Architect's Essentials of Starting, Assessing and Transitioning a Design Firm

Written by two leading experts in the field this essential volume offers a step-by-step guide to understanding and evaluating the goals, risks and the rewards of starting a firm.

• Covers the basics of firm organisation, personnel requirements, legal considerations, fee setting, marketing issues and the essentials of strategic and business plans
• Addresses how to get started including how to create your first business plan, evaluate initial needs and costs, create a budget and a produce a list of action items to get started
• This volume is practical, applied, concise, portable, affordable and user-friendly

Introduction.

PART 1: STARTING A DESIGN FIRM.

Introduction.

Deciding to "Go on Your Own".

Marketing and Sales.

Financial Management.

Negotiating Fees and Contracts.

Organization and Personnel.

Legal and Ethical Issues.

Resources and Support.

Strategic and Business Plans.

Planning for Excellences.

Potential Cuases of Failure.

Launching your Firm.

Appendix A. Study Guide.

Appendix B. Charting Your Course.

PART 2: OWNERSHIP TRANSITION.

Introduction.

Ownership Transition Options.

Determining Candidate Selection Criteria and Communicating Founders? Expectations.

Valuing the Firm: How Much is it Worth?

Making the Purchase Affordable: Ownership Transfer Mechanisms.

Design the Ownership Transition Program.

Getting the Ownership Transition Program Started.

Documenting the Ownership Transition Program.

Choosing the Form of Entity.

Developing Leadership in the Firm.

Preparing for Future Transition.

Glossary.

Bibliography.

Peter Piven, FAIA, is a principal consultant of The Coxe Group, Inc., Philadelphia, the oldest and largest multidisciplinary firm providing marketing and management consultation to design professionals. He is a guest lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Fine Arts, the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Bradford Perkins, FAIA, MRAIC, AICP, is the founding principal of Perkins Eastman Architects, PC, a 750-person architecture, planning, and interior design firm based in New York. He is the author of Building Type Basics for Elementary and Secondary Schools, Building Type Basics for Senior Living, and International Practice for Architects, all published by Wiley.

The definitive reference for the life cycle of your design firm

By combining two popular titles in the Architect's Essentials series, this book offers a single resource that you can depend on throughout the life cycle of your design firm. Half of the book guides architects and other design professionals through the ins and outs of launching a firm. The second half helps you enhance your firm's strengths as you navigate ownership transitions, which may occur when you expand ownership to raise capital or begin preparing for retirement. Moreover, this book helps you determine when to conduct a review and how to make essential course corrections that keep your firm moving along a successful track.

Written by two recognized leaders in architectural practice, this book offers you practical advice based on firsthand experience for dealing with such issues as:

• Creating a business plan and evaluating initial costs

• Implementing winning business and marketing strategies to expand your firm's success

• Managing personnel, fees, contract negotiations, budgets, and legal considerations

• Evaluating a firm

• Establishing the criteria for selecting new firm owners

• Designing a smooth ownership transition program

Whether you are just starting a firm, evaluating an existing firm, or looking to transfer your firm's ownership, here is one book that provides clear, easy-to-follow answers.