Product Description
Staying Small Successfully A Guide for Architects, Engineers, and Design Professionals Frank A. Stasiowski Today′s design professional with entrepreneurial ambitions often has in mind a small firm. Written by a veteran architect and consultant, here is a clear, detailed road map to setting up a small business or guiding an existing one to success. Using miniprofiles of several small successful design firms, the author pinpoints exactly what′s made them flourish. In a step–by–step format, he describes the six elements of the strategic planning process, tips on doubling average profit levels, building a loyal clientele, making your company a magnet for top talent, as well as measuring the financial health of your firm. This all–in–one seminar includes numerous checklists and flowcharts, a list of design firm management consultants, a typical marketing plan, and a survey of typical marketing costs. 1991 (0–471–50652–4) 297 pp. Value Pricing for the Design Firm Frank A. Stasiowski Essential to the design firm negotiating tough economic times, here is a handbook to garnering the most effective price for your services. Making the traditional cost–per–hour approach obsolete, the book teaches you how to price services based on their value to your client. Full of tactics that can be applied immediately, the book outlines the different methods of value pricing, ways to create value, a format for charging minimum fees, and a formula for price contracts. Other practical pricing tips include mini–scoping your services, charging for reimbursables, pricing change orders, as well as advice on negotiating a better contract. Complete with sample forms and lists, the book is a practical, easy–to–implement recession survival kit for the design firm. 1993 (0–471–57933–5) 240 pp. Cash Management for the Design Firm Frank A. Stasiowski While excellence in design and engineering may generate clients, monitoring and planning the movement of cash is central to a company′s survival. This practical guide outlines a det!ailed cash management plan that makes continued financial health possible even during lean economic times. Using a clear, easy–to–implement approach, the book describes: cash management techniques, project budgeting, profitable project pricing structures, controlling project and overhead costs, getting paid, and planning and monitoring performance. The book also includes valuable advice on negotiating a contract, the most profitable contract types, the purchasing process, acquiring capital equipment, and internal financial controls. Numerous checklists and exercises as well as sample reports and financial documents are included. 1993 (0–471–59711–2) 324 pp.
From the Inside Flap
Total Quality Project Management for the Design Firm In 1989 IBM spent a staggering $2.4 billion in warranty costs. And while this was certainly bad news for a company legendary for its high production standards, cost figures showed that the news was not much better for engineering, architectural, and other technical service firms. The inevitable move towards high–cost quality controls also drove up design fees. The result for many design firms: shrinking bottom–line profits. But ensuring quality isn’t always a costly proposition. At least that’s what some design professionals have discovered. In fact, a sensible, disciplined program of quality improvement—Total Quality Project Management—can transform the machinery of any design project into an efficient, cost–effective, and highly motivated professional team. Author and veteran design consultant Frank Stasiowski and project management expert David Burstein demonstrate how a number of leading design firms made the successful transition to TQPM, outlining how this effective tool can be practically applied to an entire range of design project problems—from sales and administration to budgeting and more. Featuring real–life examples of TQPM in a variety of applications, this practical book provides clear, easy–to–follow guidance on:
- Identifying quality problems on studies, design projects, and construction projects
- A fresh approach to improving administration, marketing, and management
- Keeping your clients happy
- Implementing TQPM in your firm—and making your project team competitive for the ’90s
Not only do the authors reshape your fundamental attitudes about quality, but they also reveal how to eliminate those expensive, profit–threatening quality control problems from your organization forever. The book also comes complete with numerous forms useful for self–analysis, evaluation, and action as well as a convenient glossary of terms, checklists, and references to more specialized reading. A must for design firm managers determined to boost their firm’s bottom line in the ’90s, Total Quality Project Management for the Design Firm is a blueprint and handbook to restyling your organization into an efficient, cost–effective service firm.
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