going out on your own

[haflen]

Hello peoples, how are we all? Just wandering if anyone would like to share their experiences in starting their own Arch Viz business. The dos and don'ts, how you approach potential clients, who did you talk to about general business stuff, project management, what sector of arch viz (advertising, building approval, general visualization) do you enjoy more?

 

I'm thinking of going out on my own, and would love to hear from others who have taken the plunge.

[Renderbarn]

Hi There

Well, I did it just a few months ago.

I see, you are not located in a too different part in the world.

Most stuff I do is for consents with local authorities, but I often also do architectural design so far, so more than visualisation tasks only.

So far I have local clients. I am reaching out to extend, but it has to go with the current projects since I simply cannot do everything at the same time. I am constantly re-investing a part of the income to get more technology on board. It is sometimes a bit nerve-wrecking, but I don't want to go back...

[afterglow]

u need a good folio.. there's tonnes of work out there in australia, and not that much good competition, but nobody is going to give u money to do anything unless they know they are going to get quality.

 

personally, i wouldn't recommend it unless you have done a couple of years at at least one high-end studio... not just because of the skills you learn, but because it gives you time to get some of your own clients on the side and build up (your own) folio.

 

...but once u get going, and get some good clients, there's no looking back!

[aaron-cds]

Start with a couple of strong repeat clients. New ones will trickle in as they hear about you and see your work around. I started with a one year contract with an architect's office I used to work at. I gave them a discounted rate and they gave me steady pay. I was able to build my portfolio with their projects, develop my skills and build up my content library.

[visual3d]

Hehe, i know this isnt quite the right way, but i simply mail to architect or interior firm bosses or project managers the best of work that i have produce. Thats the best way to get noticed

You will be lucky enough that they might want you to rerender their work since most of them have 3d guys. That is a start. And i always get to do jobs for them when time is runing out...almost everytime.

 

But if youre about to go, dont leave office until you have at least 6month of cash to back you up when you do...

[Noise]

1. 3D - make sure your 3d skills are excellent and you are confident with them - this is the most important thing because this is your product and what clients are willing to pay for.

 

2. Pay - have (I would recommend) 1 years salary in the bank to pay yourself before you set off.

 

3. Payment - Strictly operate on a pay-on-delivery system, watermark your images and make it crystal clear from the outset with all potential clients this is the way you operate - do not deviate from this.

 

4. Marketing - every point of contact with potential clients (and clients) has to be polished and refined - this includes your work, website, marketing pack and yourself - be professional always.

 

5. Business plan - write a business plan to anticipate running costs. Effectively, your time is your income so, understand that approx 40% (if not more) of your time will not be doing 3D. Admin, quotations, marketing, dealing with clients, meetings, site visits, research and development are all things that take time. Factor this into your business plan and be realistic about your chargeable hours.

 

6. Finance - get a good accountant, this is money well spent - make sure from the outset that you need to stay informed about your own cash flow and stay on the right side of the tax man.

 

7. Flexibility - be mentally flexible to deal with all the things that go wrong eg. you get into work on monday morning and the server has died. Have 3 minimum backups of all your work with one or two off site backups. Don't buy Maxtor drives - if you have them already, replace them.

 

8. Vultures - Lawyers are to be avoided at all costs. If you implement the pay-on-delivery system then you have very little need to legally pursue non payment however, it is worth your while having a number of clauses in your appointment document that indemnifies you from responsibility if for some reason that you cannot complete a project. Have the validity of these clauses checked, again, money well spent.

 

9. Crystal clear - get all decisions made with clients confirmed in writing. If there is a grey area - raise the issue and get the decision in writing - again, do not deviate from this. Emails are fine. Also, get written confirmation of appointment for every project.

 

10. Staged Payments - If a project is worth more than 1 months revenue, operate on a staged payment basis. Get every stage signed off and paid before embarking on the next - this is especially true for animations.

 

11. Changes - due to the obvious power of what we do, some clients will look at the initial wip images and make design decisions which can result in remodelling which is time consuming and expensive. If the client makes this clear as a stipulation from the outset then OK - quote on that basis but, if you are employed to create final imagery assuming that the design is compelete then it is not in your remit to deal with their design fluctuations. We allow one design change - anything more and we make it clear that this will result in additional costs. However, when starting out you may want to relax this slightly.

 

12. Fun - remember to have fun. If you structure your company correctly and stick to your professional integrity then you will have all the fun in the world !

 

Take care and the very best of luck.

 

N

[haflen]

thanks guys for your words of wisdom and encouragement.