Not every architect should start their own practice. It comes down to how you want to spend your time. If you want to spend most of your time being an architect, don’t start a practice. Starting a practice requires you to spend time on business processes, marketing, sales, and most of all, thinking about money. From setting fees to planning for the future, there are many financial decisions you’ll have to make right from the start. In this Best Practice episode, Marilyn Moedinger, founder of Runcible Studios, shares her expertise on the money side of starting your own practice.
Show Notes
Interview Takeaways
- Determine whether you should start a practice
- Don’t lead with a sales pitch
- Crowdsource information
- Account for non-billable hours
- Change to project fees
- Show them what they’re getting
- Pull the levers of efficiency and price raises
- Experiment in the first 5 years
- Keep a cash reserve
- Talk money right away
- Connect with Marilyn Moedinger on LinkedIn or Twitter
- Check out Runcible Studios
- Connect with George Valdes on LinkedIn or Twitter
- Connect with Chris Morgan on LinkedIn
- Check out Monograph
- Follow Monograph on LinkedIn or Instagram
- Listen and read more about Monograph
What is Best Practice Fireside Chats?
Welcome to Best Practice—a fireside chat series dedicated to practice operations in architecture and beyond. From pain points to potential, hear how leaders in the building industry are innovating through new business models and management techniques. Subscribe to listen to weekly conversations with leaders at Olson Kundig, SHoP Architects, and more. Topics include: how to run the business side of architecture, how to foster design culture in the firm, and how to design an architecture firm today.