What we fix
Five things that go wrong in most studios of four to twenty people.
We take on one or two at a time, never all five: the week of looking says which. Each one below says what it is, what you get at the end of twelve weeks, and the number we read on Fridays.
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01
Fees and proposals
A fee that reflects the work, a proposal a client can say yes to in a day, and stages that get invoiced on time.
What you get
- A fee letter of two pages, with the stages, the dates and what each stage costs, that a client signs before the first drawing.
- A way of pricing from the work (the rooms, the drawings, the site visits), not from a percentage of a budget nobody has agreed.
- An invoice calendar the studio runs without the founder, with a reminder that goes out before the invoice, not after.
The numberMost studios we meet collect between 55 and 70 per cent of what they quote, within the year. The ones we have worked with collect over 85.
A story about it -
02
The client process
What the client sees, when, and what they are asked to decide. Fewer rounds, fewer surprises, decisions that stay made.
What you get
- A map of the project from the client's side: six moments, each with what they see, what they decide and when the next one is.
- A decision record of one page per project that the client sees too, so a decision made in March is still made in June.
- The words for the hard moments: a change after a decision, a budget that moved, a contractor who did not.
The numberA project that used to take nine client meetings to reach a tender takes five, and the sixth is on site.
A story about it -
03
Specifying and procurement
One schedule per project that the whole studio and the contractor read, and a way of buying that does not depend on one person's memory.
What you get
- One schedule per project, in one place, with one owner, that lists every item with its source, its price, its lead time and its status.
- A buying rhythm: what is ordered when, who confirms it, and how the contractor knows.
- A library of the two hundred items the studio specifies most, kept once, so a new project starts from the last one.
The numberThe hours a studio spends on specifying halve by the eighth week, and the items bought twice fall to none.
A story about it -
04
The team and the week
Who is on what, how many projects a person can carry, and a Monday that tells the truth about the month.
What you get
- A board of every live project with its stage, its owner and its next date, read by the whole studio on Monday in fifteen minutes.
- A load count: how many projects at which stage one designer can carry, and the number at which the studio says not yet.
- The Friday read: the one number per project that says whether the week went to plan.
The numberA founder who knows on Monday what the month will need, instead of on the thirtieth.
A story about it -
05
Presenting the work
A presentation that ends in a decision, not a second presentation. The order, the words, the one picture that matters.
What you get
- A presentation of twelve pages, not forty, in the order a client decides in: the brief back, the idea, the plan, the three rooms that matter, the money, the decisions.
- The last page: the three decisions the meeting needs, in words, and the date for the answer.
- The rehearsal, once, with us as the client.
The numberRounds per stage fall from four to between one and two, and the client remembers what they decided.
A story about it