Surviving on a miserable salary
When I started Bamboo Architecture, I was still a college student.
I didn't have a degree in architecture (yet), so I couldn't sign projects.
I had to hire people (classmates) who had finished, and had the degree.
But of course, business wasn't going so well to pay everyone.
I had just enough money to pay them, but not enough for me.
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So I had to find several jobs on the weekends to make ends meet.
That's how I stayed for three years, working as a waiter and later as a DJ.
I had more than one job, so I've always been used to having more than one income.
I was poor, yes.
But I was always trying to have more than one income. Just in case.
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The bad thing was that all that income depended on one model.
That of selling my time for money.
With the bartending income, I didn't make much money, but I met a lot of people.
And with the DJ income, I earned more in less time, and I had a blast.
But not enough to make a decent living.
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I’m sharing this story because I want to tell you the following…
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Don’t build your architecture business with a single income stream
Because your income is like your investments.
An “eggs in one basket” strategy is the riskiest one there is.
Your actual job might fail.
If hasn’t already…
- What if you lost your job?
- What if you lost your most important customer?
- What would happen to you?
- Does it affect your family and financial stability?
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When I thought about it, it completely changed my priorities.
When it comes to building income, having diverse income streams allowed me to minimize risk and more importantly have peace of mind.
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Building other income streams with digital products
Building multiple streams of income is essential for long-term financial stability.
Every architect should know that, don’t you think?
You can start with leveraging your primary skill set.
And gradually branching out to new revenue streams that complement one another. Like:
- teaching other architects how to specialise
- guiding construction companies with their budget
- helping Real Estate Developers manage their documentation
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It’s all about helping other people improve their business.
I’m sure your architectural skills will be very useful for them.
Start with a side hustle and ultimately take it from there.
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Any idea where to start?
Here are 30 Ways to Monetize Your Architectural Expertise Online
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You don't have to start from scratch to do something interesting
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In our case this is how it works
When we launched Global Architect, we knew from the beginning that we had to diversify our revenues.
So after studying the profile of our ideal client, we designed a diversified portfolio of various products and services.
Each of them solves a specific problem at different stages of our business oriented to architectural firms.
Let’s talk about money.
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Free Resources
We create and distribute a ton of free content on LinkedIn.
We focus on common mistakes architects make or questions they may have about how to grow an architecture practice.
And we provide free resources for them to use and start building their own.
While we don't make money on the free material, we gain their attention, something much more valuable today.
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Newsletter
The newsletter is the intimate space where we share valuable content and deliver it directly to the inbox of our subscribers.
This is where we try to create a more personal relationship or bond.
That's why we share with you a dose of ideas, research findings, principles, models, and other useful stuff.
As it is still free to our subscribers, we try to monetize it with our sponsors, who get their advertising space in our weekly newsletters.
It’s Free to get in, and Free to get out.
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Paid Newsletter
The paid Newsletter (or Newsletter+) is the evolution of the Newsletter.
We provide more valuable content, such as downloadable resources, Notion templates for books, tools and influencers, or in-depth articles and guides that will encourage you to take further action.
We keep the same personal and intimate tone, while providing more value to our subscribers.
It is our most affordable product (except for free content), starting at 15€/month.
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Pro Membership
Those who find value in our Newsletter+ issues can become paying members.
They get early and discounted access to our Sprints, plus the support they need to grow their architectural practice.
They also get support from other business-oriented architects in the community.
Pro membership starts at €99/month and we have limited seats.
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Sprints
Sprints are hands-on, on-demand lessons carefully designed to equip you with the skills you need to make more money and grow your architecture business.
There are over 50 Sprints grouped into Modules or Categories.
These Sprints include:
- Bite-sized lessons that can be completed in less than 5 hours.
- Email support to resolve any questions about the Sprints.
- Self-paced format so you can learn on your own schedule.
- Practical and very useful insights.
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To make our courses accessible to as many architects as possible, we’ve priced them at 199€.
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Coaching Sessions
Coaching sessions are more like having a guide or mentor.
We focus on your personal or professional development and often work with you over a longer period.
It's more about helping you improve your skills, mindset or performance.
These 1:1 Customized Coaching Sessions start at $125 for a 30' session.
And they can be grouped together for more affordable, ongoing sessions.
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Consulting
Consulting is more like getting expert advice.
Our goal is to give you solutions that fit you perfectly.
They’re designed just for you and your business.
We often work on specific projects or issues, like:
- Raise your fees
- Build an audience on LinkedIn
- Define your email marketing strategy
- Increase the value proposition of your products
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These Consulting Session have 3 stages:
- Diagnostic:
- Implementation:
- Follow-up:
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So we usually start with a Diagnostic.
And if needed we continue with the Implementation stage.
They’re all adapted to your budget and needs, starting at 1.500€/mo.
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MBA Program
Global Architect MBA is the definitive Master's in Business for Architecture that takes architects into the business world.
It is a 12-month program that covers all the topics you need to know to build a successful and profitable architecture business.
The complete program includes over 50 Sprints, where you learn basic business principles and fundamentals.
We offer two variants of the MBA program:
- Premium Version which includes Mentored Office Hours.
- If you like to be self-taught, there is the more affordable Lite version.
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The MBA Lite starts at 5,940€ and the MBA Premium starts at 11,880€.
And the next edition will be launched in May 2024.
Submission of applications begins in January.
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Fractional Chief Officer
In the top ranking of our portfolio, we offer our Fractional Chief Officer service.
These are full-time, customised follow-up consulting sessions.
We work with Founders and CEO's in their own business.
We spend 12 months solving all kinds of challenges from Audience to Operations.
And we especially focus on preparing you to scale your company to a 7-figure business.
Because we are pursuing an ambitious mission, a great deal of intimacy is required for these sessions.
That's why these Fractional Chief Officers cost over €100,000.
We only work with specific companies that have worked with us before and we are both familiar with working together.
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Resuming…
Rather than relying on a single source of revenue, we diversify our portfolio, serving all types of architects at different stages of their architectural business.
They have access to the specific product and service they need, depending on the solution they are looking for.
We reduce our risk by catering to different audiences and stages of awareness.
It's a win-win situation.
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What did I learn?
1) Productize your service
We spent most of our time documenting and analyzing what the core elements of our Value Proposition were.
And that helped architects solve everyday business problems.
So we packaged our
It's content that we work on basically the same for the Sprint program or the MBA.
The difference is in the personalized attention and the intensity of follow-up by the Global Architect team.
The least personalized attention is in the free LinkedIn content.
The highest and most personalized attention is in the 1:1 Follow-Up Consulting.
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2) Treat your architecture career like an Investor
Create a portfolio of income streams, knowing that one of them will hit the big time someday.
- Educate other architects with courses.
- Guide them through difficult times with Coaching.
- Engage with your community with a Subscription.
- Give them extra value to your Paying Community.
- Help other architects grow with Consulting and Mentoring.
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Some will make more money and be more profitable.
Others will require more of your attention and effort.
But all will help you build your awesome brand.
And maybe one of them will be a success.
In any case, be a diversified Architect.
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Conclusion
Start with the smallest and easiest one to get going, given your situation.
For many architects that will be some kind of educational course, for example.
Combining high ticket services with low ticket courses works wonders in diversifying revenue streams.
Personalized and valuable digital products with paired credible consultation and expert advising will send substantial growth to your business.
How are you diversifying?
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My advice: Build a more resilient and profitable practice
🎓 Fed up with living paycheck to paycheck as an architect? It's time for a change. Dive into the Business – Income Streams Sprint and learn how to diversify your income like a pro. Uncover new revenue streams that align with your skills and passion, without working yourself to the bone.
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Whenever you're ready, there are 2 ways I can help you with:
1. If you're still looking for traction in your architecture business, subscribe to the Wisdom for the Modern Architect Newsletter. Every week you will get actionable ideas, mental models and resources to help you build a profitable business.
2. In case you want to level up your business, you can get Full Access to the Global Architect Roadmap, and unlock Challenge & Solutions with all the resources and tools, exclusively reserved for our paid members, by Upgrading your Membership.
Happy diversification,
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