How I got my 1st client
Note 010: The Bondi Tentacle
I kicked off my thongs and boardies, and replaced them with black skinny jeans and pointy black leather shoes. The black T-shirt remained.
It was 2:40pm, and that meant it was time to get ready. My daughter was about to finish year 2 for the day – and we had some serious play ahead of us in the Park.
My wife called me out: “Are you seriously dressing up for the park to impress all the Eastern Suburbs Mums after school? I don't think the primary kids care what you wear!”
She was probably right (about the kids)…. but I had just collected my fresh ADAD business cards, and was on the lookout for my 1st decent project after a few early stumbles. ‘You just never know’ I thought, and I had a good feeling about today.
I completed the legit-architect look with a Dora the Explorer drink bottle and Peppa Pig sunscreen, and hit the road.
It was playground time.
Help!
Let’s get real here.
This question was burning a hole in the pit of my stomach when I began, and is certainty the most common question I am asked day to day by those of you thinking of starting your practice, sitting on the fence, or even beginning in the early days when the future beyond the next few months still looks alarmingly fuzzy…
Andrew, How do I get New Clients?
The dark art
As I introduced to you all in Note 008: The Map, getting new clients it is a dark art, and while not predictable, some patterns have emerged that will help you implement the ‘1st moves’ along each of the cause and effect client acquisition chains.
As promised, I will outline the exact steps that led me from ‘stranger’ to Completed Project for each of my ADAD projects.
Welcome to Networking Octopus Tentacle 01 - Bondi.
It almost sounded like you said ‘we’re pregnant!’
3am, 2005, share house in Newcastle.
Working furiously on my 5th year Architecture final submission at UoN, (after most likely surfing and procrastinating throughout the daylight hours proceeding), my girlfriend called with the news.
Living in Balmain studying fashion at the time, our lives were set to change forever (spoiler alert, in the best possible way!) – but at 3am that evening, the news was quite unexpected to say the least.
Collectively, my archi-mates and I were all planning a mass exodus to Melbourne next year to kick off fresh graduate careers… and this all of a sudden looked very unlikely for us.
This phone call was the 1st in a chain of events over the following 8 years that would eventually lead to my first completed ADAD house.
Tentacle 01 of the Networking Octopus begins here.
Day at the zoo
Fast forward 6 years, and our beautiful daughter had changed our lives forever in the best possible way. For the purposes of my architectural career and lead up to ADAD, the decision to stay in Sydney (see Note 001 Networking) was pivotal.
It allowed me to continue working my way up through the ranks from Student, to Graduate, Architect, Design Architect on the MCA Australia followed by the offer of Partnership over the proceeding years - and fast tracked my career in many ways.
The MCA was under construction in 2011, our daughter had begun Kindergarten, and I was super excited as a new Dad to help out at her 1st excursion – to Taronga Zoo.
Hot Tip - The time flexibility I was afforded as partner-in-negotiation - and much more so later as principal of my own practice – is one of the main perks outside of making your creative dreams reality in running your own future office.
I knew it at the time and am even more aware now in reflection that spending quality time, with your children while young is invaluable.
As the only father on the excursion bus, I was treated to baptism by fire of a different kind – given the responsibility of herding the rowdiest boys at the zoo.
But that is another story!
It was through general conversation that came up naturally with the other Mum’s on the bus on what our careers all were, that being an Architect and the MCA in particular came up, as we travelled over the Sydney Harbour Bridge towards the Zoo with the construction site visible out the window.
Park time
Fast-forward another 2 years to 2013, to where we find our protagonist – me – rocking up to my daughter’s primary school, far more overdressed than usual.
To set the scene: It was far more common for 1st time parents to be in their early 40s than early 20s in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs back then, and I got a comedic-kick out of being mistaken for a Manny more often than actual parent.
And that is a second other story!
A perk of never deviating too much from your daily fashion choice, beyond the Steve Jobs championed perk of unnecessary-decision-making-removal each morning –(black t-shirt and board shorts when no clients about, black t-shirt and black jeans when they are about for me - simple!) is that your outfit change is noticed purely on its deviation.
All the parents talked, as usual, while all the kids played in the park next to school, as usual.
The subtle change of no board shorts was noticed, and one of the Mum’s that I had met on the Zoo bus 2 years prior, and kept up general, good-human socialising and small talk after school in the park since, had her memory jogged – has the MCA reopened yet?
It was at that point that I mentioned that yes it had, and that more importantly, I have actually set up my own Architecture Practice ADAD.
Keep cool
It was at this point she said, “Oh, that’s a shame! We were just looking for an Architect, have shortlisted 3, interviewed 3, and are ready to commit to 1.”
It’s probably too late, but:
“You wouldn't be available tomorrow 9am would you?
Hmmm. Let me check my calendar (scrolls through completely empty iPhone calendar as I have absolutely no commitments as a brand new business):
Sure. I can make that work, it would be my pleasure! See you 9am :)
Luck is made
What we are describing in this mini-series of Notes is the interlinked networking chain over long periods of time, that eventually lead to your opportunity to:
First Meet
then Pitch
then prepare your Fee Proposal
then Negotiate if necessary
before finally, Acceptance
These are all key Events along the Pre Project stages, that will likely happen in quick succession, and I will dedicate stand alone notes for these. We have already had an introductory look at Note 002 Fees – which touches on your Fee Proposal event.
The good news is: Design, Documentation and Contract Administration of your incredible architecture is a walk in the park after locking in your contract win!
My top tips for getting yourself new clients learnt from ‘the Bondi tentacle’:
1. Socialise
Socialise and take an active interest in these within your community – this means non-architects!
2. Aim big but control the small
Aim big for the future goals, but control what you can, the day to day. I obviously had no idea a school excursion meeting would eventually lead to my 1st client, I did not even want to start a practice at that point You can control dropping into conversation what you do in your profession, and begin to slowly spread the word over time.
3. Likability and trust
You have infinitely more chance of being invited to the table to pitch, especially on your earliest projects, if you already have rapport with your potential future client, meaning that they like and trust you already.
4. Have fun - serious fun
Have fun but treat your practice very seriously, even before you have any projects. It was a turning point for me to treat my business as a full time job that day, and get ‘dressed up’ during business hours when there was no need to. It was ‘Luck’ to have the conversation come up, but ‘Preparation’ that allowed luck to spring
And my final Tip:
5. Make your luck
Luck is made. My definition of Luck is this:
Luck is simply Opportunity that has been acted on.
Stay perceptive, and create the conditions for yourself to act Immediately when an opportunity arises
Keep having fun, meeting people, and growing your network naturally.
Stay perceptive, and create the conditions for yourself to act Immediately when an opportunity arises. You never know where or when your own tentacle may begin to grow…
See you soon,
Andrew Donaldson
Note 010 done and dusted!
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