It's nearing the Fall of 2011 and our "september rush" was met with mixed success. My definition of the "september rush" is one where clients start coming in due to kids going off to school, the winter coming on and the pressing need to get something going before next spring. This year it has begun to pick up. With all the turmoil of the world financial markets, the trashing of retirement accounts and the never-ending recessionary attitude many are just tired of being depressed. Get out, do something and accomplish that project you wanted to do but were just to hesitant to start.
My office has nearly always kept enough hands in enough cookie jars to make sure we are not completely dead or broke (for long). The only time we ever were at the brink was the winter of 2008 when all our projects ended and no new ones came in due to the Recession. That was quite the cold and quiet time until about mid-summer of 2009.
This Fall is seeing a mix of commercial and private projects and we are glad to have them. I'd rather be paid well and have less projects than have a large number of fee-poor projects that lamentably are nothing much more than "brush fires" that need constant attention to keep going.
With the world economic situation you would think everyone is running for cover and not spending any time thinking or working with Architects. Not the case. Instead, we have seen clients that just are tired of waiting and understand that while the world is a crazy place it is by no means a way to run one's life by and everything does have a way of working itself out in the end. Sanity, stability and growth do return and will do so once everyone starts focusing on what is good instead of what is bad and wrong.
Good luck to all and keep moving forwards!
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