Creative Approaches to Tackling the Housing Crisis

In today’s rerun episode of Let’s Talk Business, we are revisiting an insightful conversation with Jeff Akerman, the founder of Rise Architecture.

Hosted by Meny Hoffman, this episode takes us through Jeff’s journey from starting his architectural firm in his basement to establishing a successful business that has expanded across 11 states.

Jeff shares his story, beginning with his mother’s encouragement to pursue architecture, which laid the foundation for his career. His narrative highlights the importance of balancing creative ambitions with business acumen, a challenge many in the creative industry face. Jeff candidly discusses the realization that a successful business requires not just design talent but also a keen understanding of business operations and growth strategies.
Listeners will benefit from Jeff’s exploration of bridging the gap between creativity and business efficiency, emphasizing the necessity of delegation and creating a company culture that fosters both innovation and accountability. The discussion provides practical insights on maintaining creativity within structured timelines, as well as incentivizing employees through ownership and profit-sharing models.
Additionally, Jeff delves into his audacious project in Florida—developing a new community with thousands of housing units, aiming to address the housing crisis in the Jewish community. This ambitious undertaking reflects Jeff’s vision of making a lasting impact beyond financial success.
This episode is a treasure trove of actionable strategies for business owners and creative professionals alike, offering guidance on building a business that harmonizes creative passion with strategic growth. Tune in to discover how you can nurture a successful business environment while still pursuing creative excellence and community impact. Whether you’re starting out or looking to scale your business, Jeff’s journey offers valuable lessons in entrepreneurship, resilience, and visionary thinking.

Transcript

05:15 – Architecture Meets Business Strategy
08:33 – Balancing Creativity and Business
11:36 – Streamline Proposals with PandaDoc
14:42 – Balancing Creativity and Project Timelines
18:59 – Ownership Fuels Business Growth
20:02 – Let’s Talk Business Sponsorship
23:31 – Unpredictable Puzzle Planning
26:47 – Affordable Housing Community Vision
30:32 – Importance of Written Agreements
33:33 – Diversity in Partnerships: Respect Differences
38:26 – Creative Freedom and Aligned Vision
39:26 – Partner Collaboration: Plan & Document

Practical Pointers

Remember that in the creative space, you need to give your employees the leeway to think, because they want to feel that they are still being creative. If you stifle that creativity, and say, “You must do it my way,” you’re likely to lose a lot of people pretty quickly.

One of the best ways to avoid the conflict between the business side of things - which demands creativity according to a specific timetable - and the creative side, is to suggest that your creatives give you their own timetable, rather than asking them to hew to one that the business people made. This increases accountability and personal responsibility, and also does wonders for the company culture.

The most important element in choosing a partner is to make sure that you have the same vision. If every detail is perfect but you each see the end goal differently, then the partnership will fall apart, with potentially disastrous results.

When you work together with a partner, you absolutely must hammer out the details in advance, and put them in writing - even if your partner is your best friend in the world - so that you both understand what’s expected of each of you. If you don’t, the business may fall apart - or on the contrary, it may work great, but you’re doing all the work even though you’re splitting the profits.

Show notes

Rise Architecture Panda Doc

Guest Bio

Jeff Akerman

Starting out from his basement in Brooklyn, Jeff Akerman founded BizDesignes, now called RISE Architecture, in 2010, and since then established a number of other large architecture and design firms as well.

A licensed Architect in New York and 11 other states, Jeff directed the firm as it experienced exponential growth with a wide range of projects from major interior renovations of single-family residential buildings to commercial, mixed-use, industrial, and institutional new buildings.

His most recent project is the development of a new city for religious Jews in Florida.

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