After years of living on the financial edge, my wife and I finally decided to buckle down, pull up on the bootstraps, pinch the pennies, and every other slang term for becoming financially intelligent. To put this in perspective, imagine having one income for the past 10 years while having 4 kids, renovating an office building, renovating a house (while renting another one) and going through all the trials and tribulations of owning an architecture practice.
My wife has managed to acquire the skills of a coupon/sale ninja and between her efforts and my reorganization we have accomplished the unheard of feat of not ordering pizza or Chinese food for over 3 weeks! I bet that alone has saved thousands!
The architectural profession is always a series of ups and downs. You may land that big contract and sometimes that "big fish" just sits outside your reach, picking at the bait for months. My office has it's hand in many cookie jars, so it's not too desperate but we've had our moments.
This downcycle is the longest I've seen. Two years and counting. I tell people that 9 months is the usual cycle for dips in workload. The largest challenge right now for project start up's is the financing. Banks either make clients jump through more hoops or they (the banks) just don't want to loan at such a low rate.
Indications appear to show an upswing for this year. Maybe we will all see a positive Summer of 2011...
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