This week’s interview is with Michael Kohn, CEO of Stickyworld.

Michael had been working as an architect in London when he realized that there was a need for a better and easier collaboration between stakeholders in the process of building. He created Stickyworld, a web- and mobile-based tool that enables projects to be shared, commented on and posted with virtual sticky notes attached directly to the images. The tool makes it easier for everyone to understand the discussion at hand, as well as to capture and evidence new insights from participants during the design and construction process.

Stickyworld has since evolved into a universal participation platform, serving individuals and organizations within and outside the AEC industry who seek to involve others in general online engagement discussions or structured participation processes.

Read on to learn how Michael combined his passion for architecture and computing, and how he built a business from these interests.

Enjoy the interview!

Could you tell us a little about your background?

I studied architecture at The Bartlett School of Architecture. But I had always been a little bit entrepreneurial. I built a house for my mum in my gap year, and after I had graduated I entered a lot of competitions for houses of the future.

As an architect, I was always looking for something slightly outside the norm, and I noticed my architectural concepts were verging more on product ideas than straight architecture. I thought of the architect’s role as an enabler to others to make space, rather than saying exactly how everything has to be. As a registered architect, I worked for Cullinan Studio on large building projects like universities and also masterplans.

I later returned to university to study computing: computational design, parametric, programming, and scripting. After I had finished my studies, I set up a computational design consultancy, selling specialist services to bigger practices whilst teaching professional studies at the University of London.

So, this period for me was a weird mix of part-time teaching the traditional practice of architecture to final year students, whilst myself, I was a total novice as entrepreneur, learning the ropes in tech entrepreneurship, mainly through winning funded research and innovation projects. I think I must be a continuous learner and that helps.

What made you decide to found Stickyworld?

In 2005 I cofounded a practice called Slider Studio together with Renee Puusepp. The practice is still running, although now only by Renee Puusepp. We studied computing together, and worked on 3D gaming technology as one of our technology ideas. We did a big project for the Birmingham City Council, delivered as a consultation gaming engine for a housing regeneration project.

The kids loved it because they could jump on a bus and look around and play swapping the architect’s designs around, rather than look at complicated architectural drawings. What we found, however, was that the adults didn’t really engage with the technology. Then somebody asked, “Why can’t I put a sticky note inside your virtual world like I can in the real world?” So that was where the inspiration and name for ‘Stickyworld’ came from.

We were also looking at how you can involve wider groups of people in feedback, discussions, and informing decisions.

There was an understanding that there was a big untapped market for technologies that involved those wider groups.

That didn’t necessarily mean citizens. For instance, when I was working in a practice it was really hard to get a client and the client’s clients and all those other stakeholders into one room so that you can get your drawings signed off and the team gets paid. We realized that there was a missing piece in the software market for technology that would focus exclusively on those wider groups.

How do you finance your startup? Any tips for our community on how you managed it?

It was a fairly normal method: At Slider Studio we took on some ‘normal’ architectural projects that kept us alive. In addition, I was teaching three days a week.

Then we started applying for research and technology grants and competitions. We won a couple of those, got some investments, and then Stickyworld was founded as a business. Since then, it’s been a mix of commercial sales and larger project work to develop the technology for clients and some more technology competition wins. It’s a real mix. You have to scrap in the startup world.

You developed a web- and mobile-based tool that allows more voices to be heard during the design and construction process. Could you give us some examples of how the tool is used and how it helps architectural practices?

Stickyworld gives a little bit more transparency to the types of issues that architects are grappling with. Because design is not a black and white thing, is it? It’s a negotiation.

And if you can get more conversations happening, it’s good for the whole process and for the design team because they get validation on what they are doing.

We’ve got an example where local authorities wanted to redesign the streets to improve conditions for cyclists and drivers. The architects used Stickyworld to present maps and photos of the existing area and engage citizens in conversation around what is good or bad, and what could be changed.

Next they followed up with a more formal consultation on their designs, and referencing how the design accommodates the original feedback. Our technology helps designers keep stakeholders informed and involved across all stages of the projects.

Some architects use Stickyworld for internal design reviews. If you are meeting a client face to face or on Skype but you want to share the drawings and have a discussion about those drawings after the meeting, then you can create what is called ‘rooms’ in Stickyworld. In these private rooms you invite your client – and they invite their family, their friends, whomever is involved – to review the drawings and then provide feedback for the design team.

Large contractors use Stickyworld for bid management. It’s a great solution for, say, bringing in 30 different experts into a room to offer feedback on strategies for sustainability and transport on large infrastructure projects. It also enables people to become more involved and share ideas across the platform to all stakeholders. So it’s a pretty wide-ranging tool for a deeper form of collaboration in design and construction.

So, you have quite breadth customers from different industries?

We do. At the moment, we’re trying to stick to the built environment as much as possible in terms of our marketing investment. Stickyworld is a collaboration platform for working with people who are not on your core team so we need to get the message out more.

There needs to be a shift in mindset away from the old ways of project management where everything was kept close to your chest and on a need-to-know basis. The understanding of risk is changing. If you don’t carry out your projects in a more inclusive and transparent way, all you’re doing is carrying that risk. Our customers are not defined by their sector but rather by their recognition of this risk, and the need to solve the problem of collaborating with their wider stakeholders.

The building industry is known for being slow to adapt to new technologies. What is your experience with this?

In the UK, the building industry operates on very low profit margins. It’s broadly measured by ‘start and stop’ capital projects and unlike those industries, like say manufacturing, which invest in continuous process improvement. Not surprising it has relatively low levels of investment in process research and development.

So bringing in new technology and software is hard. But when all the money is spent on delivering a capital project and little is invested in knowledge sharing across the business to drive growth and profit, you get this condition.

But the industry is changing. I went into a big contractor the other day and it was a room of 20 people, where 14 of them were architects. Architects are getting involved in organization wide innovation and sustainability, and they are employed directly by the contractor. I think that’s an interesting career move option for architects working in private practice, working for an international construction firm to get a different view of the industry.

A lot of architects don’t think like that, though. It goes against the ‘romance’ of architecture. But that is the reality. That pattern has been established. So, I think that many architectural practices have been slow to recognize and adopt the business and cultural change that is happening around them, and I know from experience that the education and the professional institutions sets things up too narrowly to maximize these choices for young architects.

They will probably continue to be slow to change for another five years, maybe even a decade, because of their established business model of delivering architectural services.

Speaking of the romance of architecture, what do you find the most fulfilling about archipreneurship, and what do you find the most challenging?

As an architect, I wanted to invent, to change things, and I had an instinct for R&D and investment in new ideas. But I found that, as a practicing architect there wasn’t the scope to do that in a small practice. Maybe in bigger practices there is a bit more scope, but it’s still very difficult to do.

What is fulfilling as an entrepreneur is that, once you’re doing your own thing, at the beginning you are your own boss and you are in charge. But soon after comes a realization that this is not quite true – you’re not actually in charge – your customers are in charge. And that’s the right way. You have to work for your customers every single day to help them get value else they won’t come back. So it’s incredibly hard work, but when customers say they like your product and recommend you to others – that is incredibly fulfilling.

Of course as an architect, if you work for a client, you like the client, have a good rapport with them, and they like your project that can be very fulfilling, too. The switch to entrepreneurship, or more specifically from being a consultant who offered design services, to being an entrepreneur running a product business, is that you have to change your mindset from one of working for one client or a handful of clients and maybe doing really novel and interesting projects, and to working for a larger number of customers, possibly hundreds and thousands and delivering a stable product or service so it works perfectly for them all.

That is a big change in thinking. It’s personally taken me a long time to get my head around and adjust my decision-making.

How has your architectural training helped you in the actual running of your businesses? What specific/transferable skills have proved the most useful?

There were some things I’ve had to unlearn. As I mentioned, I had to unlearn my perception of my role as a consultant to being a product person, and from working with clients to working with customers.

Architects do have great insight across many different aspects of projects, so that has been useful. As an architect, you can work on planning, policy, all the way to handing over a building and getting a sense of how that building functions. It has been useful to have insight of the full life cycle, but I think some of the things that I would naturally do as an architect, and sometimes still do, are maybe wrong.

I’ll give you an example. In the early days, I employed a lot of other architects who, like me, liked using technology. But what you actually need in the startup world is not lots of people who are the same, but lots of committed people with complementary skills.

I had to unlearn certain ways of working, bit by bit. To do that, I had to ask myself some hard questions: Who is my customer? What skills do I need to serve that customer? Who should be in my team? The reality is that you have to keep learning.

But on the plus side for architects, I think the creative/technical balance and the natural desire for knowledge, inherent to a lot of architects, has helped me and surely helped other archipreneurs to learn a different way of working.

Just because you started out as an architect doesn’t mean that you have to finish as an architect.

Do you have any advice for archipreneurs who want to start and build their own business?

If you are currently in a job, before you jump ship, go and read all the books you can and go to the tech community’s startup events. Not all companies are going to be tech companies, but they’ll all have tech as an element of their work. Whoever calls themselves archipreneurs will have tech in their lives. Go and mix with ideas and people outside of architecture. You’ll learn about yourself in the process. You’ll also learn whether you are ready to jump onto the startup rollercoaster.

Once you have some ideas bouncing around, find some cheap ways to test them out. Identify with and understand your customer as early as you can. Build a team whose skills you need to serve that customer. You are probably going to have to do all of it yourself until you find co-founders. There is no shortcut to this.

In which areas (outside of traditional practice) can you see major business opportunities for up and coming architects?

There are lots of opportunities in the industry. If you’re listening to and watching new developments and you’re savvy about the opportunities available, then you will be able to find out about the new things happening in the industry, often with big contractors. I see some architects changing how they’re delivering their service, and how much of a service they need to give in order to add value. I see a lot of architects becoming product designers.

All the star architects have a product and a brand. Those things may not be immediately possible or desirable for the majority of the smaller architects but I would recommend thinking of it like a pattern: if you understand what your skill is and where there is a gap in the market, then you can define what it is that you do.

I was talking to a friend of mine who works for a very big practice. He says, “We are becoming a little bit like a big design consultancy, more like an ad agency than a traditional architect. And we’ve got an international growth model,” and it’s happening because they’re listening closely to what their clients want and who their clients are. And that is key: if you want to be entrepreneurial then you have to look at the market. But you also need a sense for serving a customer or client base.

The traditional model of architecture, as I learned when I was at university, is that the architect is right, the architects sets the vision, and the architect tells everyone what the vision is. I think this is a dead idea, we have to move on. Some people will lament it but I think it’s a really good, healthy thing.

Why be constrained by the traditional norms of practice and what people told you architects should be? You have to redefine it in order to stay current and get the clients and customers you want.

About Michael Kohn

Michael Kohn is founder and CEO of Stickyworld Ltd, a visual customer collaboration platform that makes it easy for organizations to involve wide groups of people in making better products, services, buildings, places and cities together. Founded in 2010, Stickyworld has attracted a growing number of customers from local government, energy and utilities, construction, architecture and design sectors. A former architect, Michael’s career spans 20 years including award-winning concept design work, administration of multi-million pound construction projects, university research and lecturing, and collaborative technology.

Whilst Michael is no longer a practicing architect he likes to think that his work is contributing positively to a more user-centered design of the real world and his company has big growth plans for 2017.

The post Architect Turns Tech-Entrepreneur: How Michael Kohn Launched His Virtual Collaboration Tool Stickyworld appeared first on Archipreneur.

This week’s interview is with Alexis Dornier. Alexis started his career in architecture like many young architects do: working for starchitects. But Alexis always knew that he wanted to be his own boss.

In 2008 he started his industrial design firm M AD Ltd. Fed up with the saturated architecture market of the Western world, Alexis expanded his business to Bali where he found his niche. In addition to his architecture studio he founded a construction company that provides the infrastructure for his projects.

Alexis has completed a number of projects in Bali and around the world, among others the co-living space Roam and other hospitality projects that he not only designs but also develops and part owns.

Keep reading to learn how Alexis started his own business and the tips he has for young architects.

Enjoy the interview!

What made you decide to found M AD LIMITED? Was there a particular moment that sealed the decision for you?

From very early on I wanted to get a foot in the door and create small-scale interior design projects, furniture and products. But there is simply no chance to do architecture as a newbie. Working as an architectural slave in some corporate office for longer than necessary was a no go.

I needed the infrastructure and I founded my first company M AD Ltd. Now, after 10 years, we have a ‘real’ architecture studio and a construction company that provides the infrastructure to operate in various scales and fields of development, hospitality and creativity.

You explored the fields of PR and Advertising before you studied Architecture and then worked for starchitects. Which skills that you learned along your way proved the most helpful for starting your own business?

Architecture, just like any creative discipline, is ultimately a form of communication. You communicate through what you create – unconsciously or consciously – and bring something to the respondent or viewer: feelings, statements, personal attitudes, interests, agendas, intentions, and meanings. You create symbols to inspire others, to give them ideas.

There is no difference between designing a house, a chair, an advertisement campaign, a logo, a movie or a piece of music. It’s only the parameters that differ from creation to creation, such as responsibilities, budgets and clients. We are somehow always dancing a thin line between personal agenda and service ­like diplomats, managing expectations that are both our own and those of others. We mediate and mix these, like a chef creates a dish. We want to override the disconnect between what we want and what others want. This disconnect is what drives me in what I do.

You call your practice ‘method-based architecture.’ Could you elaborate on that?

What interests me is the lead-up to an outcome – it interests me even more than the outcome itself. Imagine a movie consisting of only the final act – not too inspiring. Same with the people you meet. The experiences that shape people’s character is what inspires me. The countless stories and experiences both good and bad that influenced their personality, their aura, and what they have to say. The same can be said for architecture.

A method is a narrative, as is a program and a sequence of decisions that have been taken along the linear path of time, whether they were made unconsciously, consciously or intuitively. ‘Method’ sounds dry but it is the most beautiful, exciting and inspiring thing. And it is somewhat explainable. Methods are always changing from task to task, and we choose the methods that feel best at a particular moment in time.

Imagine the divisions of architecture as martial arts styles. Frank Gehry would be the ambassador of wrestling, OMA taekwondo, Louis Khan boxing, and Zaha Hadid the master of judo. Mies van der Rohe might be a samurai, and Calatrava a master of jujutsu. Each of them has cultivated their own way, philosophy, intention, meaning, technique and agenda – and ultimately method, before stepping into the ring.

What interests me is in using a combination of those methods whenever we have a specific task or need to fulfill a condition.

I believe that architecture is a little like mixed martial arts – clearly the strongest fighters are those that are able to adapt, and are not attached to the style that they have mastered. Simply put, they will do what is necessary or available to succeed.

Most of your projects are located in Bali, for instance the recently completed Origami House. What are the challenges of working in Bali, what is completely different there from Western architecture?

It is all about managing expectations. I have to be a diplomat; someone who mediates between personal expectation and reality. Patience is key, as is the willingness to be inspired by different cultures, energies and philosophies. Working in another culture is ultimately about finding the sweet spot between surrendering to their methods while also pushing your dreams, your passions and agenda.

Do you work on these projects from your Berlin office or do you have to be on site?

I am mostly travelling or at my studio in Bali. The Western world at this moment in time feels overwhelming for architecture. Too many people are doing the same thing in a saturated environment where nothing is really needed – at least to the scale that I am operating.

To start a career in a saturated environment, you have to be extremely talented, extremely rich or extremely lucky. None of the above applied to me, so life led me to a place where is actual stuff to do. I never found it a joyful though to work in someone else’s office for a long time, wearing Corbusier specs and black. I simply thought that would be a waste of energy and lifetime.

Last year you completed the co-living space Roam in Ubud, Bali. Could you tell us a little about the project?

We converted a run-down apartment complex into a co-living environment. Co-living is noble because it suggests that what you do for a living is something you love – not work. Work implies burdens, struggles, 9-5 jobs, endurance and hustling. It has a very egotistical underpinning where you have to work in order to get to somewhere better – an uninspiring way to live.

Living on the contrary more flexible. It can be shaped how you want it to be. You don’t just live in order to get somewhere. You live to enjoy and to have fun; shape things to how you want them to be. So you shape available space and time according to your needs.

At Roam, we offer simple and humble facilities to do so. Of course, it’s done in a way that you can meet people and engage. Meeting people piques your curiosity. When you are curious, you learn new things and get a feel for your role in the universe, reflect on and combine thoughts, and create new ideas.

Do you think co-living is a sustainable form of living?

It depends. Co-living is eco-sustainable in that you share things. If you share stuff, you don’t need as much than if everyone had their own car, kitchen or living room. The less we consume, the better. The smaller our footprint is, the less energy we consume, and so on. But what I find most sustainable about this way of living together is that you are constantly inspiring, reflecting and exchanging. In the best case co-living can inspire you to come up with new ideas on how to solve today’s challenges. It’s great for finding ways to wake people up and remind them that they can live their own life the way they are meant to be living it.

What are you working on right now?

In terms of architecture we are working on an organic restaurant and hostel project in Miami, a healing retreat center in Ubud, a housing development, an eco surf resort, a few residential projects and an extension of a museum.

We just opened two vegetarian restaurants, a barbershop and a home stay renovation – we are part owners for all of these projects. We are working on building out our PR and development agency in Bali to support other startups, companies and individuals.

Do you have any advice for archipreneurs who are interested in starting their own business?

As architects, we have learned to be systematical. We have learned to provide a service but are also interested in using architecture as an individual outlet or medium to manifest our own agendas.

If there is anything I have to say to architects, it would be to really use the skill set that they have, and to see that anything has a structure whatever the scale, scope or idea might be behind it. Everything with a structure follows universal rules. To make any idea come true, we need to apply structure. Do other things in addition to architecture, like part owning what you build. It’s a good feeling.

It’s about the fun – and the method – that this process brings along. Go cross-disciplinary. Cooking is like architecture, as well as music. Stop wasting time creating a ‘signature’ because it is egotistical and outdated. That was for those dusty masters. Now there is a new concept – to understand that everything is alike.

How do you see the future of the architectural profession? In which areas (outside of traditional practice) can you see major opportunities for up and coming developers and architects?

Architecture for most people is hard to comprehend or even notice it. We are surrounded by built environments almost all the time and no one, except maybe architects, really acknowledges it. There is something wrong with that – there is a disconnect. Architecture has to find ways to bridge that gap so that people can actually help to shape the world and really engage with architecture. It is about finding out new methods.

As of now architecture is still such a dusty, abstract, so-called sophisticated profession; even young architects look the same in their uniforms looking for their own brand, their own so-called sophisticated way. I include all the grasshoppers too – liquid shapes done by stiff people. I include myself here, for some of our completed projects. It does not require being meaningful. Meaning refers to engaging with other disciplines in a hands-on way.

Architects should be writing pieces of music, rather than creating another variation on the Barcelona Pavilion or some other unnecessary knock-off. They should liberate themselves, look beyond the immobility of the profession and start having a little fun. Crisis is good. It’s a wake up call.

About Alexis Dornier

Alexis Dornier was born in Germany in 1981, where he grew up under the constant influence of aviation and engineering. After exploring the fields of PR and Advertising, he studied Architecture at the University of Fine Arts Berlin and the Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan in Stockholm. He worked in New York City as an architectural designer at Asymptote Architecture, OMA NY, and REX in 2004–2007.

Alexis started his industrial design firm M AD LIMITED in 2008 and graduated with his thesis entitled The Pool, which was awarded the prestigious Max Taut Prize 2009.

Alexis is now consulting on a number of architectural projects of different scales in various countries. He part owns a number of startup businesses and projects in the field of hospitality.

The post Breaking the Mold in Architecture with Alexis Dornier appeared first on Archipreneur.

Greg’s career as an entrepreneur has gone in various directions. He is the co-owner of a camera equipment rental business in Portland, he created the brand and online shop antler&co selling bookshelves, hangers, and mobiles all made of (you guessed it) deer antlers, and his ironic product Campfire Cologne, a box of sticks that smell like “your best summer ever” is sold at various retailers worldwide, including Urban Outfitters.

When Greg came across The Jennings Hotel in Joseph, Oregon, it was love at first sight. He bought the century-old building in 2014 and launched a Kickstarter campaign to redevelop the building – then a mess of run-down apartments and offices – back to its former beauty as an eight-room hotel and artist residency.

Greg brought together seven artists and designers to each transform one of the hotel’s rooms. As an experienced builder and having built his own cabin, Greg did most of the remodeling work himself and transformed the eighth room.

Keep reading to learn from this self-proclaimed “dreamer-entrepreneur” and see images of the redeveloped Jennings Hotel.

Enjoy the interview!

Could you tell us a little about your background?

There’s no single thread, I just chase what excites me and see if I can make it work. I started my first business – a photo equipment rental shop – in 2006, then built a brand called antler&co, created campfire cologne, co-founded a holiday market (the Portland bazaar) and now work full time on the Jennings. Somewhere in there I built the cabin, too.

You raised money on Kickstarter to transform an over 100-year-old hotel in Joseph, Oregon, to its former beauty. Can you tell us a little about your process to get the crowdfunding campaign going?

It was a lot of work and it was very collaborative. I worked with my friend Leah Brown on the video and talked a ton to other folks I know who’d run kickstarter campaigns. No one had ever tried what I was doing, so it was a bit of a risk, but the results were wonderful and the feedback I got was all very positive. It took about 6-8 months of preparation and shooting.

Did you raise this money for the whole remodeling project, and was it enough?

The campaign was for general remodeling costs, but I knew from the get go it wouldn’t be anywhere close to what I’d need in total. I wanted to be realistic about my goal, which was $80,000 ­– I raised $107,070 – and exceeding it by 33% felt spectacular.

What was the biggest challenge in the redevelopment process?

The challenges continue, but in my case it has been labor. I’ve been doing most of the work myself out of necessity, but this winter I’ll be hiring a couple folks to help me get shit done and hopefully be more or less fully operational by late spring 2017.

The Jennings hotel is now open for business. How is it working out; are you happy with the result?

It’s working great. I’ve got an amazing innkeeper, and it’s been incredible meeting and connecting with the folks who’ve come to stay.

What is your next project? Are you planning another real estate project?

The $64,000 question. I’m working on starting a folk school in Joseph and I’m always looking at other potential hospitality projects, both in Oregon and elsewhere.

Do you have any advice for Archipreneurs who want to start and build their own business?

Dream big, be realistic, do good work, be nice, make cool shit, know your limits and sharpen your pencil.

About Greg Hennes

Greg Hennes is a wild haired, serial dreamer-entrepreneur. When he’s not swinging a hammer at The Jennings Hotel, you can find him running around in the mountains or trying to ride a moose at his cabin in Northern Minnesota.

The post How to Redevelop a 100-Year-Old Hotel through Crowdfunding – with Greg Hennes appeared first on Archipreneur.

Architects in general have a tendency to underestimate the importance of marketing in creating and running a successful business. Even those who claim to understand the role of marketing in acquiring clients and building relationships, they often fail to fully utilize its potentials. Principals of small architecture firms often get caught up in trying to keep their practices afloat and end up treating marketing as a luxury that they will be able to afford once they achieve stability, thus missing the true role of marketing as being a catalyst for growth. Architects need to apply marketing to their practices from the onset and treat it with the same amount of dedication as they do with their floor plans, sections and 3D models of their building designs.

Marketing is a complex discipline, but its fundamentals can be broken down to a few simple concepts. As long as you keep these in mind at all times, your marketing efforts will be more successful, and easy to analyze and adjust. You need to be able to answer these three relatively easy questions and communicate them effectively to your audience:

Who are You?

In order to define your place in the industry and your target demographic, you need to determine who you are and what you do. Vague phrases about quality services, multidisciplinarity and “cutting-edge design” on your About Us page will not provide any useful information on what your company actually does. What do you stand for? How is this vision reflected in your office culture, design, and the type of projects you take on?

What Need Do You Fulfill?

Answering this requires you to formulate a value proposition. A value proposition explains how your service or product can help to solve your client’s problem and must be formulated in a concise and clear way, showing concrete results where possible. Even if you offer great value, if you fail to communicate it, your business will not attract new clients.

How are You Different?

Being able to differentiate yourself from your competition is a huge advantage. This is not easy, but your efforts have to go beyond mere sound bites. It can be achieved either by simply offering services in a more organized, client-oriented and reliable way, or by creating a unique, game-changing product or service.

Once you can answer these three questions, your marketing efforts basically filter into four-step process:

1. Attracting potential clients
2. Converting visitors to leads
3. Closing the deal
4. Cultivating relationships

These steps may seem straightforward, but there are several schools of thought on how to apply them. With the recent widespread adoption of social media and online tools, marketing has expanded to exciting new ways that architects can engage with and build an audience, and then successfully convert them to leads.

Today’s users have much more control of their media, and this has leveled the “marketing playfield” by offering businesses the opportunity to organically reach audiences by using relatively affordable channels and winning them over with engaging content. This phenomenon has introduced the concept of  “inbound marketing,” which contrasts with the traditional “outbound marketing” in almost every significant way.

Before coming to a verdict as to which is better, let’s see what each entails:

Outbound Marketing

Outbound marketing includes traditional advertising practices, cold calling, email and newsletter blasts, sponsorship, and word-of-mouth referrals, to name a few. It is generally known as an interruptive marketing practice that has become less effective in the last few decades. Spam protection tools and blocking techniques, along with the development of new communication trends through social media, have empowered users and limited many of the elements of outbound marketing.

Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing embraces new media tools, and promotes creating and sharing content that appeals to specific demographics. Publishing the right content at the right moment is at the core of inbound marketing. It focuses on building communities and relies on organic search traffic. It uses blogs, social media, calls-to-action and landing pages to convert visitors to leads.

Data is also an important element of inbound marketing as it uses surveys and social monitoring to find out where your target audiences are and what they want.

***

Most architecture firms will not have to choose between inbound and outbound marketing. Despite hyperbole from proponents of both concepts, they actually work best in combination. You will probably need to keep sending out newsletters and press releases, publishing in magazines, and attending seminars and conferences. However, inbound marketing will allow you to track your return on investment (ROI) more easily, and thus build your reputation. Just remember, there is no single marketing solution that works for everyone.

To learn more about how some of the leading architecture firms use social media, networking, blogging and other marketing tools, check out Archipreneur’s book on new business models for architects, “The Archipreneur Concept”.

The post How to Grow Your Architecture Firm through Marketing appeared first on Archipreneur.

The ethos of being an archipreneur merges that of entrepreneurship and architecture, and often involves scenarios unlikely to play out in the conventional architectural business milieu. A number of relatively new challenges present themselves to those running architecture-related companies based innovative business models.

We’ve looked at the experiences of the growing number of archipreneurs and noticed a common thread that allows them to combine creativity with business savviness. The following 10 guidelines are meant to help archipreneurs approach obstacles and difficulties with the right mindset.

#1 – Design your Business Model

Apply the same amount of rigueur and time to devising your business plan as you do designing a building. Prove wrong the old stereotype that claims architects are bad at business. You understand the process of building; you can crunch numbers and produce great designs. Apply these problem-solving skills to your enterprise.

#2 – Be Clear on What You Want

How will your business grow if you don’t know which way you’re heading? You need to be aware of the direction in which you’d like to steer your enterprise. Pivoting is alright, but make sure not to get lost in resolving the day-to-day issues, thus losing sight of the main goal.

#3 – Know Your Value

Architectural design services account for an extremely small percentage of a project’s total value. This has to change. Don’t sell yourself short and learn how to state your price. It might be difficult to turn down projects when you’re struggling to pay the bills, but the long-term benefits of getting clients to meet your rate will make you a better business owner and will ultimately raise the standard for the entire profession.

#4 – Don’t Wait for Clients, Find Them

Waiting for clients is a typical occurrence in conventional architecture firms. It is one of the most important reasons why many of them fail during the first few years of existence. The main trademark of archipreneurs in that they don’t wait to be approached by clients in order to work. They create opportunities instead of waiting for them. For example, if they want to build their projects, successful archipreneurs choose to become developers, and organize co-housing initiatives. There are plenty of ways to become a self-starter.

#5 – Network

Networking is one of the most important aspects of running a business. The same applies in archipreneurship. Get to know the people working in the industry, particularly in your specific niche. Find out who your audience is and reach out to them by attending events where you’re likely to meet them. Join or organize podcasts, and collaborate with other archipreneurs.

#6 – Differentiate Yourself

The competition is tough in the AEC industry. Find a way to differentiate yourself from the rest of the companies that operate in your niche. Define your value proposition and make sure to communicate it clearly to prospective clients.

Differentiation goes deeper than website design. The most important thing that will separate you is offering something people need and have a clear use for. Transform your services and products into value instead of cost.

#7 – Utilize New Technologies

Architecture may be slow in adopting new technologies, but it is definitely happening. Be at the forefront of this trend and use new tech solutions to become faster, smarter and more attractive to clients. Optimize fabrication and manufacturing with CNC machines and 3D printing, speed up design by creating procedures with powerful software, embrace smart home technologies, or become an expert in sustainable technologies.

#8 – Don’t Complain

Whining will get you nowhere. Furthermore, it can only get people around you down and create a negative atmosphere. All archipreneurs go through rough patches. Keeping an optimistic attitude will encourage and motivate your employees.

#9 – Hire Problem Solvers

Talent and intelligence are always great traits for employees to have, but they have to be coupled with an ability to get things done. Small and mid-sized firms in particular depend on the agility and problem-solving skills of every single person on the team.

#10 – Learn Constantly

In order to innovate and stay competitive, archipreneurs have to keep up with the latest trends relating to their industry. Learn from your mistakes and your competition’s failures, let your employees teach you, have at least a general knowledge of every segment of your business.

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Those who want to advance their careers in conventionally run architecture practices have an abundance of information to choose from. The common route for architects requires information on how to deal with internships, get first jobs, understand and utilize office hierarchies, negotiate with clients, network and work with mentors. But most of these relate to the old ways of practicing architecture.

While they are still relevant and predominant, the proliferation of achipreneurship is showing that there are better, more efficient, and smarter ways to approach each of these issues. Archipreneurs interested in being in-charge of their professional life, willing to take risks and challenge the status-quo need to cultivate a fresh, analytical approach to business and apply it both in their designs and enterprises.

Which other rules should archipreneurs follow? What is the most important thing that shaped you as an archipreneur?

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