Have you ever wanted to work for clients with a mission that you are passionate about?

Well, today we speak with Christina Congdon, project and operations manager of Environmental Works.

Environmental Works is a Community Design Center based in Seattle Washington.

In this episode we talk about what inspired Christina to follow a career path in Community Design.

As the operations manager, she also shares some insight about how to handle the growing pains of a firm that is moving into a new stage of scale.

Get access to the 4-part firm profit map here: http://freearchitectgift.com.

Have you ever wanted to work for clients with a mission that you are passionate about?

Well, today we speak with Roger Tucker, the Executive Director of Environmental Works.

Environmental Works is a Community Design Center based in Seattle Washington.

In this episode, we discuss what it takes to run a Community Design Center, including the finances and the kind of work this firm does.

Get access to the 4-part firm profit map here: http://freearchitectgift.com.

Craig Cody, a Certified Public Accountant, reached out and wanted to share some tax tips here on the show.

He's a former New York City police officer and also a Certified Tax Coach, which basically means he specializes in helping business owners find the most tax efficient structure for their business.
So if you're not in the US, a lot of the specifics we discuss won't be applicable to you.

On the other hand, if you're getting ready to pay taxes or wondering if there are ways you can save some money ethically and legally in this area, then you'll find this conversation interesting and valuable.

Access the FREE 4-part architecture firm profit map by clicking here.

Today I'm mixing it up. I had a breakthrough last week and I want to share it with you because I think it will help you.

Legendary business consultant Jim Rohn is reported to have said, "You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with."

What did he mean by that?

Well, the people we associate with have the ability to pull us down, keep us where we are, or pull us up to another level.

Let me give you an example.

Back in middle school, there was this kid who I thought was pretty cool. He had long wavy hair and even a mustache. When you're in 6th-grade things like that are pretty important.

Well, this kid swore like a sailor. F this, F that, you can imagine, but I can't repeat it because this is a G-rated show.

You know what happened? I thought he was so cool, I started swearing.

F this, F that.

Well, that didn't go over too well when I let some of that slip at home.

My mom had this container of liquid soap she would put down my mouth. Not the way I teach my kids, but let me tell you - it made an impact.

Ultimately decided that language didn't represent who I wanted to be as a person.

So I overcame that habit.

Here's example #2:

Back when I got fired from my last official employer (yes I was actually fired - maybe I'll share the details of that story on the podcast someday, I can't remember if I have already).

Anyway, I invested a bit of money to attend a small group mastermind of entrepreneurs.

A couple of these entrepreneurs had 7 figure incomes, most of them clearing 6 figures.

And here I was after just getting laid off from my architecture job making about $70k / year.

With a new kid on the way…

I was freaked out about my future, to be sure.

But being in that room of successful and motivated entrepreneurs motivated me, and I felt pulled up to their level.

Within a year I had surpassed the income I had at my previous job.

So I've seen this concept of the 5 people play out in my life, but I haven't been very good in the past at nurturing relationships.

I've told myself the story that I'm not very good at keeping in touch with people.

Yet, I always admired the people who had large networks and seemed to know everyone, they seemed to be more successful.

Especially in this industry, architecture, and design, you won't get far unless you build a team of people who believe in you and refer you work.

So .. back to my breakthrough.

A mentor recently challenged me to take this advice from Jim Rohn to heart and focus on upgrading the 5 people in all areas of my life.

This doesn't mean that just five people are going to be the answers to every area of your life.

Perhaps you know some people who have fantastic relationships with their spouse.

Others are great at business and others are great at building wealth.
Some are great at staying fit.

You can have 5 people for each category of your life you care about.So I've made a goal to reach out to 5 people every week. These can be new people or people I already know.

The breakthrough happened on the very first day I tried this out.
The first call I made, I was invited to speak at a large conference.
The second call I made, I was able to help out a lady who is a fantastic business woman, but I don't know her very well.
On our call, she shared that her mother had just passed away unexpectedly.

I was able to share with her that my mom passed away unexpectedly when I was a teenager, so we were just able to be silent for a moment and honor two women who meant so much to us.

Yep, I was close to tears.

So my first day of reaching out, and I had these 2 awesome experiences.

So let me ask you a question: is there someone that you should reach out to?

Ponder that for a minute and I'm sure the answer will come to you.

How can you upgrade the 5 people in your life?

Get access to the 4-part firm profit map here: http://freearchitectgift.com .

On today's episode of the Business of Architecture show, you'll discover how a UK-based firm grew their practice in short order by using a few powerful yet simple business strategies.

James Sizer and his wife Solam Sizer are directors of the firm SA Architectural Services, based out of Norwich, UK.

In 2017, the firm joined the Architect Marketing Institute's firm accelerator program and has seen remarkable success since then.

In today's episode, you'll hear James Sizer talk about the strategies he implemented.

Get access to the 4-part firm profit map here: http://freearchitectgift.com .