The business of architecture
A couple of colleagues of mine, Dave Sharp and John Ellway, responded to my resource planning post a fortnight ago by asking for my take on why our headcount at Mihaly Slocombe is growing. In the post, I had discussed the benefits of a larger team, and its normalising effect on our earnings. Dave and John were... Continue Reading →
In the early days of Mihaly Slocombe, we had no idea how to plan. We knew what needed doing, on what projects, and in what order, but we never attempted to put it all together. We had no conception of short cycle planning, of how to line up tasks each month to achieve a setlist... Continue Reading →
This is the fifth article in a series examining how we are transitioning our architecture studio from a lean startup to a more mature business methodology. In the last article, I shared my research into twenty six different resource scheduling apps, and the approach I used to whittle them down to a shortlist of four: Coincraft,... Continue Reading →
For the first six years and three months of Mihaly Slocombe's existence, we relied on a lean methodology and Microsoft Excel to manage our business. But my growing constellation of Excel spreadsheets eventually began creating as many problems as they were solving. The increasing trouble I was having with them triggered a broader realisation that... Continue Reading →
For the first six years and three months of Mihaly Slocombe's existence, we relied on a lean methodology and Microsoft Excel to manage our business. But my growing constellation of Excel spreadsheets eventually began creating as many problems as they were solving. The increasing trouble I was having with them triggered a broader realisation that... Continue Reading →
For the first six years and three months of Mihaly Slocombe's existence, we relied on a lean methodology and Microsoft Excel to manage our business. But my growing constellation of Excel spreadsheets eventually began creating as many problems as they were solving. The increasing trouble I was having with them triggered a broader realisation that... Continue Reading →
When we founded Mihaly Slocombe in 2010, Erica and I had never been taught how to manage or grow a business. Naïvely we thought we could work it out ourselves, piecing together every fragment of the puzzle through trial and error. Our learning curve was steep and often rocky. I sometimes think back on those first... Continue Reading →
Late on Wednesday night, a colleague alerted me to a perturbing YouTube video uploaded by the Association of Professional Builders. Despite its official-sounding name, APB is in fact a marketing agency that "specialises in helping building companies to increase their leads, sales, profits and professionalism." Its goal is to assist builders to stay in business, which it facilitates through online training,... Continue Reading →
There are many residential architecture studios in Melbourne whose portfolios are concentrated within specific geographical regions: the south-eastern suburbs, the inner-north, bayside, the Mornington Peninsula, Ballarat. I live in Carlton North and seem to see Robert Simeoni signs on front fences everywhere. Zen Architects does a lot of work in and around Northcote. Jolson Architects has nailed the Toorak market. I don't... Continue Reading →
In August last year, Erica and I signed Mihaly Slocombe up to the Houzz Pro membership programme. This placed our sponsored project photos into the organic search streams of local audiences, increasing the visibility of our business in and around Melbourne. We were required to commit to the programme for twelve months, a huge financial leap... Continue Reading →