The world of architectural design is now more competitive than ever. With firms, companies, and institutions seeking to build new buildings, the rates have not always increased with the increased demand for architects. While the market is currently experiencing an upswing in both commercial and residential building, today’s architects are now having to do more with less. There are some ways to solidify and increase your profits as an architect, but this means being innovative and flexible in your business.
Diversify Your Offerings
One such way to increase your profitability is to diversify the services you offer clients. Naturally, there is an immense amount of time, attention, and care applied to the creation of designs, that is the big picture idea. However, offering clients services such as the sale of fixtures, furnishing, accessories, etc., can easily add up to an increase in your bill. This means either gathering these products at a trade price to offer your client as an add-on to the architectural design or partnering with another company to offer your client their services with you getting a cut of the profit. Paying attention to these small design details and selling them to clients is an excellent way to diversify your offerings and make more per job, and such a move does not require any additional workload on your part.
Bill for Additional Services
As an architect, you create and realize a design vision on a large-scale. However, clients often ask for assistance or guidance with other smaller issues such as the interior design of a location. Ensure that you are maximizing your profits by explicitly advertising and billing clients for these smaller additional services. If you are in a relationship with a client and they want help with the finishings and paint in their new building, it only makes good business sense to directly offer that as a separate consultation.
Consulting Others
In today’s market, there are now more options for architects to consult with other companies or even other designers, so make sure you are taking advantage of this service to bring in new clients through the door. Occasionally, a client does not require the full services of an architect. They may need assistance with legal information about building codes or they might need to plan something out with another professional. This is where you can heighten your professional visibility as a consultant without over straining yourself by adding complex projects to your workload. Most architectural consultants are more competitive when they at least possess a bachelor of architecture. In all cases, this degree can allow you to raise your rates and your profile in the community, so if you don’t have one, consider going back to school.
Conclusion
There are many ways to increase your profits as an architect, from cutting costs to partnering with construction companies and offering more online services. There are endless ways to make the most of your business, but in this market, all these options are meaningless unless you have the commitment to your clients. Offering new services to your client and making customer service the foundation of your business in the single most effective way to increase your profile and your profitability.
