How to Simplify Your Architecture Services - Coaching Call
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- čas přidán 16. 07. 2024
- Sit in on a coaching call with an architect who wants to make sustainable, low-carbon construction available to all. Is she solving the right problem? Maybe not.
This is an excerpt from a conversation with Sarah Lebner, an emerging architect building her practice in rural Australia. Her business, Cooee Architecture, seeks to connect regional Australians with low carbon homes. It's a noble goal and in this conversation Eric helps her to rethink her messaging. The discussion highlights a common mistake many new business owners make. See the moment when Sarah realizes she must speak to her clients' needs and desires before anything else to ensure her bigger goals are achieved.
Learn more about Sarah and Cooee Architecture here: www.cooeearchitecture.com.au/
These are just a few of the concepts I teach in the Architect + Entrepreneur Course, to learn more and enroll see: thirtybyforty.com/a-e-course
#architect #entrepreneur #architecture
▬▬▬▬▬ Timestamps ▬▬▬▬▬
00:00 What Problem Are You Solving?
00:48 Low Carbon Homes, Remote Clients
01:37 Too Many Services?
03:06 Are You Solving the Right Problem.
05:02 Pivoting the Strategy and Messaging
06:52 What Clients Are Really Looking For
09:08 Discipline: Perfect vs. Done
10:47 The Hungry Wolf Runs Faster
14:54 Join the Architect + Entrepreneur Course
Starting a new practice? Shortcut the process and join me by enrolling in the A+E Course: thirtybyforty.com/a-e-course
Definitely planning to dip my toe into the A+E Toolkit or quite possibly taking the full plunge into the Course. Both unboxing videos mention Trello templates. Did you import those to Notion and if so are all of them already included in your free Notion Template?
@@michaelfeinstein4028 The course has been updated to reflect the shift to Notion, sorry the unboxing video should be updated as well! The Trello templates are not included in the free Notion template, there's a lot of value there that I wanted to keep exclusive to those enrolled in the course. They could, however, easily be recreated in Notion, if you chose via Kan Ban boards, etc. Hopefully that helps!
@@30by40 Thank you so much for the prompt reply! Glad to know the course reflects the shift to Notion, which I realized after writing my first question was really what I wanted to know. Totally understand keeping all the nuts and bolts included in the course exclusive to those enrolled. After watching your video of how you use Notion czcams.com/video/rOS7WwvjcQk/video.html I am re-investigating integration between (or replacement of) my monster Airtable database with Notion which I have entertained in the past. I could prattle on for days about trying to find that "single source" of Project Management truth that for recovering corporate architecture dinosaurs like myself was once MS Outlook & Project (& Excel... & Word... & Access?)...🤤
Basically if you want a client to listen to you, talk about numbers. How your designs achieve the best architectural standards at a quite affordable fee. How they are going not to spend money on renovations more often than usual or how your designs can potentially increase their number of clients significantly. And you should have quite a convincing idea, you should read a lot to be able to achieve all those I've mentioned. And also enter competitions. You learn quite a lot
Great interview. As a structures guy, I see a lot of newer younger design teams get it wrong by opening with sustainability.
1) Client needs to make money and/or stay in budget for the project.
2) You as a business need to find and keep clients who give you work make profit.
Only when you satisfy those two points can you begin to affect thinking and therefore sustainability goals and change. If you turn off every client who pays your bills you will eventually be shouting your sustainability message on a street corner.
Exactly! We can always follow with sustainability, but it can't be the opening salvo. Problem > Solution.
Thanks for watching + sharing...
Sarah was one of my tutors at uni, She was fantastic. The way Sarah could explain complex and unique sustainability concepts in class was easy to understand, she will be fantastic at the new firm. It sounds awesome and very important. In rural areas especially further out your probably still be on tank water and have spotty power delivery. Alot of farm houses are older and are built from what we know now to be crappy materials, asbestos sheeting, adobe, brick, corrugated iron sheet, insulation if any wont be up to scratch anynmore. Windows are old single pane. Orientation is often based on good views or ease of access over sun angles and wind flow. older farm houses are often on pillars and there is lots of air flow under there, good for summer but bad for winter and bushfire! Growing food is much more important if you have to go 2 hours to an expensive tiny highway petrol station or even longer to a woolies. Sustainable architecture is very important out there even just for better self sufficiency. Bush fire resistance is also a very big and ever increasing issue in the middle of nowhere. The difficult part is convincing people to spend even more money then most (because of distance) to bother. One of the more useful techniques I've seen for this is explaining what it will actually do for them in the end, like facing the lounge room this direction will save you power. And then backing it up with archy talk if they inquire further.
Wow - thanks for your generous words! Made my day! Whoever you are! :)
@@sarahlebner5501 keep going Sarah you will make it 🌸
Which university she’s teaching?
We been doing sustainable architecture for a while now but the climate is getting worse. Man cannot control the environment as much as he think he can.
@lapx1 it's a team effort. Everyone (most) need to play to the best of their ability for it to work. Unfortunately, we are still trying to convince people of the benefits of doing it this way. The normal brick and mortar mega houses are still going up at a much faster rate.
I really enjoyed this conversation. I'm not an architect, I work in Data Analytics. But as a self employed person, there are some great things here that have me thinking, including "Perfect vs Done", and "What's the problem that you are solving for your client?" Always great to come back to the basics and remember what those basics are for you and your client. Thank you Eric and Sarah!
You know the first thing l always find myself doing before watching a new video you upload is to give it a thumbs up first then proceed to watch. Thank you for your efforts and the knowledge you share with us.
Nice...I really appreciate the support!
Sarah is such an inspiration for a wave of young Architects in Australia. Whilst she probably doesn't realise it, she's like a spirit guide for other Architects here.
Inspirational beyond architecture
This is a refreshing video; I love the down to earth vibe of your consultation with Sarah! Keep making such videos Eric, Thank you!
"It is never as easy as it seems...nor it is as hard as it looks."
That transition has its benefits...one finds one's own voice only through experience and quiet listening. We are all both students and teachers at the same time.
Keep focused...you will...get there.
Enjoy the journey...'becoming' is the real prize.
Thank you both...for sharing.
John Ferraz Architect
Great interview and well produced video. Good luck to Sarah on her new venture. This was incredibly insightful
Cheers...thanks!
Love this Eric! Keep sharing the conversations you're having with up-and-comers. Very encouraging.
I love this discussion. Thank you for sharing these questions and perspectives. I do not necessarily agree that Architects have the low-carbon/sustainable option baked into their practice...having just graduated school, and dabbled with many architects. As other comments have related, its about being convenient, easy, attractive, or cheap. Whatever fits those bills gets sold and built. Or things get marketed as sustainable, but at what level? I appreciate this discussion and her earnestness in pushing her mantra to regional Australians.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Andrew. I agree, sustainability isn't baked in to everyone's practice like it is in ours. I support + admire Sarah's goal to spread her message far and wide. We can each play a role! Wishing you all the best as you enter professional practice.
@@30by40 Thank you!
Great feedback Eric, thank you for helping all of us. Even with several years working on my own business, sometimes mistakes stick with you for many years and looking and learning from more "polished" architects like yourself help us to see a better path.
Cheers, Jaime...glad to help. Always a student...!
Great discussion - thanks! Valuable to anyone running a small business - of any type.
May God bless you, thank you for inspiring us young architects. All the way from South Africa
Cheers...I need all the help I can get! Thanks for checking in...
OMG this was one of the best videos in a while. Thank you for sharing. A few gems there got me excited in architecture again.
Cheers, mate...glad to see you here in the comments! Hope you're well...
Eric, you're an amazing problem listener with then spot-on suggestions that will cut to the core of the problem. Great consulting session.
Cheers, I appreciate the kind words!
Good points that we all need to remember, no matter where we are with our firms / career.
'The Hungry Wolf Runs Faster'
So grateful for this, Eric and Sarah! Listening to this at 1:30 am, working on the little non-productive things that a small business owner needs to get done! This really motivated me during a very low phase!! Last year I made my design practice a 'full hustle' from 'side hustle'...so I really resonate with what Sarah asked and your honest response was so refreshing and inspiring! Thank you so much!
🙏
Cheers, Ravi K...glad it helped! Be sure to check out this one too (if you haven't already): czcams.com/video/0S2T6crurEE/video.html
And, this for more resources: courses.thirtybyforty.com/p/architect-entrepreneur-course
Wishing you all the best with your new practice!
-Eric
@@30by40 Thank you, Eric! everything is very helpful and inspiring! Funnily enough, I too just turned 40 last year...6 months after I went full time on my own!
Amazing. Go Sarah!
👌🏼Good honest advice from Eric to Sarah. Advice I will take on board even with all my years of experience. As they say "don't let perfect be the enemy of good".
Cheers, José...always a student!
@@30by40 still learning to repeat a quote I read recently by Walter Gropius : " If there is one great pleasure in becoming seventy-five years old, it is that you are all here to help me get over the shock. It is quite impossible for me to feel as old as I am, because I have led a triple life - one German, one English, and one American, beginning each one as a neophyte and still learning. "
Always nice to see your new stuff. Thanks
Cheers, my friend...hope you're well!
Such a great discussion from both sides....thanks for sharing.
Cheers...thanks for watching...
\m/
Hello Eric,
Jan from Poland here.
Thanks a lot for your effort and for putting your engagement in the worldwide design scene...
The footage is incredible and so simple story for emerging practices all over the globe, I think I could copy paste it on my playground in Warsaw... I hope I could:)
My long story short:
Freelance urban designer licatedin Warsaw, PL, running a solopreneur architectural office:
My pets are:
The Legion(the laptop),
Brother, an A3 printer
and an A0+ HP plotter with ca 10kilometers of printed layouts.
But.
My biggest issue was to deliver or ship the work on time. I think I have been polishing my projects too much...
I might lack flow of cooperation.
In Poland we say that architects talk like German women in movies for adults all the time: "ja, ja, ja..." - in Poland"ja" means "I".
Eric,
Question to you:
Do you record, edit, and publish everything online all by yourself?
What about your scripts, ideas, scenarios, light, and your family?
How long were you investing in your business?
I mean, when did you start to really earn money?
Was it after punlishing the books, or after publishing your courses?
What would you suggest to an architect like me who wants to design and sell projects online?
Shall I make an on-line workshops with My clients? Focus only on the projects?
How to emerge organically? What do you suggest?
Thank you kindly in advance for your precise and wide answer... ^_^
Hi, Jan- Wow, epic comment and question list. To answer the first few: yes, I script, record, light, edit, publish, promote everything I make myself. All me, no other help. Your other questions are answered in the A+E Course ( thirtybyforty.com/a-e-course ) I created it to help other pros, like yourself. That's the platform for me to freely share the things I'm not able to publicly share on YT. We have students from all over the world enrolled (Poland too), hope to have you join: thirtybyforty.com/a-e-course
Cheers,
Eric
awesome Eric, love these cross country business advice collabs - more please 🙏
Thanks for the feedback, here's one you may have missed: czcams.com/video/kSV_f9pzMQU/video.html
Thank you for this! It was so reassuring and encouraging!
Glad you found it helpful, Mario...cheers...
As a (32+ years) Sole Trader Draftsperson, I have devolped a working relationship with an Architect who moved from Australia to Texas. I find watching the information on your videos helps immensely when I am dealing with Clients on his behalf on this side of the world. For my sins at 63 I am finally doing a diploma in Building Design (dont think I have enough time for architecture degree Ha Ha) so I can expand my business, am I mad ???
Mad in all the right ways! Always a student...
Good luck!
Love this format! Like watching a podcast! Would love you to post more of these types of content
Thanks for the feedback, here's one you may have missed: czcams.com/video/kSV_f9pzMQU/video.html
@@30by40 Thanks for the link.
This is amazing!!!!
I was wondering when you were going to produce another video. Nice work! As usual.
Thanks...appreciate that!
Appreciate your video.
Im asking the same kinds of questions even for me as an interior designer and starting my own business! & it’s always great to seeing a fellow Australian!
Kudos to you for starting a business! It's been life-changing for me. Wishing you all the best with it...
@@30by40 Thank you I appreciate that!
Love your videos looking forward to the next one.
Eric offers advice that is gold
\m/
I love this!
This is so informative and helpful
Hello, Jan...Wow, epic comment and question list! Yes, I record, edit and publish everything online...just me. Scripts, lighting, ideas, etc. All me. You'll find the answers to your other questions in the A+E Course. In fact, that's why I created it, so I could share all the details of my experiences that I can't share publicly with other professionals in the course. As you saw in the video, Sarah is in the course (from Australia) but we have students from around the world (including Poland) currently enrolled. I think you'll find it's a unique offering with highly relevant experiences and answers. Details here: thirtybyforty.com/a-e-course
Eric can we get more vlog/ daily life of an architect? Keep up the great content btw
Great video!!!! Love it, can we expect more videos like this? Thanks!
Thanks for the feedback...here's one you may have missed: czcams.com/video/kSV_f9pzMQU/video.html
I have read her book, really good!
Wow - thank you!
Hi Eric! I'm a 23 year old filmmaker, photographer and 3d artist. Films are something that I've always loved and always wanted to make, generally art is my thing. But now I started to feel a lack of being able to create something "touchable", something real like a building for example and I've really got myself interested in architecture and sculpture. The problem is that in my situation starting an architecture degree and generally rebranding would be a really tough thing to do. Do you think there is something I can do with my skills to get closer to this field and something that would also be profitable? Thank you and i love your videos! Greetings from Poland :)
wow.. really cool my friend
such a stunning design, by the architect
timestamp?
Thats a very cool conversation. Greta to have a listen as a new Architecture Firm startup myself!
congrats on the new biz!
@@30by40 Thanks!! 😊
thanks that's short but insightful
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. Our full conversation is in the A+E Course: thirtybyforty.com/a-e-course
Good one
Got the Trace Sketchbook, Love it!! But your procreate pack makes it hard to leave the Ipad!
It is a struggle isn't it? Glad I'm not the only one...!
so it's the middle Hume sort of area?
Please can you start making videos on civil engineering and interviewing civil engineers as to how you do to architectural startups
Hi Eric, I love you work. I was very much inspired by you and your design process. Would love the chance to chat with you someday. Thanks.
Cheers...appreciate the kind words!
Thanks
Thank you, my friend...appreciate your support!
Finally I get to thank you properly as you have helped me throughout all my student career. One more year to finish my undergraduate here in the UK and that at the tender age of 50. Thanks
Amazing, congrats! Always a student...
"A hungry wolf runs faster" that goes to my wall. Awesome.
A hungry seagull dives deeper
Nice...I keep it at the top of my Notion...
Hello..this year is going to be my first as an archi student so I want your advice about how could I be pro and spectacular at drawing and star it right. You've been an inspiration to me so I want to know from you.Thank's alot
Hi my name is Isaac I want know if I could study architecture if I haven't gone to school to study arhitect
i just graduated from a Chinese university and im looking for a firm to work for its so hard ive been looking since November and its so hard ,anybody can help.
30x40 , How do we get in contact with you?
Come on man, there are at least a dozen of answers there, Eric is exceptionally well organized and methodical.
@@dkalambokis78 someone had a lot of coffee =D Cheers!
Type of client that one needs to stay away from is the one "who is him/herself aspiring architectural designer and all they need from you is some help to draw their ideas since they are not good at that". Vulnerable, fresh starter without much of other financial backing is as by some unspoken law magnet for those types.
yes
\m/
Is it necessary to have a college certificate to be architect?
Depends...more here: czcams.com/video/N4qBnhGJnhA/video.html
☀️ p̷r̷o̷m̷o̷s̷m̷
SOUNDS like a academic and no building experience - that's the issue
from a class of 30 some are technicians and some just collect the medals and society trinkets
the biggest issue is most work is going to india and the rates you have to compete with is getting low