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Architecture Business Club with Jon Clayton

Architecture Business Club with Jon Clayton

By: Jon Clayton
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Architecture Business Club is the podcast to help you build a build profitable, future-proof architecture practice that both you and your clients love! It’s an inclusive place (for ALL architecture business owners). So whether you’re an Architect, Architectural Technologist, or Architectural Designer…If you sell architectural services and want to improve the way you do things…This is THE podcast for you. I’m Jon Clayton, your show host, and a Chartered Architectural Technologist based in the UK. I’ve been in architecture for over two decades and ran my own micro practice for 10 years+. Each week you’ll hear from inspiring people from the world of architecture and business who share actionable tips to help you improve how you work, save time, or make more money. I’ll also share my own experiences running an architecture business in occasional solo episodes. We cover everything from mindset, money, business strategy, sales & marketing, productivity, systems & workflows, client experience, outsourcing, software, technology, and much more. Episodes are short, helpful & actionable. Expect interview episodes of around 30 to 40 minutes, and occasional solo episodes of up to 20 minutes. New episodes are released every other Thursday at 6am GMT / 2am EST. Welcome to the Club!Copyright 2026 Jon Clayton Art Economics Leadership Management & Leadership Marketing Marketing & Sales
Episodes
  • Navigating Home Design Costs with Michael Sweebe | 124

    Navigating Home Design Costs with Michael Sweebe | 124
    May 28 2026
    Fixing Budget Misalignment in Residential Projects.A conversation with Michael Sweebe on Build Cost Estimation. Host Jon Clayton interviews residential architect Michael Sweebe of Sweebe Architecture about the common problem of homeowners’ design goals outpacing their budgets and the lack of early tools to define scope and estimate costs. Mike shares how his childhood experience in an unsuitable apartment shaped his focus on homes as expressions of memory, identity, and aspiration, and how 20 years in commercial practice led him to residential work. He explains how a COVID-era, space-by-space cost spreadsheet helped him give live ballpark project costs, preventing clients from spending money on drawings they couldn’t afford to build. That approach evolved into Scopify, a free homeowner app (beta) that estimates “soup to nuts” build costs by U.S. postal code and delivers pre-qualified leads to architects, reducing unbillable qualification time.Today’s GuestMichael Sweebe is a practicing architect & the founder of Sweebe Architecture. Mike’s practice specialises in residential architecture & interior design – designing homes that bring families closer together. Mike is also the founder of Scopify – a new app helping homeowners to estimate & control their build costs from the outset & to connect them with the best service providers.—Episode Highlights00:00 Introduction01:01 Meet Michael Sweebe01:36 What We Will Cover02:08 A Childhood Home Mismatch03:00 Drawing Plans At Age Nine04:19 Finding Purpose Early05:41 From Uni To Real Practice06:40 Why Homeowners Matter More08:42 Residential Brand Mindset09:44 Residential Project Pitfalls10:23 No Tools For Early Costing12:16 Chicken and Egg Problem13:14 Building Without Architectural Guidance14:46 COVID Spreadsheet Solution15:47 Space By Space Estimating16:47 Why Homeowners Think In Rooms18:15 Live Pricing Saves Projects20:24 Stop Gatekeeping Cost Info21:51 Limits Of One To One Help22:29 Sales Funnel Sparks Scopify24:52 Scaling Impact Nationwide26:47 Scopify Beta Overview27:28 Homeowner Experience And Pricing28:12 Postal Code Cost Algorithm29:15 40 40 20 cost rule30:00 Qualified Leads For Architects30:54 Beta Results And Conversions34:05 Homeowners Know 85 Percent Of What They Want34:54 How To Try Scopify35:23 Key Takeaway36:16 Must Have Business Resource39:11 Where To Find Michael Sweebe—Key TakeawaysHelp homeowners understand costs before they hire anyone.If you work in architecture or home design, one of the biggest problems you will see is that homeowners have no idea what things cost. When they find out late in the process, it can kill the whole project. You can save everyone a lot of time and money by giving people a rough idea of costs right at the start — before they pay for drawings or sign any contracts.Think about spaces the way the people living in them do.When you are working with homeowners, remember that their home is about more than just building materials and square footage. It is about who they are, what they care about, and what kind of life they want to live. If you keep that in mind, you will do better work and build stronger relationships with your clients.Technology can help you reach more people and save time.If you are a small practice, you can only help so many clients on your own. But if you use the right tools — like an app that lets homeowners self-qualify before they even speak to you — you can spend your time with people who are actually ready to go ahead. That means less unpaid time in meetings that go nowhere, and more clients who are a good fit for your work.—Subscribe on YouTube (for upcoming video episodes!) 📺Send a Voicemail to the show (we listen to every message!) 📢Learn more about Scopify 🖥️Test the Scopify app 🖥️Learn more about Sweebe Architecture 🖥️Curious about podcasting? Click here to book a chat with Jon 🎧Follow or Connect with Jon on LinkedIn 🤝—👇 And if you enjoyed this episode…Please leave a 5-star review or rating wherever you listen to podcasts, and don’t forget to hit the subscribe button so you never miss an episode.
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    41 mins
  • Marketing & Lead Generation Tips For Small Businesses | 123

    Marketing & Lead Generation Tips For Small Businesses | 123
    May 7 2026

    Top Marketing & Lead Generation Episodes for Architecture Practices

    Jon Clayton introduces a roundup of Architecture Business Club episodes focused on improving marketing and lead generation for architecture practices beyond a website portfolio and occasional Instagram posts. Jon highlights the most popular marketing and lead generation episode to date, shares a “hidden gem,” and reveals one of his personal favourites.

    —

    Episode Highlights

    00:00 Introduction

    01:32 Most Popular Marketing & Lead Generation Episode To Date

    02:42 The Right Way For Architecture Firms To Use LinkedIn

    03:53 A Hidden Gem From Our Marketing & Lead Generation Episodes

    05:05 How To Use Pinterest To Build Know, Like & Trust

    06:19 A Personal Favourite From Our Marketing & Lead Generation Episodes

    07:39 Strategic Marketing System For Small Firms

    09:47 Wrap Up

    —

    Key Takeaways

    Show who you are, not just what you build

    On LinkedIn, you might think sharing photos of your finished projects is enough. But clients want to know you. They want to see your personality, understand how you work, and feel they can trust you. Try sharing why you love what you do or a little about your process — that personal touch can make a big difference.

    Pinterest can help you reach clients early

    Pinterest is not really a social media platform — it works more like a search engine. If you post helpful content there, people can find you while they are still deciding which architectural designer to hire. Over time, they get to know your work, trust your brand, and when they are ready, they come back to you.

    A lean marketing system can work for small firms

    You do not need a big team to market well. Start by getting clear on who your dream client is, create a simple core offer, and set up a way to bring in leads. Even a small "gateway offer" — like a paid strategy session — can help turn first conversations into paying work and grow your business step by step.

    —

    Get to grips with LinkedIn in this popular podcast episode

    Learn how to leverage Pinterest in your architecture practice

    Build an effective marketing system for your micro-sized business

    —

    Subscribe on YouTube (for upcoming video episodes!) 📺

    Send a Voicemail to the show (we listen to every message!) 📢

    Curious about podcasting? Click here to book a chat with Jon 🎧

    Follow or Connect with Jon on LinkedIn 🤝

    —

    👇 And if you enjoyed this episode…

    Please leave a 5-star review or rating wherever you listen to podcasts, and don’t forget to hit the subscribe button so you never miss an episode.
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    11 mins
  • Solopreneur's Guide To Business Mastery with Kathy Ennis | 122

    Solopreneur's Guide To Business Mastery with Kathy Ennis | 122
    Apr 23 2026
    Host Jon Clayton welcomes Kathy Ennis of Little Piggy Ltd to Architecture Business Club to discuss why many solopreneurs and micro business owners struggle and what drives success. Kathy explains that talented people often rely on passion and “window dressing” marketing without learning core business skills, especially planning and cashflow forecasting. She outlines her five “Ps”: people (start with psychographics and choose who you want to buy from you), product (for services, productise offers into clear packages and entry levels), price (set targets based on business costs, salary, tax and profit, then align pricing with customer and offer), promotion (balance brand and sales marketing; go beyond social media with networking, lead magnets and email), and productivity (allocate time to run the business, build systems, and outsource).—Today’s GuestKathy Ennis is the founder of LittlePiggy and an award-winning Business Mentor who specialises in working with Solopreneurs, Freelancers and Side-Hustlers to build businesses that actually work and bring them the success they deserve.After 20 years in the corporate world, Kathy launched her own business in 2000 at 40, knowing nothing about business. It didn't all go to plan – redundancy, a financial crisis, and even pension fraud tested her resolve – but she learned, adapted and built something sustainable. Those hard-won lessons became the foundation of everything she now teaches.With over 26 years of running her own businesses, Kathy knows that talent and passion aren't enough. You need the business fundamentals. That's why she developed her 5Ps framework – People, Products, Price, Promotion and Productivity. It's a practical, proven approach that takes clients from assumptions and guesswork to clear strategy and consistent profit.Kathy works one-to-one with business owners and delivers training through organisations including Enterprise Nation and Visionnaires, where she tutors and coaches on start-up and business growth programmes. She previously tutored on the York St John University MBA programme and runs the Women Talk Business programme for the Business and IP Centre Norfolk. She's also a regular public speaker and workshop facilitator.What sets Kathy apart is her straight-talking, no-fluff approach. She doesn't coach people on their feelings about business, she teaches them what they don't know. Because running a business is a skillset, and it's one you can learn.—Episode Highlights00:00 Introduction00:49 Meet Kathy Ennis02:15 Why Solopreneurs Start03:49 Passion vs Profit Gap04:22 Planning Builds Profit05:21 Architecture Iceberg Analogy07:15 Unsexy Business Basics08:54 Five Ps Framework10:30 Know Your People11:01 Psychographics Over Demographics12:28 Choose Who Buys13:47 Productising Services19:40 Packages To Upsell & Downsell25:35 The Golden Triangle Of Pricing26:28 Turnover Not Salary27:42 Tiered Offers Math28:45 Supermarket Pricing Analogy29:36 Spreadsheet Stress Test30:17 Packages Versus Capacity31:16 Avoid Salary Replacement Trap33:26 Unemotional Numbers Mindset34:47 Reevaluate Offer And Audience35:21 Brand Versus Marketing36:10 Beyond Social Media37:52 Lead Magnets And Email39:49 Productivity For Solopreneurs41:33 Outsource To Build A Team44:14 Final Takeaways And Wrap —Key TakeawaysRunning a business is a skill you can learnJust because you are great at what you do does not mean you automatically know how to run a business. Kathy points out that most solopreneurs are brilliant at their craft but do not understand the basics of business. The good news is that business skills can be learned. Once you start learning things like pricing, planning, and knowing your customers, you put yourself on much firmer ground.Know your numbers before you set your pricesDo not just think about what you want to take home as a salary. You need to work out how much it costs to run your business, pay yourself, cover tax, and have a little left over to reinvest. Once you know that total number, you can work backwards to figure out your prices and how many clients you need. Using a simple spreadsheet to do this takes the emotion out of it and helps you make clear, sensible decisions.Plan your marketing and do not rely on social media aloneMany small business owners rely too heavily on posting on Instagram or LinkedIn and hope that their work will speak for itself. Kathy says you need a proper marketing strategy that includes email, face-to-face networking, and things that bring people to you, like a free resource or a short introductory chat. The more people know you and what you do, the more likely they are to refer others to you.—Subscribe on YouTube (for upcoming video episodes!) 📺Send a Voicemail to the show (we listen to every message!) 📢Connect with Kathy Ennis on LinkedIn 🤝Visit Kathy’s website 🖥️Curious about podcasting? Click here to book a chat with Jon 🎧Follow or Connect with Jon on LinkedIn 🤝—👇 And if ...
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    51 mins
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