This might be as close as we get to describing the sure-fire trick for building a national profile
How does a regional firm like Studio KLP break into bigger markets? Every small business owner probably asks that question at some point or another. A smaller number of them try. An even smaller group actually succeed.
Seven years ago, KLP Principal Kira Kinsman was having lunch with a dear friend, Michael Ytterberg. If you know anything about contemporary architecture in Pennsylvania, you probably already know that Michael needs no introduction. He trained at Rice University and the University of Pennsylvania. He studied in Paris and Rome and is a sought-after lecturer.
That’s not a flex; just part of the story.
Architects are an isolated group. Only about 127,000 of them are registered in the United States. For comparison’s sake, civil engineers number around 310,000, according to BLS data. There are nearly 1 million carpenters. Accountants number around1.4 million.
So the notion that we’re going to rub elbows with rockstars from time to time seems understandable (interestingly, the BLS counts more professional musicians and singers in the United States — 160,000 — than architects; so there actually could be more rockstars than architects).
As Kira sat in Philadelphia’s Chinatown with Michael, she confided that she believed Studio KLP, then a tiny firm in Northeast Pennsylvania, was ready to start working in Philadelphia.
She expected Michael to maybe chuckle, perhaps warn her about the odds stacked against her in a highly competitive market.
Instead he said, “I’ll do everything I can to help you.”
We earned our way into the Philadelphia market, but Michael has been beyond amazing in opening up opportunities for us. The most honest friendships are always the most important and meaningful ones.
Most recently, and for the third time, Michael’s firm retained KLP as associated architects on a high rise condominium in Philadelphia’s central business district, right on Broad Street, across from the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. It’s been an honor to participate in the project, even now, nearly a decade after that memorable conversation over lunch in Chinatown.
Great story, but that doesn’t tell me how to break into bigger markets
Point taken. To be honest (and you probably knew this was coming), if there were sure-fire tricks, more people would figure out how to do it.
The story about Michael simply illustrates the power of relationships. Business at the highest levels, the levels we’re all after, can’t happen without them.
To forge relationships, you need to be likeable, approachable, gregarious and aggressive all at once. You need to have good ideas … err, scratch that. You need to have the best ideas. Those only come through persistence, trying and many mistakes.
If you want to enter bigger markets, first get your own house in order. Become the master of your own domain, no matter how small it is. That’s actually just good advice for life. It takes time to do that, so while you’re figuring out how to run in your own small markets, get to know the players in others.
Spend time exploring the places you want to be. Don’t just google them. Go visit them. Start building a network there and get to know the market.
Part of growing is also reckoning with the fact that sometimes, some outcomes are simply impossible. When we’re kids, our parents — if we’re lucky — tell us the big lie. It’s that we can do anything if we put our minds to it. “But, mom, does that mean I’ll fly some day or breathe underwater?” It doesn’t take long to figure out that even “anything” has its limits. But at least you got the chance to wonder, and test the limits of possibility without fearing so much that you might fail, and for that reason, the big lie is a blessing.
We’ve talked about the 1920s-’30s architects Innes and Levy before <internal link to ALTERATIONS blog>. They were prolific in Northeast Pennsylvania, and strived to break out and work in Philadelphia (and actually did receive some assignments for work in Southeastern Pennsylvania). But their legacy is almost exclusively tied up in the treasured homes they built for the rich and famous of, yes, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.
This might be the worst self-help blog you ever read. It’s light on actionable tips, heavy on soliloquy and ends with a consoling tone that maybe you should sometimes accept defeat when trying to take your business into major metros.
But maybe that’s the point. Maybe it’s actually spot-on. Maybe the focus shouldn’t be on entering a big new market. Focus on excellence, on relationships and being the best at what you do. If that’s your priority, opportunities for growth will find you.