Financial Management in Architecture
Posted: October 22, 2012 Filed under: Architecture & Design, Good Practice | Tags: architecture, BCU, financial management, Lecture, part 3, practice management, professional practice 2 Comments »I was delighted to be invited to guest lecture at Birmingham School of Architecture at BCU recently. Ruth Reed, Programme Director of the Prost-grad Diploma in Architectural Practice needed someone to talk to Part 3 students about Financial Management in professional practice. I have over 10 years of experience working at management level in small practices, a large proportion of which was spent managing finances – so of course I agreed.
The content of the module seemed straightforward enough: invoicing, payment of fees, cashflow forecasting, business planning, resource management, taxation, and so on. But I knew I was going to be faced with a room full of people who I could be fairly sure didn’t study architecture because they find tax issues and spreadsheets fascinating.
I had 2.5 hours to cover this enormous topic but together we worked our way through it, and finished off with 5 group exercises which I hoped demonstrated that financial management is simple. I’m delighted to report that no-one fell asleep and I definitely heard someone utter the words “I love spreadsheets” (no joke!). It might have helped that I approached the subject matter from the perspective of a fictitious small (micro) practice with a modest turnover and who employed just 4 members of staff. Scaling financial management right down to this level seems to be an effective way of understanding the basics.
A few points from the lecture (and I would welcome feedback on these points from practitioners):
- keeping accurate accounting records and updating them regularly will avoid any nasty surprises.
- a cashflow forecast and a budget are two different things.
- a traditional invoicing schedule (ie. invoicing on completion of a workstage) isn’t always the best invoicing schedule.
- setting goals in a financial business plan and regularly reviewing them as a team means that aims are more likely to be achieved.
- financial management isn’t a science, you don’t need to be an expert or necessarily even have an interest in accounting – if you can manage your own bank account you can manage the finances of a SME.
- keep it simple!
We finished off with some thoughts about other industries, particularly new emerging industries such as web development, and how they can be applied to our own industry. The message I was sharing was that the old ways aren’t always the best. I’m always looking for new ways to liven up financial management or make life easier. In fact one of the examples I cited was Angry Productive Birds. It’s a bit of fun and possibly a bit silly, but hey, why can’t time management and project resourcing be fun?
I’m pleased to say that the students seems to enjoy the lecture. They went away looking less worried and the feedback I’ve received so far is very positive. I hope to be able to deliver this lecture again in the future.
Comments from those who attended the lecture, along with comments from practitioners about managing finances would be most welcome.
Time Management & Learning To Say No.
Posted: February 13, 2011 Filed under: Good Practice | Tags: business advice, freelance 3 Comments »Since June I’ve been carrying work on a freelance basis alongside the role I have at BPN Architects (3 days per week). I work with MADE one day a week which leaves the remaining day a week up to me. A few months ago I changed my facebook status to “time to start saying no”. There’s a reason for this.
There’s a certain amount of pressure I’ve put myself under to ensure that I try and find paid work that suits my timeframe and allows me to indulge in all the stuff that was the reason for embarking down the freelance route in the first place. There was no formula to how I planned to spend my time. As anyone who has ever worked for themselves knows, in the early days you want to please everyone, take every offer that comes your way, go to every event/seminar/conference.
It simply can’t be done and I’ve found it a challenge to manage my time.
So here are a few things I’ve learned over the first 9 months of being freelance – I hope it’s of some use to others:
- Don’t say yes to everything, think through your options. If you say yes, do you have the time to make sure you do the best possible job? (if you say ‘no’, remember to say ‘thanks, but…’ beforehand!)
- Value your time and don’t give too much of it away for free. Yes, be helpful, but remember you have a skill that is worth paying for.
- If someone helps you out, return the favour, preferably twice over. Reciprocation is rewarding (and is very web2.0 of course) – it will pay off.
- Keep neat and tidy records of everything you do. Backup every file and be meticulous about your finances including producing cashflow reports.
- Communicate well with your clients. They will appreciate regular updates and good communication is key to a good working relationship.
- Don’t let anyone down. If you say you’re going to do something, follow it up and do it!
I was asked to be a guest speaker at BCU’s media department a few months back as part of the Enterprise module of the MA Social Media course.
Here’s the video of my talk at BCU
And here’s the Q&A Session (I was speaking alongside Marverine Cole and Hick Holzherr – Nick had to leave early so it was down to Marverine and me to hold court)
The last couple of slides from my presentation might also be of interest:
Accessibility – Response to a question
Posted: July 29, 2010 Filed under: Good Practice, Web2.0 & Social Media | Tags: accessibility, twitter, web2.0, website, writing Leave a comment »Yesterday, whilst learning to use Expression Engine, I learned that creating links to open in a new window was a bad thing. No further explanation was given so I turned to Twitter with the question: Question about creating web content: why is opening a link in a new window considered bad in terms of accessibility? I had a whole heap of really insightful and helpful replies so seeing as I’m learning so much about web accessibility, I figured I might as well share it here.
http://twitter.com/Laura_Hatch
Web content answer c/o @MartinHatch [see below]:
1) Considered bad bcos blind/partially sighted users get disorientated…..when a new window opens as they lose the trail of where they have come from i.e. there’s no back/history in current window but
2) Opening a new window IS acceptable in terms of accessibility if you warn the user beforehand by putting “(opens in new window)” as part of the text for the link. However another downside is that it’s also sometimes confusing in less robust web environments such as on mobile phones where there’s not a clear interface for multiple windows / tabs.
http://twitter.com/MartinHatch
I was a technical architect on the RNIB Website, feel free to ping me any questions around accessibility
http://twitter.com/NajmC
I have never liked it, in terms of accessibility or otherwise. Hate having new windows/tabs opening everywhere & as I’m easily confused I _always_ try using the back button before I realise 
there was a time when it was said that opening a new window was used to keep visitors on your site but if I click a link it is because I want to visit that page and will go back to the original site if I want to. Usually have enough tabs open don’t need them being opened for me
http://twitter.com/since68
I think it becomes difficult for screen readers to follow what is going on. It also is a bit messy with all those open windows.
http://twitter.com/dracos
http://diveintoaccessibility.org/day_16_not_opening_new_windows.html
might be of interest.
http://twitter.com/editorialgirl
Because ‘less savvy’ users don’t realise a new window has opened, then they get confused when the back button doesn’t work.
http://twitter.com/supercooljames
The user should be allowed to decide if they want to open in a new window. Forcing this removes the option
…and in response to James above Alison said:
http://twitter.com/alisonvsmith
Agree – did you know about @a11yLDN taking place @ City Uni on 20th September?
[at this point I did indeed book myself into the Accessibility London event on 21st September]
http://twitter.com/richpayne88
I think it’s because most screen readers rely on the ‘back’ button, so it leaves the visually impaired stranded. Though I should stress that’s an educated guess, rather than a concrete answer.
http://twitter.com/BookJo
contact @scope for advice
What do you think about RIBA’s Website?
Posted: July 25, 2010 Filed under: Good Practice, Web2.0 & Social Media | Tags: client services, RIBA, website 2 Comments »Last week I attended a workshop with RIBA Client Services. London-based Director of Membership Services Cathy Ditchfield and Client Services Advisor Bobbie Williams were in Birmingham to talk through the client services process, and to advise on how the RIBA and Chartered Practices can make the system work better for all parties.
Typical scenario: someone is looking for an Architect, they call up RIBA Client services who provide them with a shortlist of chartered practices (3 – 5 practices on average) which has been drawn up based on location, the size of the project, and a number of other factors (specialisms required, previous experience, etc). The online client referral system works in the same way – but requires users to register and log in.
The online directory is there to allow a visitor to the website to search, using various filters, allowing them to draw up their own shortlist, or find contact details for a specific practice or member.
If you are a chartered practice, you have a better chance of making it onto shortlists for project leads if your RIBA practice profile information is kept regularly updated. Better profile = more work. Simple, right? Well no actually, because in a nutshell, RIBA’s website sucks.
Architects often get a lot of stick for their websites, and RIBA needs to lead by example. Their website should be clean, easy to use, functional, accessible and look great. It’s none of these things. It’s outdated and clunky – I could be wrong here but from memory the website has changed very little since it’s first incarnation. It’s stuck in the land of Web1.0 due to its lack of perception to the users needs (be that members, or clients). It’s difficult to navigate and the menus are confused. It’s clogged up with masses of outdated information, not least because members find the login and profile updating process complicated and time consuming. The search system isn’t intuitive and unless you have precise information, you are unlikely to find what you are looking for (see image above).
I should say at this point that Bryant Priest Newman has a really good relationship with the institute and the practice supports the regional office wherever possible – Regional Head, Matt Dobson, has a reassuringly fresh outlook and is always willing to listen to members.
You may have noticed that I’m fond of the odd moan, but I always try to do something constructive in order to put it right. So that was my question to the RIBA team last week: as fee-paying members, how can we make sure something is done about the website? The problem here isn’t just that online client services and the online directory don’t function efficiently, the wider problem is RIBA’s website as a whole.
Incidentally, fellow Practice Manager Su Butcher blogged about the online client services system back in April 2009. As far as I can see, nothing has changed since then – but the Client Services workshops are hopefully going some way to address the issues.
So, Cathy’s response to my question…. alarmingly it sounds like the website isn’t at the top of RIBA’s marketing strategy and the only way it will reach the top of the list is if members share their dissatisfaction and make the institute realise how important a good website is. So, encouraged by Cathy and the team, I’ll be dropping Harry Rich (RIBA’s Chief Exec) a line. I would share Harry’s email address with you here, but at the time of writing, I can’t find it on RIBA’s website. I rest my case your honour.
Can Creativity be Taught?
Posted: April 22, 2010 Filed under: Good Practice | Tags: collaboration, creativity 3 Comments »I was asked recently to give some thought to a planned creativity session for a company away day. I think Paul was probably hoping for a response that read something along the lines of: sounds great Paul! Unfortunately he found himself on the receiving end of my waffle. So here it is:
Assuming you are using the IDEO video [I recommended that Paul and his team take a look at this video which I saw at a recent Arts Council workshop], I think its important to stress what makes it so inspiring. I think it’s because of the team – individuals, personalities, skills, approach – and why that broad cross section is so effective in making the process a creative one. In my opinion you can’t teach creativity, but you can:
a. inspire and
b. tap into the skills of individuals that they (or you) might not have thought were relevant to the day job.
In my experience, ideas and creativity come from questions. In other words, an idea evolves creatively through thought and analysis provoked by questions. More often than not, questions are asked by someone in the group that may not necessarily be the most creative thinker, but they may be able to see around the outside of an idea, better than the person who came up with the idea in the first place.
Feedback sessions from exercises are key. If you split your group into 2 teams a bit of competition could be really effective. You might want to consider assigning roles to members of opposite team – this is similar to the approach at the Arts Council workshop I attended. Maybe take it in turns with each exercise to take a different role. For example a ‘builder” would constructively critique an idea (it sounds a heck of a lot nicer than “critisiser”!) and give 2 criticisms and explain them. A “fan” might be assigned the role to come up with 2 reasons why the idea is good and again, explain why. An “operator” could take on the role of the person on the other side of the table and respond by imagining they are in the client’s shoes. The team presenting an idea will take on board all the feedback should reconsider their approach – feedback isn’t bad, it makes things better.
Approach, process and team are key – not necessarily the ideas themselves.
Away days are brilliant – we had one at BPN a couple of years ago (we went to Walsall Art Gallery), but the most useful part of the day was the debrief in the pub afterwards where we all relaxed and talked about what we were really thinking! I think that just about sums it up.
Advice for Architecture Students
Posted: March 14, 2010 Filed under: Architecture & Design, Good Practice | Tags: architecture, CV, students, tips 1 Comment »These are tough times, not least for Architecture students desperately trawling through the RIBA Directory of Practices writing to every man and his dog in the hope that someone will be able to offer them an opportunity. On the back of a few conversations that I’ve had recently with those looking for work, here are a few tips for students (in fact, anyone who’s been made redundant) to make sure that your application is hitting the mark.
Firstly remember that practices are being inundated with applications so you need to make it obvious that you are instantly employable. Think from an employers perspective – an Architect running a business might suddenly find themselves with a tight deadline on a large drawing package. They need to know that you are up to the job, so good quality legible drawing samples are essential. You still need to get your personality across, but remember that the stuff you think is important might not necessarily be the thing your prospective boss is looking for.
Personalise the covering letter. An application with an anonymous covering letter won’t grab your prospective employers attention, however, spending a little time researching the practice you are applying to, perhaps mentioning key schemes that you admire, or explaining your understanding of their working ethos, means you’re more likely to get noticed. Flattery won’t necessarily get you everywhere, but it can help (don’t go overboard though, you don’t want to embarrass anyone!).
Think about the presentation of your CV and covering letter to prove that you’re thinking about the bigger picture, not just the fact that you have an degree in Architecture. A little thought about font, colours, graphics and layout will not go unnoticed. Make sure work samples are large enough to be legible. Low resolution images aren’t worth using.
I lose count of the amount of CV’s I see littered with spelling mistakes. It’s instantly off-putting. Spellcheck is there for a reason – don’t risk it, just use it!
Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback about your application. Most Architects have been in your shoes at some point or another, so will probably be able to spare a couple of minutes to chat with you about what could be improved.
Good luck, stay positive and keep trying.
Blogging in Practice
Posted: March 7, 2010 Filed under: Good Practice | Tags: architecture, blogging, web2.0, writing Leave a comment »I’ve been getting my blogging fix over at Bryant Priest Newman Architects’ blog for a good while now and seems a bit of a shame not to pull some of that content over here. Yes, it probably is cheating so I’ll make it a brief summary instead.
My most recent post was based around the debate that I took part in at RIBA West Midlands. We were discussing collaboration in Architecture, but what I found most interesting was the continuing scepticism about using web-based collaborative tools. On that basis, I’ve written a piece for the next edition of Area Magazine, the quarterly newsletter sent to all RIBA registered Architects in the West Midlands, about the opportunities Web2.0 can bring to Architects.
The post prior to that was the day I unwittingly managed to get Bryant Priest Newman onto the homepage of the Architect’s Journal website simply by sharing a photograph on Twitter. Take a look at The Power of 140 Characters.
Other blog posts:
Web2.0 & Architecture - A day out at Hello Digital 2009
What is Innovation? - An insight into my stream of consciousness resulting from a questionnaire received from the National Office of Statistics
Social Media & Web2.0 in the Built Environment – Preparation for Be2Camp Brum in 2009
Too Tired to Tweet? Too Busy to Blog? – My first ever rant
