking in 10th grade during her required course. At the time, she was shy and quiet. She white knuckled her way through the first terrifying, awful speech, but there was a voice in her head that told her she could master it. She took more speaking classes and ended up joining the speech and debate team. She got her butt kicked every Saturday for a long time, but she began to cut her teeth, get feedback, and try different things. Eventually, things began to click. She got a PhD in communication and was a professor for five years. Eventually, a friend convinced her to share her gift of communication with the world. Now, her job is to help empower others to find the right words so that their message spreads and impacts those it was meant for. How did your clients find you? Some people come to Michelle after they’ve dabbled in speaking and aren’t afraid of getting on stage. They know they have something important to share and that it’s valuable, but it’s not coming across like they want it to. Now, they’re ready to up level what they’re doing. Are you an introvert or extravert? Michelle is an ambivert, which means she straddles the line. She can be very gregarious and outgoing, but she also needs a lot of time to rest and recharge. When she speaks, she plans time afterward to recharge after she drains her energy. What tips do you have for introverts who want to sell their message? One of the big strengths introverts can focus on is that when you’re a speaker, you get to control the conversation. There are a lot of speakers who are introverts and love being on the stage. In some ways, it’s like you’re having an in-depth conversation with one person. Introverts also think so deeply about the audience and think about what they need, their reactions, and how they’ll take action on your message. Those thoughts become your fuel to get onto a stage and share your message. What are some things that someone who wants to speak well can prepare? The first step is to step away from PowerPoint or KeyNote. Some of the first moves should be the pre-work of figuring out why your audience is coming to the speech, what problems do they have, what do they believe about your message? Then, move to the core message of your speech – the three word rebellion – where you’ll get people to take action. Figure out what conversations you need to have to move your audience from their pain point to your rebellion – your movement – that you’re wanting to create. From there, it’s about structuring your message. What are your thoughts on text on slides, if you use them? Michelle feels that if you’re reading your slides, the slides are replacing you as a speaker and you’re hiding out. Slides are the most impactful and effecive when they support and reinforce your message. Minimal text, maximum photos to reinforce your idea. What’s the best way to structure your message and presentation so you remember what to say when you’re supposed to say it? Presentations have information buckets. Michelle’s clients use a three part structure: when you make a point, you support that point with a story/statistics/research/case study, then have a take away from that point. The great thing about that is that you always know what’s coming next. Point you want to make Story that supports your point Take away If anyone is ready to take their speaking to the next level, how can they do that?  The first thing Michelle tells clients is that even if you’re not getting paid yet, have your pricing structure in mind. If you don’t set the intention off the bat, you’re going to get caught in the cycle of free speaking forever. Start deciding that you’re going to say no to free speaking and you’re going to get paid. It’s hard, but trust that you have a great message, and that’s the product that you’re selling. If you have a good message and you’re speaking at an event, you should find value in your work. When you first start charging, how do you set your price? One of the things Michelle does with clients is taking them through the process to understand the education, experience, and accomplishments to bring them to the place where they’re an expert on their subject. Once you see that, you know you’re bringing value. Why does an organization want your speech? What results will your information get them? During negotiation, do a deep dive into the organization; figure out what you can bring to them and what their challenges are. After that, throw out your top number and negotiate from there. At the end of the day, this is your business. Treat it that way. How can  you be a better communicator in general? One of the big things is to focus yourself on your audience. Instead of getting focused on the how and what, figure out what your clients need from the presentation. Then, know the next step after the presentation. If you’re pitching a client, is the next step to have another meeting or sign a contract? Each time you do this, you get better and better! What is the one thing that small firm architects can do today to build a better business tomorrow? “Get really clear on what the people you’re presenting to or pitching want. What do they need to hear? How can you take them on the journey from being unsure of hiring you to feeling like you’ve nailed their vision for their space. Be more focused on them than selling the project, and people will feel deeply seen, heard, and connected to you.”  – Dr. Michelle Mazur Connect with Michelle and learn about Communication Rebel at DrMichelleMazur.com, or find her on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Visit our Platform Sponsors Freshbooks is the easy way to send invoices, manage expenses, and track your time. Access your free 30 day trial at EntreArchitect.com/FreshBooks. (Enter EntreArchitect) Core by BQE Software is a brand new software designed specifically for architect’s project management! Get a free 15-day trial at EntreArchitect.com/BQE. ARCAT has huge libraries of free content, Specs, CAD, BIM and more. No registration required. Want to collaborate with colleagues in real time? Visit EntreArchitect.com/ARCAT and click Charrette for more information. Gusto is making payroll, benefits, and HR easy for small firm architects. Get an exclusive, limited time detail. Sign up today and get three months free.  Visit EntreArchitect.com/Gusto and claim your free three months today! Referenced in this Episode Download the Profit For Small Firm Architects course for FREE. Leave a Rating and Review at iTunes   The post EA209: How to Become an Influential Speaker with Dr. Michelle Mazur [Podcast] appeared first on EntreArchitect // Small Firm Entrepreneur Architects. Mentioned in this episode:Build Your BrandAll AccessContext & Clarity

How to Build a Million Dollar Small Firm Using a Remote Team The future of architecture for small firms is the remote team. Using technology and online tools to acquire new clients, manage projects, and work with a team of top professionals distributed around the world, the virtual studio along with a remote team will allow you the flexiblity, freedom, prosperity and success that many of us are seeking as small firm architects. This week on EntreArchitect Podcast, How to Build a Million Dollar Small Firm Using a Remote Team with Winn Wittman of SelfBuiltArchitect.com.  Background Winn Wittman is a contemporary residential architect based in Austin, Texas. His work has been featured in various publications including Architectural Record, Architectural Digest, The Rob Report, Green Building & Design, Hinge, The Discovery Network, and HGTV. He has a BA from Tufts and a Master of Architecture from the University of Texas in Austin. He’s received numerous awards, including best green innovation for his Wittman Panel Designs. He’s also the founder of Self Built Architect, an online community and educational program where Winn shares his knowledge about leveraging technology and using online tools to create personal freedom, prosperity, professional excellence and more. Origin Story Winn’s love for architecture started in his mother’s basement where he woodworked as a kid. From that came a love of art and architecture. As a liberal arts major, he bounced around before discovering art history and falling in love with architecture. A professor suggested that he go to Austin, Texas. Several years later, the recession happened. Winn began to buy homes and fix them up when he discovered an old office building. Him and his ragtag team ran wires, ran equipment, and finished the building. A luxury jet designer then bought the building from him, earning him his first million dollars. After that, going to work for a firm was unappealing. He began developing and building unusual homes that realtors would tell him he had no chance of selling. Surprisingly, he always found a buyer. When the next recession hit, Winn had a trendy office and a bunch of employees. He noticed his expenses were eating up all of his profits. By 2010, all of his work had dried up, he had to let people go and get rid of his office. It was time to do things in a different way. As he began to realize the tools that had recently become available allowing people to work anywhere with an internet connection, he started to do his research. Slowly but surely, he began to build a virtual firm. He had a reputation for high end residential work and needed to figure out how to maintain the same high touch approach to architecture that he had before. He didn’t want the client experience to suffer at all as a result of his remote work. How did you start your remote firm? First, Winn realized he needed a luxury conference room to meet clients in. He rented an apartment in a luxury high rise that a resident could reserve a conference room in. He also sought out other conference rooms he could utilize in a pinch. Now, there are plenty of places that have conference rooms for rent. Many of his tools were the same, but he found them through different channels. Both the internet and GoToMeeting helped him become a laptop architect. When he wasn’t meeting clients, he could work completely remotely. He prepared his clients to know that he was not only very busy, but that he worked in different states. With the technology today, he still has a robust practice with a high degree of client services. His day is now freed up to work on whatever he wants instead of managing a business and office. Have you ever experienced pushback from clients? Only when Winn hasn’t properly prepared them. One client came with him on the transition, and wasn’t prepared for the new expectations. Do you think this is a model that someone can come at from scratch without having established a business before? If anything, there’s less expectation if you’re starting a new business. Young architects and their clients are so receptive to using new technology. The next generation realizes that life is more important than work, and technology is just another part of life. When you have a potential new client, how do they first interact with you? First, they get a live human being answering the phone instead of a voicemail. It sounds just the same as calling an architect’s office. The service Winn uses texts him right away so that he can connect with them to set up an appointment. Until you sign up a client, the purpose of every meeting is to have another meeting. Winn doesn’t send proposals and doesn’t charge for an initial visit. Winn then meets them at their property or a conference room and gathers information. After the initial meeting, he sets a second appointment on the road to figuring out what their dream is and if/how Winn can help them achieve that dream. How do you qualify leads? Winn gets between 2-10 inquires per day from new potential clients. Once they get to his website, they see the vision blueprint which allows them to answer key questions so he knows right away where they are in the process and what their dreams are. If it doesn’t seem like a good fit right off the bat, Winn refers them to someone who may be a better fit for them. Who answers the phone? Winn uses a company called Ruby Receptionist that screens calls and patches them through to the right person. They know everything about the business and function as an in-person front door for his firm. How do you manage each project? Winn starts by sketching on his iPad, snapping a picture, and texting it to a subcontractor for SketchUp. He only works with people who are extremely proficient at SketchUp. They hop on a video call to review. Then, he sets up meetings in person at least every two weeks and on the alternate weeks, he meets with them online. Why are your employees’ proficiency so important?  The world is your oyster when you work remotely, so there’s no reason not to find the most proficient person in the industry when your pool is so big. What’s your role in the process and how to you structure things? There’s not a fixed way of doing things, it depends on the task and the project. It’s important to know where your skills lie and to delegate to other areas where it doesn’t to capable, highly compensated people. Winn doesn’t charge or pay for hours, he charges and pays for outcomes. What are your favorite tools for remote work? Ruby Receptionist SketchUp Slack Asana Zelle QuickPay Dropbox iPad Pro More than anything, Winn likes to keep it simple. They use cloud based document sharing to keep track of where they are with each project and what the next step is, potential clients, and financials. Instead of chasing clients for payment, he sets up expectations clearly by making payment due by the next meeting. Do you have any systems in place that help you with creative collaboration? In remote working sessions, they often discover serendipitous things because of the process. Collaborative work is a conscious process. Remote work allows this to happen outside of the office; schedule brunch, find a time to connect over a weekend or a trip, etc. What is the one thing that small firm architects can do today to build a better business tomorrow? “Start going to places where you’ll meet people of influence who may want to build the types of homes that you want to design. There’s only two things that can change your life: meeting a new person and gaining a new piece of information. Be receptive to meeting new people.”  – Winn Wittman For EntreArchitect listeners exclusively, check it Winn’s free gift at SelfBuiltArchitect.com/Entre. If you’re interested in exploring the idea of 1:1 coaching, Winn has some packages available on SelfBuiltArchitect.com. Connect with Winn online at SelfBuiltArchitect.com and WinnWittman.com, or find him on Facebook and YouTube. Visit our Platform Sponsors Freshbooks is the easy way to send invoices, manage expenses, and track your time. Access your free 30 day trial at EntreArchitect.com/FreshBooks. (Enter EntreArchitect) Core by BQE Software is a brand new software designed specifically for architect’s project management! Get a free 15-day trial at EntreArchitect.com/BQE. ARCAT has huge libraries of free content, Specs, CAD, BIM and more. No registration required. Want to collaborate with colleagues in real time? Visit EntreArchitect.com/ARCAT and click Charrette for more information. Gusto is making payroll, benefits, and HR easy for small firm architects. Get an exclusive, limited time detail. Sign up today and get three months free.  Visit EntreArchitect.com/Gusto and claim your free three months today! Referenced in this Episode Download the Profit For Small Firm Architects course for FREE. Leave a Rating and Review at iTunes   The post EA208: How to Build a Million Dollar Small Firm Using a Remote Team [Podcast] appeared first on EntreArchitect // Small Firm Entrepreneur Architects. Mentioned in this episode:Build Your BrandAll AccessContext & Clarity

5 Steps to Unleash the Significant Power of Sleep Of our many skills, sleep may be the weakest. We know it’s important, and that it has a direct effect on our heath, well being, and overall success. Yet night after night we break the rules. This week on EntreArchitect, 5 Steps to Unleash the Significant Power of Sleep. A few years back, Mark began experiencing some significant health issues. After many tests, it was determined that his issues were a direct result of high levels of stress. Architects are stressed. The lifestyle that we lead often causes lots of problems. Mark has implemented a number of more healthful practices, one of the most important of which is sleep. He’s achieved significant improvement and felt the benefits, but he still has a way to go. In architecture school, late nights and even all-nighters are looked upon with honor like they’re something good. If you’ve ever done this, you know the effects on your mind and body. The effects can even reach to the dangerous side. As a profession, we need to make a change to look at sleep differently. Studies show that efficient sleep patterns allow us to accomplish things more effectively and be more creative, productive, and successful. What should we do as entrepreneur architects to improve our sleep habits? 5 Steps to Unleash the Significant Power of Sleep 1. Schedule Your Sleep Set a consistent sleep schedule by going to bed and waking up at the same time each day. Plan to sleep between 7 and 9 hours each night. Bonus tip: Find something pleasant to wake you up rather than the negativity of the news or a loud alarm clock 2. Practice a Relaxing Bedtime Ritual Turn off the technology and find something else that helps you wind down. Avoid all electronic screens, including your phone, TV and computer, which emit blue light stimulating your brain to stay awake. Read a book, listen to soft music, or maybe try out meditation! 3. Watch What You Eat Caffeine is one of the biggest challenges when trying to sleep better. It’s processed in our bodies up to 6-8 hours after that last cup of coffee! The best sleep routines start around 1 or 2 PM. Also try to avoid large meals and sweet snacks that keep your body up trying to digest when you’re trying to sleep. 4. Exercise Studies show that people sleep better and feel more alert during the day by getting 150 minutes of exercise each week. The better you feel, the better you sleep. 5. Design Your Sleep Environment Create a bedroom that helps you sleep. The environment that you’re trying to sleep in is important, including the temperature, lights, the sheets, and more. Your temperature should be set between 60-67 degrees for optimal sleep. Keep away from distracting noise and lights. Allow full exposure to natural sunlight first thing in the morning to reset your brain for a successful day ahead. Follow these five steps and sleep better! Visit our Platform Sponsors Freshbooks is the easy way to send invoices, manage expenses, and track your time. Access your free 30 day trial at EntreArchitect.com/FreshBooks. (Enter EntreArchitect) Core by BQE Software is a brand new software designed specifically for architect’s project management! Get a free 15-day trial at EntreArchitect.com/BQE. ARCAT has huge libraries of free content, Specs, CAD, BIM and more. No registration required. Want to collaborate with colleagues in real time? Visit EntreArchitect.com/ARCAT and click Charrette for more information. Gusto is making payroll, benefits, and HR easy for small firm architects. Get an exclusive, limited time detail. Sign up today and get three months free.  Visit EntreArchitect.com/Gusto and claim your free three months today! Referenced in this Episode Download the Profit For Small Firm Architects course for FREE. Leave a Rating and Review at iTunes EntreArchitect Live: New York 2018! For more information and to register, visit EntreArchitect.com/NewYork. The post EA207: 5 Steps to Unleash the Significant Power of Sleep [Podcast] appeared first on EntreArchitect // Small Firm Entrepreneur Architects. Mentioned in this episode:All AccessContext & ClarityBuild Your Brand

Business by Design: Organize Your Business Beautifully Using 6 Proven Principles of Design Vision, mission, goals, hiring, culture, business systems, planning. These are all critical elements of success. Do you want to organize all of these into a successful business plan? Can you use the creative side of your brain to see your firm from a different perspective? This week on EntreArchitect, Business by Design: Organize Your Business Beautifully Using 6 Proven Principles of Design. Jane Walton is a published author, a public speaker and a trained executive coach with a masters degree in Human Resources Management training and development. She’s developed and facilitated numerous programs focused on leadership, team effectiveness and management specific to architecture firms. You can hear her entire origin story on EA088: How to Avoid Burnout as an Architect with Jane Walton [Podcast]. Taking inspiration from the art world, Jane will discuss how to design your firm beautifully by utilizing the basic principles of design organization: focal point, contrast, scale, unity, movement and rhythm. Designing your firm is the perfect balance of vision, partnership, and execution.  How can architects solve some of the issues they’re dealing with? First, figure out the focal point. For architects, they really need to think that through. They may want to do healthcare or civic residential, but take time to think through that. Is your firm doing what you say you want to be doing? Some firms say they’re on the cutting edge of technology, but if you want to be in that space you have to invest properly to get the level of talent to be able to do that. For what it’s going to take to reach your goals, is that where you want to be? Be clear and intentional about where you want to be. Next, go back and look at the contrast: What are your clients expectations? What is the market like? What are industry conditions that will support or not support your focal point? Once you have your focal point, what do you do? Test it and figure out if the clients understand what you’re trying to do. Is your focal point something that people are going to be excited about?  Figure out what’s going on with the competition and how you compare to that. How do you build an organization around your focal point? Once you know who you are and what you are, what you want to do and how you want to do it, then you can build a team around those concepts. Sometimes you get to the point where you have to consider what your life will be like if you have 20 employees and decide if that’s really what you want for your focal point. For some people, it’s better to stay a sole practitioner and accept the realities of what that type of business entails. How can you create unity in your firm? Unity is the elements have have a logical relationship to the progression and results. For example, finding a project, concept, to design to execution, the unity piece needs to be understood. What does communication look like? What is your pace? What expectations do you have? Learn from companies like Zappos and Southwest who hire the right people from the start and are clear about their culture and expectations to create the best teams. How can you find your rhythm? Rhythm is recognizing that we have the work to do, but asking what other things we need to have in place. Are there monthly meetings to course correct if needed? How can you continually execute your marketing plans? What do you need to do to keep interest and keep growing? For architects, rhythm is getting out there and connecting with old and new potential clients. Get involved in continuing education programs and events that allow you networking opportunities. What is the one thing that small firm architects can do today to build a better business tomorrow? “Become a masterful influencer and be able to educate and inform companies that are calling on you to help them understand the value of design and what it can do for businesses and individuals.”  – Jane Walton Learn more about Business by Design and connect with Jane online at JaneWaltonConsulting.com. Visit our Platform Sponsors Freshbooks is the easy way to send invoices, manage expenses, and track your time. Access your free 30 day trial at EntreArchitect.com/FreshBooks. (Enter EntreArchitect) Core by BQE Software is a brand new software designed specifically for architect’s project management! Get a free 15-day trial at EntreArchitect.com/BQE. ARCAT has huge libraries of free content, Specs, CAD, BIM and more. No registration required. Want to collaborate with colleagues in real time? Visit EntreArchitect.com/ARCAT and click Charrette for more information. Gusto is making payroll, benefits, and HR easy for small firm architects. Get an exclusive, limited time detail. Sign up today and get three months free.  Visit EntreArchitect.com/Gusto and claim your free three months today! Referenced in this Episode Download the Profit For Small Firm Architects course for FREE. Leave a Rating and Review at iTunes Building a Story Brand   The post EA206: Organize Your Business Beautifully Using 6 Proven Principles of Design [Podcast] appeared first on EntreArchitect // Small Firm Entrepreneur Architects. Mentioned in this episode:Build Your BrandContext & ClarityAll Access

How to Develop a Powerful Owner Architect Agreement for Your Architecture Firm If you purchase the Hybrid Proposal Digital Course TODAY – including complete documents ready for you to edit for your small firm – we will throw in a FREE bonus including access to the Construction Management for Small Firm Architects Course and the GetFocused Productivity Course for Small Firm Architects . That’s over $600 for only $197. The offer ends Friday, February 2, 2018 at 11:59PM ET! Click HERE to receive BOTH the video course AND the complete template package that's ready to edit and help you sign more projects and make more money today! About 10 years ago, Mark was inspired by a talk to create his own owner architect agreement, one that works for his small firm. It needed to be easy to understand, look friendly, and be an integral part of his firm’s simple sales system. How can we go from prospect to project as effectively and efficiently as possible? After a decade of slow evolution, it’s the best small firm agreement. This week at EntreArchitect Podcast, How to Develop a Powerful Owner Architect Agreement for Your Architecture Firm. Note: EntreArchitect strongly advises that you have your attorney and insurance company review all of your legal documents. Why is it called a “hybrid proposal”? It’s both a proposal and an agreement. Typically, architects send out a letter of proposal defining what they understand the project to be. If they are ready to move forward, the architect prepares a legal agreement for the prospect to review and agree to. Mark created the Hybrid Proposal to condense both actions into one simple step. Next, Mark developed the hybrid fee with gives the client a flat fee and a percentage fee. The Four Parts of the Hybrid Proposal Cover Letter The cover letter is a simple form letter. It has a logo and a return address, but the intent is to explain to clients what we’re going to do and give them a call to action as to what next steps to take. The next part explains what was discussed at the meeting and what will happen next. All of this is malleable, but is the first step. Next, the prospective client can sign and initial the proposal and return with the initial payment to the firm. Proposal This six-page document is incredibly user friendly. Use your design skills to make it look appealing. Make it clear and easy to understand. Do you want to be more efficient and make more money? Find a target market and create a template proposal that fits your needs. Then you can use it over and over again! We also get into the different phases of architecture, including the pre design and architectural services. Explain the process you’re going to go through to execute your client’s project. EntreArchitect also includes construction administration as another phase of their process and fee. An initial payment is taken up front and held as a credit until the final payment. The hybrid language says that compensation for basic architectural services is a stipulated sum fee per the attached compensation schedule.  After schematic design, we know the scope and the budget, and we can make the project based on our stipulated sum. It doesn’t need to be perfect, just start confirming that you’re understanding what they want. Terms and Conditions This two page part is intentionally short to make it more manageable. The legal terms – including compensation, services, and more – are all put into easy-to-read terms. This section also includes photography rights, insurance, dispute resolution, and more. Reference Sheet This is a standard document that lists clients’ names and locations to for prospective clients to take a look at and reach out. Mark’s code system allows them to easily find like projects so that they can obtain references from people who have similar projects to what they’re looking for. Visit our Platform Sponsors Freshbooks is the easy way to send invoices, manage expenses, and track your time. Access your free 30 day trial at EntreArchitect.com/FreshBooks. (Enter EntreArchitect) Core by BQE Software is a brand new software designed specifically for architect’s project management! Get a free 15-day trial at EntreArchitect.com/BQE. ARCAT has huge libraries of free content, Specs, CAD, BIM and more. No registration required. Want to collaborate with colleagues in real time? Visit EntreArchitect.com/ARCAT and click Charrette for more information. Gusto is making payroll, benefits, and HR easy for small firm architects. Get an exclusive, limited time detail. Sign up today and get three months free.  Visit EntreArchitect.com/Gusto and claim your free three months today! Referenced in this Episode Download the Profit For Small Firm Architects course for FREE. Leave a Rating and Review at iTunes EntreArchitect Membership Access Mark’s fully customizable Owner/Architect Agreement at EntreArchitect.com/hybrid. TODAY ONLY! Purchase the Hybrid Proposal Digital Course and receive BOTH the video course AND the complete template package to help you sign more projects and make more money today! Click HERE to claim yours by midnight!  The post EA205: How to Develop a Powerful Owner Architect Agreement for Your Architecture Firm [Podcast] appeared first on EntreArchitect // Small Firm Entrepreneur Architects. Mentioned in this episode:All AccessContext & ClarityBuild Your Brand

Construction Administration for Architects is NOT an Option A very popular topic around EntreArchitect is the role of the architect in the construction phase.  The number of firms providing architecture services and forfeiting Construction Administration is surprising. One member of The EntreArchitect Community recently shared, “I need to get better at selling my clients on construction administration. Most think they don’t need it and refuse it when I offer. I had a recent client back out on the service because my drawings were essentially too well done. Once they saw the final drawings, they decided the contractor could handle it without my involvement.” This week at EntreArchitect Podcast, Construction Administration for Architects is NOT an Option. During the past few years, we’ve began to discuss, as a profession, taking back the process.  The goal is to be viewed once again as the leaders of the construction industry. To make this happen, we must literally take control of our projects and lead the process from beginning to end. Construction Administration is not an option to be offered as an additional service, it’s an integral part of the architecture process. Do you need to get better at selling your clients on construction administration? Imagine a surgeon preparing for surgery and then handing it over to someone else to execute, or a lawyer spending months preparing a prosecution and then heading back to the office to prepare for a new case before the trial is over. It’s no different for architects. We spend months preparing a design, we work our way through three levels of increasingly difficult development and documenting exactly how a structure is to be built. How can we give it away? We’re responsible for the health, safety and welfare for the creations we make and we’re legally liable for what’s constructed from our designs. It’s our responsibility as licensed professionals to observe the construction of our designs and confirm that they are being built as we designed them. Fivecat Studio Architecture provides Construction Administration on every project from a storage shed to a completely new construction. How do we do it? We’re a full-service architecture firm. We help our clients organize from their first ideas of the projects all the way through the end of construction. Most clients have no idea how our process actually works, and yours don’t either. If you offer a service as optional, a client will look at it as such. Fivecat Studio proposes one fee that includes Construction Administration as a part of the overall service. If a client asks if they’ll work without construction administration, Mark and Annmarie let them know it isn’t an option for them. 8 Reasons Why You Provide Construction Administration We lead weekly project meetings and review the progress of construction.We’re there to monitor things and support them in answering questions throughout the process. We confirm that the contractor is executing the project as per the design and specifications.Our client just went through a whole process that involved a lot of time and money, so they want the project done the correct way. We’re available to quickly resolve unforeseen issues and unexpected conditions so construction progress isn’t delayed.Time = money, and, in our clients’ mind, having an experienced professional to walk through that process and keep things on track during inevitable crisis is invaluable. We review the contractor’s payments so we can have more leverage during construction.This allows us to protect the clients’ interest and confirm that they’re only paying for what’s appropriate at that stage of the project. Now the client feels confident that what they’re paying is accurate. We review shop drawings and submittals.We make sure they’re what the owner has payed for and help the contractor resolve any issues that may arise. We assist with preparing and confirming the completion of the punch list and that the certificate of occupancy is issued. We’re there to review and assure that everything is taken care of. We are legally responsible for the health, safety and welfare of the users of the buildings we design.We confirm that all the building and environmental codes are being observed. As licensed professionals, it’s our firm’s policy to be involved in the construction of every project. Ultimately, we need to protect our firm’s legal exposure in terms of liability. If you want to work with us, we have to be involved in Construction Administration. The success of our firm depends on this. When we waive Construction Administration, we lose our ability to resolve issues quickly and may create bigger problems for ourselves. We’re ultimately working for our clients’ satisfaction, and, if we’re absent during construction, it’s really hard to manage expectations and keep our clients happy. The experience during construction is what clients will remember most when others ask for their referral. The success of your firm depends on your involvement every step of the way.  Visit our Platform Sponsors Freshbooks is the easy way to send invoices, manage expenses, and track your time. Access your free 30 day trial at EntreArchitect.com/FreshBooks. (Enter EntreArchitect) Core by BQE Software is a brand new software designed specifically for architect’s project management! Get a free 15-day trial at EntreArchitect.com/BQE. ARCAT has huge libraries of free content, Specs, CAD, BIM and more. No registration required. Want to collaborate with colleagues in real time? Visit EntreArchitect.com/ARCAT and click Charrette for more information. Gusto is making payroll, benefits, and HR easy for small firm architects. Get an exclusive, limited time detail. Sign up today and get three months free.  Visit EntreArchitect.com/Gusto and claim your free three months today! Referenced in this Episode Download the Profit For Small Firm Architects course for FREE. Leave a Rating and Review at iTunes EntreArchitect Membership Access Mark’s fully customizable Owner/Architect Agreement at EntreArchitect.com/hybrid. The post EA204: Construction Administration for Architects is <br>NOT an Option [Podcast] appeared first on EntreArchitect // Small Firm Entrepreneur Architects. Mentioned in this episode:Context & ClarityAll AccessBuild Your Brand