How much is a project worth?

Everywhere. Serious.

When I said that my Architecture and Engineering office would also offer online services, people shook their heads and said shyly: “Hard, isn't it?”. Yup. But every job is difficult.

But the issue was not difficulty. The internet does just the opposite. She makes it easy. It's really hard to break paradigms.

It was not the fact that we offer online services that guarantee (or not) our success. The secret is that we offer a few more things. Some things that were missing in the online and non-online market: Architecture and Engineering working together is one of them. Also, we still have a lot of customization at work. And the reality is that all customers want to be treated well and taken care of. Being online was the least of the problems.

However, everyone is online. Our parents are! In many cases, they are already more online than we are. They are watching soap opera and “Scrolling” at the same time. There are people who say they are the ones who are killing Facebook. I prefer not to comment, my mother will read this text.

I heard a phrase these days, which I don't remember who said it (help me in the comments!) that goes something like this: “In the time of “on demand” services, curation is worth a lot of money”. I confess I didn't understand. But today, it makes more sense.

I'll try to translate it as I understand it: Infinite products are on the internet and available at any time (“on demand”). Many of them came in an overwhelming way and covering a demand that was previously offered with very low quality. Let's make a list. But I'm avoiding writing "textão". Moving on, what's still a little hard to come by are personalized services. Differentiated service and prices negotiated and molded according to each need.

In general, we filled this gap with local services, within our neighborhood. For example, when you were looking for Architectural/Engineering services, you usually look for those people referenced locally. We asked our neighbor who designed his house.

We asked our local acquaintances who the best pro in town is and how much they charge. It is not how it works? If you're from a small town, like me, you know what I'm talking about. We often have to choose between two or at most three options and that, as a customer, we often bow to the services offered there. That extra little thing is missing, you know? This paradigm is changing.

Talking to a very dear client, she made a confession to me: “I was afraid to hire your service, as it is basically an online service”. My answer was: “This is a concern that affects 100% of our customers”. We laugh together.

Companies with this dynamic have the advantage of being anywhere. Right now, I'm on a plane heading to Lithuania. But, at night, I have a Skype meeting with São Carlos. My partner was at the fair in Milan a few days ago, catching up on all the latest releases. This is amazing.

The point is that the internet makes our lives easier (period). It was difficult to sell sneakers and shoes online. And look, it's a product that we theoretically have to try, touch and feel. Today is the first place we look for (another point).

But you see, if I'm writing about this, it's precisely because I still find people with this barrier. The idea is precisely to show that this barrier is unfounded. It may just be a matter of choice, for example, there are people who don't like to work on the internet (this is also a point). Some people still don't use internet banking. You'll understand, right? Look at the paradigm shift that Banco Inter is doing (this is not a paid post, unfortunately).

With this, the false idea that the Architect or Engineer has to be present to design comes down. You see, I said: PRO-JECT. We are an international company and we serve in several countries. Who gains from this? The client. He is content to hire that service he always wanted, without surrendering to the few local offers. Are we cheaper, necessarily? Not necessarily. We are competitive, but what we really sell is quality. As for the Curatorship.