Ep. 01: When to start an architecture firm

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Alex: For me, a big milestone will be
going from zero to obviously securing

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the first piece of work and like
That in itself is the rEal thing,

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Speaker: That is Alexander Buckridge,
an architect based in NYC, that is in

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the process of starting his own fiRm.

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And if you've ever thought about
starting your own architecture

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firm, you don't want to miss this.

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You'll learn more about Alexander's
background and the learnings

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that he'll be taking forward.

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Alex: And I think for me, the most
important things that I learned from that

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was to like really put as much weight on,

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Speaker: Then we dive into his
unique thought process around

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mission and vision statementS.

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Alex: I find that's the, really important
part that gets overlooked is like

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actually taking a minute to understand

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Speaker: And finally, we dive into how
Alex can think about positioning his firm

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in a very competitive market and how to
avoid one of the biggest concerns that

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architects have when getting started.

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Alex: Then how do you approach
that now as a new studio trying

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to not be a jack of all trades?

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Speaker: Hey, I'm Tyler
Sumla, founder of Growthetect.

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After nearly a decade in architecture,
I shifted my focus to helping

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architects grow their business.

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since then, I've spent the last few years
helping architects just like you improve

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their sales, marketing, and business
development through my free newsletter

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read by thousands of architects each week.

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but I wanted to take it a step further.

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That's why I started this podcast.

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It's not your typical interview series.

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actually for the whole first season of the
growth attack podcast, all 10 episodes,

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I'm sharing exclusive recordings of my
consultations with Alexander Buckridge, As

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he embarks on the journey of launching his
own firm and landing his first clients.

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so tune in to learn exactly how to
tackle the real challenges that every

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architect faces when starting out.

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And make sure you subscribe
so you don't miss anything.

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Speaker 2: But before we begin, a
huge thanks to our sponsor, GELT.

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Discover how GELT can help to
manage and optimize taxes for

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visit joinGELT.

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com slash growthetect to learn more.

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And now, here's the show.

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Tyler: let's just do like an
intro in terms of, what led you

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to starting your own firm, right?

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Because you've been thinking
about it for a while.

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Alex: So I think, I started thinking
about doing my own thing since probably,

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you know, university and I've seen it
through, my dad had his own business.

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My sister has it.

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And so there's an inherent,
First community thing of

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people, making moves like that.

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And so I always had
that vision for myself.

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And so throughout university and doing
internships and, getting out of Ireland

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and traveling through, France and working
in Holland and all these different places,

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I was always in the back of my mind,
like thinking to myself, what would I do?

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What would I take from this place
and take with me to do my own thing?

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Eventually that journey became
a lot longer than I anticipated,

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to be perfectly honest.

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It was about 10 years after I left
university that I stayed working in

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practice and, learned a ton of a lot.

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I did four years in Paris and had a
great time there doing this architect

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experience and then, decided to get out
of France and go to New York and, got

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started off working in a bit more of a
corporate end with, with, with one firm.

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And then.

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Ended up at some architecture where things
were definitely a bit more artistic, a

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bit more, playful, and that was much more
in line with what I was doing in general.

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very creative, very conceptual
work, and, definitely tried

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different things along the way.

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and all of those experiences ultimately
led me to starting my own practice

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and, gathering up knowledge, got
chartered, with the UK system and the

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Irish, and, Eventually said to myself,
uh, I think it's time kick this off.

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maybe because I'm now 36,
maybe it's I feel like I've

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built that wealth of knowledge.

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I don't think you ever have
enough, but I feel the push

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was, necessary to get me going.

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no better place I think in
my mind to be a small startup

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entrepreneurial in New York City.

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so yeah, I think that's where
I decided to kick it off.

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Tyler: Yeah, that's beautiful.

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So you've taken your
experiences from all over.

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So you've been working
now for ten plus years.

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And other practices, yeah.

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And you've taken things that you've
learned along the way to both

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evaluate what type of work do I want
to be doing and not want to be doing

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long term when I run my own studio.

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But obviously, just the things
that you've learned about.

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Running a business and working
with clients and doing these

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other things.

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yeah.

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And scale, you've had plenty of
opportunities to jump in and use

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those experiences to inform what
you're going to be doing now.

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Alex: Yeah, exactly.

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so having done like all the towers
and various different ones in

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like New York, I would say Brazil.

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I worked on different ones there.

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I did master plans, for like artists.

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Gardens, it's called, and all
these different cultural buildings.

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but then just getting down to the
nitty gritty of, yeah, I think with

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Snarkitecture we were much more
one is to one human scale, walking

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through space, interiors, furniture.

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So seeing that bandwidth, I think has
just been pretty extraordinary for me

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to understand the impact you're building
has on the urban environment and the,

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to how you interact with the actual
materials and the feeling of the space

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and That was pretty wild just to like
experience all those different layers,

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but also experience the corporate side
of it more to the, conceptual side of it

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and both having their pluses and minuses.

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Ultimately, I found that actually
really fascinating that we could spin

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our wheels and forever design and
in a certain conceptual area and.

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And at times probably not be as profitable
and then, but in the corporate realm,

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I felt, there's a lot of structure
in place that was super helpful for

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me, particularly as I go into my
own practice, understanding systems,

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understanding, being very disciplined
around scope, schedule fee, which is,

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now I see the benefits to that, but

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then I didn't enjoy the
work, I did not enjoy, me.

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The buildings we were implementing,
I did not enjoy the spaces we were

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designing, but credibly efficient,
credibly, one of the best systems that

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I probably learned was from there.

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So it's actually really fascinating.

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And then actually just coming last as
an architect once, you know, I assumed

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the director role there, obviously I got
exposure to running the entire practice.

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So for me, that was invaluable.

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At that point, I could
take let's say seven years.

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And then those seven years run
with it for a couple of years as an

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architecture and help the partners
and help the people in the industry in

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the business itself, grow and learn.

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And they allowed me to grow and
learn and make mistakes, and

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I found that invaluable as I now
segue into my own thing, now knowing

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how to run roughly about a 10 person

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Tyler: Yeah.

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what's the biggest learning, that
you're going to take from your time

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as a director at Snarkitecture?

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into running your own practice now?

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Alex: I put great value on the design
side of things, but I put an equal amount

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of value on the business side of things.

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And I think for me, the most important
things that I learned from that was

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to like really put as much weight
on, the, how the business runs

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as much as how the design runs.

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Because I think sometimes that
scale got moved sometimes maybe

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too much towards design end.

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And how important it is to have, great
clients be out there getting new work

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continuously and making sure that,
there's a pipeline of work coming through.

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And I think I just, those were
particularly big learning curves,

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because no matter what happens.

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You can have the most talented
team, you can have the most talented

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people, but without the work coming
in and without, stuff happening,

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there's no creativity, right?

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There's a whole thing about that.

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It's no business, no creativity, so I
think for me, that was a big learning

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curve because I actually saw it in the two
other firms at different scales as well.

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and so for me, I came out of thinking to
myself, this is not just about design.

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this is about, business,
you know, ultimately.

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Tyler: Yeah, I think that's probably
the most overlooked thing that every

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architect experiences immediately when
they start running their business, right?

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They think, I'm a great designer.

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I'm really confident in my design skills.

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I know that I can do great work.

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And I think a lot of
architects feel that way.

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And then they realize, well, that's
actually not what gets me clients.

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I say this all the time, but design
is not your differentiator, right?

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Because design is your differentiator
among other architects because they're,

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we're all trained to be able to
identify those really minute differences

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and we can look at something and
say, wow, that's really well done.

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the vast majority of clients
do not have that capability.

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They don't have that training.

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They don't have the same eyes.

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They're not looking at
things in the same way.

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there's different, sure, there's
different thresholds of design, right?

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Like you can, most people can spot
the difference between maybe a

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bad designer and a great designer.

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once you kind of pass different thresholds
of a great designer to a really great

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designer to top tier designer, like
it's really tough for just the average

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client to notice these differences.

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And to your point, you can be as talented
as you want, but if you actually are not

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working on business development, if you're
not working on bringing in clients, then.

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It doesn't matter.

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You're not gonna be able
to build a business.

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Alex: yeah.

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And I will say just to know on
that as well, that, actually

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moving from Europe to the U.

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S that was a big, there
was a big difference.

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Also, I noticed in, I think in the U.

00:09:04.096 --> 00:09:07.816
S I think there's just a real more
conscious effort and understanding

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and inherit culture around business
and making how to make money.

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I would say that specifically with
architecture and in our architects

00:09:15.606 --> 00:09:17.076
in Europe versus architects in the U.

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S.

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I think here there's this understanding
and more inherent want to go after

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money, to, to understand business
and marketing even more so than

00:09:26.426 --> 00:09:27.586
what I experienced over there.

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And I always found that like
super motivating and beneficial

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to be surrounded by that.

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Tyler: That's good.

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That's good to hear.

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Obviously as a consultant, for sales,
marketing and business development, I

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feel like there's not enough at all.

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but it's great that it's above Yeah.

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what that baseline was in,
in Europe, so, just to get a

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baseline for where you are at.

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you worked in various firms
for about 10 years, right?

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Gathering your own experience.

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You're licensed, you're now living in
New York, that's where you've decided

00:09:54.816 --> 00:09:56.786
to start your own firm as well.

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You're licensed in Europe, in

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different areas, in the

00:10:00.739 --> 00:10:01.426
UK, in,

00:10:01.471 --> 00:10:02.141
Alex: UK, Yeah.

00:10:02.306 --> 00:10:04.816
Tyler: in Europe and the UK, and
also in the United States, or not?

00:10:05.064 --> 00:10:05.244
Alex: no.

00:10:06.249 --> 00:10:06.539
Tyler: Okay.

00:10:07.249 --> 00:10:10.049
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Probably too much.

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Here's the problem.

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And now, back to the show.

00:11:27.048 --> 00:11:30.438
Alex: in terms of what I actually
sat down and did this week was.

00:11:30.893 --> 00:11:34.813
Writing out what it is I am doing with
the business and what is the kind of

00:11:34.813 --> 00:11:39.083
manifesto, the vision, all that stuff,
mission, making that super clear

00:11:39.103 --> 00:11:42.813
and, focused and directed at like why
I'm coming in on the market and why,

00:11:42.953 --> 00:11:46.096
what it is I'm doing, I find that's
the, really important part that gets

00:11:46.096 --> 00:11:51.196
overlooked is like actually taking a
minute to understand why it is you got

00:11:51.196 --> 00:11:53.586
to where you it is you want to get to,

00:11:54.201 --> 00:11:56.651
Tyler: where you want to go and what you
want to build is definitely important.

00:11:56.900 --> 00:12:00.640
mission vision statements, they're
significantly more important for

00:12:00.640 --> 00:12:02.330
you than they are for your clients.

00:12:03.360 --> 00:12:07.418
Just But I think there is a common misstep
that people come up with where they're

00:12:07.418 --> 00:12:09.748
going through the exercise that you're
going through and they're like, okay,

00:12:09.748 --> 00:12:11.408
I actually can't, I can't do anything.

00:12:11.748 --> 00:12:13.798
Until I get this figured out, right?

00:12:13.848 --> 00:12:17.259
And I think the issue with that line of
thought is that mission and vision is

00:12:17.259 --> 00:12:18.979
going to be different in like two months.

00:12:19.049 --> 00:12:21.509
It's going to be different after, maybe
after you get your first few clients.

00:12:21.559 --> 00:12:26.189
it can be more of a bottleneck, than
anything if you focus too much on

00:12:26.189 --> 00:12:28.249
this mission and vision statement.

00:12:28.693 --> 00:12:33.163
Alex: So I think setting clear
limits, X and Y time on it

00:12:33.193 --> 00:12:34.183
and just saying that's it.

00:12:34.193 --> 00:12:34.583
That's it.

00:12:34.593 --> 00:12:35.783
That's where we stand right now.

00:12:36.138 --> 00:12:38.208
Tyler: Yeah, it's almost like you
have to give yourself the flexibility

00:12:38.208 --> 00:12:41.808
to make mistakes and to know that
things are going to change a lot.

00:12:42.162 --> 00:12:42.882
Alex: No, that's helpful.

00:12:42.882 --> 00:12:45.542
I mean, just for me in general, to think
about that and just to be like, put

00:12:45.542 --> 00:12:48.313
a bit about maybe less significance.

00:12:48.421 --> 00:12:51.371
Tyler: What's significant
now is getting clients.

00:12:51.424 --> 00:12:53.954
again, those clients probably aren't
going to care that much about your

00:12:53.954 --> 00:12:56.324
mission and vision, they're going to
care about what you can do for them.

00:12:57.031 --> 00:12:57.761
Alex: That makes sense.

00:12:57.811 --> 00:12:58.191
Like it.

00:12:58.374 --> 00:13:01.494
Tyler: So let's talk about what type
of work you plan to be pursuing.

00:13:02.172 --> 00:13:03.632
Alex: for me, I've done a lot of.

00:13:04.048 --> 00:13:06.898
let's say in the last few years,
particularly what I've been churning

00:13:06.898 --> 00:13:09.418
out is retail and hospitality.

00:13:10.170 --> 00:13:15.325
initially I would like to springboard
on with that, and continue on

00:13:15.385 --> 00:13:17.250
working with brands and clients.

00:13:17.280 --> 00:13:20.670
And I think I, what I've, I'm, I have
a little bit more personal interest

00:13:20.700 --> 00:13:22.500
in would be the hospitality area.

00:13:22.850 --> 00:13:24.065
and pushing that forward.

00:13:24.135 --> 00:13:26.260
I'm very interested in
yeah, the different.

00:13:27.080 --> 00:13:29.270
spaces that are going on
there, nutrition, wellness.

00:13:29.270 --> 00:13:32.120
I think they're personally passionate,
so I'm trying to align with that.

00:13:32.170 --> 00:13:36.380
things like breweries, distilleries,
retreats, restaurants, all that

00:13:36.380 --> 00:13:38.070
kind of like more and stuff.

00:13:38.070 --> 00:13:41.990
I would be eventually, well, I would like
to kind of more get into, but, initially

00:13:41.990 --> 00:13:45.322
off the bat, you know, I'm, and I think
we might've touched on this before,

00:13:45.562 --> 00:13:49.021
way back when we first connected, but
as I said, trying to get through stuff

00:13:49.131 --> 00:13:53.561
probably that I can know I can turn out
pretty straightforward and get through,

00:13:53.821 --> 00:13:58.051
you know, without too much complexity and
get my first few projects under my belt.

00:13:58.051 --> 00:14:00.391
So that's what my current thinking is.

00:14:00.401 --> 00:14:02.591
I think this is going to go
from As you said, we have two

00:14:02.591 --> 00:14:04.341
years, four years, 10 years.

00:14:04.821 --> 00:14:07.911
one thing that like with SNAR
architecture, what we have done and what

00:14:07.911 --> 00:14:11.401
approach was is that we, and I don't know,
this is a conversation for us to have

00:14:11.401 --> 00:14:15.221
is there was like take on any typology
was the attitude of we can do anything.

00:14:15.221 --> 00:14:19.511
And the thinking was, is that, at the
end of the day, the program changes,

00:14:19.681 --> 00:14:22.991
infrastructure of the requirements
changes, but ultimately you're designing

00:14:22.991 --> 00:14:24.901
environments and experiences for people.

00:14:24.901 --> 00:14:28.901
And I think to me, sometimes what I do
struggle with is that question of what

00:14:28.901 --> 00:14:33.611
is your particular niche you want to get
into and I do see fluidity throughout all

00:14:33.611 --> 00:14:35.361
the market, you know, I do see like that.

00:14:35.361 --> 00:14:38.691
I can bring impact and value to each
different area of it, whether that's

00:14:38.691 --> 00:14:43.451
a barber shop, whether that's a retail
space, whether it's a residential, and

00:14:43.451 --> 00:14:46.881
that's something I'm curious about to
talk to you about as well as I know it's

00:14:46.881 --> 00:14:50.341
probably better to be very pigeonholed
in one way, but it doesn't feel

00:14:50.341 --> 00:14:52.541
natural for me also at the same time.

00:14:52.541 --> 00:14:53.921
So that's an interesting one.

00:14:55.116 --> 00:14:57.760
Tyler: Yeah, you know what's funny
is that I think it's really more

00:14:57.760 --> 00:14:59.380
of a positioning exercise, right?

00:14:59.850 --> 00:15:03.265
And it's also a risk assessment, right?

00:15:03.265 --> 00:15:08.425
So it's a risk assessment
because it can be, depending on

00:15:08.425 --> 00:15:09.975
what market you're in, right?

00:15:10.035 --> 00:15:12.965
It can be better to be a
little bit more diversified.

00:15:13.765 --> 00:15:15.105
Or it can be better to be more niche.

00:15:15.345 --> 00:15:17.515
It's dependent upon each
thing that you're pursuing.

00:15:18.495 --> 00:15:21.655
But it's a positioning exercise
because what you said there was

00:15:21.655 --> 00:15:23.015
actually really interesting.

00:15:23.285 --> 00:15:26.915
that regardless of what market
you're in, what you were

00:15:26.915 --> 00:15:28.585
designing is a human experience.

00:15:28.915 --> 00:15:31.345
and you're saying that's something
that you learned from SNARKitecture.

00:15:32.025 --> 00:15:36.265
And so I see that actually as a
positioning exercise, where you, if

00:15:36.265 --> 00:15:40.365
you do it well, if you can describe
that clearly enough, then you can

00:15:40.365 --> 00:15:43.760
actually convince any market to kind
of work with you because you're still

00:15:43.760 --> 00:15:45.480
doing something really specific,

00:15:45.975 --> 00:15:48.695
you're still working on
whatever, scale that is, right?

00:15:48.695 --> 00:15:51.575
It's it's working through exactly
how to describe that in the best way.

00:15:52.209 --> 00:15:54.679
it's a little bit of a
double sided coin because.

00:15:55.489 --> 00:16:00.509
there's great books around category design
is essentially what they call this, right?

00:16:01.049 --> 00:16:04.189
And so it's where you're almost
defining your own category when

00:16:04.189 --> 00:16:05.289
you're starting a business.

00:16:05.607 --> 00:16:10.937
that can be really problematic because
people don't know what this category is.

00:16:10.937 --> 00:16:13.257
And so there's usually a certain
scale that you have to hit.

00:16:13.942 --> 00:16:16.352
Before you can define a category.

00:16:16.832 --> 00:16:19.702
But a lot of people will start off
and say something really specific.

00:16:19.702 --> 00:16:23.342
So, for example, like a clear
mistake that you could make based

00:16:23.342 --> 00:16:26.209
on what you were just saying is that
like, I'm a human scale designer.

00:16:26.569 --> 00:16:27.079
Or something like

00:16:27.149 --> 00:16:27.329
that.

00:16:27.689 --> 00:16:28.019
Right?

00:16:28.379 --> 00:16:30.949
Like that's, that's, it's a
category that no one's gonna

00:16:30.949 --> 00:16:32.029
know what it means when they

00:16:32.109 --> 00:16:32.239
read it.

00:16:32.889 --> 00:16:35.729
And so there's always this exercise
that you have to do in terms of,

00:16:35.759 --> 00:16:38.699
you almost have to think about,
it's like a, like SEO, like

00:16:38.699 --> 00:16:40.699
search engine optimization, right?

00:16:41.259 --> 00:16:43.559
What are people going to be searching for?

00:16:43.559 --> 00:16:47.939
What question are they actually going
to ask before they need your service?

00:16:48.309 --> 00:16:50.949
And so that's where you need to
think about it in their terms.

00:16:51.324 --> 00:16:54.194
Like, are people going to be
asking for, are they just going

00:16:54.194 --> 00:16:55.814
to be asking for retail design?

00:16:55.834 --> 00:16:57.354
And that's fine, right?

00:16:57.354 --> 00:16:57.864
If that's.

00:16:58.334 --> 00:17:01.664
If that's the actual question that they're
asking, but you have to then figure

00:17:01.664 --> 00:17:05.144
out how to position yourself within
that realm and within their language.

00:17:05.781 --> 00:17:07.461
that's how you build up the top of funnel.

00:17:08.001 --> 00:17:11.751
Again, you can then educate the client
after they come into your funnel.

00:17:12.441 --> 00:17:15.511
But you need to meet them
where they're at, at the top.

00:17:16.111 --> 00:17:18.611
And that's really all a
positioning exercise, right?

00:17:18.611 --> 00:17:22.131
So if you're trying to do
something that's maybe a little

00:17:22.131 --> 00:17:23.111
bit different, which it is, right?

00:17:23.111 --> 00:17:25.121
But if you're just talking about,
hey, I can actually work on.

00:17:25.696 --> 00:17:29.016
any typology of project,
but I very specifically work

00:17:29.016 --> 00:17:30.946
at this more human scale.

00:17:30.946 --> 00:17:34.662
yeah, just a matter of finding, what
people are asking before they need

00:17:34.662 --> 00:17:38.062
those services and inserting yourself
there at the top of the funnel and

00:17:38.062 --> 00:17:42.142
then educating the client as you move
them down to say, no, I can do this.

00:17:42.152 --> 00:17:45.362
It's very similar to this other
typology project that I did.

00:17:45.362 --> 00:17:46.582
It's literally the same problem.

00:17:47.042 --> 00:17:47.962
It's going to be solving you too.

00:17:48.521 --> 00:17:51.615
Alex: kind of like a really key thing
that's, occurring whether I'm at like,

00:17:51.655 --> 00:17:56.045
you know, a cocktail hour or meeting
someone for a coffee or, you know,

00:17:56.045 --> 00:17:59.605
someone reaches out to me to jump on a
call and I just want to discuss cause

00:17:59.605 --> 00:18:02.125
they're interested in like, Hey, I, you
know, I know you've been there for a

00:18:02.125 --> 00:18:03.785
while and heard you're doing this now.

00:18:04.265 --> 00:18:06.725
and it's always like, what
do you want to get into?

00:18:06.725 --> 00:18:10.099
You know, like, I'm trained as an
architect, all that good stuff,

00:18:10.589 --> 00:18:14.269
predominantly resided in the last
couple of years in interiors.

00:18:14.749 --> 00:18:15.819
That just happened.

00:18:15.869 --> 00:18:17.499
I get just, I went with the flow.

00:18:17.499 --> 00:18:19.869
I just went with the current
and I'm learning and I like

00:18:19.979 --> 00:18:21.159
seeing how things happen.

00:18:21.729 --> 00:18:22.549
and furniture too.

00:18:22.549 --> 00:18:25.106
Cause that kind of like we were, we
were doing our own custom furniture.

00:18:25.156 --> 00:18:28.626
So then it's another thing about what
is the service you're providing where

00:18:28.656 --> 00:18:31.436
these two things are like going together.

00:18:31.436 --> 00:18:31.746
Right.

00:18:31.746 --> 00:18:36.046
It's trying to define your typology,
let's say, or Your specific vision

00:18:36.056 --> 00:18:40.046
that, that, that is grasping upon like
people who want to also join that kind

00:18:40.046 --> 00:18:42.098
of understand it, but also service.

00:18:42.498 --> 00:18:46.958
Like if we want to get into that,
I think if I had to boil it down,

00:18:47.268 --> 00:18:49.688
I would say interior renovations.

00:18:49.965 --> 00:18:50.465
but

00:18:50.609 --> 00:18:52.109
Tyler: commercial interior renovations.

00:18:53.039 --> 00:18:53.409
yeah,

00:18:53.574 --> 00:18:57.164
Alex: we wanted to boil it into, distill
it into probably it's most simplest thing.

00:18:57.573 --> 00:18:59.483
and again, maybe it's a
thing that you evolve.

00:18:59.483 --> 00:19:03.289
It's like, don't want to limit
myself, not, the business

00:19:03.499 --> 00:19:05.339
and creatively to just that.

00:19:05.479 --> 00:19:08.309
And also I feel I have the
bandwidth to obviously branch over

00:19:08.309 --> 00:19:10.169
the other disciplines as well.

00:19:10.189 --> 00:19:15.761
So here's, that's another like Todd
and something that I'm having a bit

00:19:15.761 --> 00:19:19.920
of tension actually about Cause of
working in these various different

00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:24.360
scales as well and practices is that
I do feel a little bit like, you know

00:19:24.836 --> 00:19:29.032
I have a lot of stuff i've understood
and experienced and yeah Then how do

00:19:29.042 --> 00:19:34.792
you approach that now as a new studio
trying to not be a jack of all trades?

00:19:36.012 --> 00:19:36.892
Which I don't want to be

00:19:37.612 --> 00:19:40.612
Tyler: I think this is relatable to
every single person that's thought

00:19:40.612 --> 00:19:41.802
about starting their own firm, right?

00:19:41.822 --> 00:19:43.222
Or that has started a firm, right?

00:19:43.242 --> 00:19:44.872
They reach a point and they're
like, Should I do this?

00:19:44.892 --> 00:19:45.702
Should I do that?

00:19:45.812 --> 00:19:46.782
I like doing this too.

00:19:46.812 --> 00:19:47.722
I like doing that too.

00:19:47.722 --> 00:19:50.782
I don't want to pigeon myself into
a hole where I'm only doing this one

00:19:50.782 --> 00:19:52.102
thing for the rest of my life, right?

00:19:52.102 --> 00:19:55.112
I think these are fears that
every single person has.

00:19:55.582 --> 00:19:56.949
there's two ways to think through this.

00:19:57.288 --> 00:20:04.298
One is that you have to, walk before
you can run, before you can sprint.

00:20:04.848 --> 00:20:09.278
And there is part of this that's
just a, it's both a play in patience.

00:20:09.883 --> 00:20:13.736
And also a play in listening to
your market, that's, really the

00:20:13.746 --> 00:20:15.656
exercise that you're in right now.

00:20:16.326 --> 00:20:20.006
where it can be like, you're, you still
have a top of line goal of Hey, I need

00:20:20.016 --> 00:20:23.886
these interior, renovation clients.

00:20:24.756 --> 00:20:28.476
And maybe as we're moving through
the process, it just makes sense

00:20:28.486 --> 00:20:30.916
that they would actually have a
custom piece of furniture in there.

00:20:31.313 --> 00:20:34.663
that's an add on that I can offer to
them if I feel like I have the bandwidth

00:20:34.683 --> 00:20:36.133
and it's something that I want to do.

00:20:36.753 --> 00:20:39.848
But, you know, top of, like, you're not
going to go from a business development

00:20:39.848 --> 00:20:42.021
level, you're not going to be jumping
around and just trying to get, one

00:20:42.031 --> 00:20:44.151
off furniture installations or custom

00:20:44.321 --> 00:20:44.871
furniture, right?

00:20:45.221 --> 00:20:47.832
also understanding different ways
that you're positioning that service,

00:20:47.862 --> 00:20:51.492
that's more of an add on, or that's
a cross sell, actually, which is

00:20:51.492 --> 00:20:52.932
something that I just wrote about in the

00:20:53.202 --> 00:20:55.442
newsletter, I can link
that in the show notes.

00:20:55.472 --> 00:20:57.852
And these are great things that can
increase revenue, whether you're

00:20:57.852 --> 00:20:59.962
doing it yourself or whether it's
something that you're outsourcing.

00:20:59.972 --> 00:21:04.112
So this is especially applicable to
you doing interior renovations, right?

00:21:04.452 --> 00:21:07.564
There's obviously standard furniture
that people can use, or they're going

00:21:07.564 --> 00:21:09.634
to be custom designed and custom built.

00:21:10.174 --> 00:21:11.954
And that's a perfect cross sell, right?

00:21:12.199 --> 00:21:14.139
the vast majority of the clients
that you're going to be work with

00:21:14.189 --> 00:21:15.679
are going to be interested in that.

00:21:16.729 --> 00:21:19.269
And so then it's really just
a matter of kind of testing as

00:21:19.269 --> 00:21:20.819
you're bringing these clients on.

00:21:21.204 --> 00:21:23.844
Does it make sense for me to
offer that at the beginning?

00:21:24.224 --> 00:21:25.874
Or is that just like too
much for them to handle?

00:21:25.874 --> 00:21:28.832
Or is it something that like, Hey, after
we're getting through the conceptual

00:21:28.832 --> 00:21:33.812
design phase, starting to get into design
development, and I'm listening to them,

00:21:34.272 --> 00:21:35.952
it seems like they need something custom.

00:21:35.952 --> 00:21:38.792
So now it makes sense to
offer them that service.

00:21:39.299 --> 00:21:41.639
those things are really just about,
they're just about listening,

00:21:41.649 --> 00:21:45.524
but again, you want to keep
in mind that Top level, right?

00:21:45.554 --> 00:21:47.764
Top level, I need interior
renovation clients.

00:21:48.084 --> 00:21:50.863
These other things are justthey're
going to come, tothey have to

00:21:50.863 --> 00:21:52.603
be needed in the market, right?

00:21:52.813 --> 00:21:54.762
Or else they're just going
to be a wasted pursuit.

00:21:55.797 --> 00:21:56.157
Alex: Yeah.

00:21:56.157 --> 00:21:56.647
That's right.

00:21:56.647 --> 00:22:00.347
And so it's just, it's helpful to
understand that in terms of yeah,

00:22:00.347 --> 00:22:04.337
not getting again, this question
of getting caught up in, in trying

00:22:04.337 --> 00:22:08.883
to solve, cube, essentially of many
different ways this practice can unfold.

00:22:09.229 --> 00:22:13.289
going in somewhere a bit more where
I feel I can have an impact and kind

00:22:13.289 --> 00:22:15.229
of hear what's the market requires.

00:22:15.659 --> 00:22:20.049
And probably understanding and having
the patience that this thing is going

00:22:20.049 --> 00:22:23.169
to take its own, you know, legs, its own

00:22:23.169 --> 00:22:23.469
legs.

00:22:23.479 --> 00:22:24.179
It's going to expand.

00:22:24.199 --> 00:22:24.849
It's going to evolve.

00:22:24.859 --> 00:22:25.509
It's going to grow.

00:22:25.694 --> 00:22:26.884
Tyler: The flexibility, right?

00:22:26.884 --> 00:22:29.554
You needyeah, you need to allow
yourself that flexibility to have

00:22:29.554 --> 00:22:33.524
those things happen, because again,
you're not making decisions right

00:22:33.554 --> 00:22:36.154
now that you need to stick to.

00:22:37.089 --> 00:22:38.949
And I think maybe that's even the
important thing when you're having

00:22:38.949 --> 00:22:39.859
these conversations with people.

00:22:39.859 --> 00:22:41.489
And they're like, what type
of work are you going to do?

00:22:41.489 --> 00:22:44.179
And you're well, I'm having
conversations with people like

00:22:44.179 --> 00:22:45.959
you to understand that, that

00:22:45.999 --> 00:22:46.969
can be your answer.

00:22:47.479 --> 00:22:50.555
this is exactly why I'm, meeting
you for coffee and having other

00:22:50.555 --> 00:22:53.655
coffee conversations now is that
I think this is what I want to do.

00:22:53.655 --> 00:22:56.075
What do I also want to make sure
that I'm solving the right problems?

00:22:56.775 --> 00:22:57.935
it's a two sided thing.

00:22:58.425 --> 00:23:02.385
Like it's both, it's a combination of
what you want to do and what you can do.

00:23:02.775 --> 00:23:06.375
And then also what the market
is telling you is needed.

00:23:07.865 --> 00:23:10.185
Because if you're not taking in, if
you're not taking the market into

00:23:10.185 --> 00:23:13.598
account, then you know, it's gonna be
a long time before you Get a client.

00:23:14.186 --> 00:23:15.466
Alex: not to head down that route.

00:23:15.466 --> 00:23:15.686
All right.

00:23:15.893 --> 00:23:18.583
like me, I'm picturing myself like
standing, you know, on the Brooklyn

00:23:18.583 --> 00:23:22.153
bridge, like with my thumb out, taking
a temperature gauge and what the network

00:23:22.153 --> 00:23:25.983
wants, it's funny, like retail obviously
has its ups and downs moments as I've

00:23:25.983 --> 00:23:29.103
experienced in the city and all of a
sudden offices became the whole thing.

00:23:29.103 --> 00:23:34.067
And so you do understand the ways and the
desires of what people want more and you

00:23:34.067 --> 00:23:37.619
adapt, these are just really interesting
because I think you're expected to

00:23:37.629 --> 00:23:39.169
have the answer to a lot of questions.

00:23:39.379 --> 00:23:42.099
At least you feel like you should
have the answer to all these things.

00:23:42.129 --> 00:23:46.489
But ultimately, you don't really
you're here looking to create something

00:23:46.489 --> 00:23:49.459
that you want to bring people on
a journey with and also work with

00:23:49.489 --> 00:23:51.029
people that you would enjoy with.

00:23:51.029 --> 00:23:55.228
Ideally, And, you know, you can create
these great experiences and environments

00:23:55.228 --> 00:23:58.545
for people, you know, and, and whatever
that looks like it can be whatever.

00:23:59.585 --> 00:24:00.445
Tyler: That's exactly right.

00:24:00.565 --> 00:24:01.305
That's exactly right.

00:24:01.465 --> 00:24:03.825
I'm actually going through this,
I literally just went through this

00:24:03.865 --> 00:24:08.175
yesterday with Growth Detect, which
I've almost been running for two years,

00:24:08.175 --> 00:24:09.465
and it's been pretty consistent, right?

00:24:09.465 --> 00:24:09.795
I've done

00:24:10.155 --> 00:24:10.975
different things.

00:24:10.975 --> 00:24:14.835
I'm sharing, growth hacks and sales
marketing and social media for

00:24:14.835 --> 00:24:17.695
architects, and that's roughly been
what I've been doing for the past

00:24:17.705 --> 00:24:20.915
two years, but I recently had the
realization from listening to my

00:24:20.915 --> 00:24:25.102
market that my audience is responding
really strongly to this one thing, and

00:24:25.438 --> 00:24:25.763
whenever

00:24:25.938 --> 00:24:26.688
I talk about it.

00:24:27.008 --> 00:24:29.818
And that's something I've been
talking with my wife about a lot.

00:24:29.828 --> 00:24:32.408
And I was like, it seems like
there's actually a really large

00:24:32.408 --> 00:24:33.618
business opportunity here.

00:24:34.108 --> 00:24:35.308
And she was like, yeah, that's right.

00:24:35.308 --> 00:24:35.998
That does seem like that.

00:24:36.188 --> 00:24:38.568
It's even more niche than
what I'm already doing.

00:24:39.068 --> 00:24:40.368
And so then what did I do?

00:24:40.368 --> 00:24:43.828
I had, I was having another
conversation with a friend yesterday

00:24:43.828 --> 00:24:45.638
that had run a very similar business.

00:24:45.638 --> 00:24:46.888
And I was like, am I being crazy?

00:24:46.888 --> 00:24:49.888
Is this actually, it seems like this
is a problem that needs to be solved.

00:24:50.813 --> 00:24:53.193
He said, yeah, no, that seems like a
problem that does need to be solved.

00:24:53.203 --> 00:24:56.373
So next up for me is I'm going to be
having conversations with people that

00:24:56.373 --> 00:24:57.963
probably need to solve that problem.

00:24:58.320 --> 00:25:01.740
it can change and it can adapt because you
don't know exactly what's going to happen.

00:25:02.280 --> 00:25:04.640
I think until you start
listening a little bit more,

00:25:05.494 --> 00:25:08.694
All right, thanks for being a Growth
A Tech and listening in on this

00:25:08.694 --> 00:25:10.914
consultation with Alexander Buckridge.

00:25:11.037 --> 00:25:14.377
Be sure to subscribe so you can
continue to learn exactly how to

00:25:14.387 --> 00:25:17.767
overcome the challenges that every
architect faces when starting a firm.

00:25:18.004 --> 00:25:20.704
And check out the show notes for links
to everything that was mentioned.

00:25:20.820 --> 00:25:22.670
lastly, make sure you go to growth detect.

00:25:22.710 --> 00:25:29.400
000 architects getting one quick and
simple business growth hack in their

00:25:29.420 --> 00:25:31.810
inbox every Sunday morning from me.

00:25:31.893 --> 00:25:33.013
I'll see you in the next episode.