Why This Architectural Designer Is Keeping Everything In-House

The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.

We are experiencing a fundamental change in the way we work and the way companies serve their customers. Simply put, we cannot proceed with “business-as-usual” and must shift our methodology, delivery, and customer communication. This caused many companies to pause, change strategy, and implement a more holistic approach.

In recent years, many have turned to outsource as a way to cut costs for themselves and their clients. OWIU Design, an innovative design, and build company, has done just the opposite. In the wake of economic uncertainty and increased inflation, founder Amanda Gunawan decided to keep everything about her business in-house, which, in her industry, is highly unusual. Her approach is met with success, and her company paves the way for architecture and design firms of the future. 

The Cost-Benefit Of Keeping Work In-House 

Many architecture firms hand off their designs to different construction and development companies once the initial client brainstorming sessions are complete. This is where communication breakdown is most likely to occur. Those who created the designs and had the most amount of contact with the client are not involved in building the actual project, which leaves significant room for error. 

These errors waste time and can quickly burn through budgets. Many tout the benefits of outsourcing various aspects of their projects without considering the impact that wasted time and communication hurdles may have. Especially for a newer business, staying on top of your cash flow is essential to success. 

Gunawan finds that keeping everything in-house benefits every aspect of her business. Her team keeps total control of a project, which allows them to exceed client expectations and create more intentional design and build projects. “We realized that in order for us to fully materialize our vision, we needed to have complete control over the project from start to finish. This led us to start our construction arm, Inflexion Builds, where we now have an in-house building team that we train every day to build our spaces to a level that we are proud to showcase,” Gunawan says. 

Why Outsourcing Can Negatively Impact Your Business

Those who outsource various aspects of their company face unique financial challenges. Outsourcing can reduce quality control and force company leaders to lose some of their involvement in a project. In the design and build industry, this is especially risky. The loss of managerial control can lead to delayed project timelines, wasted funds, clients’ dissatisfaction (and therefore a lack of repeated business or recommendations), or creating an overall sub-par project. 

In an industry that often focuses on getting things done quickly for the least amount of money possible, the team at OWIU Design is implementing a holistic design and build approach and seeing positive effects on their bottom line. At the end of the day, implementing a holistic business model and keeping things in-house might not seem like the most cost-effective way to run a company—but it pays significant dividends in the long run. Gunawan and the team clearly show how this approach pays off. And people in their industry are taking note.
 

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.