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ARCHITECT AS ENTREPRENEUR: LESSONS IN ESTABLISHING A NEW PRACTICE by Ian Smith, RA AIA NCARB LEED AP, Principal, Ian Smith Design Group LLC
T
here are more people of color running firms and leading firms to winning awards in the future. How did we get there?
1.
Which typologies currently generate the more lucrative labor-to-revenue ratios?
estimate there are approximately 677 AIA black-owned architecture firms (2.8%). Clearly the goal now is to increase the numbers of licensed practitioners and it should not go unsaid that agency in this profession comes with ownership and ownership stakes. Given the additional social barriers surrounding obtaining capital, business confidence, cultural code-switching, socio-economic revenue generation, potential client network, and perception, starting a firm would be additionally difficult. Although reports on this value don’t yet exist, the expectation is far less than the 25% of the average conversion from the +3,000 licensed black individuals transitioning to starting a firm.
2.
How to acquire knowledge in a typology that someone did not learn while working under another architect?
The purpose here is to encourage and prepare them to develop the confidence to start a firm.
3.
How to build a client base, and how long does it take to expand a network?
I am presenting six key figures to know prior to going out on your own. The first three factors can be reflected inside the data presented in 2020 AIA Firm Report and the AIA Professional Practice Guide. The second three are primary business notes for anyone going into business.
The Pre-conference Session for the 2021 AIA Tri-State conference, “Architect as Entrepreneur: Lessons in Establishing a New Practice,” was a great success. However, due to time limitations there were a few things I wanted to cover with more depth. Items that I would like to cover are:
There is a new enthusiasm for diversifying the practice and stewardship of the architectural practice, yet it is difficult to stay in the practice and acquire licensure for architecture. The multitudes of increased barriers get in the way of developing the confidence to hang out one’s shingle. By the numbers from the AIA 2020 report, out of 116,246 licensed professionals in 2019 approximately 2.8% are Black. A similar percentage factor is published from NCARB. We don’t have data about how many black-owned firms exist but, with that same percentage factor out of the total approximate 24,176 AIA member firms (per 2021 AIA Firm Directory) in the United States, we could PAGE 22 | DEC ‘21 | JAN ‘22
KEY FACTORS: 1.
Generating Revenue Per employee - $159,000 of average.
2.
It would take approximately eight people to get to generating annual Revenue of 1M.
3.
Why? It is difficult to manage five independent people on a multitude of tasks. This is where the pyramid begins, and the type of firm one plans to build.
