Staying Small Successfully: A Guide for Architects, Engineers, and Design Professionals

Making smaller A/E/C firms more productive and more profitable Want to do big things with a small company? This no–nonsense guide shows leaders of smaller architecture, engineering, and design firms how to compete successfully against larger organizations without becoming one of them. It demonstrates how a smaller firm can position itself to bring more value to its clients, operate over a larger geographical area, and develop a strategic plan for increasing revenues and profits. Featuring new chapters on forming strategic alliances and maximizing the benefits of information technology, this new edition presents updated case studies of more than fifty small design firms. These firms have achieved remarkable success and handled large contracts with limited staff, and the case studies illustrate how they learned to: Anticipate client needs and meet them in advance Narrow the target market and expand the client base Leverage core competencies to create powerful marketing tools Establish strategic partnerships Survive and thrive during an economic downturn Read Staying Small Successfully, Second Edition and follow its recommendations one step at a time. Your company will stay small, but your business, your revenues, and your profits will soar.

Foreword. Acknowledgments. Introduction. Planning and Strategy. Focusing Your Practice. Strategic Alliances. Servicing the Client. Personnel. Compensation. Managing the Bottom Line. Information Technology. Growth. The Psychology of Winning. Do′s and Don′ts of Success. Appendix A: Buy/Sell Agreements. Appendix B: Preparing Your Marketing Plan: Techniques and What to Include. Appendix C: Is Your Cover Letter Making a Difference? Recommended Reading. Index.

FRANK A. STASIOWSKI, FAIA, is founder, CEO, and President of PSMJ Resources, Inc., a worldwide firm that specializes in improving the performance of A/E/C firms of all sizes and their personnel.