Architect's Essentials of Starting, Assessing and Transitioning a Design Firm / Edition 1

by Peter Piven, Bradford Perkins

Overview

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

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780470261064
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	03/21/2008
Series:	The Architect's Essentials of Professional Practice , #17
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	464
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.66(h) x 1.44(d)

About the Author

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.

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Table of Contents

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.