So, you want to take your architecture or design firm to seven-figure services.
How can you do it? Or a better question is… WHO can do it?
In the next lines, I’ll describe more on this How vs. Who dilemma, but before I want to make clear that this post is about the evolution of you as an entrepreneur selling high-value architectural services.
So, it is more about the WHO than the HOW.
The question I want you to ask yourself now is the following…
Is your firm a real business? Can it continue tomorrow, if you are not there? Will it continue to grow and make profits if you are not there? Or do you absolutely need to be there every day?
At the current state of things -Today- the question I really urge you to ask yourself …
Do you own a business, or do you just own a hustle? Are you just an employee of your own firm?
Because, if your just an operator, you will never take your firm to seven-figures.
You can’t if you don’t know how…
There are different stages of a building a seven-figure firm that operates as a real business, and what is most phenomenal about the process, is that the main role that is needed throughout these phases is constantly changing. And this means you.
So, what I am saying is this…
If you are planning to take your firm to seven figures and beyond, as the stakeholder you will need to evolve in the process, and what got you here, won’t get you there.
This means the mindset that shapes every decision you make to run and grow the firm is different.
It is absolutely amazing to see our clients and friends completely transform and evolve as we accompany them in their seven-figure firm journey.
Let’s get into the four main roles and how they think!
1. The Entrepreneur
The entrepreneur is the guy who gets the firm “up and running” he by nature is a visionary and can make dreams come true. The entrepreneur by trait, is a hustler. He operates in “hustle mode” and works long hours to get things done.
This is or was likely you, in the early founding days of your firm.
The entrepreneur plays a key role in landing the first clients and usually, can take the firm to the low six-figures. And that’s it.
Typically, it is not the entrepreneur, or his hustle that will take a firm to seven-figures or even to the high six-figures. He can’t, he doesn’t know how. It is not in his nature do so because his nature is to create, not scale.
We commonly see two things happen here:
A) The entrepreneur is overtaken by another role, The operator…Now this may be you, so I urge you not to get offended. But the operator is just an employee who has the firm in his or her name and does all day-to-day work that the entrepreneur doesn’t like to do (as the entrepreneur likes to create).
This not the ideal scenario, but it is a common scenario.
B) You evolve into the role that is now needed to take the firm to the next level.
2. The CEO
The chief executive officer is looking for smooth operations, team, and culture; and financial profit. The CEO is responsible for setting up the key processes to scale the firm. The key word here is process.
The CEO is neither a doer nor an operator, and understanding this is crucial if you want to be successful as the CEO and to grow your firm.
As you go through this transformation, from entrepreneur to CEO, you will find massive resistance; mostly it's your old habits that get in the way.
The CEO focuses on the numbers and turning a profit on every project. You are focused on building a firm that is sustainable and that will eventually rely on talent, culture, and processes. I do have some recommendations here…
Implementing these three processes are vital:
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Attraction: A process to systematically attract high-value clients.
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Engagement: A process to nurture and engage high-value clients.
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Connection: A process to connect with high-value clients AKA a sales process.
These are the processes covered in The A/E/C Method™, and they are there for a good reason. They work. They have helped hundreds of CEOs scale their firms successfully.
As the CEO grows the firm in a sustainable fashion, and grasps the true power of leveraging processes, you realize that there is still room to grow. You now think about leveraging yourself out of the equation, and out of the day-to-day management. Mind you, as the CEO, you have already built the foundations of a seven-figure firm, and you are either there or on your way there. This brings us to the next role.
3. The Business Owner
Business owners leverage themselves and hire a CEO to run the firm and the daily operations. They understands there are people who can do that job better.
As the person who has grown the firm, and evolved from entrepreneur, CEO, and now business owner, you know the firm, its clients, market, and culture better than anyone.
Your primary role is strategy. Your second role is hiring and mentoring the CEO.
Business owners don’t work in the firm. They work on the firm. They can truly analyze performance and see where the next big opportunities are.
To evolve to this height, and to truly build a firm that is sustainable even if you are not there, you must learn to change your mindset, and let go of old habits that are no longer needed.
At some point in the game, you have to stop working 60-hour weeks on operations. Next, you have to leverage processes, culture and your team. Seven-figure firms are not built off of hustle, they are built on systems, talent, and discipline.
About the Author: Ivan J. Lares is Chief Executive Officer | Senior Marketing Strategist at Sea Level Media. Vancouver, Canada-based Sea Level Media was founded in 2015 with a core mission of helping executive leadership at architecture firms improve the way they market their firms.
