Working for myself and growing; stumbling… then really growing my Architectural Practice has been the hardest, often highest (sometimes lowest), but most creatively and personally rewarding journey of my life.
I feel it has finally reached a tipping point (a positive tipping point), and while that has taken 8 years of dedication, and I am not quite there yet, it has 100% been worth it.
I am writing this now, for you, for a few reasons.
My luck <-> your luck
While I have been very fortunate to have wonderful, accomplished, giving, inspirational mentors, luminaries really within the Australian Architectural Profession, I have been even more fortunate to have a truly inspirational squad of friends.
Some friends are a result of a tight knit university studio environment, some that have grown from work-mates, to confidants, to sparring partners in growing their own very successful practices.
+ - =
While luminaries past with established careers are very inspirational (and I realise I have been very privileged to know and be mentored by so many) – I found the most camaraderie and value from my co-mentors (as we change roles), on the journey with me.
I call this magical phenomenon my set of plus, minus, equals relationships that I will expand upon in a future Note.
If this was my PhD I would (and do) call these relationships my Communities of Practice, but here – within these personal, live-observations-from-the-battlefield-of-practice-as-it-happens notes – I will refer to the various crews as my tribe.
So, congratulations!
From here on in, you are now also a member of our tribe.
Teaching past
I love to teach architecture and I have been involved teaching every possible design studio, visual communications, history and theory, architectural practice and management for 15 years – mostly at the University of Newcastle, Australia.
Students never believe me, but they inspire me as much as I apparently inspire them. So far, 100% of my practice employees have been star students that I have tutored and got to know during their undergrad and masters’ studies – which has been a very fortunate position to be in.
There is a huge gap of course that there are many more talented graduates each year than I have positions for in my own practice.
That means that I often end up (and love to) mentor those motivated graduates with the initiative, drive, and passion to reach out for tips and guidance beyond the studio.
Everything ranging from who to work for, portfolio tips; and for the more motivated and driven of you as you progress through your career: should you start a practice? Now? When? Next steps? First steps?
In other words: all the hard stuff you can’t ask your lecturers, (they may not know), your boss, (they may not disclose), or your parents, who while they want the best for you, may not understand the deep creative drive that is within you.
2021: Your new mentor
A few events have intersected over the last few years, and last 12 months in particular that have led me to this point, to our new digital experiment:
My practice has become very busy, which is excellent! - but I have had very little time for teaching – which I miss greatly.
My practice (through continuous hard work) has gradually gained more and more notoriety over the years, seemingly in sync with university architectural education focusing less and less on architectural practice and more on research in the final years of the Masters degrees.
When I am lucky enough to lecture, the overwhelming majority of undergrad and masters students questions relate to the realities of practice, how to get a job, how to start a studio, how to make a creative living, which there is never enough time for me to answer all these great and important questions.
Post uni, the number of graduates, young architects (and not so young architects further into their careers) asking for mentorship and advice keeps growing and now outnumbers the available time I have as a father of 3 in addition to growing my architectural practice.
My solution?
Andrew’s Notes
I will publish 1 Note each week as a minimum, covering a topic or specific hard question, from my honest personal experience, about an aspect of starting your own architectural practice that I am asked frequently.
Marketing, Fees, Clients, Work Life Balance, When, How, Should I…. peppered with early stage tips for students and graduates on how to begin your journey, portfolio preparation and getting a job.
Below is a sneak peak of my 10 top tips for you wherever you are on your journey right now:
My top 3 tips for those of you that have just launched your practice:
1. Your first project has to be your best
Peter Stutchbury gave me this advice when I was still a 5th year student, evoking Glenn Murcutt’s advice to him at that stage. I thought he was mad, and the advice impractical. Fast forward 15 years: I now totally agree and meeting that challenge will be a Note of its own - how can your 1st possibly be your best?
2. Invoice every client, on the 1st of the month, every month, no matter what
Ben Giles (the architect, not Silverchair’s drummer) gave me this excellent, excellent, essential advice the 1st day we met, when I moved out of my attic into my 1st of many share spaces.
Cashflow is the most important thing for the practicing architect (no cash, no design) and this technique keeps the cash flowing, allows you the mental space to push a slow paying client to the end of the line temporarily keeping them in check, and more importantly, force you to invoice a possibly tiny amount for that client you may not have focused on that month, keeping you in check.
3. Only show built work
Resist the temptation to start a website based on all your incredible uni renders and unbuilt wonders. You are a professional now. My 1st break for my 1st house is a whole other story for a future note, but the reason I was awarded the project over the other young architects I was up against at the interview stage, was that I did not have a website of all my renders and unbuilt projects - which in the clients minds represented risk: Why didn’t all these get built? Can’t this architect manage our life savings to deliver a building?
My top 3 tips for those of you thinking of starting your practice:
4. Gradient, not a cliff
My practice origin story takes a few unexpected twists and turns, and will be the subject of (likely multiple) Notes. The summary is working my way from student to an offer of partnership over 10 years in my dream firm, everything changing, then starting a practice with no leads, no savings, and no choice! This is the opposite of what I recommend! I call this the ‘cliff’ approach - all or nothing, no turning back. To be avoided.
Very good friend Amelia Holliday and Isabelle started their practice at an identical time the right way. That is, many ‘private jobs’, small projects each while working elsewhere over a series of years, so that when the time comes to launch - instant built portfolio. I call this the ‘gradient’ approach. To be emulated.
5. You only need 3 houses and your PI Insurance
After presenting at the AIA together, Hannah Tribe very kindly offered some advice - you need to your own practice - now. Meet me tomorrow for Coffee. At that point, she said, all you need is your own PI insurance (I was already a registered architect), do that, then we’ll meet again tomorrow. Next day, Good - now all you need is 3 small reno’s to match an income.
She even sent me my 1st referral, paying it forward, the story of which will form a future note. This kindness forms a big part of why I love to do the same for the next generation - your generation.
Sometimes, you just need a gentle push…
6. The highs are higher, the lows are lower
When asked to summarise ‘what is it like’ - this captures it. There is nothing like presenting and wowing clients with your own design work. Seeing your vision come to life through construction, meeting people, the whole thing that we love about architecture: but amplified. Of course with the up comes the down. Dry work spells, cash crunches - the buck stops with you.
My top 3 tips for architecture students pre work or early work:
7. Give your all in the studio
I believe 100% - as I am asked this a lot - that University should focus exactly as it does on design skills, critical thinking, imagination, creativity… this is your chance to hone pure ideas and your ethos. Architecture is a long game and you will learn the practical stuff, over a lifetime, on the job.
Work hard and give it your all.
8. Single page pdf cover letter attached not linked
Hot Tip! I am very fortunate to receive a ton of job applications at my studio, but of course this has not always been the case.
Directors of firms you wish to work at are very busy, and the correspondence level between clients, consultants, builders is intense. The way to get noticed (in my opinion) is:
• Make sure you address your email, in a few brief lines and personally to whoever the director is that you are applying. Tell them what you love about the work, and why you are a good fit. hint: you should really like the work to give potential job satisfaction a head start before you apply, we can tell!
• Have your cover letter / CV as a 1 page PDF attached not linked.
• Have your portfolio as a PDF attached not linked - possibly with a standalone single sheet (your best image) attached not linked.
The single page PDF will load in email, and grab attention to stop and read more. A multipage PDF can then quickly be downloaded. I personally never click through to an online-booklet style link (unless the candidate is already shortlisted).
9. You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with
Choose wisely. I love to surround myself with creative, entrepreneurial, driven, kind people as we all lift each other. Many ‘referrals’ and serendipitous relationships have come from my friends of friends, colleagues of colleagues.
And finally, my Golden Tip across stages:
10. Be nice to everyone
I was very fortunate to tour Carmody Groarke’s offices when they were super small (2008), and had their 1st few competition wins. The question was asked on how to get these 1st spectacular clients, to which Kevin Carmody replied:
“Be nice to everyone you meet, everywhere, as you just never know where each relationship will lead in the future”
On reflection all this time later, I can say: he was right! You just never know. Each of my projects will have a standalone Note where I will detail the interesting story behind exactly how I got amazing architectural clients.
On risk
At many points I have been told it is very risky to work for yourself, and it is. I have been told it is very hard, and it is. I have had friends at the Government Architects Office with stability, friends at commercial firms, academia and in project management on large salaries.
Sydney (and your city) is likely very expensive.
I moved my family to a beach 1 hour away from Sydney and started a second regional studio. This meant we were lucky enough to be ahead of the curve with a fully functioning, spread, digital team before COVID struck.
As of writing this in June 2021, up is down, and black is white. Government, university and commercial employment is not as safe as once thought, and entire industries have vanished.
I have survived, and even supported my family through this period, have work life balance* (ahem - integration really), and am embedded in a wonderful growing local community.
All while pursuing my creative passion with a growing team.
Risk redefined
Maybe the only real risk is to live your life never backing yourself to achieve your dreams?
Safety has proven risky, and the risky path… that is a work in progress we will take together :)
Welcome to Andrew’s Notes.
Welcome to the Tribe.
See you soon.
Andrew Donaldson
Note 000 done and dusted! Please give me any feedback whatsoever, I would love to hear from you - after all, this is for you :)
PS - if you have a friend, colleague, or archi-buddy that you think would benefit from Andrew’s Notes, please feel free to send this to them or share with the button below: - lets grow this tribe :)
Fantastic idea. Really helpful and loving the practical hands on information from the coal face..
Nice one Andrew. What a great initiative. Can't wait for more. As a likeminded practice founder myself, it all resonates on many levels.