How Designer Will Guenther Makes an Art of Finding New Ideas

You may or may not find residential designer Will Guenther in his Bluffton, South Carolina, office at any given time. The six-time Best of Houzz winner in the Service category is recently back from two years of living, working, and traveling full-time with his wife in their Airstream around the US and Canada while absorbing architectural ideas along the way to bring to his work. In fact, Guenther has been paying attention and absorbing ideas, learning on the job beyond his own role, since he was a teenager working in construction between semesters at college. We caught up with him to find out how he went from being a laborer to owning his own award-winning design firm with a sterling reputation for customer service.

Roundabout Route

Although Guenther did those odd construction jobs and took a drafting class that included computer-aided design (CAD) in high school, he ended up at Elon University, which was “more like a business accounting and management school,” he says. Feeling the lack of fit, he took a sabbatical to get an associate’s degree in architectural technology, and then subsequently returned to Elon to earn a bachelor’s degree for the same.

So, did those degrees open doors at architecture firms upon graduation? Hardly. Through persistence, however, Guenther was hired by a designer but was assigned mundane tasks like handling the mail. But ever enterprising, he took the opportunity to also study plan books and blueprints in the office whenever he could. That paid off when he moved on to a high-end architecture firm, where he rose to become the head of the drafting department as project manager working on multimillion-dollar homes. Around 2013, he started doing work for himself and founded his own company, Guenther Designs.

Good Study Habits

As Guenther made a habit of studying in school, in the workplace and on jobsites from an early age, it’s no surprise that his number one piece of advice for architects and designers who are just starting out is to “study construction and how things are built. Look at how things are put together, how the CMU block comes up, the floor joists sit on top of that, the wall sits on top of that and goes up, and the rafter sits down on that. Studying how things go together allowed me to better understand the buildings that I’m designing.”

Better understanding leads to better results with fewer mistakes, he says: “I pride myself on the fact that the work I produce and put out in the field works. The builder doesn’t have to guess.”

At Your Service

Guenther believes in the power of both communication and customer service, starting with answering the phone when a potential client calls. “I’d much rather tell people, ‘I can’t work on your project because I’m too busy,’ than not answer the phone at all,” he says. “They could tell their friends, ‘Reach out to Will. He may be busy, but he may be able to help you at the same time.’ A lot of my projects come through word of mouth from existing or past clients talking to people they know.”

Moreover, he really listens to the clients he does take on. His process for every job is to listen, absorb what is being heard, ask questions, then to discuss, explain and collaborate on ideas—leading to his Best of Houzz in Service award six years running. He uses Houzz Ideabooks to share examples, and in every new home design project, he shares two or three photorealistic images of what the house will end up looking like.

Tools of the Trade

Another strong contributor to Guenther’s success? Technology. One type of technology he touts is Houzz Pro all-in-one software, particularly the notes and calendar. “I used to just write notes on Post-it notes,” he says. Now, with Houzz Pro’s notes feature, “Once I put a note in there, I know I can go back there and just pull it up,” he says. And “the calendar aspect is handy because once I get a signed Agreement, I send the client a timeline for their project, indicating established milestones they can expect for their plans. And I can set calendar reminders that will pop up on my end.”

As a result of those and many other Houzz Pro features, “my projects have better visibility that allows me to really show off the work that I am capable of,” Guenther says. “Houzz Pro allows me to completely address the business side of my design firm. From the initial client contact to sending out proposals, establishing project timelines, creating 3D floor plans and billing, Houzz Pro provides these services all in one place. Combining all aspects really rounds out my business and better allows me to focus my time on my clients and their projects.”

For those hesitant to try out the software, “What do you have to lose?” he says. “Sit with the program for a bit and watch the tutorials, and you will quickly see how any number of features work and how they can be helpful. As with learning almost any new platform, you need to fit it into your schedule. But once you start using it, you will quickly see how it is beneficial.”

Balancing Act

Being the sole proprietor of a small firm means that most work-related tasks fall to Guenther. In addition to using software to save time on those tasks, he says the key to maintaining work-life balance for him is dedication. He says that he mostly maintains normal working hours, “but even then, I am flexible to meet clients’ needs and work with their schedules,” such as adjusting hours to meet virtually with clients in a different time zone — just one more reason Guenther racks up rave reviews for service.

Guenther’s full-time travels have evolved into occasional exploration across North America in his Airstream where he will always be looking for ideas and elements to incorporate into his design work, ever maintaining that work-life balance, now both in his Bluffton, SC, office and on the go. And he especially appreciates having on-the-go access to everything he needs to keep working — Houzz Pro and its arsenal of business tools.

Curious to see how Houzz Pro can help you run your business better on the go and in the office? Try it free today!