How This Solo Architect Balances Work, Life, and $400k in Revenue

Here's a look at an owner of a solo architecture practice in Kansas City, MO.

Projects:

Single family residential (in all capacities), small-mid commercial, historic renovation & adaptive reuse.

Office Situation:

I currently work from home but will be finding a small office out in the world as our home life is changing soon.

Salary:

I pay myself about $12k gross per month. Occasionally, I will take an additional disbursement to help pay for any kind of big personal expense.

When I started out on my own during COVID, I paid myself $6000 clear a month based on an $80/hr billing rate. Since then I've ratcheted my pricing up to be $160/hr in 2025 and my clear is about $7700/ mo now.

I haven't kept up my own salary with the billing rate because I don't want to get into a trap of living beyond the means if I have a bad month or low invoicing month.

Work/life balance:

Since meeting my wife in the fall of 2021, it has slowly gotten better. We were married in October 2024 and I try to keep my office time from 9-6 Monday through Friday, which helps to align with her work schedule.

Occasionally I'll have to work some evenings or weekends to get a project out, but I try to limit that as much as possible.

Debt:

I do my best to carry no debt and usually succeed.

I pay as many expenses (including engineers/ consultants) on my Bank of America Business Rewards credit card so that I can grab back the percentage and then apply it back to the card payment every six months. This offsets about half of the credit card fees that I pay by allowing my clients to pay via card.

This card has a higher interest rate - about 18% I believe - just like any credit card. But it's not often we maintain a balance on it.

I also have a line of credit for the business through the bank for anytime we are running short on cashflow.

Revenue:

I invoice once a month for work that has been completed.

I started on my own in March 2020 with an hourly rate of $80/hr and invoiced $110k. Now, I'm wrapping up 2024 billing at $150/hr and on track to invoice $400k (including all engineering and reimbursable income).

I kept the same hourly rate from 2023 to 2024 but plan to increase my rate to $160/hr in 2025.

My profit margin is typically 35-45%.

Best & Worst Expenses:

No one likes to pay for insurance. Like Chris Rock said in a standup special one time:

I call it 'In-case-shit' - you know, for 'in case shit happens.'

But, it's a necessary evil and allows me to work without fear.

The best expense has to be my financial planners. I have a team of three financial planners that all work together to help guide me along a path that won't require me working until I die.

That team of planners costs about $3500/yr.

Savings & Investments:

I have a Solo-401K as well as other investment backed accounts like a TOD and Life Insurance plan.

I put roughly 35% of my gross pay into those every month as an ACH "from the employee" side.

At the end of the year, if the business is still holding onto some profits, we draw that down by making a large contribution to the Solo-401K "from the employer" side.

Financial Goals:

Our #1 financial goal is to remain profitable - duh. :D

In reality, our financial goal is to remain solvent to a point that it allows us to live the lifestyle we chose without having to worry about money. We are both minimalists that value experiences of things. The things we do purchase are quality pieces that will last the test of time.

At a certain point, though, I know that I can't just continually raise my billing rate every year without blasting through a perceived ceiling. As that day approaches, we will look to diversify our revenue streams through other offerings, or potentially through a boutique construction arm so that we can begin to build our own projects and have tighter control of the scope.

Two years ago my wife (then girlfriend) and I purchased a fully treed lot in an established neighborhood near our current home. It's a tough lot to build on with a steep slope and surrounded by a development built in the early 90's.

I've been designing our future home on this lot for the last two years.

It's the project that costs me money, not makes me money, so it frequently falls to the back burner.

We plan to start construction in 2025. That house has been designed to show our ability to integrate a good, cost effective, contemporary home in a suburban neighborhood and still appease the neighbors. It will be our biggest piece of marketing to date.

With its completion, we hope to either launch our own boutique construction company or begin a true partnership with one of the select few I work with currently.

Biggest Mistake:

In 2024, we put down a large amount of money on print advertising in the newest local home design magazine. It was its second year of publication, being produced quarterly, and it had grown massively. Each issue was almost 275 pages and a larger format than a standard magazine.

Out of five total issues, we have not seen a single referral.

Instead, we did tie up with a great new local photographer who now shoots all of our projects. But that just made the marketing/advertising money bucket even larger. :D

Book Recommendations:

Most architect's don't have time to read books. No book will ever exactly match your situation.

Instead, go hire a good accountant and a good financial planning team. It will cost you $5-$6k/year, but you'll have people you can call/text/email for advice and direction.