Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Carlos.
Hi Andrew, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve always been a creative person and after pursuing architecture and working my way through firms collecting a variety of experience over the years. Through that part of my career there persisted a longing to have my own practice. To be an entrepreneur and call the shots “making rain” and enjoying the reward of having a business of your own making.
Many times, I was resolved to just accept that this was all just the fantasy of a frustrated design professional working for the corporate “man”.
And as the years wore on and my family obligations grew, the reality of starting a firm grew further and further from possibility. If not for the encouragement of an amazing wife and business partner, I would have never taken the leap. She always believed in my ability and talent when I couldn’t, which still motivates me today to appreciate the opportunity that she affords me through her faith in me.
Starting out was tough and being a senior design professional, there was a good salary to replace that couldn’t be done instantly. I needed to build a clientele and win projects while retaining my “day job”. So late nights and weekends were spent meeting with clients, designing projects and marketing new work. The moment to leap to my side hustle full-time resonated as a stressful thought in the back of my mind. I would constantly strategize about how and when to make this momentous decision. In the end it came down to a few things.
A structural engineer friend with his own business shared with me that once he had 3 months of backlogged projects, he felt confident to make his leap into entrepreneurship. At this time, I could account for about 6 months of work in the “pipeline”. Additionally maintaining two jobs for about 2-years was starting to take a toll and I needed to decide to move forward or abandon this venture. My uncle wisely told me that it’s time to jump when you can no longer maintain your day job and side hustle with integrity.
Day one of being on my own was both magical and terrifying. The freedom and independence was amazing but losing the support of a corporate structure took some adjusting. The great thing about being your own boss is that you rarely have to do anything that you think is ridiculous of illogical.
The ethos of the business was to care for people through design. Helping clients to understand that I could help make their lives better because of my skill, talent and experience. Improving quality of life through function, sustainable design and aesthetic beauty have always been the mission of the business. Our clients typically appreciate our approach to design and seek us out for this reason.
10 years ago, I wouldn’t have imagined that we would be thriving today based on our simple design philosophy, but it goes to show that one must stay true to what you’re passionate about and others will catch that vision.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Running a small business is challenging especially if you’re a first-generation entrepreneur. In general, balancing the business-side with the creative-side is a lot. My wife and business partner who is more right-brained and organized provides the support on the business and marketing side, making me free to create and pursue projects. Over committing to projects is tough – You want to take every project to keep your backlog full and to help people out, but not all projects are a good fit. I learned this the hard way and oftentimes created stress due to balancing too many projects at once. I now am more discerning about what project and client are good fits, which means that sometimes I need to turn down work which is challenging to do.
Recruiting and training staff for a small business is difficult and we went through lots of learning curve on this. We’d train staff only to have them move on in a year or two because they wanted to work in a more corporate environment. We were early adapters when it came to remote work allowing our staff to be 100% remote, at one time I had staff living in Mexico and traveling for several months in Brazil, still working and producing in a remote capacity prior to 2020. Now we use mostly contract labor and consultants to assist with our production and engineering needs. This helps us stay small so that we can stay connected to our work as opposed to just managing an office.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
If I describe Carlos Architects, I would say that we are a full-service architecture firm specializing in efficient, sustainable and meaningful or thoughtful design. We really believe in changing lives through design and improving the spaces that we live.
We work our clients to explore their needs and desired for a better way to live considering their season of life and beyond, carefully evaluating the projects program and then responding with a complementary design solution.
We have no set style or aesthetic but seek to provide an exterior design that is compatible with our client’s sensibility and the cohesiveness of the surrounding community and nature always working for a progressive approach incorporating technology and sustainability into each design. It’s fun and rewarding to head out on an adventure with our clients, seeking out opportunities to create interesting and enduring design compositions. We pride ourselves on designing with a sense of wonder and discovery. i often tell clients that part of my job is to daydream about your project, to give time to imagine and create in the minds-eye before committing to paper or computer. It’s the mystery of architecture that we attempt to achieve – the balance of art and technology in every project.
My favorite quote that identifies with our practice from Willy Wonka
“We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams”
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Camping in the Sierra Nevada and Yosemite – being free to explore and to absorb the grandeur of nature.
Pricing:
- competitive hourly rates
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.carlosarchitects.com
Image Credits
Ian Patzke Photography (Grassi Residence projects)
Bustos Photography (Basswood, Adams projects)
