Small Firms, Big Impact: Insights from the 2024 AIA SFx Panel

On June 18th, our founder, Chyanne Husar, had the honor of moderating the AIA Small Firm Exchange (SFx) Panel at the Power Up Your Practice event. She led a conversation with firm leaders about the risks they took in launching their businesses, how they measured success, stayed true to their missions, and hired their first employees.

We extend our gratitude to the incredible panelists—Tom Lee of Tom Lee Studio, Danielle Beaulieu of ~ Lieu, and Josh Mings of Aggregate Studio—for their honesty in sharing both the triumphs and challenges of starting their own firms. These stories remind us that by sharing our journeys, we uplift others, helping small firms grow stronger together.

Small firms often start as a vision, a desire to make the world better, to innovate, and to inspire. It’s in these early stages where we set our intentions, hold fast to our values, and watch as our ideas take shape and transform communities. Like grassroots organizations, small firms are uniquely positioned to directly respond to community needs, with principals actively engaged both with their staff and the people they serve.

But this passion comes with sacrifice. Small firm leaders work tirelessly to bring their visions to life, often putting in long hours to balance their mission with financial realities. At HUSarchitecture, as we evolve from a small to mid-sized firm, we’ve held firm to our commitment to sustainability, equity, and community impact, even when faced with the pressures of cash flow. The clearer our mission, the more aligned our clients have become, making it easier to sustain the impact we envision.

By coming together through SFx, we continue to inspire each other, growing our firms while improving the communities we serve.