Starting a firm....

[ryarch]

I have spoken recently with a structural engineer and a couple of architects that have all started their own firms. First, I told them that have have huge balls for doing that! It's an enormous risk to start a firm. The financial risks are huge. They have all given me their opinions, and I was interested in your thoughts as to what it takes and what it's like. Some general comments from the people that I have talked to are:

1. You must get one great project that will keep you busy for more than a year.
2. You need to make a connection with a developer that can keep you busy for a year.
3. The first three years are about establishing a reputation as reliable, after that the work will come a little easier and you can work on a 'style'.
4. You need 9 months of savings in anticipation of not getting paid for a while.
5. Start a firm with a partner, so that the lean times at the beginning are shared.

The previous items are loose quoates. I have no idea what it takes and the reality of starting a firm. I don't really have the intention of starting one right now, or in the near future, but it is always in the back of my mind. As a dream, you think that running your own firm will give you greater control over the design aspects of your work. A legacy, if you will. But my fear is that the need for financial stability will create a firm that does what it has too and doesn't have the opportunity at projects, that a multiperson, established firm has. I would rather give up architecture, than become the architect that does crap!

I am really interested in some feedback from the people at this forum that are single person, or small firms. And I am interested in what the rest of us have thought about the prospect of starting a firm by themselves, or with a friend from school or the office that they are in.

[imasayer]

Don't let the man keep you down! I would love to start my own, but it will be a while yet. I will do it eventually.

[tdmc]

It's all about risk and opportunity.
Play safe and be employed - that's fine
Take a risk and start something, that's ok too
More than 25 yrs ago i moved from safe. salaried employment to my own business. When the time is right you'll know it
Firstly - get yourself known (and even before that - make sure you're honest and fair in all deals with all people - it pays huge dividends - both morally, spritually and finally economically)
Work out how much $ you need to live on
Do some business planning, or a small business course
Do it on your own, don't worry about partners
Go for a scatter of small manageable projects at first rather than the one big one - learn about cash flow, and paying bills on time
Enjoy it and have some fun on the way through
It you're any good, or offer a good product people will find you

[tdmc]

oh, doing it on your own means you have control and more choice. It's hard enough starting a(ny) business - adda partner and the complications multiply.
I'd say go it alone, at least at first

[page]

I would say all your prescriptions are on track.
Its more difficult than not but manageble to start your own firm alone or with a partner but ultimately very rewarding on both a personal level and professional level. I have done both ( partner/solo) but am on my own now a few years.
Be sure if you have a partner that you compliment each other to fill the entire spectrum of service.. and more importantly you should share a long term vision for the size and direction of your firm and thus your capital expenditures. This latter bit is important as a 5 person firm may only have 15-20k USD in monthly expenses( thats almost a 1/4 million a year) a 15 person firm has well over a hundred thousand USD in expenses. This has profound impact on the type of work a firm must accept to make these commitments. Payroll can ultimately define for many all lot more of your decisions than many would care to admit.

After all those concerns it is very rewarding to fund the growth of other architects.. to see burgeoning skill sets and new excitement and interest in architecture and the work of of your firm. Its also nice to have some flexibility if you need it. Other drawbacks are meeting a constant need for money. Paying everyone under the sun for every little thing all the time. (Paper, pens, Autodesk, Adobe,) Just think of how many supplies you have taken home from your office. Programs you have copied etc.

I would say if you can manage the process of creating a complex architectural project with meticulous documentation of the process and consistently be within the prescribed budget and time, as well as balance three checkbooks , a hobby, and a relationship without too much interference, you can be more than successfull in your own business endeavors.

I feel strongly that work is work and is done on work time leaving the remaining 70- 80 hours of awake time for my personal emjoyment. Managing the balance between 40 -50 hours of work, 50 hours of sleep( 7hrs /night) and the remaining 70-80 hrs of a 168 hrs/wk.. while at the same time being productive and effective with the 40 work hours is also key to success. I broke down a typical week in our office previosuly in this thread (http://www.pushpullbar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1394&page=3&highlight=office+hours) This is a weekly struggle for most of my friends and colleagues.

On a lighter note:
One of the best things for me is keeping track of the excuses ( when given) for things being undone ,late or otherwise not to expectation. I have been keeping a notebook of excuses since i was a teenager working constrcution in the summers. I can laugh for hours when reading the accumulated volume so far.

I hope this is at least some insight into one mans process of making it all come together week after week for a few years.

I am also intersted in what others feel is the overall benefit of being on your own.

[nicholas]

Glen Murcutt has an excellent business model. Low tech organic growth peppered with substantial travel. Keep operations simple and lean initially; high running costs as mentioned above influence (& weigh on) decisions. Focas on quality, this evens out the economic cycles; there is a constant demand for quality.

Start with a clear abstract vision & don't look back.

[flino]

I'm trying to open my own business…I'm working for an Architectural firm in Minneapolis and I also purchased a piece of land (mixed-use zoning)
My plan is working as an Architect-Developer so I'd be my main client and If I get more clients even better….I'd leave my job as soon as I have my first successful project….with the profit that I could get there I'd able to have enough money to pay my bills for one year and work for the other project.

You could develop small projects up to 4 units with a regular construction loan …( more than 4 is a multi-family building and you you'd need a business loan)

good luck!!!

Fernando

[ryarch]

Wow! Great feedback. I knew that I could count on PPB2 for insight. I am planning on staying at the firm I am at for a while. I still need to learn some things about the business of architecture and I am doing that actively. Even agressively.

I thought about the partner aspect of starting a firm. I think that my desire to do so stems from the collaberative effort that I love in architecture. Ideas and designs can get stronger with more input, but maybe this place can be the design partner...interesting.

Thanks, again, and keep it coming.

[gorgon]

I feel strongly that work is work and is done on work time leaving the remaining 70- 80 hours of awake time for my personal emjoyment. Managing the balance between 40 -50 hours of work, 50 hours of sleep( 7hrs /night) and the remaining 70-80 hrs of a 168 hrs/wk.. while at the same time being productive and effective with the 40 work hours is also key to success. I broke down a typical week in our office previosuly in this thread (http://www.pushpullbar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1394&page=3&highlight=office+hours)

Page. This and your other post of that thread (main points copied below) is very interesting (somehow missed it before). How is this going for you? Has it changed in the last 18 months?

Also can I ask:
Do you have a significant other and if so where do they fit in?
How many people do you employ?
Your commute looks great, shouldn't you be cycling/walking that distance? :poke fun:

Does anyone in the UK know if this "28 sick or well days a year" is legal in the UK - sounds like a nice idea.

Our office has a "Forty in Four"work week policy

Typical in the office Forty in Four work day for me... ( this has been refined over 2 years of various odd schedules)
M-TH
6-6:45 Morning prep
bath, Dress, Eat, Listen to news, read NY times last 5 minutes gather work stuff shut down house and walk to car
6:50 -6:55 commute to office
7-12 office meeting etc
12- 12:15 espresso break
12:15 - 2pm office meeting etc
2 - 4 pm Lunch, nap errands out of office usually home
4-7pm office meetings etc.
7:05 -7:10 commute. 7:30 when purchasing groceries 2- 3 times a week rarely on weekend
7:30 - 8:30 dinner in or out of house
8:30- 9:30 idea time drawing
9:30- 12 random activity (which as principal sometimes consists of work related activities

F
office closed
Sat
office closed
Sun
office closed

[gaffaman]

Well I managed to completly miss this thread.

There must be something in the air.... While browsing through the bookstore at the AIA convention a couple of weeks ago, I ran across this little gem and bought it:

Architect's Essentials of Starting a Design Firm is a peerless, single-source reference for everyone starting or running his or her own design firm.

Needless to say, it has started the wheels turning....

It's full of great advice and strategies for setting up your own firm. Structure (sole proprietership, limited liability company, partnership, etc), financing, cash flow, all the stuff they don't teach you in architecture school.

http://www.amazon.com/Architects-Essentials-Starting-Professional-Practice/dp/0471234818/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-0865523-1825722?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179755826&sr=8-1

Hope this helps.

[gary in westOz]

I started out 3 months after graduating in 1992 when I was 22.
I was single, unattached had no work and no income.
I saw an add in the paper -" architect wanted, name making opportunity, no fees" I went, I saw, I became that architect.
A design got built, and I got paid- , that client is a good friend and mentor now.

I wrote my ideas down, had them published ( in a local Permaculture magazine and Australias Owner Builder mag), I got more work.
charged $30/hr back then.
I've done the odd 6 months working for a friend of mine as an assistant and clerk of works, but generally for 15 years been by myself, designing and building mostly straw bale buidlings. I've been to Scandinavia, USA (stayed at Taliesin west) New Zealand and Tasmania.

You dont' need anything else but a pencil, some paper, enthusiasm and a desire to do good.

Just do it and bugger the nay sayers - its worth it, and you can't do any worse than anyone else.