Exploring new markets and opportunities is a lot like navigation - it is important to understand your starting point before you determine how to get where you're going. These questions can help orient you and provide clarity in the planning process. Growth doesn't start with a marketing plan — it starts with clarity. Before setting new goals, every principal, owner, and executive should be able to answer these three questions: 1. Who are we as a company? What do we truly valu

Many of the conversations I’ve had lately with the owners & principals of architecture and construction firms are about the “basics” of business development. How do we define business development? Where should we invest our time and resources to maximize impact? What are some “best practices”? I define business development as the cultivation of relationships for the purpose of growing your business. The natural follow-up question is this: Yeah – but what should we actually

I’m sharing the story here because the name "Door 3" was chosen very intentionally. It has dual meaning that is important personally and professionally. The personal story is that my father was a teacher, and during the summers he worked as a handyman, carpenter, and painter. I would tag along with him as a small child, and he would often purchase lumber and supplies at Millard Lumber. At the time, the historic lumberyard on Millard Avenue was still standing, and at checkout

As I listen to stories from local AEC firms about their challenges and obstacles to growth, I've started gathering data and statistics about the state of the industry as a whole. Much of the information available on a national and global scale feels less relevant than ever, and I want to dig into why - and how it affects local & regional mid-size firms. You might hear statistics like these: The median growth rate of AEC firms in the US in 2025-26 is 10.5%. The US AEC industry