Architecture & Engineering Business Strategies – Details, episodes & analysis

Meet Garrison Architects — a Brooklyn-based architecture firm that specializes in sustainable, modular building design through highly refined modernist aesthetics across private residential and large scale public projects. 

In 2023, the firm left ArchiOffice for Monograph to streamline and improve project tracking, staffing, and billing, while reducing the cost associated with managing their systems by 50%.

Here's what happened: 

Before Monograph

- +$34k annual cost on project management and billing systems

- 40-48 hours a month on monthly invoicing

- 45-60 days time-to-payment

After Monograph

- 50% reduced cost on project management and billing systems

- 66% less time on monthly invoicing

- 2.6x faster time-to-payment

Read the story here - https://bit.ly/49nlNJp

New to Monograph? Start here - https://bit.ly/4bI3S1N

Meet the design-build firm Woodhull — an integrated architecture, construction, and millwork firm delivering thoughtful and enduring residential and commercial projects throughout New England. Their holistic ethos and business model relies on transparency, communication, and collaboration to drive successful internal operations. Everything starts with the 80 active projects in Woodhull's 25-person design studio, which switched from BQE Core to Monograph to improve speed and accuracy across the entire business.

Here's what happened: 

Before Monograph

- 4-6 hours per week on reporting latest project schedules

- 5-10 days invoicing process due to back-and-forth between PMs and bookkeeper 

- 50% errors on retainer fee invoicing, causing client refunds

After Monograph

- 95% less time preparing project reports for firm owners

- 53% faster monthly invoicing process

- 100% error reduction on retainer invoicing, avoiding client refunds

Read the story here - https://bit.ly/3OBJ7Lj

New to Monograph? Start here - https://bit.ly/3w8y4mx

Many traditional architecture practices are no longer sustainable. Firms that want to lead the path into the future will need to adopt new ways of thinking. In this Best Practice interview, Christian Stayner, Principal of Stayner Architects, explains how expanding your services, collaborating with consultants, and systemizing client interactions can help you create new models for the future of the industry.

Interview Takeaways

• Compartmentalize how you present your practice
• Showcase projects that attract your ideal clients
• Find alternative approaches to your practice
• Offer wrap-around services
• Expand beyond hourly services
• Continue your education to supplement your services
• Collaborate with consultants who lend credibility
• Research and develop your own passion projects
• Systemize client interactions
• Address the limitations of hourly work

Show Links

• Connect with Christian Stayner on LinkedIn
• Check out Stayner Architects
• 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 

When unexpected opportunities arise, sometimes it’s best to say yes and figure it out later. But in order to see the project through, you need to understand how to get to the finish line successfully. In this Best Practice interview, Nik Lahiri of Essel Environmental explores how to understand your metrics for success, know where you get your energy from, and set expectations for project milestones to build lasting client relationships.

Interview Takeaways

• Say yes and figure it out later
• Understand your role and metrics for success
• Hire professionals from different experience levels
• Don’t try to make it up in volume
• Don’t equate past performance with future results
• Know where you get your energy from
• Avoid making assumptions that limit your business
• Meet your potential clients where they already hang out
• Show appreciation when your team goes above and beyond
• Set expectations for project milestones upfront

Show Links

• Connect with Nik Lahiri on LinkedIn
• Check out Essel Environmental
• 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 

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.

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

Show Links

• 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 

Developers need a steady pipeline of projects to keep their businesses thriving. That means juggling multiple projects that are in various stages, from design to starting construction, to completing construction. To stay on target, you’re always balancing what you’re working on now with what comes next. In this episode, Scott Shnay of SK Development told us the rules they follow to steadily feed that pipeline while keeping their work top-notch, like working with great partners and sticking to your convictions.

Interview Takeaways

• Use non-union contractors to elevate design
• Have conviction in your decisions
• Find architects through referrals
• Keep the development pipeline full
• Partner with a large team
• Offer turnkey services as an architect
• Stick to your tasks
• Rely on help if it’s a new type of project
• Find people who approach projects like you
• Stay ahead of new building trends

Show Links

• Connect with Scott Shnay on LinkedIn 
• Check out SK Development
• 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 

When you think about design, data probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Yet, that’s exactly what you should be thinking about according to Bobby Fijan of Form Developers. Data, especially on the local level, offers invaluable insight into what people really want in a floor plan and what they’ll spend money on. That’s why you should seek out data early on as you begin a new project. Just keep in mind that it’s not the only important factor.

Interview Takeaways

• Consider the tenant experience
• Listen to the data
• Be the expert
• Speak the developer’s language
• Let the city guide your design
• Prove your expertise
• Share online if you won’t in real life 
• Measure to improve
• Be humble
• Read the code
• Start off product-oriented
• Make the inside count

Show Links

• Connect with Bobby Fijan on LinkedIn or Twitter
• Check out Form Developers 
• 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 

Burnout can decrease workplace efficiency, make employees sick, and even cause people to leave their careers. In the wake of the pandemic, workers are more likely than ever to suffer from burnout, so if you want to prioritize your health, you need to set firm boundaries to keep from wearing yourself and your employees out. In our first Roundtable discussion, four Monograph team members discuss what they do to maintain a healthy work-life balance and keep burnout at bay.

Interview Takeaways

• Look back to build a better future
• Pay attention to your people
• Spend your assets carefully
• Maximize your time with tools
• Know when to say no
• Control your productivity
• Articulate your ideas
• Work smarter
• Take time for your mental health
• Find supportive people
• Develop a healthy work mindset
• Advocate for your needs

Show Links

• Connect with George Valdes on LinkedIn or Twitter
• Connect with Chris Morgan on LinkedIn 
• Connect with Joann Lui on LinkedIn or Twitter
• Connect with Silvia Lee on LinkedIn
• Check out Monograph
• Follow Monograph on LinkedIn or Instagram
• Listen and read more about Monograph 

Owning the means and methods throughout the design and construction process can be challenging. This is especially true for new designers or architects who haven’t been involved in many projects before. How do you go about understanding your role, the client’s risk tolerance, and keep an open mind throughout the process? On Best Practice, NADAAA’s principals Nader Tehrani and Arthur Chang explain how they use collaboration and relationships with contractors to own the means and methods during each project.

Interview Takeaways

• Collaborate as a team
• Keep an open mind throughout the design process
• Be flexible to other ideas
• Understand the role of the architect in the construction process
• NADAAA’s first experience with means and methods
• Defuse the tension between designer and contractor with IDP
• Evaluate a client’s risk tolerance early on
• Demonstrate real world applications for students
• New approach to the means and methods process

Show Links

• Check out NADAAA
• Connect with Arthur Chang on LinkedIn 
• Connect with Nader Tehrani on LinkedIn 
• 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 

Business development is everyone’s job. Every employee, regardless of level or title, can and should do their part to propel their firm forward — to new clients, interesting projects, and positive PR. That’s what Carrie Villani and Doug Gonzalez of LERA believe. In a recent Best Practice episode, they talked about how marketing can naturally be incorporated into your workday, helping to grow both the firm and your individual career.
 
Interview Takeaways

• Share your network 
• Business development is everyone’s job
• Keep in touch with clients
• Be consistent in marketing
• Align your goals with your firm’s
• Handle lead inquiries yourself
• Remind your network of your expertise
• Involve senior team members
• Be upfront about problems
• Learn the business of your business
• Be the one who reduces stress
• Grow from within

Show Links

• Connect with Carrie Villani on LinkedIn
• Connect with Doug González on LinkedIn 
• Check out LERA
• 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