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Think-Time Tuesdays: Story-selling
February 23, 2021 @ 8:30 am - 9:30 am PST
$15 – $60
Think-Time Tuesdays: Story-selling & The Freestyle Practice
Inside the A+D Studio
This is a virtual series. Zoom information will be emailed directly to registrants 24 hours before each event.
Learning Units: 1 LU / per session
Scheduled to kick-start a year of growth for your firm, this special AIALA series offers learning units and the foundations of a strong practice with business development savvy.
What makes a successful A+D practice? Find out by taking a break from your daily grind and getting into active thinking mode with business strategy consultant, architect and SO|arch founder, Elisabeth Sporer, AIA, CIC.
Elisabeth works with A+D firms — from emerging studios to established practices and legacy firms — to create business plans based on the “Four Pillars” of brand, finance, operations and design. Holistic in approach, viable and succinct, these business plans address a variety of goals — from long-terms ones like overall growth, market sector expansion, succession planning or ownership change, to short-term ones like strengthening leadership teams, improving financial performance, establishing efficient operational processes, or even getting a business loan.
Through interactive, quarterly sessions — rooted in case studies, best practices and the lessons of entrepreneurship — you will learn how to strengthen, and synergize, the “Four Pillars” of your business. By giving yourself time to actively, and deliberately, think on all aspects of your business, and your firm’s unique DNA, you can realize an A+D practice where purpose, portfolio and profit meaningfully converge.
SERIES SUMMARY:
1st Quarter: Story-selling & The Freestyle Practice; February 23, 2021 | 8:30-9:30AM PST
Who gets the work, and how? The first session [of four] focuses on the elements of a strategic plan with a focus on brand, BD (business development) and marketing.
2nd Quarter: Leadership & Where the Buck Stops; May 25, 2021 | 8:30-9:30AM PST
Who builds, manages, and supports the team and how? This session focuses on business strategy, culture and firm management.
3rd Quarter: Profit Motive & The Business of Design; August 24, 2021 | 8:30-9:30AM PST
Who deals with the money, and how? This session focuses on finance, metrics and performance.
4th Quarter: The Art of Collaboration & Getting Things Done; November 16, 2021 | 8:30-9:30AM PST
Who does the work and how? This session focuses on design teams, leadership styles and new ways of working.
EVENT DETAIL:
1st Quarter: Story-selling & The Freestyle Practice; February 23, 2021 | 8:30-9:30AM PST
Who gets the work, and how? The first session [of four] focuses on the elements of a strategic plan with a focus on brand, BD (business development) and marketing.
Once elusive-sounding concepts, perhaps even taboo topics, in A+D, “brand” and “marketing” have not only become part of the industry’s lexicon, but can also be key influencers, along with BD (business development), of a successful practice. Join Think-Time Tuesday host, and business strategy consultant, Elisabeth Sporer, AIA CIC, and her guest, brand strategist and creative consultant Lisa Boquiren who will unbox each element through case studies and an interactive segment.
Learning Objectives [1st Quarter Session]:
+ Participants will be able to learn best practices for brand, BD and marketing.
+ Participants will be able to critically assess their firms’ specific needs related to brand, BD and marketing.
+ Participants will be able to create synergies between BD and marketing that are appropriate for their practice.
+ Participants will be able to identify, and deploy, the appropriate BD & marketing staff and consultants for successful outcomes.
Presenters:
Elisabeth Sporer, AIA, CIC, Business Strategy Consultant, Architect, and Founder SO|arch
Elisabeth Sporer, AIA, CIC works with CEOs, founders and leadership teams to build successful A+D firms through an integral approach. Based in Northern California, she has presented at major AIA chapters in the region, including AIA San Francisco AIA East Bay and AIA Central Valley, on topics like international practice [“Unlearning the Metric System” in 2019], mentorship [“High Performance Mentorship” in 2020], entrepreneurship [“The Free Solo Practice” in 2019] and business strategy [“Blueprint for Success” in 2020].
She holds a Master of Science in Advanced Architecture Design from Columbia University in The City of New York and a Master of Architecture and a Bachelor of Architecture, both from TU Berlin. Elisabeth has taught professional practice at California College of the Arts, and she currently serves in the AIASF chapter’s leadership committee for its new headquarters capital campaign and as treasurer of the international practice committee.
Lisa Boquiren, Brand Strategist & Creative Consultant
Lisa Boquiren provides insight, ideas and strategy for creative businesses. She oversaw major rebranding initiatives at architecture and design firm EHDD, and at San Francisco Design Center. The former chair (volunteer) of AIASF’s communications committee, Lisa is a regular contributor to the chapter’s events calendar, and most recently produced “Flight Path” (2020), “Chain Link” (2020) and the upcoming “Power Table” (2021), the latest panel discussion in her on-going “Practice series” (2012-present).
Learning Objectives:
+ Participants will be able to learn best practices for brand, BD and marketing.
+ Participants will be able to critically assess their firms’ specific needs related to brand, BD and marketing.
+ Participants will be able to create synergies between BD and marketing that are appropriate for their practice.
+ Participants will be able to identify, and deploy, the appropriate BD & marketing staff and consultants for successful outcomes.
