Setting up a New Practice

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How you set up a new practice is vital to the success of the business. There are business, legal and personal decisions that must be considered and planned for.

Whether you are thinking about starting your own practice or would like to learn more about the business of setting up a new practice, we have compiled a list of resources that you might find helpful.

We will continue to update this page. If you come across useful resources that is not here, please let us know and we will add it here and credit you.

Let us know...

Top Tips From established Architects

1. Find a mentor

2. Take business classes to learn how to run your business
(yes, you really need this help)

3. Talk to experts in PR, marketing, accounting, legal, etc. and find out who is right for you.

4. Understand your niche (don't try and do everything initially)

5. Do market research (what work is out there now)

6. What kind of practice do you want to be and what is your company culture?

7. Find software that helps you (accounting software, project management software, etc.) Talk to others to find out what they use.

8. Get out there and market yourself.

Reference Articles with good advice

Guidance from ARB

Top tips from Alison Brooks

US tips, but still relevant

Tips from architect Craig Applegath

Should you start your own practice?

An interview about how one architect, Michael Hsu, did it

40 top tips (the long read)

Business of Architecture Interviews:
- James Butterworth
- Lee Calisti

This list will continue to be updated...

Recent MoA Business Academy Webinar

How to Start a Practice with Simon Foxell
Date 28 May 2020

As the UK considers how to emerge from the CV19 lockdown, many furloughed architects and others are thinking about setting up their own practices and building an independent route to economic recovery.

In this Webinar, Simon Foxell, author of the RIBA’s bestselling Starting a Practice: A Plan of Work, discussed how to go about this and how to prepare for a future working for yourself.

Simon's top advice will be posted here shortly.

What about your work space?

©BuildStudios

Read our expert's view on your options on the Advice and Resources page.

Books

Here are books that we found to have very useful information for those thinking of starting out.

We think:
Simon Foxell's Starting a Practice is a good first place to begin.

Instant cashflow sheds some light on various methods to try increasing cashflow and ways of doing things right from the start.
It's not architecture specific, but a helpful read.