New Year, New Architects: 10 Resolutions for Professional Growth and Success

As we enter a new year, resolutions for architects are normal. Ideally, you assess the plans for the outgoing year before laying out your new plans.

Sometimes, you may observe personal weaknesses you want to strengthen. The following resolutions will help add value to the plans of professionals and architects.

RESOLUTION 1 – EAT YOUR FEARS

Often as young professionals, we are caught between expressing ourselves fully or compromising our creativity. We do this either not to look weird or to get the clients.

To eat your fears, you will have to decide to let your essence shine through.

To start, you will develop a signature for your designs. As a style of design, you will be known for. This you will apply in bits to design projects until you become confident.

RESOLUTION 2 – THINK BUSINESS

It’s time to run your practice professionally. Develop call cards, letterheads, receipts, invoices etc and work with them.

Develop a functional accounting system to take inventory of your finances. This is one way to stay long in practice and succeed.

Also, standardize and vet all drawings you send out.

RESOLUTION 3 – NETWORK MORE

Before now, you didn’t need to market architecture much. The reason was that the number of architects practicing was few.

But today, you need to. Projects won’t come by if you constantly remain indoors. Except you are a Starchitect like Norman Foster.

Develop that social skills, and talk to more people about what you do. Attend more professional and social engagements.

Give more speeches, present papers and talk more about your works online.

RESOLUTION 4 – BE MORE CREATIVE

Thinking outside the box is a common saying you will need to implement. Decide this year to develop a signature for yourself as earlier said.

Dare to go overboard with your ideas. Maybe not on all your projects but at least on one this year.

This way, you will remain relevant and leave behind your uniqueness for people to always remember.

RESOLUTION 5 – STAY FOCUSED

There are great projects and there are okay projects. You will need to focus on the kind you want So as not to engage in a futile one.

You will also need to develop the capacity to know projects that waste time and gives poor remuneration, except you are engaging in community service.

RESOLUTION 6 – BENCHMARK YOUR FEE

As an individual and as a firm you are going to execute a lot of projects. You really don’t want that client to ask you unexpectedly what your fees are. You may start blabbing because you run a flexible fee structure.

So benchmark it. Know your running cost, know your overhead, decide your value and draw up a fee guide.

You can also use the scale of fees proposed by your Architectural association.

RESOLUTION 7 – LOOK GOOD

Practicing architecture isn’t easy. You have unending amendments, impromptu meetings, midnight and overnight designs and so on.

However, presentation is a part of this business. Good architecture is good packaging.

RESOLUTION 8 – COLLABORATE MORE

You may not be aware but a lot of young architects like you are executing great projects. So, have better knowledge, experience and exposure. This will make you attractive to collaborators.

Collaborating will increase your capacity and reach.

Also, you can’t be good at everything, so where you feel weak you collaborate.

Besides, you may need collaboration to execute the big commissions when they come. Also, someone with whom you have collaborated on a small Project may bring a bigger one.

RESOLUTION 9 – TRAVEL MORE

Travel more to experience the wonderful world of architecture. If you haven’t prioritized travelling in your annual schedule as an architect then it’s about time.

You will need to keep replenishing your creative juice and strengthening your inspiration. Not everyone can conceive ideas from nothing. Some will need a catalyst, mostly from exposure gotten either through reading or travelling.

So do not just rely on images seen on the internet. Travel!

RESOLUTION 10 – READ MORE

It’s time to read more and not just flip through fancy books with pictures. A lot is going on especially in the world of research in architecture and in other fields.

So you will need to understand more about the theory behind art and architecture.

Hope you liked our article.

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