When someone starts their own business, it is only natural that they will make plenty of mistakes along the way.
While some of these mistakes are necessary and will serve to further the individual’s expertise, others could impede on the long-term success of the business.
In a recent live talk with Architizer, Archibiz Co-Founder and Chief Mentor Ray Brown sat down with Architizer’s Content Director, Paul Keskeys, to discuss some of the most common mistakes architects make when they start their own practice. The talk was refreshingly honest, providing attendees from all over the world an inside look into what it is like to start your own practice and what pitfalls one might expect.
Mistakes architects make when running their own practice
As Ray laid out in the beginning of the talk, architects require three key certainties if they want to achieve sustainable success in their practice: certainty of income, certainty of workflow, and certainty of impact. To get these three certainties, there are three steps that architects should take in their business.
First, they must specialise. Then, they must systemise. Finally, they should scale.
However, many times, architects skip systemisation altogether and go straight to scale. That’s Mistake No.1. Without the proper systems in place, scaling too quickly could be detrimental to the practice’s survival.
There are also several other mistakes that architects make along their journey, according to Ray.
Let’s consider Step 1, or Specialisation. Specialisation is all about “finding your tribe,” i.e., working with the right clients.
What often happens when architects start their own practice is that they want to say ‘yes’ to everyone who inquires. However, that is not a sustainable way to grow a business. You cannot be all things to all people. Rather, an architect should find the people who they enjoy and feel most comfortable working with and market their services to them.
When it comes time to systemise, many architects forego it altogether. They fail to create systems in the three key areas of their business (finance, operations, and sales and marketing) that matter most. We suggest creating something akin to a board meeting in your business – a set time where key decision-makers can gather to talk strategically about the business.
Finally, there are crucial mistakes that occur when it comes time to scale.
Perhaps the most important mistake made in this step is the lack of a vision, Ray added.
Many architects try to grow their practice without having a clear idea of what they want the future to look like. All business owners should have an energising vision of the future, one that generates motivation and anticipation within the practice.
We’d like to thank Architizer for allowing us the opportunity to chat on their Mistakes Well Made Live Series. You can access a free replay of the event and read more about it here. If you’d like to learn more about how Archibiz can help you avoid some of these common mistakes, you can get in touch with us by filling out this form on our website.