The Business of Architecture podcast is an attempt to remedy the defects of my architectural training, says Rion Willard
The Business of Architecture UK Podcast officially launched last month, with a bang: 200 people attended a panel discussion at the offices of developer U+I, with a line-up of some the most disruptive architectural innovators, discussing entrepreneurship and business in architecture.
How did this all begin? Well, just over a year into running my architectural practice, I was in a flood of tears, about to go on a Skype call with my parents to ask them for some money so I could continue my fledgling business. Setting up a practice had been my plan since university and was supposed to be my ticket to a fulfilling, profitable and impactful career. The reality was very different; I was ashamed, lonely, exhausted, working longer hours and fighting for decent fees – fighting to get paid at all – and spending hours travelling to properties with unsuitable prospects and no budgets for an architect. I sent out endless proposals to people I never heard from again. I was losing jobs to construction companies and constantly panicking about whether I had enough money to put petrol in the car.
I was a qualified architect but felt unfit for business purpose”
I knew that I was missing something fundamental. During my architectural training I was prepared to artfully tackle the constraints that shape architecture, from the political to the environmental, but I had never dealt with economic forces and had rarely worked collaboratively. I was a qualified architect but felt unfit for business purpose. Financials appeared mysterious. How do I design to a budget? How much was it going to cost my practice? How can I make a profit? How much do I charge? How do I explain the return on investment to my client? I had almost zero business knowledge and a low level of financial literacy. Worse than this, I had inherited an attitude that it wasn’t my role to talk about money; “Yes, but… I’m an architect”, I would silently proclaim. Another habit that had become engrained was a solitary mode of working – always attempting to solve everything myself.
I did what any self-respecting millennial would do – and began consulting YouTube”
The pain of my financial burdens and the brutal honesty of the market forced me to invest in self-education. It quickly became my mission to understand the business of architecture and what it takes to run a successful practice.
Disappointed with the materials available from the traditional architectural bookshops I did what any self-respecting millennial would do – and began consulting YouTube. I quickly fell in love with all things related to business and entrepreneurship and, most importantly, mentors who were other entrepreneurs and business owners, both architects and non-architects.
This began to radically shift the direction of my own business from loss to profit. I started to see things I’d never been taught at school, and notice how entrepreneurs operate by using a multitude of business models, how they focus on creating assets, utilise compound interest, have multiple streams of income, understand the relationship between their income statements and balance sheets, master marketing, know the art of leveraging other people’s time and money by creating powerful relationships, continually develop communication and leadership, and have a compelling vision for the future.
Architects must engage more with the subject of business and money”
This inspired me to collaborate with Enoch Sears, founder of the US-based platform Business of Architecture, for which I began to record interviews with people who had answers to some of my questions. Many interviews later, we launched the Business of Architecture Podcast for the UK audience. It’s intended to be the Business 101 you don’t get at architecture school, an educational resource of entrepreneurial insights, business tools, marketing short-cuts, and interviews with architects who share their wisdom on what it takes to run a profitable, fulfilling business.
Until architects’ training better prepares them for the business of architecture, such sources of information will help fill the gap. However they do it, architects must engage more with the subject of business and money, both for their own financial health, and so that we can play a more meaningful role in shaping the built environment.
