584: How a Start-up Architect Conquered the Fierce NYC Market with Blima Ehrentreu of The Designers Group: Otter Voice Meeting Notes

584: How a Start-up Architect Conquered the Fierce NYC Market with Blima Ehrentreu of The Designers Group

Enoch Sears45min

Speaker 1

00:00

Part of being a good lead is knowing how to delegate and trusting the people that you're delegating to to do a good job.

Rion Willard

00:10

Hello and welcome to the Business of Architecture. I am your host, Ryan Willard, and today I am joined by the visionary founder and CEO of the designers group, blima arendtreu believers, creativity and ingenuity have been instrumental in transforming the design industry. Her commitments to empowering women and her dedication to the community have not gone unnoticed, earning her a place amongst globes Women of Influence in both 2020 and 2022 as well as recognition in Crane's notable leaders in real estate in 2023 and 2024 Under her leadership, the designers group boasts a diverse portfolio across residential and commercial sectors. This excellence was recognized by Inc Magazine in 2021 Rankin the designers group as the 15 fastest private growing company in the New York metro area, renowned for their high end materials, they lead the way in commercial, residential and healthcare. Design, blima is not only shaping spaces, but also shaping the industry herself. Her commitment to philanthropic work culture has given rise to initiatives like TGG gives back and TDG furniture exchange with a profound belief that design can create positive environments and serve community. Blima stands out as an inimitable force in the field. In this episode, we talk about the early beginnings of the practice her move from Canada into the US, the challenges that she overcame in being able to build up a business in one of the most competitive real estate markets on the planet. We speak about her philanthropic work and how she uses her business as a force for good, and how they use profits and time from the business, from having a well run business, they're able to have agency in impacting these causes that are important to them. So loads of gold nuggets here in this interview, really, really enjoyable and very insightful. So sit back, relax and enjoy blima or entru.

Speaker 2

02:16

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Rion Willard

03:57

Lima, Welcome to the Business of Architecture. How are you?

Unknown Speaker

04:00

Hi, I'm good. How about yourself?

Rion Willard

04:03

I'm very well. Thank you. Pleasure to be speaking with you again. It's, it's been, it's been a little while since we had last had our chat, and you've grown an architecture firm, not since the last time we've chat chatted, but since 2009 you set up your architecture practice. You've got over 30 people, predominantly based in New York. You've got an extraordinary portfolio of work in residential sector, in commercial sector, in, you know, in a lot of developer LED work. And, you know, I've been very impressed with the pace of which you guys have been growing, and the kind of caliber of work that you've been, that you've been doing. So perhaps we can start with, how did you guys, how did you how did you found the company?

Speaker 1

04:53

I'm from Toronto originally, and probably in 2009 Like you said, I finished my master's in Interior Architecture and Design, and I was looking for a way to get experience and really understand what architecture is, and my master's when it's in interior architecture and design focused barriers, but I wanted to understand how a building is built, and how the spaces that we would be designing would function. So I worked at an architectural firm for a couple of years, and then another designer approached me about partnering up and starting a firm, and what really began as two women having a dream morphed into something incredible that I am so proud of and so lucky to be a part of. We expanded into the US, and now have locations in New York and Miami as well.

Rion Willard

05:57

Amazing, right? So, so you guys actually kicked off in Toronto and then moved over. Was it? Was it difficult to do that? Was it difficult to kind of get your to start winning work, particularly in a in a city like New York, where it's just so fiercely competitive, there's already, like, you know, big established brands. How was that? How did you kind of navigate being able to find clients and and make that transition?

Speaker 1

06:27

It definitely was a challenge starting in a fresh country. We are, nobody had seen our work, but we did have some clients from Toronto who were developing in New York. That was a pretty easy transition. We are. They knew me, knew my work, and gave me the opportunity. And one project really led to another. Even now, we don't advertise. We're on all social media channels, but it really is word of mouth, and when we do a good job on a project, that's the best marketing material that we could have. So besides the fact that we care about the spaces that we're designing, and we're passionate about making sure that the people who will be using them optimize their potential within the space, whether that's in a senior living community healthcare facility or an office, residential educational space. But if we're doing a good job, then that helps us when it comes to picking up new business as well.

Rion Willard

07:36

You know, it's easy to get kind of trapped in, you know, doing just purely residential work or small private work. How did you bridge out into doing more commercial work and developer led, um, clients. That's something that a lot of a lot of practices either can't make that transition or don't know how to how did you guys navigate that

Speaker 1

08:00

when we were looking at the future of the firm and where we wanted to be, we wanted spaces that would have an impact and that we would be able to be part of that impact that the spaces would be having. And when we looked at residential projects or other commercial ones, we realized that that was a space that we saw more passionately about, that was something that we wanted to get involved in. And it's really about strategically looking at the projects available, and positioning yourselves in a place that you're well positioned to take on those projects and do a good job.

Rion Willard

08:46

You've got a lot of work in other, you know, interesting industries as well, things like healthcare, and this is kind of senior living. Did you find that something like healthcare was actually very difficult to get into, or was it an easy kind of transition from doing lots of residential work, and then you kind of it kind of logically made sense to move into that sector. So I

Speaker 1

09:12

was lucky. I had a friend who worked for a healthcare operator, and I asked him if he could set up a meeting with his bosses, and I still remember when I went, I showed them a multifamily project, and I explained to them that this is our process. I showed them from concept to completion, how we approach the design of really any project, but at that point was mostly residential. And I said to them that healthcare is something that I feel so strongly about, I really want to be a part of making that space better and giving people better experiences. So by me showing them our process and them seeing how much I wanted that opportunity, they gave me a chance. When I left their office, they sent me a building that needed a refresh, and from one project led to another. I mean, we worked on the second largest skilled nursing facility in the country. So once we got involved in one space, and again, there was a lot that went into it. There was research, hiring the right people that experience, making sure that we could deliver that was fundamental to doing a good job. But once we got that opportunity, we were able to take it and really go with it. And I see the scene from all the sectors that we're involved in. When we get those opportunities, we do the research, we make sure we're in a position to do it properly, and one thing leads to another. And I believe that within every industry, there's so much you could learn, and we always take lessons from one sector and bring them into another. And that brings to mind over covid, when we were working on a string of urgent cares, there were 17 locations the first year and another 20 projective for the second and we approached it from a hospitality perspective, why the spa is not an enjoyable, luxurious experience, and when you're going to the doctor, that's an anxiety ridden experience. And I remember at the grand opening of the first urgent care it was ribbon cutting that was open to the community, and they had city officials there, and I heard one of them say to the other, I feel like I'm in a spa. And I walked up to him, and I said, did someone pay you to say that? Like that was our vision. It was so incredible for us to be able to see the spaces that we work on, and see people using them and enjoying them and learning the best experiences in them.

Rion Willard

11:45

How about building your team? Because, you know, hiring or just building a team of 30 designers and having them all working quasi efficiently and certainly again, doing it in a place like New York, where there is so much competition to be able to attract the right talent. How have you been able to do that? And what? What challenges have you experienced in a in finding and recruiting talent and retaining talent, and and what have you found has worked for you both in attracting it and retaining people?

Speaker 1

12:22

I consider myself very lucky that I have such an incredible team, because I know that the quality of work that we do is only possible because of the amazing people that I've been lucky enough to surround myself with. Keeping a team happy and engaged is something that we're always working on. We want to make sure that everyone collaborates well together. We're a super collaborative team. I do believe that one plus one, when it comes to working together, is exponentially better than two. And we have everyone on the team really work together, and their voices are always valued, no matter if you're an intern all the way up to a lead designer. And it's really about everyone's collective experiences that gives us the best end result, and that's why our team is so diverse, because I know that everyone's background or culture, the country that we're from, even the religion, it all impacts the way they look at a space or they look at a situation. And using all of our experiences can really give us the best possible outcome for our clients in whatever space it is that we're designing for

Rion Willard

13:44

them. You as the CEO, if you like, or the kind of managing director of the firm, you know. I mean, when I speak to a lot of architectural practices and design practices, the thing that that the CEO has has trouble with is being able to do the CEO Managing Partner functions without getting saturated and sucked into the everyday parts of the projects. How have you managed to to kind of again, navigate that and keep yourself in the leadership position? Or do you find actually, you still you get yourself pulled into the projects or working on them day to day. How did you Has there been any kind of like conscious effort to make sure that you're doing the CEO role as opposed to doing a project architect or a lead designer role?

Speaker 1

14:39

I always tell our lead designers that part of being a good lead is knowing how to delegate and trusting the people that you're delegating to to do a good job. And it's so hard because sometimes just doing it yourself is so much easier and quicker and you know how to do it. That, but part of scaling and growing is having people that you trust and empowering them to be able to do what you're doing. So it's always a process. There are better days and worse days, but knowing that the people that I have and lead positions are passionate about what we do and really on board with who we are as a brand and what we're doing as a firm has been amazing for us and our growth.

Rion Willard

15:32

It's I have this conversation a lot with practice owners about micromanagement sometimes. And you know, when do you find yourself having to micromanage other, other people? And sometimes the answer is quite simple. You know, when you've got good people, there's less micromanagement that's that's needed. But how, what? How do you find it? Do you, you know, being able to delegate is it makes sense, but then the reality of delegation can be quite challenging, and then you've found yourself being sucked in or doing something or they're not doing it the way you want to do it.

Speaker 1

16:10

As designers, we're detail oriented, so it's all about the details and ensuring that they get done properly. It's been a learning process, for sure, but it really has been necessary for our growth, for me to be able to do that and to be able to trust the people around me, and I'm lucky, because they've definitely earned it. And I look at our team, and I look at the projects that we've been doing and what we've accomplished, and I know that it really is because they're empowered. They know that what they're doing is life changing, and also I always stand behind them. There are mistakes that happen in design and in construction, but what we always work to ensure is that we're minimizing those errors. And we double check, check our drawings, our concepts, our visions, are all worked on by more than one, more than two, more than three people, and we have everything double check, triple check, because we want to make sure that we're delivering the best product to our clients. With that being said, it's still construction. Things still come up, and we're human, and there is that margin for errors, so we stand behind our mistakes and we'll make sure that we find a good resolution, but I do remember my first design job where I was working on a residential home, and we finished the living room. We were so excited the furniture was coming. Everything worked perfectly, and we could not get the sofa through the front door, and we didn't even think of that now, years later, where we just finished an event space, they actually had an event two nights ago for 850 people, like a wedding. So it was pretty amazing to see the space transformed, and everyone using the space is incredible for us to be able to see that. But what this piece was, it was in the cellar of the building, and there were these partitions that we had to bring in that were 18 feet high so they wouldn't fit in the elevator. And this was something that I explained to my team. I said, my first project, we couldn't get that sofa in the door. Now I've learned from that mistake, and we will make sure that anytime you do a project, everything is fitting in. So this is something to know, and that's how we look at empowering our team. If we do make those mistakes, we learn from them, and we make sure that they never happen again. Brilliant.

Rion Willard

19:00

Can you walk us through a little bit about the the actual architecture of your firm, in terms of the how the internal organization is structured like, well, how does the hierarchy of leadership look like? What kind of teams do you have? What kind of other consultants do you have on board or other indirect labor? Do you have inside of your organization?

Speaker 1

19:27

We have lead designers who manage the projects, and they're involved with a client, their client facing they go to the site, they are veer from the initial concept all the way to completion. So they're there to execute and ensure that our vision is delivered. Within every project there are designers, senior, junior, sometimes even interns. We have. Drafters. We have renderers, and really depends on the project what's needed. We have a branding department. If we believe that branding the interiors will bring up the value or the design of the space, we'll do that. We have the TDG build where we can be a one stop solution. We recently rolled out our smart building. We are we can use technology to make our buildings and our spaces smart. So we're so many different services that we offer, and really depending on the space, on the client's needs, we are there to ensure that we and and will deliver.

Rion Willard

20:43

In terms of your the leadership team, there's yourself. You have a Director of Operations. Is there any other kind of people at that directorship level, or is it just your those two positions?

Speaker 1

20:57

Yeah, so that's that's pretty much we do have someone who's part of like growth and innovation, we have pretty much our accountant, who's, I guess, pretty high up making sure that our numbers are being met, that our invoices are getting paid, that, you know, we're working properly when it comes to the finances of the firm. I, myself don't love dealing with that part, so it's good to have someone good in place to take care of that. And then, yeah, it's pretty much the design team purchasing all of that.

Rion Willard

21:41

Got it. You said earlier that you've become this kind of one stop solution for your clients, and this is quite for a lot of people, this can be a very thoughtful business innovation where you've kind of vertically integrated these different services. Could you walk us through the different service offerings that you have that perhaps you might bring to just a single project?

Speaker 1

22:13

So the TDT build idea was created because we're working with different clients, and there is that concept of design build, and what we wanted to offer is what the design is driving the build, not that the build is driving the design. So we want our vision to drive what we can do and how we can build that and what that looks like for the client is they reach out to us, and we we take care of everything from A to Z so depending on what the space is, what it needs, we can take care of making sure we're that person that they speak to. We design for them, and then they have a fully built space. And it really comes from all the relationships that we have, with engineers, with architects, with contractors, and we put the best team together for that project.

Rion Willard

23:19

So you guys, so you guys will do your traditional interior design services, and then you'll actually act as the general contractor to actually complete the the entire build as a fit out or interior space. So we

Speaker 1

23:36

don't act as general contractor, but we'll be the ones to manage a general contractor, and we'll be each contractor, and we have specific contractors that we have agreements with, because, depending on the type of project, different contractors have more experience in those spaces. So depending on what it is, if it's just an interior fit out, if it's a ground up, if it's there are so many, even within that, there's the different types of spaces. Some people have experience with healthcare, some do not, and so really depending on that. But we have our our teams were that we put together, and it's been incredibly beneficial for our clients. It's easy for them. They have that one stop, stop where they have that point of contact from the brainstorming session all the way

Rion Willard

24:32

I see. Okay, so, so you're so you're kind of liaising and in control of coordinating the the contractors and appointing them and putting them through the bidding process, or whatever, making sure that you're getting the right the right price for the for the client. In Could you walk us through a little bit about the the smart building part that you have at the business?

Speaker 1

24:56

Yeah, so there's so much technology right now that can be in. Incorporated to make spaces more sustainable, for them to function better, for the experience to in the operating in the operating part, to just be better. So leveraging that technology, we have a group of engineers that can work on that and really allow a space to not just look beautiful, but function beautifully way after we're out of the space, and there's so much out there, especially as technology continues to evolve, that as a design firm and As designers, we don't even know all about it, and that's why we've assembled this incredible team of engineers that guides us and knows the latest technology, and we can give our clients different ways to manage their space. From a budgetary perspective, we are they have different sensors and different capabilities, and also to make sure that sustainably, we're really minimizing the carbon footprint of their properties.

Rion Willard

26:10

Great. Okay, so it's actually kind of a service where you're helping a client integrate whatever technology is needed for their for their building, actually into the fabric of the building itself

Speaker 1

26:26

exactly, and it prioritizes safety, security, wellness and really operational optimization.

Rion Willard

26:36

With with something like, you know, in healthcare, is this where it can become pretty complex, because now you're dealing with, you know, very specialist sorts of technology and equipment to be integrated into those sorts of spaces,

Speaker 1

26:52

yeah? But those are the spaces that it really works best, because there's so much technology already that's being utilized, yeah? So look at it from that perspective, you can do so much more with it,

Rion Willard

27:04

brilliant in terms of how you've been developing the business and keeping projects profitable. For example, this is always one of the hardest things for any designer to be able to do. And you know, sometimes when it's when it's a smaller business, it's a little bit easier, perhaps because, you know, you've you've got more control, you've got your hands more in project. Often the smaller business, you as the as the sole practitioner, you can jump in and you can do a load of stuff. You might end up spending loads of your time, and it can be fatiguing, but that sometimes is a bit of a direct control when you're managing a team of 30 people to make sure that they're keeping their projects on, you know, keeping them profitable. This can, this can, if not done well, it can certainly go out of control. How do you guys manage things like the profitability of individual projects? That's

Speaker 1

28:07

a great question. We use different softwares for everyone to collaborate together. So because we're such a collaborative team and we really want to maximize everyone from the team's talent, is imperative that everyone works together, and when it comes to a project, we have to do that in a very detail oriented way to ensure that our process doesn't take way too much time, or we don't clock too many hours when we're giving our clients thoughts that we before project begins. So you've spent a lot of time working on that and really looking at previous projects, how long they took, looking at the square footage, understanding what the goals and the vision for the space can be and listen, we don't have a magic sauce. It's a work in progress, but we're always looking for ways to make our processes more efficient and therefore be able to keep our prices competitive so that our clients can maximize all the services that we offer.

Rion Willard

29:25

What What kind of financial software do you guys use, and what sorts of reports do you have the team looking at

Speaker 1

29:33

in terms of financial software? We use QuickBooks, but we do use Zoho for our team, collaborative efforts. Yeah, you know, it comes along with different plugins that we utilize,

Rion Willard

29:50

because you mentioned earlier that you've got, is it a full time accountant who works in the business, or does bookkeeper and. And and what's the culture of financial knowledge or or the culture of financial transparency in the office?

Speaker 1

30:09

We're very open. The team knows what projects are costing. They know what we're billing the clients, and it is important for them to understand that, because when they're putting in the time and when they're working on it, I want them to understand what the final cost to the client is and what that equals in terms of our work and how long things take us. And it's worked out pretty well for us, and that's how we do it. Everyone's salaries is private. But other than that, everything is really transparent. Yeah,

Rion Willard

30:47

and that we often that's quite interesting, because, you know, there's, there's certainly the old guard of design firms, architecture firms, that keep all of their financial information and details very close and covered. And these days, kind of just being able to have the rest of the team understand how their role impacts the profit and the finances of the business, and how that impacts their salary and their bonuses. It makes a lot of sense. It helps, it helps people feel kind of connected to what the company is doing, and their role is not completely isolated. For you guys, when you're talking about, let's say, the vision of the of the practice, or where you guys want to be going over the next five to five years, or maybe not as long as that, maybe more short term? How do you, how do you, number one, how do you plan for that kind of thing, for the where your business wants to go in the next few years, and then how do you communicate it to the rest of the team and who's involved, and how much engagement and interaction do they have to contribute our

Speaker 1

31:59

five year or a 10 year goal, or even week goal is really the same. It's to continue making an impact. It's to continue doing amazing work, so that people have amazing environments. And that's really what we're about. So we have goals, but it's not necessarily concrete, like by 25 we have to have four more locations. It's more about looking at opportunities, seeing what is going on in industry, and really figuring out ways that we could be giving value, and that's what we're looking to continue to do. Our motto is designing with purpose, creating a better world, and we want to just continue to do that.

Rion Willard

32:52

You, the last time we spoke, you mentioned that you'd worked with a business consultant, a business coach, in the past, and obviously here at boa we're always very we're always champions when we hear practices are working with external consultants. Um, what sorts of things did you do with that consultant that helped you shape your business and kind of put various systems and processes in place?

Speaker 1

33:19

Yeah, so I did work was a specific business coach. I took a course with Goldman Sachs, their small business course, yeah, and there were coaches involved within the course, and that was a very interesting course for me, because my background is in design, and I've never taken any business courses, and because of the trajectory of my career, I ended up running a business. So I felt like at this point, understanding business and learning from mentors who are better than me would be imperative for our growth, and I really enjoyed that there's so much value and so much to learn. And we really went through a process of looking at opportunities on how to determine if they're a good fit, and the different research that you have to do to look into it and different ways of practically making it happen. So it was definitely very eye opening. A lot of what we learned I've already incorporated, just by virtue of owning a business, understanding the process and the data and the research was something eye opening for

Rion Willard

34:44

me. You mentioned that you've worked with a PR firm in the past. Could you explain a little bit about about what the sorts of strategies that you've used with the PR firm? And also, it's quite interesting, because obviously you guys do a lot. Of branding. Work with your own clients. So what was that like when you were working with a PR firm and talking about your own your own brand and your own kind of strategy for communicating? So currently,

Speaker 1

35:12

we are not working with a PR firm. We did work with one in the past, and it was now growth. We want to expand into different sectors that were not necessarily as strong yet, and after speaking to different people that was the next best step, your they have the knowledge and the skills to be able to take the work that we've already done, and position ourselves in a place that we can open ourselves up to opportunities that we were looking to get, and that's really what our intention was. By working with a PR firm, and it was a great experience, and we enjoyed it pretty heavy, people who are knowledgeable and able to help us put ourselves in a place where the people who we want to see our work can see them and and I think that anyone who is looking for that PR firm, they have the knowledge be able to do that

Rion Willard

36:17

excellent. Um, I probably think we're close to concluding our conversation here. Where do you guys want to go in 2025 What have you got? What have you got in store for the designers group,

Speaker 1

36:33

we would love to continue expanding our charitable initiatives and some of the pro bono work that we do. We're passionate about making the world a better place, and use our firm as a platform to do that. So we have several nonprofits that we run, and we want to continue growing them, and we want to continue doing what we do best, which is continuing to design and continuing to make people's lives and experiences better by the environments that they're in.

Rion Willard

37:06

What what sorts of nonprofits are you guys organized involved in?

Speaker 1

37:10

We have the TDG Insider. We are prospective designers. If they're either looking for a second career or first while in high school, we can come to our office and experience a day in a design firm. They also have the opportunity mentored by any of our lead designers, if they would like, and we have a structure for them to understand what a career in design is before going to school and putting all that money and energy into a career that are unsure what it is exactly, have the TDG furniture Exchange, which is operating in nine locations right now, countries, nine locations, and we match people up who have furniture to give away with People who need them, who need furniture, and we are working on updating our website. It's actually going to be pretty incredible, kind of like an eBay situation, where you can come look for what you need, and it's all at no cost to the owner and recipient. In New York, we actually partnered with Dumbo movers, and they need furniture free for people. So it's been amazing. We have matched up 1000s of pieces of furniture, and it's really rewarding to see that even people that can afford beautiful furniture can have that. So that's been pretty amazing. We have the TDG gifts back where we're involved in different community initiatives, and our team is involved. We go visit a lot of the senior living communities that we design and just engage with the seniors. And those are just some of them, but we are continuing to grow them, and we want to continue doing this.

Rion Willard

38:57

How do you fund these philanthropic activities, do you just take, do you have, like, a percentage of your revenue or percentage of your profits just allocated to be, to be working on them? And has this been, has this always been something that you, that you've had as part of the business?

Speaker 1

39:14

So I've always been about trying, in my own way, to make the world's a better place, and that's why, naturally, I veered towards a career in design, because I thought that was one way to do that as a job. And yeah, ever since the firm started, I have been super involved in different community initiatives and using our firm as a way to do good. So that's definitely always been a real priority for me, and I know my team subscribes to it too. So I'm very lucky for that. We don't run all of them specifically through the team doing them, but I'm always open to their idea. As the TDG insider was actually one of my lead designers ideas, and I loved it, because I remember when I was starting off in design, I really didn't know who to ask and who that's so having this as a resource for potential designers has been super helpful, and I've heard many stories from people who have been for our doors, who have really it has really helped. So yeah, for sure, I want to continue that, and it's always been something very important to me, and I hope to be able to grow it in terms of the exact dollar amount, what we've been allocating towards these initiatives. It's not a specific percentage. Sometimes more money is needed, sometimes less. Continue to grow on and whatever is needed. We, the designers group, is funding it.

Rion Willard

40:55

Do your do your clients know about the the philanthropic activities?

Speaker 1

41:01

I mean, it's on our website. It doesn't necessarily come up in conversation, but we are all about it. It's something like I said, I'm very passionate about and when I am into something, people hear about it, I just like to talk about it. So some of them definitely found out if it comes up for sure, brilliant,

Rion Willard

41:20

very inspiring, excellent. Well, thank you so much Lima for your your time this afternoon or this morning and sharing us. With us, a little peek behind the scenes of the designers group and and what you guys have created. It's really very inspiring and very insightful. So thank you so much for being on the show.

Speaker 1

41:39

Thank you. It's been great to connect again. Always love chatting,

Rion Willard

41:44

and that's a wrap.

Speaker 2

41:45

Hey, Enoch Sears here, and I have a request, since you are a listener here of the Business of Architecture podcast, Ryan and I, we love putting this podcast together. We love sharing information as much as we can glean from all the other industries that we're a part of to bring it back, to empower you as an architect and a designer. One thing that helps us in our mission is the growth of this podcast, simply because it helps other architects stand for more of their value spreads the business information that we're sharing to empower architects together, so architects, designers, engineers, can really step into their greatness, whatever that looks like for each individual. And so here, my simple ask is for you to join us and be part of our community by doing the following, heading over to iTunes and leaving a review of the podcast. And as an expression of our sincere thanks, we would like to give you a free CEU course that can get you one professional development unit, but more importantly, will give you a very solid and firm foundation on your journey to becoming a profitable and thriving architect. So here's the process for that, after you leave us a review, send an email to support@businessofarchitecture.com let us know the username that you use to leave the review, and we will send you that free training. On the training you'll discover what 99% of architecture firm owners wish they would have known 20 years ago, and the other 1% well, they just didn't even know that. They didn't know. Head over to iTunes and leave us a review now And now a word from today's sponsor. A while ago, I began to hear reports of a company that was helping some of our clients build remote teams. We looked into it more closely and discovered the company world teams, that was helping small architectural practitioners build remote teams that were both capable and qualified. I was intrigued by another business that addressing one of the critical pain points for small architectural practices, which is the ability to grow and shrink a team effectively, to be able to handle higher workflow without having to staff up significantly, and also being very sensitive about labor costs, world teams is built to address these issues. World teams is a small but mighty company that helps architectural practices build high performing remote teams quickly and efficiently, saving you the headache of sorting resumes and interviewing under qualified candidates. World teams operates in your time zone and prioritizes near native English speakers, ensuring clear and efficient communication with your remote team members. They have flexible contracts so you can adjust your team size as your needs evolve. Additionally, you're connected directly with your skilled professionals, which fosters trust and collaboration and world teams helps you reduce your operating costs without compromising the quality that is so important to a practice. To download a free guide for building a remote team for a small architectural practice, go to Business of architecture.com. Forward slash world teams. That's one word Business of architecture.com. Forward slash world teams as a reminder. Sponsorship is not an endorsement, and you must do your own due diligence before entering into any business relationship. Go to Business of architecture.com, forward slash world teams. The

Rion Willard

45:09

views expressed on this show by my guests do not represent those of the host, and I make no representation. Promise, guarantee, pledge, warranty, contract, bond or commitment, except to help you be unstoppable. Do.

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