colegio de san juan letran-calamba

ARCHITECT AND
ENTREPRENEUR
AN INTRODUCTION

BY AR.ANGELA GABRIELLE LORENO

ARCHITECT + ENTREPRENEUR

“Think big, start small, learn fast.”– Eric Ries

ARCHITECT + ENTREPRENEUR colegio de san juan letran-calamba

1| Mindset
CEO and Architect
Deciding to open your own design practice requires a
fundamental shift in attitude toward the making of architecture. You’re a
business owner first. To survive in the long-term a business’ expenses must
be lower than their assets. It’s that simple. You must prioritize learning to be
a businessperson over being an architect. This is especially crucial when
you’re staking your claim and building your reputation.
ARCHITECT AND ENTREPRENEUR colegio de san juan letran-calamba

Amateur versus Professional

Being a pro also requires committing the necessary time and effort to
running your business professionally. There’s a lot more to running a design
practice than design. You’ll probably spend fewer hours designing than ever
before when you open your own business. There’s marketing, invoicing,
closing deals, clients to meet, contractors asking questions, consultants to
coordinate, site visits, phone calls to take and make, e-mails to answer, and
letters to write. These things take time and usually that’s time taken away
from design duties.
ARCHITECT AND ENTREPRENEUR colegio de san juan letran-calamba

Overcoming Fear of Failure

1 - Imagine the worst possible outcome

2 – Redefine success and failure
3 – Just get started.
4 – List the Pros and Cons
ARCHITECT AND ENTREPRENEUR colegio de san juan letran-calamba

Overcoming Fear of Failure

Pros and Cons
Time (+)
Benefits (-)
Responsibility (+/-)
Taxes (+/-)
Availability (-)
Design Autonomy (+)
Flexibility (+).
Financial (+/-).
Management (-).
Isolation (-).
ARCHITECT AND ENTREPRENEUR colegio de san juan letran-calamba

Overcoming Fear of Failure

ARCHITECT AND ENTREPRENEUR colegio de san juan letran-calamba

ACTION ITEMS
activity no. 2
Develop your own list of the pros and cons of opening your own practice.
When you’re done, evaluate it and decide whether the positives outweigh
the negatives.

Next, define precisely what success would look like to you and write it
down. If it’s too abstract an exercise, try envisioning what a typical day
would look like five years in the future. Or try writing the ‘About’ page for
your future firm’s website.

Keep this success statement somewhere visible to you in your workspace as

a visible prompt for what’s important. In moments of weakness and doubt
use it as a reminder of why you’re doing what you’re doing.
ARCHITECT + ENTREPRENEUR

“If you really want to do something, you'll find a way. If you don't, you'll
find an excuse.”– Jim Rohn
END.