A firm is born

It's been a little over three months since I was laid off from WMA on June 30, 2009

When I was first informed, three weeks prior to that date, I braced myself for an adjustment, although "brace" is probably too strong of a word in this instance. I'd been preparing myself for almost a year. I knew that it was only a matter of time, and I had told this to my peers on various occasions. There was no way that WMA could survive with it's upper management team intact and at least two senior associates would have to go, and it was natural (as I saw it) that the two most junior associates (myself included) would be chosen.

When the time came to pack up and leave I had it all planned out and I wasn't in any way depressed or upset. I'd created the concept for three businesses only marginally architecture related that I wanted to start up if I wasn't successful at finding a job. Understanding that the search for a job would take a while and that starting up even the most realistic of my business ventures would also not come quickly, I fancied myself putting in at the very least a couple of months of leisurely bike rides, catching up on a backlog of reading, and completing a long list of DIY things around the house.

As it turns out, that leisure lasted about a week. Immediately an old client whom I'd brought into WMA gave me a small project, followed by one of my former WMA clients who dropped a big project on my lap with the promise of others. One job offer and an interview offer also came my way, both unrequested. In addition, I received leads on various other small projects ranging from painting a house for a famous political figure to designing a bicycling museum. So many choices when I didn't expect any, and there went my plans for my businesses.

I've now made the decision that if there is work to be had in this economic climate then there will certainly be plenty of work when the economy picks up; I've officially started my architecture practice. For now it's called Ovalle & Associates, although that name is subject to change. This is a great opportunity to put into practice all the ideas that I had for WMA and for previous firms. I will have no excuses not to implement the ideas and I will have no one to blame if they fail.