10 Years!

This week is a milestone week for me as my little company will turn 10 years old on Friday.  I simply can’t believe it’s been a decade on my own but here we are.  Obviously, a major thank you to all of you who have trusted me to work with you on your communication strategy and gratitude also to all of you who have shared, supported, and encouraged me along the way.  I am very grateful.  So, 10 down and who knows how many more but it is full speed ahead for sure… great things coming!

 

Elsewhere…

 

--  The latest Architectural Billings Index was release and it continues to be on fire.  This month a 58.5 score was posted and it’s really amazing how positive this forecast has become.  Anything over a 50 is a plus and right now this index is soaring into record territory.  The ABI is a future facing index, so these numbers are exciting for late 2021 into 2022n but I know in the present we still are battling some soft underbelly work wise (though it seems to be picking up) and of course we are dealing with a double whammy of labor and supply shortages. That said, I’ll take that positivity of the future and know we are all resilient enough to get through all the adventures we have going on now…

 

--  Once again, the team from Glazier Nation is positively disrupting the landscape- the latest with their nationwide road show kicking off this past week.  Matt Day and team are hitting the road and I think it’s great that they’ll be getting face to face with so many of the leaders in our space. Plus they’ll be pushing great messaging including getting to GlassBuild this fall- so I am pumped for all of it. If you are on LinkedIn- check out this post to see where they’re headed.

 

--  Speaking of GlassBuild- just a reminder, go get that hotel room booked now.  I know most people wait to register for the show, but friendly advice here- get your room settled so you can stay where you want…. GlassBuild.com has all the info there for you.

 

--  Read a tremendous study from Deltek.  They surveyed 480 architectural firms and went very deep into every aspect of their business.  Really interesting stuff but I really focused in on the thoughts on marketing and advertising and the trend of pushing more online is only going to grow- so having a robust and diverse online offering is certainly the wave to ride. More marketing is actually having a bigger effect than direct sales visits!

 

--  Thanks to Justin Wolf who linked this one on Linkedin- the 15 worst highways in America and it’s a wild read.  3 of the 15 are in the Rochester/Buffalo area which makes me think that someone there should hire Jim Stathopoulos of Ajay Glass and let him fix the roads right- since I know he has the engineering chops to usually fix the unfixable!  I am surprised no Michigan roads made this list though- check it out!

 

--  Last this week… on Florida and the building collapse.  It’s incredibly sad and scary that it happened and really brings to mind it could happen again.  Thoughts and prayers to all involved there and let’s hope that this gets people moving quicker to inspect, correct, and repair anything that may end up in this category in the future.  Also great credit to Rick De La Guardia of DLG Engineering – a super person and he’s been excellent explaining to all forms of media the issues that this building had (or may have had) and worries/concerns for the future.  Rick has done a lot of work on the glass side of things and seeing his voice amplified is a comforting one because he really knows his stuff and he is an absolute professional.

 

LINKS of the WEEK

 

I have flown a ton in my life and I have yet, thankfully, been on a plane with this happening.  

 

Did you see the brutal crash at the start of the Tour De France?  All done in by a signholder…

 

I had never heard of the Yabba Dabba Do house until reading this… wow.

 

PROJECT of the WEEK

 

Fins for the win!  Not sure the name of this project but it was from Erin Bellis of McGrory Glass and Erin is an all-time favorite of mine- great talent- so if it’s good for her- it’s perfect for me and a Project of the Week! McGrory does such a nice range of work and this one is right on pace with all else they do.   Nice work McGrory team on this one, and thank you Erin for putting it out there!