Entrearchitect Podcast With Mark R. Lepage

Working Toward an Equitable Future in Architecture This week, the Chair of the AIA National Equity in Architecture Commission, Emily Grandstaff-Rice, FAIA, shares an update on the work that the commission has done to promote equity and diversity in the profession of architecture. How is the AIA working to make the changes needed to have the profession of architecture more accurately represent the society in which we live? What’s planned for a more equitable future? This week on EntreArchitect podcast, Working Toward an Equitable Future in Architecture with Emily Grandstaff-Rice, FAIA. For Emily’s origin story, visit Episode 014. Boston Society of Architects Though Emily had never been the chair of a board of directors this size, at the beginning of this journey she jumped right in and got to meet the mayor of Boston and the mayor of Rome. During her tenure as President of the BSA, she became more comfortable in the public eye and developed leadership skills that she hadn’t encountered in he

Finding MyCORBU with Rick Wolnitzek Retired from the profession and finding himself eager to give back, today’s guest has partnered with a developer to create an app that helps small firm architects manage their time and money. After a long journey, he’s launching the product he wishes he had when he was the owner of his own small architecture firm. This week on EntreArchitect podcast, Finding MyCORBU with Rick Wolnitzek. Introduction Rick Wolnikzek is an architect based in northern Kentucky outside of Cincinnati and the creator of ArchitekWiki, a blog for small firms covering ideas, information, links, procedures, checklists, details and more to help young architects work productively and effectively. He’s also the founder of MyCORBU, a bookkeeping software specifically for architects. Origin Story In high school, Rick knew he wanted to be an architect. The idea of creating things like tunnels and camps as a kid pushed him toward the idea. He planned to go to the University of Cincinnati,

The Entrepreneur Architect Series featuring Michele Grace Hottel At EntreArchitect, you’re encouraged to share your knowledge. When we share with other architects, we all benefit. We are able to learn from one another and the profession will grow. One of the goals of EntreArchitect is to provide a platform for other entrepreneur architects to share their stories. After 162 episodes, we think we’ve succeeded with that goal. Join us for a new series called The Entrepreneur Architect, where each guest has the opportunity to share their story and answer some questions that will provide value to each of you. This week on EntreArchitect podcast, The Entrepreneur Architect Series featuring Michele Grace Hottel. Origin Story Michele has been practicing architecture at her own firm, Michele Grace Hottel Architects, since 1994 and is licensed in California and Texas. She is a commissioner and subject matter expert for California Architects board and the City of La Mesa planning commissioner. As an active m

The Pain, the Passion, and the Process of Becoming a Young Architect Let’s dive deep into what it means to be a young architect and what it takes to get licensed. This week at EntreArchitect Podcast, Michael Riscica of YoungArchitect.com shares The Pain, the Passion, and the Process of Becoming a Young Architect. Origin Story Michael is based in Portland, Oregon is the founder of YoungArchitect.com. You can hear more about his bike journey from one side of the US to the other, plus how to get licensed and pass the ARE, check out his last podcast appearance.   Young Architect Michael started Young Architect about three years ago after he got his license, with inspiration from Mark and many other bloggers serving their community. The mission has always been to help students, ARE candidates, young architects and other candidates be more successful. More recently he’s been talking more about how to share his mission and beliefs with others. Many young architects really need to be their own advoc

SketchUp for Architects SketchUp is a great tool for small firm architects to quickly develop 2D ideas into full, 3D models. It’s not BIM and it may not be super efficient for our whole workflow, but when used as a quick way to develop concepts, to share ideas with colleagues or to present to a client early on, that’s where SketchUp thrives. There are few programs better suited. This week at EntreArchitect Podcast, SketchUp for Architects with Mike LaValley, founder of EvolvingArchitect.com. Mike’s Origin Story Mike has always known that he wanted to be an architect, aside from brief childhood memories of wanting to be a mad scientist. He grew up playing with legos and making things, and eventually found his way to architecture. He graduated from Syracuse University with a bachelor’s of architecture and settled down in Buffalo, New York. He’s been through several different jobs, but is now designing spaces for K-12 schools to help kids learn and grow. After earning his license i

Questions from the EntreArchitect Community As an active community of entrepreneur architects, we’ve come together to build better businesses. We’re working together to build a better profession. Every day, we see the willingness to share our collective knowledge every day on the EntreArchitect Facebook Group. Members are sharing their struggles and not only are they benefiting as individuals, but each business is growing stronger every day. This week at EntreArchitect Podcast, Mark R. LePage answers Questions from the EntreArchitect Community. For initial client meetings on a domestic project, do you let the client take the lead with their requirements/ideas/tour of the house while drinking coffee or do you take control with a meeting agenda? While everyone does their own thing, and you kind of have to figure out what works best for you. Here’s how Mark typically does things: The initial meeting process starts with a telephone call to manage the client’s expectations. Use a form to m

Compensation Strategies for Architects How do you get paid? How to you structure your fees as an architect? Architects love to talk about this topic! This week at EntreArchitect Podcast, Mark R. LePage shares his Compensation Strategies for Architects. Note: This episode is about how Mark structure’s the compensation strategies for his own firm. These strategies work for him. You should structure your fees in ways that work best for you and your firms. Entrearchitect.com has lots of information on understanding fees, how to be profitable, and how to figure out what your fee should be. Inspired by the EntreArchitect Facebook Group Our Facebook group is active with architects throughout the world. Everyone can share successes and failures in an open, transparent forum that’s private for only those who are in the group. It’s free to join, but you must be an architecture student or architect of any type and any size firm. Every week, Mark and other EntreArchitect Facebook group members post se

Getting Noticed Through Fun Projects This week, you can hear the story of two young architects coming together to build their dream. These guys survived the recession by developing a company creating BIM objects for manufacturers, then designing and building tiny houses which led to getting noticed by media. Now, they’re launching their newest projects: a book, a podcast, and an architect-as-developer project. They’re not waiting for permission, they’re just getting it done. This week at EntreArchitect Podcast, Getting Noticed Through Fun Projects with Lance Cayko and Alex Gore of F9 Productions Inc. Origin Story Growing up in North Dakota, Lance always remembers constructing things with legos and drawing in his sketch book. When he was 13, he started working on the family farm and lasted a whole year. After that, he worked with a friend’s dad replacing roofs. While he didn’t take school very seriously, he loved building and wanted to become a contractor. He attended North Dako

Modern Architecture and Design for the Masses Throughout the profession, a common theme we hear is how to leverage what we do as architects. How can we leverage what we do for the good of more people? How can we take our unique skills and talents and use them to better serve the entire population? How do we benefit all of society as architects? This week at EntreArchitect Podcast, Modern Architecture and Design for the Masses with Ben Uyeda of HomeMade Modern. Ben’s Origin Story Ben grew up in Southern California and remembers buying a raft out of two liter soda bottles after reading Huckleberry Finn. Design was something he found he was able to do by combining adventure with resourcefulness when there wasn’t access to something or you couldn’t afford to buy it. He attended Cornell University for both undergrad and his Masters, where he quickly learned that architecture is a little bit more than just building cool stuff. He loved the strong subculture within the university that really imme

The Architect Specialist This week on the podcast we have an architect pursuing his dreams, following his passions, serving a market outside the traditional design studio business model and building a successful company. This week at EntreArchitect Podcast, The Architect Specialist with Alan Stein of Tanglewood Conservatories. Alan’s Origin Story As a kid, Alan always loved building things in his dad’s workshop out of anything he could think of. He loved to draw after being enrolled in some anatomical drawing classes; the idea of bringing life to something on a page was fascinating to him. Much later in life, he did a lot of wood working, home construction and cabinet making. He recognized that his skill as a craftsman was lacking the design side. He went through the architecture program at the University of Maryland and graduated with a degree as an architect. Because he loved making things himself, he didn’t love the traditional architecture path. After working with a design-build firm, he

Developing Specifications for Small Projects How do you put together specifications for your projects as a small firm architect? Do you put them on drawings? Do you use a separate project manual? Should you use outline specifications? What are the different options for small firm architects putting together construction documents for a small project? Is there anything out there to make this process easier? This week at EntreArchitect Podcast, Bill Jannott from ARCAT.com discusses Developing Specifications for Small Projects and the Future of Technology! Bill’s Origin Story When Bill was growing up, his dad was running Sweets catalogs publishing building and construction materials. Following that, he created the Architect’s Catalog in 1991 with just a few sales reps. One thing led to another, and Bill ended up taking a position with ARCAT.com, then a small website with only 13 pages. Aside from the home page, there were 12 pages of specifications that architects could access and use in their projec

How to Succeed as a Married Couple in Architecture “Being a married couple in architecture may be the most difficult,  the most satisfying and the most successful approach at being small firm architects. It’s not always easy and it’s not always pretty, but I wouldn’t trade my life as an architect with my wife and partner Annmarie for anything. How we’ve established our roles and responsibilities for both our firm and our family is how we’ve become successful.” This week at EntreArchitect Podcast, Mark R. LePage speaks with Claire and Cavin Costello from The Ranch Mine to share their story about How to Succeed as a Married Couple in Architecture. Cavin’s Origin Story Cavin is originally from Connecticut and attended Northeastern University for his undergraduate and graduate degree while working over two years in firms in Connecticut and Boston. After graduating, he felt a change was necessary and he packed up and moved to Phoenix, Arizona. A friend introduced hi

How to Pursue Your Passion as a Small Firm Architect Most architects are born dreamers, but we tend to be afraid to pursue those dreams. Often our dreams are stuck in our head and it’s hard to find a way to reach them. Success in achieving our greatest goals can only occur if we… start. Make a plan and take the first step to move toward your dreams! This week at EntreArchitect Podcast, Victor Caban-Diaz talks big ideas and Pursuing Your Passion as a Small Firm Architect.   Astronaut or Comic Book Artist? Victor didn’t make the decision to study architecture until he was ready to make a decision about where he wanted to go to college. Growing up, various professions like being an astronaut or a comic book artist were more appealing to him. In high school, he was great at math and art and wanted to pursue both skills, eventually landing on architecture and attending the University of Miami in Florida. He received his bachelor’s degree there and began his degree. In the beginning, he did

10 Steps for Creating Standard Operating Procedures for Architects Michael Gerber, the author of The E-Myth Revisited, said, “Organize around business functions, not people. Build systems within each business function. Let systems run the business and people run the systems. People come and go, but the systems remain constant.” This week at EntreArchitect Podcast, Simple SOPs: 10 Steps for Creating Standard Operating Procedures for Architects. In business, standard operating procedures are the answer to your questions. How do you make more money? How can you find more work? How can you get your employees or contractors to do what you want them to? How do I get more done? The answer is SOPs; Standard Operating Procedures for Architects. They make you a stronger, more effective leader. They clarify your vision and communicate, support and help with decision-making for realizing that vision. SOPs build a better culture. They’re an intentional reinforcement of the behaviors that help us realize

 How to Grow Your Architecture Firm This week at EntreArchitect Podcast, How to Grow Your Architecture Firm with Todd Reding, President and CEO of Charrette Venture Group and Rena Klein, founder of RM Klein Consulting. What is Charrette Venture Group? Charrette Venture Group (CVG) is a firm that provides a wholistic approach to building a business; they provide services from management, leadership, finance, marketing, business development, and more to architecture firms who are seeking to build a strong business in the design space. What’s new for Charrette Venture Group? CVG is thrilled to announce a merge with RM Klein Consulting. The parallels with of Rena’s mission and CVG and with EntreArchitect led her to want to share what she knows with those around her, building a consulting practice to help architecture firms succeed. She was excited to meet the founder of CVG, Matt Ostanik, and join in an innovative approach to helping small firms succeed. She found that one of the barriers to success

Beautifully Simple Websites for Architects How can you find more work? How can you convert more proposals into projects? Tell your unique story to your target audience. That’s brand building, the essence of marketing. The best and maybe most important tool we have to accomplish this strategy is our website. When our potential clients start the process of seeking an architect, the first step is to search online for someone in their local region. Are you on the first page of Google? If not, you’re invisible. You need a website that can find its way to the first results of a search engine. When your prospects find your website, it has to be beautiful and clear, and it must tell your unique story as the first impression of your brand. We know you have so much to do and so little time. This week at EntreArchitect Podcast, Beautifully Simple Websites for Architects with Robert Yuen of Monograph.io. What is Monograph.io? Monograph is a website builder with a concierges’ service. As three previous

Copyright Protection for Architects A question often raised is, “How do we protect our designs?” How can we deter a client from overextending their license to our ideas and using our designs beyond their initially intended or contractually bound uses? As creatives, how do we protect our creativity? This week at EntreArchitect Podcast, Copyright Protection for Architects with Abe Cohn of Howard M. Cohn & Associates. Abe’s Origin Story Abe has always been interested in entrepreneurship, and finds it fascinating to deal with so many people in so many different areas who have such different and novel ideas. He started a tech company a few years ago and after dealing with a ton of intellectual property law there, it made sense for him to move over to the legal sides of things. What’s the difference between copyright, trademarks and patents? Intellectual property is a broad category that includes the intangibles involved in a new creation. Depending on what that is, you can turn to a sp

Public Interest Design Firms At EntreArchitect, we’re learning that we need to build a better business so we can be better architects. We want to make the work a better place. That’s why we became architects in the first place. We want to provide a positive social impact. What if by building better businesses we built a better world? What if a part of what we do benefits the public in an impactful way? Stay tuned as we share a new online resource to learn more on this idea. This week at EntreArchitect Podcast, Public Interest Design Firms with Mia Scharphie and Gilad Meron of Proactive Practices. Mia’s Origin Story Mia has a masters in landscape architecture but feels that she’s secretly a social worker with designer skills. She’s always been interested in people who get left out and how to bring them back in for most of her life. She worked at a nonprofit in San Fransisco, Public Architecture, that takes on design challenges that the private market doesn’t have an incenti

How to Build a Profitable Architecture Firm Profit… Then Art. In order to be a better architect, we must first be better business people. We need to build better businesses. This week’s guest is the author of Profit First, a book outlining the simple process of transforming any business from a cash-eating monster to a money-making machine. Accounting can be overwhelming and complicated, not to mention difficult to understand. This week, you’ll learn a step-by-step process to guarantee that you’ll be profitable. This week at EntreArchitect Podcast, How to Build a Profitable Architecture Firm with author Mike Michalowicz. Mike’s Origin Story Mike was a Jersey boy all his life who worked at a computer store right out of college. He had a drive to start his own business and quickly realized that managing a business wasn’t as easy as he thought. It took him a few years of trial-by-fire to fall in love with entrepreneurship. He learned that as the solo-guy, you only eat what you

Design-Build is the Future of Architecture Architecture, construction, interiors and furniture. This week’s guest is a successful architect from Austin, Texas serving the high-end residential market. He started his firm with a single speculative project and grew it into a $20 million integrated design-build firm. How does a design-build firm like this work? How do they structure their fees and communicate with one another? How do they ensure that every project is built to the exact standards promised by their powerful brand? This week at EntreArchitect Podcast, Design-Build is the Future of Architecture with architect Luis Jauregui. Luis is originally from Mexico, and his family moved often when he was a child giving him great exposure to different architecture styles throughout the country. His father was a civil engineer, so the construction concept was already built into him. In high school, he discovered how exciting building was to him. He enrolled in the school of architecture in Mexico City, and