[AR Coffeen]

i am just, mostly, playing devils advocate with you guys. I know there are no easy answers, no quick fixes. However, it does frustrate me seeing the lack of business knowledge much of the LA industry fronts. I mean seriously, if you’re going to run a business go to school for it, i mean that’s what you did for landscape architecture right?

I guess i’ll have to open my own business now since i’ve offended everybody on here, haha.

Cheers.

[AR Coffeen]

earthworks, another truth to business is that there’s always money available, unfortunately most firm owners don’t want to grow their companies because they are happy with their existing size or they don’t have the business know how to successfully do so.

If the current way you’re running the firm isn’t getting new projects, is struggling to pay employees, and you’re not looking at how to change this, than that’s BAD business. If you look at successful business models that have survived hard economic times and came out on top at the end you’ll learn that sitting idle and waiting for the market to turn around works but it’s better to be proactive. It’s true you can’t change the current state of the economy HOWEVER, you can position your firm to be ahead of the rest by cutting, adding, refining, training, and creating a team around you that is better than your competition, gives you a niche in the market, and allows for a formal succession as older principles retire (remember the original point of this rant). This may cost money you don’t have right now but, if you business model is solid and promising than you’ll be able to easily find investors or obtain funds to help form such a business. Also, remember it’ll cost less to do it now than it will later.

Design is a business, we’re in it because we love it, but often times it feels like people forget that good businesses make money, it’s not a requirement but a measuring stick and unfortunately if you’re not turning a profit you can’t practice what you love, the business part of LA is a necessary evil so embrace it and maybe study it a bit if you have time as a result of the current economic conditions.

love,
AR

[AR Coffeen]

good discussion guys!

let me address a few points:

1) The data i’ve been studying has been collected from various sources as i stumble across it. There’s not one great place with this kind of information, so i am sure it’ll be worth my time someday.

2) I am on the verge of starting my own design build company but I am holding out to see how a few things develop and to better establish the business plan.

3) speaking of business this comment made me laugh, “So let me guess firms are supposed to hire young LAs to work on imaginary projects just so they can get experience. Sounds nice, but that’s just bad business. Maybe I’m missing something.” You are missing something, business 101, buy low sale high and you have to spend money to make money.

From my 8 years of management and economics experience, before the partial switch to LA, the one thing that always holds true is that you invest when the market is low, ie spending the money to hire young talented LA’s at a discounted rate while you can to help you GET new jobs. Then, as the market gradually returns and the demand starts to gain on the supply, as it inevitably will, you aren’t playing catch up and having to pay more for a less talented/developed individual.

All i know is that if you think adding a young enthusiastic designer who can create eye catching graphics and provide new innovative ideas and ways of thinking to your team for the purpose of growing and advancing you business by going outside your comfort zone and chasing more jobs is bad business, than that’s a company i don’t want to work for anyways.

4) Also unpaid internships are only feasible to somebody enrolled in school where student loans, more often than not, are substituted for income. I would take an unpaid internship right now if I could afford it because my ultimate goal of investing the time and money into in a 3 year masters of landscape architecture degree was to get licensed. Now it’s proving much more difficult than planned.

=)

[AR Coffeen]

Also, here in NM you can sit for the LARE as soon as you graduate but, you can’t get your license until you have fulfilled the 2 years experience under a licensed LA or the 6+ years in the field doing similar work not under an LA. Also, here, if you pass any part of the LARE and submit a form you can call yourself a “Landscape Architect in Training”, a nice piece of legislature pushed through by one of the LA’s here.

[AR Coffeen]

This is good stuff, i like to rant myself, so here I go.

Preface: I just graduated with my MLA in May, I have established relationships with the principals of every LA firm in town, I am the Treasurer of the NMASLA, I network through my connections at the school and local governments, I volunteer and I still can’t get a job in the LA field, design build places won’t even hire me because my only landscaping experience is through the school and my side projects. So, to help pay the bills I have turned to part time Cost Segregation Accounting (more aligned with my undergrad degree).

It’s hard to stay optimistic that something will come up and it’s challenging to be enthused about a profession that just takes the punches of a bad economy. Instead now is the time to invest in the future, hire young talent that you can train and grow so when you retire they too have 40 years of experience and can carry on the legacy of your name and company, go after new work, distinguish yourself from the competition, and start throwing punches. Take work back from the architects, planners, environmental ecologist, engineers, etc…

I realize it’s our own (landscape architects) fault for not materializing the benefits of landscape design in a more tangible, dollars and cents, type of way like these other professions do and as a result the value of our work is rarely being seen. This causes landscapes to be the first to get cut from the budget and the last things to be considered on a majority of projects. If we can better monetize the value of our work we will be able to better justify and sell our skills.

I am working on this, I’ve been studying monetary values of landscape and how to place monetary benefits on a more complete relationship between land and structure (place). It helps fill in the other part of my time, when i am not working as a cost segregation accountant…

good luck to you all!

[AR Coffeen]

Yeah, long write up on the spaces and landscape architecture of the games in this months issue of Landscape Architecture magazine

[AR Coffeen]

Thanks Vance, these projects look useful, another one of the things i want to examine on my trip are resorts vs. traditional designs and their relationships.

Thanks again.

[AR Coffeen]

Thanks Nick, I haven’t heard about the Ameya Preserve yet, looks interesting.

I am planning on getting in touch with design workshop in aspen.

Thanks a ton any information helps!

[Author]

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