For decades the architectural business model has remained unchanged. While other industries have taken cues from the increasingly popular start-up mentality seen in the technology sector, architects have stuck to the outmoded practice of trading time for dollars. In a competitive global economy, this model is highly susceptible to changes in the real estate market and has limited opportunities for growth. These realities have propelled some architecture graduates to consider alternative career paths in which their unique skillset offers them a competitive advantage.

In contrast to the current business model of most architecture firms, we’ve gathered nine examples of architects who have created innovative products and services. These endeavors offer numerous advantages when it comes to growing a business because unlike the consulting model, product creation is highly scalable and has the potential to provide a continuous passive income stream.

#1 – Frank O. Gehry

Established in 2002, Gehry’s proprietary software and consulting business Gehry Technologies was developed to adapt technology used in the aerospace and automotive industries to complex architectural forms. Not only has Gehry Technologies played an integral role in developing the architect’s signature style, it has also provided consulting services for Herzog and de Meuron’s Beijing National Stadium, Ateliers Jean Nouvel’s Louvre Abu Dhabi and many others.

#2 – Bjarke Ingels Group

Bjarke Ingels has achieved tremendous success in his own architectural practice, but that has not stopped him from exploring new avenues for design and product creation. In a joint endeavor involving Friday Lab, BIG, and d line, Ingels has taken inspiration from the saddle roof for the design of a lock that seamlessly pairs with your smartphone. With technology playing an increasingly important role in our daily lives, the Friday Smart Lock is just the beginning of a technological revolution in architecture that could dramatically expand the reach of the profession.

#3 – Jonathan Segal

Jonathan Segal has taken a unique approach to his architectural career by developing a vertically integrated business model for architecture. By pursuing a successful career as a developer, Segal does what so many architects dream of doing and is able to finance and design his own projects. Additionally, Segal has capitalized on his unique success in a hybrid career and set out to educate others through his Architects as Developer Seminar series.

#4 – MIMA Lab

Marta Brandão and Mário Sousa have utilized their design expertise to capitalize on an old idea: prefabricated modular housing concepts. All too often, attempts to monetize the production of prefabricated homes have resulted in less than stellar architectural results. Fortunately, the two concept homes produced by MIMA Lab, the MIMA House and the MIMA Essential, have come a long way from the likes of Levittown. Brandão and Sousa will bring high end design to the masses, using their architectural expertise to create a growing business.

#5 – Eric Reinholdt

Eric Reinholdt first realized his desire to build something of his own when a troubled economy forced him to take a pay cut while working for a small six-person firm. At that moment he learned what so many others fail to realize, that being employed by someone else does not necessarily mean job security. By founding his own design practice, 30X40 Design Workshop, Reinholdt now has the freedom to choose his own hours and experiment with alternative business models such as selling floor plans by the bundle. Reinholdt has also written a book based on his experiences entitled Architect + Entrepreneur, in which he hopes to elicit positive changes in the industry.

#6 – Greg Henderson

Ever since he was in graduate school, architect Greg Henderson has sought to develop technologies to make buildings more resistant to natural disasters such as earthquakes. His research brought him to further investigate the possibilities of Magnetic Field Architecture and he has since realized the opportunity to develop an exciting retail product: the world’s first hoverboard. His 19-person startup Arx Pax has been working to improve the product for the past several years and is currently involved in a Kickstarter campaign to further fund its development.

#7 – Compaan and Labeur

The B-AND-BEE project began after two design firms, Compaan and Labeur, won a creative competition to design a temporary housing solution for music festivals. They subsequently teamed up with Achilles Design and One Small Step to begin product development which involved focus groups, prototyping and testing. Their innovative solution involves stacking honeycomb shaped sleeping-pods that can be easily transported and disassembled. Having already undergone pilot testing at several music festivals, the team hopes to begin mass production.

#8 – Architecture 00

Established in 2005, Architecture 00 focuses on action-led research and urban design strategy while seeking to develop innovative and collaborative processes to alter the built environment. One of their newest endeavors, entitled Wikihouse, brings the concepts of open source technology used in coding and software development and applies them to architecture and construction. This system uses digital manufacturing to enable anyone to download and “print” their own kit of parts for a customized, low-cost, and high performance house.

#9 – Archilogic

Architects are increasingly reliant on digital tools to visualize and develop complex spaces, and yet, so much of our physical world only exists in two dimensions when it comes to the digital realm. Made up of a team of professionals from a vast array of backgrounds including architecture, applied computer science, 3D computer visualization, strategy, finance, legal, and marketing, Archilogic aims to reproduce our physical environments wholly and fully in the digital world. With their combined expertise they are poised to offer digital modeling services that will be in high demand as 3D digital environments become prevalent.

***

Beginning your own start-up practice may seem like a daunting task, but it begins with one simple idea. Many of the architects discussed in this list began by discovering a perceived problem or need, and subsequently considered how architecture or design could offer a solution. It is important to remember that it is very difficult to get anything right on the first try, and therefore lean start-up methodology is an essential approach.

This methodology begins with developing a minimum viable product and selling it to consumers. The key to this method is not investing heavily in one idea, but to test it in the marketplace using real consumers. Upon successful feedback from those consumers, one can proceed to build on those ideas and scale up. To learn more about this methodology, consider reading The Lean Startup by Eric Ries.

What ideas do you have for architectural products? Tell us in the comment section below.

The post Branching Out: 9 Architects Who Created Innovative Products appeared first on Archipreneur.

Eric’s career as an architect initially followed that well-trodden path many architects are familiar with. After being awarded his professional degree, he went on to an internship, before gaining his licensure and finally starting work in an architectural practice. Eric had spent most of his working life doing the “8-5”.

For Eric, the feeling of working for someone else felt like an existence that was at least sustainable and reliable. But he always had a wish to one day have his own practice. Eric believed, however, that the idea was reserved for an indeterminate time far in the future, a time when he knew that there would be plenty of work available, and that he would be ready for it. His decision not to take action was dominated by the part inside of him reserved for the survival and protection of his family and finances.

How to Start an Architectural Practice from Scratch?

In early 2013, shortly before he turned forty, Eric’s employer had to cut salaries across the firm by 20%. The choice was either to work for no pay on Fridays, or to pursue work elsewhere on that day of the week. This was the time Eric finally decided to ignore the protesting from his inner voice telling him to always take the safer option and started researching how to start his own business.

He began searching for a handbook or step-by-step guide that would help him to get started. But the publications he found were either uninspired or completely outdated. Everything he found, including AIA (American Institute of Architects) publications, seemed filled with fusty descriptions that belonged more to the past than the future of architectural entrepreneurship. So he turned instead to online resources, finding blogs, forums and articles on the Internet that were of much more use to him.

Two years on, and Eric successfully started up his design business, 30X40 Design Workshop. He has detailed everything he learned on the way in a new book, Architect + Entrepreneur. Eric says it is the handbook he would have needed when he first opened his own design practice.

Part narrative, part business book, Architect + Entrepreneur is filled with contemporary, relevant, refreshing tips and advice from Eric’s path to building his business. These are tips that worked for him, as he says in the first sentence of his book:

“Opening my business has been the best career decision of my life” – Eric Reinholdt

Using the Lean Start-up Methodology to Create a Design Business

The concept of the book is that the reader adapts the lean start-up methodology to the founding of his or her own design venture and to create a “minimum viable” product – something like a rough sketch of your business – to achieve business success right from the get go.

The lean start-up methodology is what Eric Reinholdt emphasizes the reader uses when starting a design firm because it specifically looks for ways to avoid spending money on things that aren’t important, and focusing instead on what matters.

The handbook encourages that the potential business owner takes successive small wins that, brought together, support the grander vision for the company as a whole. This sentiment can be summarized in Eric’s statement, “think big, start small, and learn fast.”

12 Things you Will Learn from the Book

The book is structured into 12 separate chapters, each packed with useful, hands-on information on how to start a design firm. The following list summarizes the key things you will learn from the book:

• How to foster an entrepreneurial mindset and prepare to start your business while still keeping your day job.
• How to choose the business model that’s right for your design business.
• Tools and ideas to define the brand and “story” of your start-up.
• How to define your USP and set up a marketing strategy for it.
• How to use online Email marketing, social media and SEO to market your business.
• What to have in mind when getting hired by clients and how to communicate effectively with them.
• How to structure your contracts and fees to get paid what you are worth.
• Basic principles of finance and taxes you will need to consider when starting your design firm.
•  The essentials you will need to outfit your dream studio.
• An in-depth breakdown of your total start-up cost.
• How to implement Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to work the most efficiently.
• What software you should use in order to produce your best work.

Building a business isn’t a single action – it’s a series of small steps. Eric’s book will give you the outline for you to start planning today. The chapters are organized to guide you from your initial idea, to taking action on it. Rather than write a business plan, you’ll be challenged to craft a brand, one that you’ll then start to sell through clever use of new technologies and media.

Have I piqued your curiosity?

About the author

Award-winning architect Eric Reinholdt has built his design practice, 30X40 Design Workshop, using the methodology outlined in this book. He has successfully transitioned from employee to architectural entrepreneur and continues to refine his brand message, help other architects build their independent practices and serve his clients… all from a longhouse he designed himself on Mount Desert Island just off the coast of Maine.

The post Architect+Entrepreneur: A Field Guide to Building, Branding, and Marketing Your Startup Design Business appeared first on Archipreneur.