Findable

There is a problem with knowing only one skill, even though you are the best in it. People say that it is best to be a specialist, focusing deeply on only one area and be the best in it.

I disagree. If you are the best, how will other people know?

The Americans are great at this. Marketing. Many architects believe marketing is a dirty word. The truth is, we need it. We must show the world what are we doing, or no one will ever know. You can have the best idea in the world, but if there is nobody to see it, your idea will be forever just an idea.

Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest. Social media rule the world. There are money and influence. And even though your architecture is (hopefully) noble and the money is not your number one priority, you have to put a roof over your head or you can leverage the influence you can get to a good cause.

So you have to put yourself out there, into the world wide web. But you do not have to find your audience, if you are good enough, the audience will find you. You only need to be findable.

Even though you spend a lot of time in your own creative lab or whatever you call it, you can share a snippet of your work. Pull the curtain back a little. People are curious creatures.

What if I tell you that your possible boss does not have to read your portfolio because they already read your blog? Or your possible customer does not need to be approached through paid advertisement because they already like your work you put on Instagram? And the best part is, you do not have to pay anything for this kind of self-promotion, just spend a little more time.

Or you might change your hobby into a full-time work that you love doing because you can get fans to support you.

In the world of today, possibilities are limitless. The internet changed everything. Architects are inherently bound to the past. I know it myself. I long for old times when architects used to draft by hand, even though I was not even born. I do not know why it seems so fascinating in the world of 3D modelling software and BIM.

In the end, it does not really matter what is your area of interest. Just put it out there. There is always an audience.  There are almost 4 000 000 000 people using the internet, someone is interested, guaranteed.

The only thing you need to be is findable.

And now excuse me, I will be setting up new Instagram account…

Cheers