Graduates will often ask me how it’s possible to juggle working with so many clients every day, you are only one person, when do you get time to get things done, are you not afraid you might not get things done on time,
the answer is in the latter part of that question, afraid, fear is the one thing that both motivates us and discourage us, the best is to always lean towards motivation, the advantages exceed the disadvantages, for example, your salary for the month is equivalent to the work you put in per month and can be quite plenty, that also means you do not have a fixed amount of money you make per month. Let’s look at a few ways you can set up office, and be your own boss.
1.Unlearn What You’ve Learned
I don’t mean that you have to unlearn everything, think outside the box, you need to know that 50% of what you learned at school will not apply in the real working world, things that made sense in class might not make sense anymore, and one thing to note is, your designs are basically at the mercy of your client, this is exactly why the next topic is important.
2. You need to Stand out
You need to stand out from the crowd, you might need to rethink your design philosophy, don’t only take the easy jobs, take those weird buildings that others don’t want, learn a new application that can increase your speed and productivity from concept to final product, my advice is Revit, simply because it enables you to also render without breaking the bank.
3. Start working from Home
You might be tempted to rent a building or office space when you start out, it’s not necessarily, the world changed, people are more understanding to the idea of a home office today than they were a few years ago, turn a small area at your house or your garage into a comfortable space, you will spend most of your time at your client’s site, both during the design and construction.
What if you are part of a team, my answer is, work remotely you don’t even have to be in the same town or city, technology has got to a point that communicating with a team is affordable and instantaneous.
Here is a list of thing that makes working remote bearable
1. You need to reach out
Market your skills online, It will be difficult to find clients at first, it gradually gets better.
2. Try reaching out to other architects or Drafters
Make the call, you never know, reach out to other architects for collaboration opportunities, reach out to your professors, and make your intentions clear from the get-go.
3. Try out freelancing websites
Websites like, freelancer.com, upwork.com, fiverr.com, peopleperhour.com, guru.com, these sites have thousands of clients going through portfolios every day looking for people that can do something for them at a good price.
You could also use this to supplement your existing job or use it to break away from the repetitive design practice of your firm.
