As a follow-up to our last post, 7 Tips for Starting an Architecture Firm - Tip 03: Get Advice , I thought I'd touch on a related marketing strategy, a big secret:
Aside from gaining valuable information, your start-up advisers are also your best marketing source.
When starting an architecture firm, trust can be difficult to attain. This is especially true if, like us, you start your firm at a relatively young age. When you launch, you'll have very little to show potential clients. So while you can and should show potential clients work you completed while working for other firms (see How a Young Architecture Firm Can Show Its Experience), in all likelihood, your first projects will come from people you have a prior relationship with - such as the people you're asking for advice.
Just thought this post could use a pretty picture. It was either this or a cheesy stock photo of business people shaking hands.
Asking for advice is a great way to meet with people, let them know you're starting your own business, and gain their trust, all while not seeming like you're looking to gain anything other than free advice. So while marketing your new firm may be secondary to getting advice, there's a good chance you may get some projects out of it. We did.
