We caught up with the brilliant and insightful David Robertson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

David, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Taking the leap and leaving my 9-5 job to start my own practice was one of the biggest risks I’ve ever taken. With a new house, two kids, and just a handful of clients, it was a no brainer for me :). Luckily, I had the unwavering support of my amazing wife throughout it all.

My journey into the field of architecture has also been filled with risks. Imagine this: a small-town guy from Southwest Mississippi lands an internship in New York City with a firm specializing in Broadway Theaters. Talk about stepping out of my comfort zone! I was itching to explore what the world had to offer, and boy, did I get my wish.

Before my NYC internship, I faced numerous challenges in getting accepted into a school of Architecture. My first attempt to get into a school, in Atlanta, ended in rejection. So, I moved back to Mississippi, where I worked while tirelessly pursuing acceptance into Mississippi State’s School of Architecture. After six months of full-time employment and relentless pursuit, I finally received the long-awaited acceptance letter from MS State’s School of Architecture.

Taking a risk to start my practice has been one of the most rewarding decisions that I have made in my professional and personal life. It definitely takes a different mindset, in order to take that leap of faith, and to sustain it. It also can be very fulfilling personally and professionally. In the end, taking that risk has worked out for me. Given that I am only a few years into this endeavor we will see where the story goes.

Most importantly it has allowed me the flexibility of being there for my kids and my wife on a more consistent level.

“Failure” is just as much a part of any successful venture as success itself. Many people won’t even attempt a risky situation if they fear the possibility of failure.

My advice to anyone looking to start their own journey is simple: do good work, be honest, and always follow through on your commitments.

David, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is David Robertson and I am an Architect based out of Atlanta, GA.

My path into the field of Architecture is a very circuitous one. I was born and raised in a small town in SW Mississippi where work was put at the top of the list. Everyone got the opportunity to experience some form of work at a relatively young age.

My high school career was not one that you would expect from someone that got the opportunity to start an Architectural firm. I was a less than mediocre student, and didn’t really care much for the academic world. Towards the end high school I was presented with the opportunity to attend a neighboring school that had a Vocational-Technical (Vo-tech) program. The school had a few different programs, but the one that I was focused on was vehicular mechanics. At that time, I wanted to be a mechanic when I grew up.

Like any good father, my dad suggestively persuaded me to take the 2 year drafting program. Like a good 16 year old son, I agreed with him, even though I had no idea what drafting even was.

This decision ended up being a pivotal moment in my life, both personally and professionally. The 2 year vo-tech drafting program lead me to a 2 year associates degree in drafting and design, a 4 year degree in Architectural Engineering Technology, and ultimately a professional degree in Architecture.

At the time, I was not thrilled, about our decision to pursue drafting, but like most 16 year olds, I knew everything. When the time came, to graduate high school, my grades weren’t good enough to get into a 4 year university, so I chose to attend a 2 year university in order to “get my grades up.” I ended up taking several remedial class in order to just hit the baseline expectations at the 2 year university. Luckily drafting / drawing ended up being something that I was, and am still very passionate about.

Resiliency is paramount when it comes to pursuing anything worthwhile. That is something that I grew accustomed to early on in life.

The firm provides full service architectural services to developers and investors that operate mostly in the single family, multifamily markets, and the firm also serves small business owners in the hospitality sectors. The firm operates across most the of Southeastern United States. The firm is headquartered out of Atlanta, with a satellite office in Destin, FL.

Robertson Architecture’s intent is to be a relational firm that partners with clients in order to build a symbiotic relationship that will work for everyone.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Word of mouth. Over the years I have tried different forms of marketing such as emailing, social media, SEO, etc.. While these are worthy pursuits, word of mouth and referrals are still, hands down, the best form of “marketing.”

Doing a good job, for someone, and having them refer you is solid gold. This quickly turns a cold lead into a warm lead, which makes the conversion process 10x easier.

I have had relatively good success with social media and SEO. Early on in 2023 I ended up hiring a marketing group to help me with my social media. I ended up with a few decent leads, but just didn’t get results that I was looking for, so decided to try to the SEO route. In the fall of 2023 I had hired a group to rebuilt my website, and begin some SEO work.

It does seem that the SEO efforts are working as I have gotten several calls / leads this way. I have also been found by others, than potential clients, which has been an unexpected bonus. Just remember SEO is a long play, and can be pretty expensive.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

This has always been the million dollar question, because successful people love to talk about how well they’re doing, but what they don’t tell you how is how they got the “first” one.

First off, my business didn’t require a lot of upfront capital. I basically bought a laptop, and leased my $500 / year software to get by business started. I tend to lean more towards the unconventional when it comes to finding and taking on work.

In the pre-days, of the company officially taking off, I took on things such as expert witness work, small homeowner additions, test prep questions for the Architectural Registration Exam, and that allowed me stow away enough cash to feel comfortable leaving the W-2 paycheck.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.robertsonarc.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robertson_arc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robertsonarc
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-robertson-aia-ncarb-737a3736/