Shared Wisdom 25|11|11

Del Hossain of Adrem Group and Stuart Forbes of Stuart Forbes Associates presented to a group of sole practitioners as part of the RIBA's CPD Guerilla Tactics 2011.  

The Video can be seen here.

Del shares his findings from talking to sole practitioners about their issues and triumphs from chosing to work alone. Stuart then shares his experience of building a business from 1 table top in his family home to an office of 10 going international.

Adrem gathered wisdom offered by the sole practitioners and share them with you below. As Del says - you may already be excercising 90% of these already but if one thing enables an imrpovement in your work-life then it's worth it!

How Do You Overcome Motivational Problems?

1. The pressure to keep standards high

2. Excercise

3. Phoning friends or fellow practitioners

4. Interesting work

5. Getting paid!

6. Carefull and committed time management

7. Keep to regular hours

8. Create an artificial separation from home and office

9. Dress in office attire

10. Targets: 2 hours to return a phone call; 2 days to respond to an email/letter; 2 weeks to issue a drawing

11. Generate self-praise through realistic targets

12. Close contact with clients

13. Applying for jobs world-wide

Advice:

1. Make sure you get paid!

2. Take the support RIBA offers - e.g RIBAnet

3. Teaching at a University is a good place to exchange information with others

4. Watching Grand Designs as clients often refer to this!

5. Family support

6. Support each other as a network - go to free CPD events

7. Get a second phone line!

8. Half-hourly alarm to help with controlling hourly rates + essential breaks

9. Get to know a friendly engineer and QS. A part-time secretary will free up a lot of time

10. DO NOT get bullied into reducing your fees

11. Use an accountant to optimise home-working benefits

12. Become the architect people go to first in your area

13. Connect to small practices who might be able o cover for holidays or sickness

14. Create a realistic business plan and financial forecast

15. Investing in IT can be expensive but will save time. 

Adrem abseils for British Red Cross 27|09|11

See Adrem's Director Delwar Hossain and Divisional Director Steve Rimmer Abseil down Broadgate Tower in London in aid of the British Red Cross here.

Delwar on the view from the top:

"It was the most tremendous view of London. It's amazing - it's like when you go to LegoLand and you see a panorama of London...but without the blocks!"

http://www.redcross.org.uk/

(Photo courtesy of Purepix Photography)

RIBA: Shameful Shoebox Homes 15|09|11

The RIBA's Case for Space report based on 80 sites across England exposes issues surrounding the size of new homes being built around the UK. On average, homes are being buit 8% smaller than the recommended minimum size.

Families deprived of adequate living space are affected in a myriad of ways. RIBA points out a lack of space for children to do their homework, for adults to work from home and for families to relax and spend time together. All these problems obviously result in adverse socio-economic issues.

RIBA's Case for Space report exposes these issues which have not been publically available through a lack of transparency. Sir John Banham, chair of The Future Homes Commission will be engaging with the public to build a comprehensive idea of what people really need from their homes.

The HomeWise campaign launched by RIBA calls for action from estate agents, home builders and the govermnent to create a transparent and fair environment for home-buyers. This includes publishing reports on the quality, efficiency and sze of homes to enable people to buy/rent homes with a wealth of knowlegde to make informed decisions. The HomeWise website acts as a resource for home buyers - you will find the right questions to ask when buying a home and recommended size calculator etc.

 Coming at a time of struggle and public spending cuts; the importance of people's enviroments couldn't be more important.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, added:

'In London we want to see new developments that enrich the capital's architectural vernacular and that will be admired and cherished for decades to come. This is why, despite challenging economic times, we have successfully introduced clear guidance to improve the design standards of new developments to ensure that homes have the space people need to lead happy, fulfilling lives. It is vital that we build more homes to boost the economy, but as RIBA's campaign rightly points out, we must not compromise on quality and design to do so.'

RIBA

British Red Cross Abseil! 13|09|11

On the 15th of September Steve Rimmer & Del Hossain of Ascent Consulting will be abseiling 540ft from the top of Broadgate Tower in the City of London!

They are braving this to raise money for the British Red Cross.

* Donations can be made here *

Good luck, guys!

SMILE Mentor Award 19|05|11

Big Congratulations to Del Hossain (MD) for collecting a UCL Smile Mentor Award on Tuesday. The award acknowledges the hardwork and time Del has invested in helping young Architects and Designers in their career path.