Beyond Your Website

I enjoyed participating as a panelist today, discussing How Businesses Can Use “New Media” to Grow. The event was coordinated by the Westchester County Association. Nancy Shenker, founder and President of The ON Switch, did a superb job as moderator. My fellow panelists, both much more knowledgeable of the subject than I, were Lena West, founder and CEO of xynoMedia and Howard Greenstein, co-founder of Social Media Club.

Nancy invited me to discuss my experience using social media as part of our marketing strategy at Fivecat Studio. Using screenshots of Fivecat.com, my Living Well in Westchester blog, this blog and my Squidoo lens, I explained that our entire online presence supports our effort to build Fivecat Studio into the most recognized, most respected brand of residential architecture in the Westechester / Fairfield region (and eventually beyond).

The time we have invested online has paid off. A Google search for Westchester Architects will provide three separate links referring to “Mark R. LePage” or “Fivecat Studio” on the number one results page. And that does not include our AdWords link, also prominently featured on the first page. Perform a search at Google Blog Search and you will find similar results.

Many hours of web development and blogging has put Fivecat Studio in the position to be found online by our prospects every time.

I hope everyone attending found that the event was worth their time and left with some inspiration to start their own work online. If anyone has more questions about what we do at Fivecat Studio, either online or off, you are welcome to email me.

You may enjoy reading the event particiapant’s blogs below:

Nancy Shenker

Howard Greenstein

Lena West

CAD Software for Architects

Considering a change in CAD software? Autodesk is not the only game in town. Here’s a list of the top CAD programs for architects (in alphabetical order):

Archicad 10 by Graphisoft

AutoCAD Architecture by Autodesk

AutoCAD LT 2008 by Autodesk

Chief Architect 10 by Chief Architect, Inc.

DataCAD by DataCAD LLC

DigiCad 3D by Interstudio

Domus.Cad 14 by Interstudio

Revit Architecture by Autodesk

TurboCAD Pro 12 by Broadcaster

VectorWorks Architect 12 by Nemetschek

And for your PDA, there’s PocketCAD 4.0 by Metris

Bonus: If you haven’t yet downloaded the free version of Google SketchUp, do it now. It’s the easiest 3D modeler you’ll ever use.

And remember, Apple now feature Intel processors in their MacBook, iMac, Mac Mini and Mac Pro, which means you’re not limited to a PC either.

Do you have a favorite CAD program? Share your recommendation by clicking the “comments” link above.

WVOX Radio

I was invited to be on Dr. Marsha Gordon‘s WVOX radio show, Monday (tomorrow) at 2PM. You may listen online by clicking the “Listen Live” button on the upper left corner of the WVOX website.

We’ll be discussing Westchester Community College’s Academy of Entrepreneurial Excellence.

Big Firms or Small, Everyone Should be Online

This past Wednesday evening, the AIAWMH Practice Management Committee discussed websites and their relevance to architects. As I have posted before and have been preaching for years, I think being online is critical to business success. My belief is that if you’re not online, you don’t exist.

I presented my ideas to the committee, visited my firm’s website and showed them some of the other work I’ve done on the web. Then we surfed a bit and checked out many examples of architects’ sites throughout the country.

Big firms and small. Commercial and residential firms. It was very interesting to see the broad range in design and presentation of the sites we viewed.

Today, Seth Godin posted his idea for local businesses who want to be online, but may not want to dedicated the time and money for a professional website. It may not be for everyone, but for the small local firm it may be the answer to business success.

Code Costs Climbing

The International Code Council (ICC) is raising prices on May 1. If you’re in the market for new code books or a CD-ROM, you may want to make your move now.

Buy now from the ICC here.

See the adjusted May 1 rates here.

Organic Growth

Over at Brand Autopsy, John Moore has a preview of the new book, The Road to Organic Growth by Edward Hess.

From Hess’ book:

“Growth achieved through a commitment to customer satisfaction, employee engagement, and core profitability—organic growth—is a smart long-term strategy for any company. Organic growth represents the underlying strength and vitality of the core business.”

Check out John’s preview here.

What’s your growth strategy? Share your ideas and thoughts by clicking the “comments” link above.

Designing Your Firm’s Website

As a follow up to my post earlier week on the importance of architects being online, Architectural Record online has an interesting article on what to consider when designing your firm’s website.

Business Success by Design

I am not the only one who thinks the Apple store on Fifth Avenue is a great example of business success meets remarkable architecture. This past summer it was awarded with the BusinessWeek / Architectural Record Award.

According to a BW/AR jury member,

“it’s mesmerizing as you approach and descend into a beautiful glass bubble — an extremely popular retail space with very high sales per square foot. It’s beautiful, functional, and profitable.”

In fact, it’s Apple’s highest volume outlet. Granted, much of that comes from its location, but there is no doubt that Bohlin Cywinski Jackson‘s architecture is adding to Apple’s bottom line.

The Brand Called You

Back in 1997, Tom Peters touted The Brand Called You in a Fast Company magazine article, where he explained the importance of taking charge of your personal brand. The late 90′s was a very different place, but the benefits of managing how others perceive you and the unique promise you bring to the table have not changed.

In the Spring 2007 issue of AIA’s Practice Management Digest, Ron Wolf encourages you to Use a Personal Brand to Expand Your Corporate Success.

From Ron’s article:

To demonstrate the power of a personal brand, think Donald Trump, Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, or even Paris Hilton. People have an immediate sense of knowing them. When we think Oprah, we think warmth and tears and overcoming adversity. Gates brings to mind gadgets, geeks, and philanthropy. The Donald conjures up ostentatiousness, ego, and a decisive ruthlessness. As for Paris, well, perhaps it’s best we not go there.

Each of these individuals maintains a strong personal brand that’s instantly recognizable. Can you say the same? If you had to look for work tomorrow, would your brand precede you? If just stating your name doesn’t conjure for others impressions of leadership, accountability, innovativeness, or whatever other traits you wish to be known for, you’d better start branding.

You have a personal brand whether you want one or not. Even more so if your firm’s name matches your own. Recite the names Robert Stern, Michael Graves or Frank Gehry and very specific ideas come to mind. Those ideas, those specific thoughts and feelings are all part of these architects’ personal brands. Some of those ideas may not even be true, but they are still part of the brand. It’s up to them to manage their personal brands, to strengthen the positive and minimize the negative.

When we named Fivecat Studio without reference to the founders, we did so to separate the firm’s brand from our own. We wanted Fivecat Studio to have its own identity and for each project to be a Fivecat project, rather than an Annmarie McCarthy or a Mark R. LePage project. We wanted to recognize that every commission is completed by a team of hard working, passionate people. Well developed architecture is never the work of one mind.

Free of associations to our personal brands, the Fivecat brand is flexible to become whatever we choose. It is ours to manage and grow.

As the firm matures and we retire, the firm can continue to grow and thrive without us. Succession will be invisible and Fivecat Studio will live on for generations to come.

Annmarie and I have our personal brands too. To simplify it, Annmarie is “the designer” and I am “the business man”. This blog is one tool I use to manage and build my personal brand. Being an active, vocal member of my local AIA chapter and the Business Council of Westchester are some others.

How do you manage and build your personal brand? Do you think it matters? Share your ideas and thoughts by clicking the “comments” link above.

“New Media” Panel Discussion

Beyond Your Website… How Businesses Can Use “New Media” to Grow

Blogs, YouTube, Social Networks – Hype, Fad or Real Business Drivers?

April 19th at Sam’s of Gedney Way in White Plains, New York.

I will be a panelist discussing how our firm benefits from my work on the Internet. I hope to see you there.

Click here to register.