Rich the Architect

In the past week or two I have been thinking of how to market my company, brand, and myself.  Initially I was wondering if attraction and marketing are the same thing.  After a few conversations with others online I've realized they are not, but the combination of awareness and attraction is what marketing is about.  In this episode I break down what these two concepts mean to me, and also some steps I'm taking to execute on these two concepts.

This morning I was having an issue finding sweatpants to wear.  This is because our house is having work done on it and all our stuff is not where it's supposed to be at the moment.  I speak about this experience and relate it to some of my BIM Consulting work.  In the consulting work there have been some situations that shortcuts were taken that make the project more difficult to work.  In that case I relate to how my services have become the 'sweatpants'.

Then I announce a new group that I'm launching called Getting Rich with Revit that will be a live session group where Revit users can ask questions and get answers for any issues they may have in learning or using the software (29:40).  

If you would like more information on Getting Rich with Revit, please email me at [email protected].  

This past week I had to cancel a project with a client due to site and existing restrictions due to the layout of the home.  It's never a good conversation to have, but I cover how being honest with a client is always the best approach.  Then I came across a video from another architect, Eric Reinholdt of 30X40 Design Workshop, where he states that specifying or drawing an element now prevents deferring to someone making a decision for you later in a project.  I expand on this by giving two project examples where this statement holds true. (16:38)  

Here's a link to the video I talk about in this episode from 30X40 Design Workshop:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4SvkO8G3K8&t=2s

In recent months I realized some issues that clients have on projects are centered around not committing to the process to get approvals.  I go into detail from a recent experience and discuss why a municipality may or may not give you all the information when you initially contact that agency (9:26).  I then cover why time blocking and using a scheduling application where people can schedule an appointment with me on their own helps with my own focus (27:17).  

Starting the New Year with some new ideas for the podcast.  I start with some ideas I have for a new format of how I want to structure the podcast.  Then I introduce two new segments (Outsider and Insider) I will have in the this episode and future ones.  In the first Outsider segment (10:00) I cover factors that are involved in how long it takes to get a permit approval.  Then in my Insider segment (36:55) I discuss what is the soul behind the work that I do.  Hope you enjoy, and feel free to comment with any ideas that I could discuss in a future Outsider or Insider segment.    

During the last few weeks, I have been outsourcing some of my workload with some level of success.  I started to notice the need to document what my steps are in my drawing process, which will help in training others, but also keeps me on track when I do the drawings myself.  In this episode, I identify what some of the first processes I have that need to be documented, and how I intend to document them.   

I wanted build on the previous episode, so in this episode I discuss the three main parts of any business.  These parts I call Production, Business Owner, and Entrepreneur.  Recently I found myself in more the Business Owner and Production areas of the business, and not much in the Entrepreneur side of things.  So the question now becomes how do I balance the business out and shift my focus.  

As this current pandemic continues I started to think how are we going to start living with this virus.  This got me thinking about what changes and innovations in the design and construction industry will we see in the near future that is a direct response to the pandemic.  Some of what I cover here are building code related changes, material innovations, and also what construction processes will either change or are entirely new due to new policies put into place to work and live with this new virus.