Engineering Management Institute

business

COVID-19 and the AEC Industry

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This is a guest blog by BigTime Software, Inc

AEC Industry

Navigating how to operate your business through the COVID-19 pandemic is a challenge. While much is still unknown, and we’re a little over a month in the shelter-in-place order, we were curious to see how professional services firms in the architecture, engineering, and consulting industries are adapting.

What we found is that the AEC industry is depending on the resilience of the U.S economy, and the majority do not plan to consider staff reductions. Business owners seem to be taking on the risk themselves, as they likely view their firm as more than just a business, but a personal investment.

Learn more about the choices AEC firms of various sizes are making regarding the CARES Act, business strategy, recovery plans, and more in the infographic below.

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Creating Recurring Revenue for Increased Stability of a Small Firm

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 This is a guest blog by Sam Lytle, PE

Recurring Revenue

In the world of engineering, owning a business or even being self-employed often requires stepping outside of technical design and into new territories of bookkeeping, marketing, web design, payroll, invoicing, and a bevy of other tasks not normally taken on by engineers.

In 2011, I realized I belonged to the former — the drive to leave the engineering design path hit hard and fast. This drive was the motivating force that helped me make the jump in 2014 to start Civil FX, and it is still with me today. With that career change has also come those many other tasks that a business owner inevitably faces, including financial duties, hiring decisions and — my personal favorite — marketing and branding. As I’m not incredibly technically minded and engineering was never a satisfying fit, this transition has been mostly comfortable for me. The constant barrage of challenges has been steadied by the freedom of being on my own and the feeling of knowing I’m where I need to be in my career.

Building A(n) (Un)Sustainable Business

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For Engineering Firms, It Takes More Than Talent to Win

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For Engineering Firms, It Takes More Than Talent to Win is a guest post by Christian HaringTalent

You’ve got plenty of talent and depth on your bench, and your sales team is doing a great job putting together compelling proposals. Yet too often, your team is cut in the final round, or turned away before you’ve even had a chance to show what you’re capable of. If you’ve been in this business for any length of time, you know every play can’t be a touchdown. Yet if you find yourself going up against the same competitors over and over again, or pursuing projects that aren’t an ideal fit, there’s one way to refresh that pipeline and win more business that few engineering firms appreciate or exploit. In fact, it’s probably the last aspect of your business that you would associate with winning anything, let alone new business: regulatory compliance.

Whether you see it as a growth driver or not, licensing and entity management are basically the playing field you provide for your business development teams. And at key moments throughout your firm’s corporate lifecycle, licensing influences your playbook as well, affecting agility, profitability, and performance long after the contracts are signed. By creating a favorable regulatory playing field, equipping your team, and embracing the power of compliance to enhance your brand, you can position your firm to win more of the projects you really want.

Own the Field

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TCEP 098: Management Skills that Civil Engineers Should Build

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Management Skills

In episode 98 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I speak with Ben Walpole, a writer and editor for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) strategic communications team. We will talk about a few very important management skills that civil engineers should build in order to increase their effectiveness as civil engineering managers.

Engineering Quotes:

Management Skills

Management Skills

Here are some important management skills you should build as a civil engineer to increase your overall success:

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5 Reasons Why an Entrepreneurial Mindset Is Essential for Business

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This is a guest post by Johanna Cider

entrepreneurial mindset

Note from Founder: Hello this is Anthony Fasano, P.E., founder of the Engineering Management Institute (EMI).  At EMI we are focused on helping engineers become more effective managers and leaders.  In this post, guest author Johanna Cider talks about the importance an entrepreneurial mindset can have when growing a business.  Well, I believe that this mindset can also help you in growing a successful engineering career and becoming a partner/owner in your engineering company.  Enjoy the article, and please consider implementing some of the recommended strategies, whether you’re a student or an owner…

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If you’re starting out in the business world, you might feel a little overwhelmed with all of the information out there. You’ve probably been doing plenty of research, and you might’ve come across the idea of an entrepreneurial mindset, which is, above all, a mindset that will help you to succeed in the world of business. The essentials of an entrepreneurial mindset are, among other characteristics, the lack of fear when it comes to innovation and taking risks, and the ability to take failures into stride. If you consider yourself an entrepreneur, it’s important to know why entrepreneurial mindset is important for business.

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How to Become an Effective Engineering Leader – Engineering Career TV Ep. 24

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Q: How can I become an Effective Engineering Leader?

Welcome to Episode #24 of Engineering Career TV. In this episode, I discuss the book titled Real Power: Business Lessons From the Tao Te Ching and give you some advice on how you can become an effective engineering leader. 

I will spend most of the Engineering Career TV episodes answering questions that have been submitted from engineers around the world on how to rapidly advance their careers and live the lives they want to live.

You can submit questions for the show by clicking here.

Let’s jump into today’s episode, a book review of the book entitled Real Power: Business Lessons From the Tao Te Ching, which is the fourth in a series of book reviews where I am discussing books that can help to provide more stress-free productivity:
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What to do After you’ve Lost your Engineering Job – Engineering Career TV Ep. 22

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Q: What can I do after I’ve lost my Engineering Job?

Welcome to Episode #22 of Engineering Career TV. The topic for this episode is What to do after you’ve lost your Engineering Job. 

I will spend most of the Engineering Career TV episodes answering questions that have been submitted from engineers around the world on how to rapidly advance their careers and live the lives they want to live.

You can submit questions for the show by clicking here.

Let’s jump into today’s topic: What to do after you’ve lost your Engineering Job, which is based on a question from Christopher, who asks the following: [Read more…] about What to do After you’ve Lost your Engineering Job – Engineering Career TV Ep. 22

Intellectual Property Protection in your Engineering Career – Engineering Career TV Ep. 17

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Q: How do I protect my Intellectual Property?

Welcome to Episode #17 of Engineering Career TV. The topic for this episode is Intellectual Property Protection in your Engineering Career.

I will spend most of the Engineering Career TV episodes answering questions that have been submitted from engineers around the world on how to rapidly advance their careers and live the lives they want to live.

You can submit questions for the show by clicking here.

Let’s jump into today’s topic, Intellectual Property Protection in your Engineering Career, which is based on a question from Sam, who asks the following: [Read more…] about Intellectual Property Protection in your Engineering Career – Engineering Career TV Ep. 17

Large versus Small Engineering Firms – Engineering Career TV Ep. 8

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Q: Is it best to work for a large engineering firm or a small engineering firm?

Welcome to Episode #8 of Engineering Career TV. The topic for this episode is Large versus Small Engineering Firms.

I will spend most of the Engineering Career TV episodes answering questions that have been submitted from engineers around the world on how to rapidly advance their careers and live the lives they want to live.

You can submit questions for the show by clicking here.

Let’s jump into today’s topic, Large versus Small Engineering Firms, which is based on a question from Kate who’s a recent graduate, where she asks the following: [Read more…] about Large versus Small Engineering Firms – Engineering Career TV Ep. 8

TECC107: How to Increase Your Etiquette Skills to Boost Your Engineering Career and Business

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How to Increase Your Etiquette Skills to Boost Your Engineering Career and Business

In this episode, Chris Knutson, PE interviews Barbara Pachter who’s been featured on CNN, NBC, ABC as a recognized expert when it comes to business etiquette and the impact it can have on your success and your engineering firm.

Engineering Success quotes:

etiquette

etiquette

Some of the key points from this episode include: [Read more…] about TECC107: How to Increase Your Etiquette Skills to Boost Your Engineering Career and Business