Don Duffy, AIA, Don Duffy Architecture
www.donduffyarchitecture.com

We have reduced staff over the last six months from 11 to eight, one person every two months. We went into the New Year with cash reserves flat from a year ago. The cash reserves were the bonus money that was not paid out in December. On February 1 we went to 32-hour weeks, and it was reflected in salary cuts across the board. Discretionary spending has been halted. Bad news for the small service business we were using. Marketing has increased into new markets. Subleased some office space to offset rent.

Communication to the employees has been open. Each month the staff has met to hear the state of the office. The owner worked with the whole staff on how we are going the make it through this down business cycle as a team. Staff said they would rather be employed at reduced salary than picked off one at a time.

As sales continue to retreat, April 1 we look to group layoffs and/or work hour reductions to protect final cash reserves for company survival. I am hopeful our efforts as a team will level prevail. Worst case for DDA is the company will become one person, the owner. Fifteen years of steady and sustained growth will be gone. DDA will start over and try again.

“God calls for us to be faithful, not in business.”