Architecture Business Club with Jon Clayton

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).
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Today’s Guest
Kathy 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.
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Episode Highlights
00:00 Introduction
00:49 Meet Kathy Ennis
02:15 Why Solopreneurs Start
03:49 Passion vs Profit Gap
04:22 Planning Builds Profit
05:21 Architecture Iceberg Analogy
07:15 Unsexy Business Basics
08:54 Five Ps Framework
10:30 Know Your People
11:01 Psychographics Over Demographics
12:28 Choose Who Buys
13:47 Productising Services
19:40 Packages To Upsell & Downsell
25:35 The Golden Triangle Of Pricing
26:28 Turnover Not Salary
27:42 Tiered Offers Math
28:45 Supermarket Pricing Analogy
29:36 Spreadsheet Stress Test
30:17 Packages Versus Capacity
31:16 Avoid Salary Replacement Trap
33:26 Unemotional Numbers Mindset
34:47 Reevaluate Offer And Audience
35:21 Brand Versus Marketing
36:10 Beyond Social Media
37:52 Lead Magnets And Email
39:49 Productivity For Solopreneurs
41:33 Outsource To Build A Team
44:14 Final Takeaways And Wrap
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Key Takeaways
Running a business is a skill you can learn
Just 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 prices
Do 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 alone
Many 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.
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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 🤝
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Host Jon Clayton interviews Annette Mashi on Architecture Business Club about repurposing existing website content—case studies, portfolios, photos, and blog posts—so more people see it across platforms and are driven back to the website. Annette explains a top-down process: start with a large piece (e.g., an energy-efficiency case study), turn it into a blog, then break it into topic-specific newsletters and short LinkedIn posts that link back to the blog. They discuss finding content ideas in everyday client conversations and frequently asked questions, using AI tools like ChatGPT as a starting point while editing for voice and avoiding generic language, and why LinkedIn builds awareness, email newsletters nurture leads over long sales cycles, and blogs provide depth and a content library. Annette emphasises client-focused benefits over “we” messaging and highlights the value of a supportive professional network.
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Today’s Guest
Annette Mashi creates magic with words. She gives visibility to female architects, interior designers, and women in the construction industry. She positions them as experts, demonstrates the value they provide, and helps them stand out from their competition so they attract clients they love and win their dream projects.
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Episode Highlights
00:00 Introduction
00:43 Introducing Annette Mashi
01:13 Why Repurpose Content
02:05 Multi Platform Sharing
02:30 Driving Website Traffic
03:14 Channels To Use
03:31 Top Down Process
03:57 Case Study Example
04:22 Turning A Case Study Into A Blog
04:45 Turning A Blog Into A Newsletter
05:02 LinkedIn Snippets
05:27 Main Course Analogy
05:56 No Reinventing Wheel
06:14 Repurpose Podcasts Too
06:52 Guest Appearance Content
07:09 Ask For Transcripts
07:49 Finding Content Ideas
08:27 Marketing Team Analogy
10:48 Client Questions Content
12:30 Social Proof Framing
13:05 AI Repurposing Pitfalls
14:21 Use AI As Tool
17:19 ChatGPT Tells
18:18 Content Ecosystem Package
19:49 Awareness Building Content
20:11 Nurturing Content
20:44 Why You Need To Nurture Leads
21:44 Email Newsletter Opportunity
22:15 How Often To Send Your Email Newsletter
24:13 Flow Analogy
25:12 Results From Just Eight Blogs Per Year
25:39 Building A Content Library
26:42 Long Term Benefits From Content
28:09 Linking Content Together
29:46 Putting It Into Practice
30:55 Getting Started With Content Repurposing
32:11 Sharing Your Process
32:31 Content Marketing Book Recommendations
33:28 Benefits Vs Features
34:29 A Simple Exercise: We Vs You
35:26 The Resource Annette Mashi Can't Live Without
37:15 Closing And Connect
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Key Takeaways
You already have more content than you think
You don't need to start from scratch. Look at what you've already got — a case study, a project photo, a blog post. You can take one big piece of content and break it into smaller pieces for LinkedIn, your newsletter, and your website. It's like getting more meals from one big cook-up. Stop letting good work sit there unseen.
You need to share your content in more than one place
Putting something on your website and hoping people will find it doesn't work. You need to share it across different places — social media, email, your blog. Each place does a different job. LinkedIn helps new people find you. Your email list keeps people warm over time. Your blog shows them how you think and what you can do. Together, they bring people closer to hiring you.
You should email your list at least once a month
Most designers — around 85% — don't send regular emails. That means if you do, you're already ahead of the crowd. People often take a year or more before they're ready to hire an architect. Sending a monthly email keeps you in their minds. Even if they don't read every word, they see your name and remember you're there. That matters a lot when they're finally ready to get started.
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Subscribe on YouTube (for upcoming video episodes!) 📺
Send a Voicemail to the show (we listen to every message!) 📢
Connect with Annette Mashi on LinkedIn 🤝
Visit Annette Mashi’s Website 🖥️
Curious about podcasting? Click here to book a chat with Jon 🎧
Follow or Connect with Jon on LinkedIn 🤝
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👇 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.

Jon Clayton hosts Architecture Business Club with guest Kevin Crawford, an architecture practice leader with 20+ years’ experience who implemented a succession plan at Crawford Architecture via a transition to employee ownership. They define succession planning as future-proofing the business, protecting legacy, and ensuring continuity if the owner retires, can’t work, or dies, noting many practices delay it until it becomes urgent. Kevin shares how waiting until his father was around 70 created pressure and highlights why planning matters for owners, families, staff career paths, valuation, and avoiding rushed sales to the wrong buyer. They discuss that succession planning applies to all firms, including sole practitioners, and stress the need to take time away from day-to-day work, use structured planning (including ideas from the book “Traction”), clarify roles, communicate a shared vision, and maintain discipline.
Today’s Guest
Kevin Crawford is an architecture practice leader with over 20 years of experience running and growing a practice, before putting a succession plan in place through a transition to employee ownership. Today, he’s the founder of Designing Success and co-founder of ASC and Pilotis, where he helps architecture practice leaders design better businesses — gaining more clarity, time and freedom, while strengthening the person behind the practice.
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Episode Highlights
00:00 Introduction
00:46 Meet Kevin Crawford
01:20 Why This Topic Now
01:40 Defining Succession Planning
02:15 Planning For Inevitability
02:49 Family Firm Backstory
03:58 New Ventures Plan From Day One
04:33 Ostrich To Eagle Mindset
05:18 Forced Change And Complexity
05:39 Most Firms Delay This
06:23 Reactive Industry Trap
06:52 Hamster Wheel Workaholism
07:27 Two Year Transition Journey
08:03 Balancing Three Stakeholders
08:29 Protecting The Legacy
08:48 Choosing Employee Ownership
09:36 Others Still Ignore It
10:18 Why Succession Matters
10:42 Time With Family Motivation
12:34 Shared Vision And Culture Shift
13:53 Risks Of Leaving It Late
15:28 Is Succession Planning Relevant To Small Firms
16:33 Buying Time To Plan
20:25 Consequences Of Ignoring It
22:36 Collaboration Over Competition
24:24 Where To Start Today
24:49 Frameworks And Reflection
26:21 Discipline And Weekly Structure
27:41 Key Takeaways
29:26 Employee Ownership Realities
30:31 Must Have Business Resource
30:51 Project Management Game Changer
32:02 Connect With Kevin
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Key Takeaways
Don't put it off — start thinking about succession planning now.
It's easy to say "I'll deal with it later," but Kevin learned the hard way that waiting too long makes everything harder. His dad was 70 before they started planning, and by then it was stressful for the whole family. Even if you're not ready to act right now, you should at least start thinking about what happens to your business when you're no longer running it.
You need to make time to work on your business, not just in it.
Kevin used to think working longer hours was the answer. He'd start at 4am and work until midnight. But that didn't help him plan for the future — it just kept him stuck on the hamster wheel. The real change came when he stepped away from the day-to-day and gave himself proper time to think. You need to block out time in your week to focus on the bigger picture, even if it's just a couple of hours on a Friday.
Succession planning matters no matter how big or small your practice is.
You might think this only applies to large firms, but Kevin says it's just as important for sole practitioners. If your business depends entirely on you, what happens if you can't work? Who looks after your projects and your clients? Having a plan in place protects you, your team, and the legacy you've built — whether you're a one-person studio or a team of twenty.
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Subscribe on YouTube (for upcoming video episodes!) 📺
Send a Voicemail to the show (we listen to every message!) 📢
Connect with Kevin Crawford on LinkedIn 🤝
Curious about podcasting? Click here to book a chat with Jon 🎧
Follow or Connect with Jon on LinkedIn 🤝
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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.

Jon Clayton marks Architecture Business Club’s 100+ episodes (nearing 120) and explains how new listeners can quickly find relevant content using newly added episode categories on architecturebusinessclub.com. He lists key themes including business strategy and growth, marketing and lead generation, personal brand, sales and pricing, systems and automations, mindset and wellbeing, career journeys, content/PR/podcasting, industry events, community, and team collaboration. Spotlighting the Business Strategy and Growth category, he highlights the most downloaded episode. He also recommends a lesser-known “hidden gem”, and shares his personal favourite.
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Episode Highlights
00:00 Why This Episode Exists
00:50 The Back Catalogue Problem
01:41 New Website Categories
02:03 All Episode Themes Overview
02:58 Why Categorising Matters
04:00 Business Strategy & Growth Episodes
04:16 Most Popular Business Strategy & Growth Episode
06:28 Hidden Gem in Business Strategy & Growth
08:50 Personal Favourite Of Mine
11:59 Wrap Up
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Key Takeaways
You can break big goals into smaller parts
Instead of planning your whole year at once, divide it into 90-day chunks. This makes it easier to see where you're going and change direction if you need to. It's like planning a road trip in stages rather than trying to map out everything at once.
You will make mistakes, and that's okay
When you run a business, you'll mess things up sometimes. You might waste money or make poor choices. The important thing is to learn from what went wrong and move forward. Don't be too hard on yourself about it.
You need to create urgency to get people to buy
If your service is available all the time, people will think they can buy it later and they'll forget about it. You should use special launches or limited-time offers to give people a reason to act now instead of putting it off.
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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.

Architecture Business Club host Jon Clayton interviews structural engineer Sam Dean of Porthouse Dean about common structural design pitfalls in home extensions and how to avoid spiraling costs. They discuss ground conditions as a major uncertainty (especially clay), the influence of nearby large trees and desiccation, and the use of low-cost desktop geological reports based on British Geological Survey borehole data to flag risk. They cover ceiling downstands and why beam position is often a cost-and-aesthetics decision between homeowner, architect, and builder, with installation complexity increasing when first-floor joists run into the beam. Sam explains cantilever “rules of thumb” and how corner bifold-door cantilevers can drive up steel and foundation demands, sometimes requiring columns and large foundations due to uplift forces. They address adding an extra storey and the case for trial holes. They also highlight risks of building onto existing, undocumented steelwork from previous extensions, which can force intrusive investigation or replacement when later loft conversions are planned. Sam explains how the architectural design can affect structural costs and outlines what to expect from a good structural engineering service. They touch on AI-generated architectural information, Sam’s launch of an AI review service, and he shares the software tool his business can’t work without.
Today’s Guest
Sam Dean. He started out as a materials scientist and structural engineer, spent a year in the nuclear industry, then teamed up with his friend Chris Porthouse to start PorthouseDean structural engineering. Sam then got hooked on building business systems and automations - to cut out the boring stuff and let his team do better work. When he’s not solving process problems – he’s cycling to work, playing and watching football, or baking crusty bread and homemade pizzas.
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Episode Highlights
00:00 Introduction
00:39 Introducing Sam Dean
01:38 Managing Risk with Groundworks
03:08 The Clay Problem
04:08 Trees Near Extensions: The Hidden Foundation Cost Driver
04:30 When Is a Site Investigation Worth It? Practical Triggers
05:10 Low-Cost Desktop Geology Reports: A Smart Early Warning
05:49 Designers Missing Key Site Info (Like Trees)
06:59 Case Study: The 20m Oak That Shows Up Too Late
07:55 Using Maps + Clay Likelihood to Spot Risk Early
08:48 Removed Trees Still Matter: Clay Desiccation Explained
10:32 Ceiling Downstands vs Flush Beams: Set Expectations Early
11:33 “Where Do I Put the Beam?” Why Engineers Don’t Always Decide
12:13 Joist Direction Changes Everything (and Can Add Thousands)
13:01 Goalpost Frames & Rear Wall Openings: What’s Cost-Neutral?
14:00 Builder vs Client vs Architect: Who’s Steering the Decision?
14:37 Protecting the Homeowner: Budget Trade-Offs in Plain English
15:36 When Architects Aren’t On Site: How Design Intent Gets Lost
18:06 Roles, Responsibility & the Principal Designer Confusion
19:38 Why Small Projects Are So Cost-Driven (and Getting Worse)
21:07 Cantilevers 101: The Rule of Thumb That Saves Your Budget
23:12 Corner Bifolds + Floating Roofs: The Cantilever Trap
25:23 Engineering Workarounds: Columns, Anchors & Uplift Forces
27:34 Adding a Storey: Foundation Reality Checks
29:32 Building on Existing Steelwork: The Missing Calculations Problem
33:37 Prevention Playbook: Trial Holes, Checks, and Lightweight Options
36:46 Quick Wins to Avoid Spiraling Costs (Wind Posts, Pillars, Layout)
41:45 What Great Structural Engineering Service Looks Like
46:49 The Rise of AI
48:55 The One Piece of Software Sam Can't Live Without
50:18 Final Thoughts
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Key Takeaways
Check the Ground Early to Avoid Big Surprises
Learn what's under the ground before you start building. Clay soil can be a big problem. If there are large trees near your building site (especially within 20 metres), they can make the situation worse. The tree roots dry out the clay, which means you might need to dig much deeper foundations. This can cost thousands extra. Even if you remove a tree, the clay takes about three years to go back to normal. You can get a cheap report to check if clay is likely on your site or dig trial holes, which can help you plan ahead.
Think About Where Beams Go Before You Build
Help your client decide if they want the steel beam to show below the ceiling or to hide it inside the ceiling. If you hide it and the floor joists run into the beam, the builder may need to cut the joists and fix them to the side of the beam. This may cost more money. You should talk about this early with your client and builder. It's a trade-off between how it looks and how much it’ll cost.
Plan Cantilevers Carefully to Keep Costs Down
A cantilever is when part of your building sticks out without support underneath. There's a simple rule of thumb: if you want one metre sticking out, you need two metres anchored back inside the building. If you don't follow this rule, you might need heavier, more expensive beams. Corner bifold doors with cantilevers look great, but to keep costs reasonable, make one side shorter (say 1 to 1.5 metres) with the other side being longer (up to 3 metres for example).
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Subscribe on YouTube (for upcoming video episodes!) 📺
Send a Voicemail to the show (we listen to every message!) 📢
Connect with Sam Dean on LinkedIn 🤝
Learn more about PorthouseDean 🖥️
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.