About to get first paying client - cositng?

[stayinwonderland]

Hi,

 

Wanted to post this in the salary and industry survey section but I don't have access.

 

So, I've done some portfolio work to get me into the position of being able to cold call a few architecture companies and I've got a meeting set up.

 

My issue is that, while I can create various 3d buildings etc, I haven't yet created a building from plans. So I feel a bit junior.

 

As such, could anyone advise me on how to play the meeting and how to cost? I feel I should value myself lower due to lack of actual industry experience and maybe even sell that as a strong point, because it would positively affect cost for the client?

 

If you want to get a feel for my work go here.

 

Many thanks

[RyderSK]

Are you kidding me ? You don't seem like beginner at all. Don't sell yourself as "starting junior" and don't sell yourself cheap just because you think you lack experience. Building from plans is no magic, I wouldn't be afraid of it unless it was quite complicated building of large scope.

 

With the work you have on your site, your confidence should be four times what you presented in your post :- )

[stayinwonderland]

Ah, thanks dude. Most kind

 

Now what about costing? I live in the UK. I have a meeting tomorrow with a small company (guy works from home) and the projects are small to medium.

[Scott Schroeder]

If you say you never built a building from plans, which also would lead one to believe you cannot read a proper set of plans, they may just tell you thanks for your time and go with someone else. A lot of companies, at least here in the US, have grown tired of using the inexperienced but cheap freelancer. They just have a stigma of doing poor to just okay quality, and they need a lot of hand holding. Being junior may not be such a positive thing as you may think. It may turn into a huge hindrance.

 

I would keep that piece of information secret and bid out as you normally would. Never bid low, because you'll rarely be able to bid higher for the next job. You'll always be see as that guy who can do quality work for less than cheap cost and they'll be very hesitant the next time you want to use a higher rate.

 

Reading a set and building from plans is fairly straight forward.

[stayinwonderland]

I guess that makes sense. But it's a tad naive to imagine going into a meeting and, when they ask "so, what commercial projects have you worked on?" me replying "...I'm not telling." So I reckon I'll have to play it carefully. I have until tomorrow to get a basic grasp of how plans work etc. so I can at least say I have a little bit of knowledge.

[Scott Schroeder]

I should clarify what I said by keeping it secret. Just don't put it out on front street that you have zero experience with building from plans. I fear if you lead on too much that you are inexperienced at best, they may feel you just wasted their time.

 

Just talk about your other buildings in your portfolio. Talk about how you built those and what you did. You don't have to necessarily tell them you don't know how to use plans, and you don't have to lie about it either. Just talk about your process.

[stayinwonderland]

Sure. I just better hope that I know what I'm doing when the time comes. I just found a half decent read on the process of architectural drawings:

 

http://www.cgarchitect.com/content/posts/legacy/VisualizationInsider/Week23/VI_Week23.pdf

[Tommy L]

I had the same kind of issue as you in the last couple of years. Breaking into a new market, mine was chasing product/creative work with an arch-vis portfolio, other way round to you.

Your 3d work is good and I actually dont think the question 'can you read plans' will come up in a pitch meeting. If they do ask just say yes. Get the job, then worry about how you're going to do it....

I would recommend you plan for a freelance modeler to do the modeling work if you are going to struggle. You can do this on every project if you like, build a partnership. You'll not only get to concentrate on your strengths, but also receive a well modeled building to learn from. You would bill the same as i you are doing the work yourself, but a chunk will go out to the freelancer. Doesn't technically make a difference, because once you are snowed under you'll want someone to help with modeling anyway.