to start a firm

cheers
Fri, 04 May 2007 17:53:17 +0000

Well, la, I think it’s a loss to the profession. You’re articulate and strong minded. Never thought about your own firm? If I was a client, I’d hire you in a heartbeat–and I’ve never seen your work!

rick…you are welcome to disagree but I know lots of successful architects who started with nothing when they were 25 to 30. Lots. In Manhattan and Los Angeles and St Louis and Chicago and San Francisco and Honolulu and Singapore and Hong Kong and Shanghai and Sydney and so on and so on.

My plan is not just for Pritzker Prize winners. It is a good plan to follow if you want to concentrate on high design. Full stop.

I started my firm with one project at age 28 turning 29. I never made zero money. Hah! Perish the thgouht! Never. I made a decent profit every year for the past 21 years–at least 50% above the salary I would have made at a firm–usually much much more.

As Francis Ford Coppola says about starting to make films at 21: "I had a baby to feed–I couldn’t afford not to make good money! "

In opening the last branch office, when my partner had a few grey hairs, the size of our project jumped by a factor of 5 the first year and that level jumped by a factor of 3 last year. $100M projects still seem crazy but a $60M project is in our sights. These projects are starting to line up on a runway.

The fees are astronomical. Our staff is minimal and I plan to keep it that way.

If this keeps up, we will certainly have a shot a Pritzker-type work–museums and institutional work–what I call the Ronchamp phase of a career. It’s heading our way if we keep up our momentum. We have some unbelievable clients–hands-off guys who are also making a bloody fortune with minimal staff levels.

Instead of automatically poo-poohing what the girl has to say, consider this: I managed to get through my twenties, thirties and forties with a great, mostly 8:30 to 5:30 pm lifestyle plus six weeks annual paid vacation plus one or two trips overseas every year plus private schools for my sons. I was able to carry a $3200 per month mortgage throughout my thirties and forties and made a nice chunk of money flipping a couple of pieces of real estate.

There are lots of ways to slice up a career–yours worked for you but it would have stifled me–and most women. I’ve had a great career which has spanned the globe and it is still popping.

I am only too happy to recommend this type of career to any gutsy young architect.