The Business of Architecture podcast is a program of architecture-related conversations that have been listened to a lot lately. In each episode, in conversations with successful people from the sector, curious subjects and problems in architecture are discussed. The sustainability of the architectural profession as a business is one of the points that we encounter as a problem because it was not considered at the beginning. In this episode, which is the 172nd episode of Business of Architecture, the business gap in architecture is discussed with guest Ray Brown, and essential points are emphasized.
Ray Brown
Ray Brown is a business coach and entrepreneur who has worked in different parts of the world, such as the UK, South Africa, US. He has 25 years of CEO history at different large companies and his own ventures until he moved to Australia in 2005. Saying that his biggest passion is to help business owners discover their own potential and, thus, their businesses’ potential, Ray Brown continues to work as a coach in Australia. In the consultancy and coaching process, he works with many architectural office companies and realizes that there is a business knowledge gap in architectural education and profession. When the number of consultants in the architecture field increased, he co-founded the company ArchiBiz to be able to help and coach.
Archibiz
The founding story of ArchiBiz began in 2015 when Ray Brown noticed a pattern in his architectural consultants. Although they are talented, ambitious, hardworking architects who do their job very well, he realizes that they have a business that they cannot run, and he establishes this company, ArchiBiz, where he can help with financial and management deficiencies and show them that they can play the game by the rules.
Within the scope of ArchiBiz company, education, workshops, business mentoring, and coaching services are provided, as various special consultancy services. The working area of the company has exceeded 150 countries. The main purpose is to reveal the potential of all the architectural companies which have what it takes and contribute to their businesses’ successful progress.
About the Episode
The episode starts with an important thought of Ray Brown about the succession of a business. He emphasizes the importance of thinking about why you are starting a business and the importance of knowing the answer to the question of what is the actual reason. While Ray Brown emphasizes the importance of ensuring the sustainability of a business, he says that the continuity of the business and its finances should not depend on one or two people. While talking about architectural firms, he reveals an important analysis by emphasizing how architects act by thinking that they should do everything themselves. Talking about the top three mistakes made in architectural practices in the conversation, Ray Brown also says that the solution to changing the perception of architectural works as a low-value service in the eyes of the customer is again in the architectural business. Brown lists the five pillars of architecture business’ seen value.
Similarly to all businesses, Brown tells a ‘sandwich story’ that can help to enthusiastically understand the process or ingredients of an architectural business. He refers to the sandwich’s meat as the offer of the project. Most people focus on the offer. The important thing is what is beside the offer, what you put next to the meat. One side of the sandwich should be the problems the company solved for the client, and the other should be the qualifications that differentiate the specific company from the other architectural firms. He emphasizes that architectural practice is very competitive, and often all firms tend to serve similarly, so it is important to differentiate the business in a good way. Apart from financial, managerial, and technical issues, Brown says that social and individual issues are important in architectural practice. Emphasizing the importance of mindset, the conversation gives examples of unhealthy mindset, technician mindset – leader mindset, and the mindset of control.
As a conclusion, the episode with Ray Brown engages the business and architecture together and highlights the important things for a successful architecture business with Brown’s experiences and thoughts.
Architecture is a practice with high interdisciplinary interaction. In this episode, it is very instructive to discover ArchiBiz, developed by Ray Brown, an expert in the field of business administration, which is a different discipline, and to listen to his experiences with architects. While all the design, production, and research stages of architectural practice are taught in detail in schools, many architects do not have an idea about how to run the company when they graduate and start working. Ray Brown gives very useful information in approaching the problems that occur in the architectural business, which is basically formed for this reason.
Reference List:
- Business of Architecture. (n.d.). About. [online] Available at: https://www.businessofarchitecture.com/welcome/ [Accessed 9 Oct. 2022].
- archibiz.global. (n.d.). Home – Archibiz. [online] Available at: https://archibiz.global/ [Accessed 9 Oct. 2022].
- Apple Podcasts. (n.d.). Business of Architecture UK Podcast: 172: The Business Gap in Architecture with Ray Brown on Apple Podcasts. [online] Available at: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/172-the-business-gap-in-architecture-with-ray-brown/id1377750226?i=1000570634448 [Accessed 9 Oct. 2022].
