How will you stay in a competition in a dog eats dog industry? There are only a few architects who emerge to be exceptional. How did they make it? How did they survive? These are the questions that often linger to the thoughts of a new architect. Getting a license is not enough…there is a long queue to success. The good news is, it is achievable… of course with the right formula.
I myself have not reached the pinnacle of my success as an architect. I know “marami pa akong kakaining bigas” (I still have a mouthful of rice to eat), as we say it colloquially in Filipino. Then how should we start?
I remember back in 2011, I attended a seminar by Craig Duswalt in Las Vegas, Nevada called “Rockstar System for Success.” I admit it, I went to that seminar because it has a “Rockstar” in it. Hey, it is not bad to wish that music of Nirvana, Metallica, etc. (sorry, I am a 90’s kid) will be incorporated in the talk. Well, it did, with a twist while getting points on “how to be a Rockstar in your industry.” His advice makes sense.
How will I apply it as an architect? So let me adapt his formula in an architects’ view.
Always do your best, somebody might be watching. No matter how small the project is, grab it. A passerby might be impressed with what you have done and who knows that one might turn out to be a big client. You may never know who is watching so give your best shot in all your works. So make a lot of projects big or small, somebody might take a look into your portfolio.
Make connections meet the right kind of people. Get out! and socialize…let them know that you exist. I know it is quite hard for architects to communicate with people because we are used to talk with inanimate objects. But the fish is in the ocean, not inside your office…so mingle. Be socially visible, join “worthy” organizations, attend parties…oops, we are talking the right kind of people. Who are these? These are the prospective clients; where to meet them? You know their watering holes, figure that out.
Continue your education. I graduated from architecture last 2001, so many changes happened since then. I have not kept abreast of what is happening. Then I came to the point that I felt stagnant. I was like an architect, like everybody else, there is nothing different. I told myself “I have to be something… an architect who specializes in something. I have to yearn for more.” That is why, I took up an online course in feng shui interior design, a photography lesson and on the way to enroll for a master’s degree. Acquiring knowledge should never stop, do not be contented on what you have... There are a lot more things to learn.
Always willing to take a risk, never get contented. They said opportunity can be found outside your comfort zone. This is true that is why I went out from Philippines and went to Bahrain without knowing anybody from there. I just took the risk. My decision to leave my home country which is my comfort zone made a big impact on my career as an architect, there are growth and new learning experiences. This is also the same reason why I moved again from Bahrain. It is a risk that I am taking; I have to do something out of my life while there is still a possible opportunity outside my comfort zone. So now, I moved to my third country. The United States, let us see what is waiting for me. If I fail, it is another learning experience that will add up to my value. So keep on exploring the universe is vast ---do not limit yourself and get contented.
Create a powerful brand. Be distinct from everybody else, have your own architectural style. Define yourself. Think of the dictum of famous architects, Make one. Remember “less is more” by Mies Van der Rohe; “ a house is a house” by Louis Kahn; “Cube within a cube” by Le Corbusier; “form follows function” by Louis Sullivan; “Art and Architecture, the new unity” by Walter Gropius; “A Structure has a life like a man” by Jeanette Stark…(hahaha! This is the privilege of writing this article, it is the only place where I could write my name along them). So perhaps you could write your own design philosophy too, which will become your powerful brand.
Write a book. What are the common denominators of great architects? They all have a book. Start to write your own story now, compile your portfolios of works. Capture all the artistic designs you made, everything will matter even your sketches. By the way, here is a funny technique I learned from Craig Duswalt’s seminar, it is called “reverse shoplifting.” After you have published your book, go to the bookstore and put your book together with books by famous architects. Isn’t it great to be along with the books of these architects? It is another form of marketing. (this is just a joke)
Promote yourself. There are lots of free mediums to promote yourself these days. There is Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Linkedln.. etc. Post in your facebook account some pictures of your work (but do not overboard). Contribute something on youtube, like doing some “how to.” (how to render, how to create a perspective, make a tutorial). Get also a domain of your name, and have a personal website, you are more credible if you have your website and feel free to showcase all your services and works.
These pointers are just a way of helping you to be successful as an architect. I don’t mean to become boastful…but believe me, marketing does the tricks---of course aside from your ability.
Comments