Hi community. I recently read an article about architects who never even went to school. There were are some big names in that list...
Of course there are successful architects who went to school and were trained as architects too.
But then I look through their biographies and noticed a similarity. A lot of them leave architecture to return later, or start their own firm, within the first 5 years after graduation.
I wonder if staying in a company is a trap...
OneLostArchitect
Apr 3, 22 2:26 am
.
Chad Miller
Apr 6, 22 1:26 pm
How would you know Lost?
monosierra
Apr 4, 22 8:21 am
There are some questions to consider, including the following:
1) What kind of work are you going to be doing? Is there a market type you're interested in, and consider what do you bring to the market.
2) What are your business development plans? That is, how do you plan to procure work and what is your competitive strategy.
3) What is your seed financing? This includes startup capital and insurance.
Starting a firm could be a laudable goal - but it is also a business decision. I'd warn against venturing into the fray without any business plans - doing so only for individual artistic freedom. The latter is certainly a goal, but it alone cannot promise success. There are exceptions in glossy magazines - wives of hedge fund titans who do mood boards for their friends, wealthy kids who rely on their families for initial support and work, academics who continue to relive the glories of their student years by remaining on campus ... but for most others, it is a business decision.
hellion
Apr 4, 22 9:37 am
Like most people I know who are now running their practices, they all started as freelancers: taking small commissions in between jobs (some even during ones); learning as many mistakes; covering as many bases as they could in every project (financial, technical, logistical, legal, etc.); and most importantly, building their network of clientele, contractors, and suppliers in the process as the projects kept rolling in. (There is that saying that goes, "Your network is your net worth.")
It sounds easy and logical as saying it as it is, but it's not. There will be conflict, there will be losses, and there will be doubts. But with any endeavor, it can only be possible if you're willing to accept the risks and consequences that come with it. Preparedness is critical (as the comment above insinuates), but the unforeseeable can also be pivotal. The advantage of working for a few years in an office is that it can be your precedent in how you foresee the kind of practice you want to lead. And lastly, ideally, you should have gotten your licensure by the time you find yourself ready to take it on because that is the common ground for trust and legitimacy.
x-jla
Apr 4, 22 10:45 am
I started a few months out of school. It was the middle of the last recession. I couldn’t find stable work. I formed an LLC and started taking on whatever freelance gigs I could find….it’s evolved into a design-build firm.
reallynotmyname
Apr 4, 22 12:02 pm
The idea that everyone can and should start their own firm (preferably ASAP) is largely a load of crap being pushed by the media. The underlying message that working for someone else automatically makes you some kind of a loser, or at most not all you could be, is pretty false.
bowling_ball
Apr 4, 22 11:27 pm
Totally agree
proto
Apr 4, 22 12:17 pm
We started with me hanging on to a corporate job while my partner started from scratch. I worked for someone else for almost 9yrs before stepping off from what was conveniently for me a slowing behemoth in the recession. At that point, I had about 15yrs of experience in a bunch of scales of architecture (except SFR).
The initial years were thin, esp the first with my partner actually getting temp work at a large firm for about 3mos after 8mos of next to nothing happening. Those first 8mos were filled with mailings, cold calls and attempts at advertising. As soon as my partner took the temp work, jobs started to appear funnily enough. The first leads came from former employers for whom the work was too small to take on.
We are about 18yrs in and going strong with just the two of us. Going to take on our first full time employee after she graduates this spring...
atelier nobody
Apr 4, 22 5:21 pm
I think it mostly depends on how much they have in their trust fund.
whistler
Apr 4, 22 5:46 pm
Started my own firm when I had approx 6 months work in front of me while heading into the traditionally busiest time of year ( IE expecting to pick up a couple more projects to carry me through the year. ) I was about 5 years out of school, registered and had a part time gig supporting a larger planning firm with their work ( 10-15 hours a week). After about 18 months I was only working on my own projects. Side gig was good as the paycheques were steady as the collection from my own projects was a bit more casual. My wife worked a bit and we had a growing family so there were a few "balls in the air" but as long as I could bring in work it was a all good and the stress level was tolerable.
Continuum
Apr 5, 22 7:17 pm
Thank you all for thoughtful responses. It seems like everyone is coming from a different perspective, and there isn't really a clear answer to this - as expected... :)
Chad Miller
Apr 6, 22 1:30 pm
After being a sole practitioner for several years after the 2008 recession I determined that I didn't like running my own firm. It's all personal choice though.
Hi community. I recently read an article about architects who never even went to school. There were are some big names in that list...
Of course there are successful architects who went to school and were trained as architects too.
But then I look through their biographies and noticed a similarity. A lot of them leave architecture to return later, or start their own firm, within the first 5 years after graduation.
I wonder if staying in a company is a trap...
.
How would you know Lost?
There are some questions to consider, including the following:
1) What kind of work are you going to be doing? Is there a market type you're interested in, and consider what do you bring to the market.
2) What are your business development plans? That is, how do you plan to procure work and what is your competitive strategy.
3) What is your seed financing? This includes startup capital and insurance.
Starting a firm could be a laudable goal - but it is also a business decision. I'd warn against venturing into the fray without any business plans - doing so only for individual artistic freedom. The latter is certainly a goal, but it alone cannot promise success. There are exceptions in glossy magazines - wives of hedge fund titans who do mood boards for their friends, wealthy kids who rely on their families for initial support and work, academics who continue to relive the glories of their student years by remaining on campus ... but for most others, it is a business decision.
Like most people I know who are now running their practices, they all started as freelancers: taking small commissions in between jobs (some even during ones); learning as many mistakes; covering as many bases as they could in every project (financial, technical, logistical, legal, etc.); and most importantly, building their network of clientele, contractors, and suppliers in the process as the projects kept rolling in. (There is that saying that goes, "Your network is your net worth.")
It sounds easy and logical as saying it as it is, but it's not. There will be conflict, there will be losses, and there will be doubts. But with any endeavor, it can only be possible if you're willing to accept the risks and consequences that come with it. Preparedness is critical (as the comment above insinuates), but the unforeseeable can also be pivotal. The advantage of working for a few years in an office is that it can be your precedent in how you foresee the kind of practice you want to lead. And lastly, ideally, you should have gotten your licensure by the time you find yourself ready to take it on because that is the common ground for trust and legitimacy.
I started a few months out of school. It was the middle of the last recession. I couldn’t find stable work. I formed an LLC and started taking on whatever freelance gigs I could find….it’s evolved into a design-build firm.
The idea that everyone can and should start their own firm (preferably ASAP) is largely a load of crap being pushed by the media. The underlying message that working for someone else automatically makes you some kind of a loser, or at most not all you could be, is pretty false.
Totally agree
We started with me hanging on to a corporate job while my partner started from scratch. I worked for someone else for almost 9yrs before stepping off from what was conveniently for me a slowing behemoth in the recession. At that point, I had about 15yrs of experience in a bunch of scales of architecture (except SFR).
The initial years were thin, esp the first with my partner actually getting temp work at a large firm for about 3mos after 8mos of next to nothing happening. Those first 8mos were filled with mailings, cold calls and attempts at advertising. As soon as my partner took the temp work, jobs started to appear funnily enough. The first leads came from former employers for whom the work was too small to take on.
We are about 18yrs in and going strong with just the two of us. Going to take on our first full time employee after she graduates this spring...
I think it mostly depends on how much they have in their trust fund.
Started my own firm when I had approx 6 months work in front of me while heading into the traditionally busiest time of year ( IE expecting to pick up a couple more projects to carry me through the year. ) I was about 5 years out of school, registered and had a part time gig supporting a larger planning firm with their work ( 10-15 hours a week). After about 18 months I was only working on my own projects. Side gig was good as the paycheques were steady as the collection from my own projects was a bit more casual. My wife worked a bit and we had a growing family so there were a few "balls in the air" but as long as I could bring in work it was a all good and the stress level was tolerable.
Thank you all for thoughtful responses. It seems like everyone is coming from a different perspective, and there isn't really a clear answer to this - as expected... :)
After being a sole practitioner for several years after the 2008 recession I determined that I didn't like running my own firm. It's all personal choice though.