Can an Architectural Technologist Run a Successful Architecture Business? ft. Jon Clayton

In this Architecture Social CPD (approximately 64 minutes), Stephen Drew is joined by Jon Clayton, a chartered architectural technologist and founder of Architecture Business Club, to explore whether you can build and run a successful architecture business without being an architect. Jon runs his own small residential practice in Norfolk and shares what has worked, what has not, and what he would do differently.

Who this is for

Architectural technologists, technicians, designers and architects who are considering or already running their own small practice, students and part-qualified professionals weighing up the technologist route, and anyone thinking about moving from employment to self-employment in architecture.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this session you will be able to:

1. Explain what a chartered architectural technologist does and how the CIAT chartership route works.
2. Describe practical, low-cost ways to establish a new architectural practice.
3. Plan a transition from employment to self-employment using a side-hustle approach.
4. Weigh the strengths and limitations of word-of-mouth marketing and a tight local niche.
5. Apply personal-brand principles to build trust with residential clients.
6. Recognise the value of community, collaboration and peer support for solo and small-firm owners.

The architectural technologist route

Jon explains the difference between architects and architectural technologists and how he became chartered with CIAT. He describes a route that combined working in practice with part-time study, an apprenticeship-style mix of four days in the office and one day at college, which gave him an early and practical grounding in live projects.

From employment to redundancy

Jon started his career in the mid 1990s in a local practice in Lancashire and went on to work in the UK and overseas, including practices in Australia. Following the 2009 downturn he faced redundancy, and the financial pressure of a mortgage and a young family became the trigger to consider working for himself.

Starting as a side hustle

Rather than leaping straight in, Jon built his business alongside a full-time job. He is candid about how perfectionism stretched his business plan out for the best part of a year before launch, and how keeping a salary gave him the breathing room to let early enquiries trickle in.

Setting up on a budget

Jon shares the low-cost foundations he put in place: a website built with a trusted contact, a virtual office address, a local call-answering service, and a Google Maps listing. He notes that many local competitors had a weak online presence, so even a modest, well-organised setup helped him get found.

Going full time

By around 2013, with his employer moving to a four-day week and his own enquiries growing, Jon made the decision to leave employment and commit to the practice full time.

Niche, word of mouth and relocation

Jon's practice settled into residential work, mainly home extensions and renovations, within roughly a 24 km radius of his office. Word of mouth became both a blessing and a burden: when he relocated from Lancashire to Norfolk, he had to rebuild local presence almost from scratch, setting up a new address, moving his map listing and rebranding more than once.

Building a personal brand

Over time Jon moved to a personal-brand website where he is the face of the business. He argues that putting yourself and your team on your website, rather than only photographs of finished buildings, helps prospective residential clients build trust before they make contact.

From solo practice to community

Jon is open about the isolation of working alone, which led him to found Architecture Business Club, a podcast and community for solo and small-firm practice owners. He makes the case for finding your tribe, joining a mastermind or peer group, and collaborating with other local practices rather than treating them only as competition.

Key terms

• Chartered Architectural Technologist (MCIAT): a chartered professional, accredited by CIAT, who specialises in the technology and delivery of architecture.
• CIAT: the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists.
• Sole practitioner / micro practice: a one-person business, often supported by outsourcing.
• Side hustle: a business built alongside paid employment before going full time.
• Niche: a focused service or market, here residential work within a local radius.
• Personal brand: building the business around a named individual rather than a studio identity.

Reflective prompts for your CPD record

1. If you were to start or relaunch your practice tomorrow, which low-cost steps from this conversation would you put in place first, and why?
2. How reliant is your pipeline on word of mouth, and what would you do if you had to rebuild it in a new area?
3. Where could a peer community or collaboration reduce the isolation and blind spots of working on your own?

About the guest

Jon Clayton is a chartered architectural technologist (MCIAT) and the founder and host of Architecture Business Club. He runs his own small architectural practice from Norfolk, working mainly with homeowners on extension and renovation projects, and shares practical lessons on running an architecture business with solo and small-firm owners.