Architect Archive
Thread: Fun and Profit as a Master Architect
OK, I have seen and taken part in enough whining regarding our profession. I just thought Id like to add some of the fun Im having with my business model and demonstrate the more social aspect of the game.
Im a master architect. This business model really only applies to someone who is master or at least has buildings 3+ and installations 3+ and has perhaps 100,000 in working capital (the more the better, the old idiom of "money comes to money applies here as well".
Firstly lets look at the boring parts of being a builder. Your not in a group, harvester runs, order lists so long they feel like work, resource shortages, factory management, hawking your goods in the street like a cheap thief and maintaining an inventory of goods.
I have evolved (there was no plan here) a business model that almost removes all/most of the boring bits.
First off, the principals of this plan involve you working with others, if you don't want to, this business plan is not for you. You will be aiming for medium profits and a higher turnover (generating greater revenue).
So lets begin with getting rid of the street hawking. Its not classy, its close to begging and it brands you as a pain with many other players. Instead, make a house, give it a nice colourful name and stick a vendor in it. This requires artisan business skills as a minimum. I eventually took the 4 hiring skills from the merchant tree to. Place your house as close to town as you can and next to other peoples shops…thus there advertising gets you walk by business.
Highlight your vendor with items to make it obvious. Put torches around it, name the torches things like mail Bob for specific orders. Whatever you think looks good.
OK time for our first interaction with other people (shudder). Getting resources is going to be a constant bane. Most miners in today's economy charge 3cr per resources. If you add in time and profit to any structure you make 3cr per resource is going to immediately make you appear expensive. A small house is just over 10000 credits at 3cr, few people realise this and think 6k is a much fairer price. So you need to get resources cheaper than 3cr per. There's two ways to do this. Mine them yourselves (comes out at about 1.5cr per if you accept 50% density on ore, copper and steel which means its usually within 1000m of your house) hire miners exclusively.
Now hiring a miner exclusively is tricky. The best method I have found is this. Find a novice fighter type (BH, CH, Scout whatever) and make them 6 mineral, 1 gas, 1 chemical and 2 wind generators) give them to them on the basis they mine exclusively for you. Don’t do this all at once, one wind and 2 personals is enough to start off.
You will buy everything they mine at 2cr per and over time you will upgrade them to medium minerals and solars (at no cost to them, this takes weeks not days). Describe your mix of resources (70% low grade ore 10% steel, 10% coppet) etc. The novice can tend their harvesters every other day and deliver a nice 20k of resources to you. This will build you perhaps one or two houses and a factory. You can stockpile resource you don’t use and even sell excess on your vendor. Use your own remaining 6 lots to mine (buy power its usually cheap)…you only have six lots as your house takes 2 and the evil ironies of our world make our structure factory be the only one that needs two as well.
I actually negotiated with a fighter character (a creature handler) I met (who had no need for a house) that he erect a medium house, which I built him for free and let me live in it for free. For this he gets a house to drop stuff off at and I manage a vendor for him in the house. Which in turn brings more people in. Both of the fighter types I work with will also hunt rare resources for money and I have placed adverts (using seeker droids and armour panels in the house requesting folks send them mails for any rare resource requirements).
So now we have a steady flow of ore from our own harvesters and our novice fighter friend. As you grow you will need to make a relationship with a hard core miner as you will need 50-100k of ore NOW. Do this, always buy from them first if they have the stock. Always be on the lookout for people selling massive resource bundles. When you start making Structure Modules in the 100's you will need large quantities of ore. You will struggle to push folks below 3cr per, but for massive bundles, 3cr per can still generate a profit on medium to larger structures (Heavy Mineral Miners usually sell easily for 100-140k and cost about 75-80k to make). Even getting your supplier to go to 2.8 will have a big impact.
As you increase your business or get swamped at weekends, school holidays you will meet the 'deadline' problem. You will be excited when your first order for 3 heavies comes in, ecstatic when its followed by an order for a medium house and a several factories…then terrified when you realise you have just committed yourself to more work at the weekend than you did in real life last week and your partner, pet, children, parents demand your attention (**edit** their eyes).
To mitigate this seek out novice architects. Its likely they will seek you out as they need training. Offer to buy houses, generator turbines and walls from them at 2.5cr per. They will be mining their own resources so this is profitable for them as well as xp gold. They have a steady income and a trainer. There's nothing better than opening your email, getting an order for a factory, going to your vendor, accepting the 4 walls and generator on offer and whipping up the factory in a few minutes and replying to the customer with a "its ready". This also allows you to build up an inventory and leads me onto selling your goods.
As your partner novice evolves you can even farm business off to them as they become more capable and you get caught in the occasional order onslaught. You can choose if this is by passing the customer on to them or you buy their item and on sell it.
OK on the basis you have your location, medium house and jazzy name sorted out how do we sell stuff. First off, every harvester you put down is an advert. Call it "BtB Houses and Installations - 1" or whatever. Get your mining partner to do this too. Its exposure, add your WP to it if you wish. Always email people who ask for a price or training or the time or anything your WP. Thanks for your inquiry if you ever need to buy "blah" then please visit "my wp".
Now I know not everyone is always looking for houses. So make your shop more. 2-3 vendors is good. One for houses and mining equip, one for furniture, one for resources, factories and misc. Every three orders I make for customers I make at least one medium or factory for my vendors. I have furniture hour where after a recent delivery of woolly hide from a novice scout friend who I guarantee 4cr per on any hide over 250 I craft away 30-40 items of furniture. Furniture makes huge profits but is low price so it doesn’t really earn much…however it means you have a vendor with a lot of stock and that in itself is worth it.
I have made friends with an armour smith and tailor and added their vendors to my house (and indeed given them permission to the house…or in fact had my friend give them permission to the house). So I am working with 6 other people to make my business work. This generates chat, fun and profit for us all.
Be well, Bob'the Builder, Flurry, Naboo
* Note the prices in this article are based on the current economy of 3cr per resource, if this changes refactor the prices within.