I was still clueless at 30.
Now I'm cautiously approaching competence.

The question is one of complexity, really. A 30 year old can be pretty good at small / simple buildings. Takes a lot longer for other work (which presumably is the end goal). The other factor is trust - clients are less likely to trust the younger...

um....if you were born in 1970 that makes you 37. i'd call that around 40, not around 30.

30? that's around 40, unless my math is wrong...hey i am as ready to jump into the fire as any other moth, but i am a firm believer in some kind of partnership, you know shared failure....

i was born in 1971, jeez... if that makes me around 40 - i'm depressed now.

Please, guys...I turn forty in April and have been calling myself a 40-y-o for at least a year now - don't attach importance to the number. Getting to the forties is going to be wonderful, the state of mind now is so much better.

I was ready mentally to go on my own in my mid-thirties, I had done a couple of small residential freelance jobs and felt up to tackling that type of work. Took the leap with a partner two years ago. We are doing well enough in the residential field but I know we don't, between us, have the experience doing larger work to handle much of consequence on our own. At least, not while making any money at it! It is harder, I think, to figure out the business end of doing commercial work. Which means for me it's not the age level but the experience level that matters!

so then liberty, i am curious...

do you feel limited to the building type because that was your area of experience?

or did you have experience in commercial and other sectors too, you just don't feel like you've built up the resources to go after that kind of work?

i'm just wondering because i'm thinking maybe the experience i'm getting isn't the experience i need to get to where I want to be. (which i'm not sure where exactly that is yet.) well, i shouldn't exactly say that either, the experience i have/am getting is very valuable, but perhaps i need to look a little further ahead. i've just been so focused on getting my license and everything.

I started my firm when I was 36, which was a good age. I had enough experience, and contact, neighbore, peers my age were getting semi responsible positions that opened doors for me.
The only down side is that when you are 36 you have the weight of other worlds on your shoulders; 2 little kids, a mortgage, not much in savings. So your business plan has to be really careful and well thought out, or you are asking for disaster.

postal: It's more the latter, because while my partner only really has residential experience, I worked on institutional work for 10 years, including lots of masterplanning. But we have neither the resources nor the reputation to do that kind of work here - I should point out for those who don't know that I moved to a new city to join my partner in his already-established one man shop.

I can't believe in my first post I didn't point out the most important aspect of going out on your own: your network. Thanks for bringing that up, archie. I left a very strong network to move to a city where I have none - bad idea!! (My partner's network is amazing, though - so that is the other reason we are mainly doing residential work.) Remember as you ponder a leap to self-employment that everyone you meet is a contact. It can get exhausting.

my fear about starting my own firm is that i love working on big, technically complex, engineering-intensive projects and think i would get bored working on what seems like a relatively limited range of project types open to the sole/small practicioner. i could be wrong, but it seems like you're limited mainly to small residential, retail, and commercial interiors projects. on the other hand, i really don't like working for large firms.

the complexities of the work are still there in residential, bryan4arch, just different.

it's good to have both experiences, the big technically-complex projects and the smaller projects where the complexities come from social interaction, closer attention to the cost of each element, and how much more design-charged small details come together. where there are assumed standards in larger projects, i found that a carefully designed residential project means that a lot of assumed builder details are thrown out the window and must be figured out in situ.

okay, i have to admit that i've been thinking about opening my own practice for a while. the only problem is that i believe i will be opening it in a new city, although i do plan on working for someone in the new city for a couple of years to develop my network there....the question is will this be sufficient to establish a new network? i will be moving from a very large city to a much smaller city...so i'm figuring that it might be easier to develop my network there, plus i have a certain degree of national and international contacts that i can pull on....
i don't know your post got me thinking there liberty bell. am i being too idealistic here?

futureboy, I think the best advice I can give you is to take advantage of the time IMMEDIATELY after the move to introduce yourself to the city. I've been here two years already, so it is actually embarassing to me to meet people who had no idea my partner now has a partner. We should have taken advantage of my move here to have a publicity blitz, basically, like a party welcoming me to town (with lots of clents and potential clients being invited), some ads in local mags saying "xx Design is now XXX Architecture", lots of attendance at AIA meetings, etc. When people hear you just moved to town they tend to be eager to introduce you to their community, and there is tons of potential networking in those offers. Like I said, when someone mentions the name of a local firm to me now and I don't recognize it after being here so long, it is embarrassing.

So think of spending your first 6 months minimum just getting out there as much as possible - attend every lecture, check out all the professional organizations (local CSI turns out to be way cooler than local AIA, IMO), ask your coworkers to take you on tours of their favorite buildings, etc. You need to get to know your territory in a very visible way shortly after you arrive. it will really help you get oriented, too.

24 here. but only multiple interiors jobs(commercial), and a rural barn. working on lightweight prefab structures now with a client. but i wouldnt call myself my own FIRM yet. i dont have enough experience or business training. im surprised people trust me. thinking of working for a firm tho for more experience.

liberty bell, if you had changed the firm name to "XXX architecture" i don't think you'd have had any problem getting your name out there.

That's actually a field in which I have some previous experience, too!

(kidding, or perhaps wishful thinking...)

for LB and any others that have already started their own firms... or anybody for that matter...

what are the key professional practice issues that you must know before making the leap? myself and a few other colleagues are in the process of developing a series of seminars (through our local "young/emerging architects" group) for "emerging architects" to develop a skill set that will allow them to eventually set up their own shop... we received a grant from AIA national to set up this program...

the things that we've come up with so far are, in terms of broad topics...

marketing/presentation skills, insurance & liability issues, financial issues, legal issues (should you be an s-corp, llp, etc), document output (plot settings, color correction, etc)...

we're also including some hands-on material sessions to learn welding, laser cutting, masonry, etc...

what other topics should we include? what specific things do people thinking about making the leap need to know?

to archiphil;
what a great idea! What city are you in?

I volunteer with an organization that sets up advisory panels for new businesses (of all types, including architecture practices, design practies). The biggest missing skills are
- strategic business planning. THis does not mean writing a canned business plan, but it does mean thinking ahead of where you want the business to go, what you want it to be, etc. You need to plan ahead to make it successful, and think in a strategic manner.
- undestanding basic financial statements so that you can understand business issues.
- how to set up your accounting system, or what to tell your accountant to do to set it up. Suprisingly, over 90% of our business owners just let their accountants set up the accounting system, but very rarely does the accountant set it up in a meaningful way so that they can use the data for any information other than paying taxes. You can use simple systems like quickbooks, but setting up a correct chart of accounts from the very beginning is crucial. This is especially important for architects who want to use benchmarking to see how they are doing; you need to have the numbers set up so that you can easily calculate your true overhead, true multiplier, etc.
- networking skills, how to develop business, how to keep business (this is not marketing, this is business development.) Most architects do an ok job of presenting to a potential client, its just how do you even get your foot in the door and find the opportunity to present?
- For architects, one of the hardes things to figure out is how to price your work. How much do you charge, how do you write the proposal, etc. How do you figure out a fixed fee for a project?

Hope that helps.

i started at 23...doing interiors/models..... i'm 30 (31 in may) and looking to try to open a real office and maybe a few people...so i have to figure how to pay/taxes/etc...... i have no clue....

i started my own firm when i was 34. now i am 40. not really 40, but like lb, i've been saying i'm 40 for the last year. i'll actually be 40 in march, and i'm fine with it.

the importance of a network can not be stressed enough. i moved to seattle for personal reasons. in turn, my employer at that time wanted me to help them set up an industrial design/digital media office. they fell on hard times, and i used the opportunity to go off on my own. i knew no one here. talent goes no where if you don't know anyone. six years later, the jobs come easier now. people know me, and they refer me to others. good relationships are essential to a successful business. i can't imagine trying to move to another city and still work for myself.

my wife finally left her job and has now joined the studio. actually this is her second day. we are in the process of renovating a 1000sqft space that is a couple of blocks from our house. i couldn't be happier and more nervous.

cryzko, get yourself a good accountant. you can't go without one.

thanks for always posting those articles, quizzical

oh, it was a book. [dummy.] but you've been known to post some good articles

Strawbeary - thanks - how're things in the Mile High City ?

This thread touches on a point that I want to push a little further - perhaps in a naive or idealistic way. Why is it assumed that brand new or small firms are destined to work on residential and/or small commercial projects? Network and resources were stated above, but are those just reasons that are used as crutches?

I am curious to know if there are small firms doing big work.

For instance, liberty bell: I am familiar with your Philadelphia firm's institutional work. You no doubt got lots of good experience there. Perhaps you could sell yourself as an institutional expert or consultant to other firms in Indy who are doing similar projects. You could use those contacts to branch out to other things beyond residential. (Just a thought)

i am in no way using networking as a crutch. i just understand the importance of it for big or small firms.

while i am no longer doing architecture, i am just wrapping up a large job for a gallery in los angeles that i have been working on for two years. i beat out several larger firms to get the job. one of the firms has several offices in various cities. as a result of doing this job, i now get offers for similar type jobs. networking at it's best.

akk - damn my lack of eloquence AGAIN.

Sorry, e. I didn't mean to downplay the importance of networking. (Rather, I don't think that lack of a network should discourage one from seeking better opportunities.)

That's fantastic that you got the opportunity to work on a larger project. Without giving away your secrets, what did you do to win the job? What set you apart from the other larger firms?

It's a matter of scale. It's pretty hard for a small firm to do big work just cause they don't have the manpower. How do you do the CD's for a $20 million dollar project with three people? I guess you need to define big, and also, think type of project not just size. My firm started out doing almost exclusively commercial work and still does, but they are relatively small projects. Even now with 25 people our average job size is probably about half a million in construction cost. We do some projects $5 to $14 million though, but not many. It's a matter of marketing and positioning yourself. We don't really go after the big jobs. In our market there are a bunch of firms all killing each other to do the big jobs at slashed fees. Meanwhile we just scoop up all the smaller projects for repeat clients, no competition on fees, no marketing costs. I'm fine with that.

agreed with that archie. my big projects are not on the magnitude of a $20 mil job, and you need a lot of warm, able bodies to pull that work off.

dca, i think i managed to set myself off from the other firms by showing them a wide variety of types of work. that helped convince my client that if i could handle this wide range of work, then i would probably do fine with this. i also know that having worked for a number of architecture firms helped. my clients are architects, and it was useful that i could speak their language and understand their intent. if you can find a way to connect with a client or potential client, that is invaluable.

e, I have missed you so much and it's good to see you, briefly. So glad that things with your new partner (!) are going well. It's very exciting.

Honestly, DCA, I had never considered that and it's a good idea. I am finding that two years in I'm finally starting to get the feel of what our firm should be - perhaps. My partner's reputation and style is so well known that it has been difficult for me to feel up to pursuing a radically different type of work. but I'm starting to feel lately that I should. Thanks for the idea!

Age means fuck all...at 25 I was pm on a tally of projects worth over 57million. Its about presenting yourself in a manner that commands a measure of respect & trust. Granted doesnt help if you significantly older than you are. I turn 30 in April. I've wanted to be in private practice from before I left grad school...I didn't mean I was ready. Its only now with the many projects I've delivered do I feel even slightly comfortable starting a practice, but with enough wisdom to know its about another 2.5 years off. Slow and steady my neurologist says, Slow & Steady!

liberty bell: I'll even help you write your business plan *wink* :)

e,

yeah, i need a good accountant.... right now i'm just trying to hustle in some pennies in detroit before i leave in june....

liberty isn't private practice about having your own stamp (your soul) in your work instead of trying to deliver a vision or product that ultimately belongs to someone else? Dip your finger in make it yours, all yours.

cryz it might be helpful before you meet with an accountant is to write out what exactly you need them for. What sort of measures you need. Etc etc. Internally we manage our project accounts, as well as a means to balance things with our accountants that we use primarly as auditors, it is helpful but involves having someone (a clerk) input the base figures prior to sending them out for payment, etc

what i would have to figure out is how to pay an employee with a check and have taxes taken out and where does that tax money go...... i can figure the money coming in and paying for supplies/etc....it's the pay the other person who isnt me factor

We use Paychex. The time saved on that aspect of HR more than pays for their fees.

Now, figuring out what an employee actually costs you is an important thing to know.

so you just want the accountant for salaries & taxes; I think you may find that you need them for alot more when you become a recognised company, etc

Ahh the best way to start your own practice is to have a project

15 minutes ago i was called by an old school friend who is purchasing some land with the thought to build a house for himself and his fiance. A small project by the standards I've been used to but enough to get going

i dont think doing a 20mil project with 1-3 people is the issue, it would be obtaining that 20 mil project if you are a small firm - especially with a corporate, or municipal client

thanks for your input archie... we're in tampa/st. petersburg... the grant program is a year long thing with 12 different sessions... the goal is to have 6 "business" sessions and 6 "hands-on" sessions... but that mix might change a little bit depending on the final determination of the program...

Accountants are pretty expensive for everyday. Ask around in your contact circle. For the first three years of my business I used a neighbor who had been a CFO of a small company but was now a stay at home mom. She did all my bookkeeping from home and loved it, and she was much less expensive than an accountant. I also suggest using a payroll service for your employees. It is much less paperwork and not too expensive. It is important to set up your books from the get go in a way that you can use the information to not only generate invoices, but also track how you are doing on fixed fee jobs, overall multipliers etc. It may seem like overkill when you get started, but if you plan to ever grow to a size larger than two or three people, getting it started at the beginning will be important. We still use Quickbooks Pro, with over $4 milion in billings, It works fine.

tyvek mentioned figuring out what an employee costs you. We set upa simple excel spreadsheet that adds in social security, unemployemnt, benefits, 401 k, etc so that we can see what our true hourly rate will be for a prospective employee. It's useful, and also we show it to employees- it can be an eye opener. Sometimes I see posts where people complain about how much their companies are making off of them because of the big markup on their rates. But the cost of an employee adds up fast, and that doesn't even include overhead like rent, utilities, support staff, marketing,equipement, etc. Our overhead is pretty low, and it is 150% of salaries just to break even.

liberty bell, thanks so much for your kind words. i also have missed you and everyone at archinect. i'm having some serious withdraw. there just isn't much time these days. i still have not posted my pics from my holiday trip to chile. one of these days.

cryzko, i did a similar thing as archie is recommending with an accountant. best of luck.

stay well all.