Imagine running an award-winning, nationally recognized firm with a staff of twelve, only to realize that despite the growth, you might not see profit for the second year in a row.
Most entrepreneurs think the solution to a plateau is to work harder and hire more, but our guest today did the exact opposite. He made the counterintuitive decision to stop growing his headcount and instead implemented a number of specific pricing tactics that resulted in half of his prospects happily paying double his standard fee.
By shifting from a traditional growth model to a premium-priced model, he turned a two-year loss into record-breaking revenue – and higher than ever profit.
Welcome to today’s episode of Your Business Growth Podcast. I’m your host, Jeremy Shapiro, author of Your Business Growth Playbook, and my guest today is Lance Cayko.
About Lance Cayko
Lance Cayko is an award-winning architect, entrepreneur, and co-founder of F9 Productions and F14 Productions, based in Longmont, Colorado. His career is built on a foundation of over two decades of hands-on construction work, ranging from carpentry to general contracting. Lance holds an A.A.S. in Building Construction Technology, a B.S. in Environmental Design, and a Master of Architecture from North Dakota State University, where he graduated at the top of his class.
Since launching F9 Productions in 2009, Lance has led the firm to significant industry acclaim, including multiple “Best Architecture Firm” awards and a top ranking for achieving over 380% revenue growth. His portfolio features groundbreaking, sustainable works like the internationally awarded Atlas Tiny House and the Eastwatch Retreat. In 2018, he expanded his business model by co-founding F14 Productions, a general contracting company that allows for in-house execution of his innovative designs.
Beyond his design-build firms, Lance is a dedicated educator and thought leader. He currently teaches architecture as an adjunct professor at both the University of Colorado Boulder and North Dakota State University. He also co-hosts the globally top-ranked Inside the Firm podcast, where he shares practical business and construction insights with a worldwide audience of small business owners and architects.
In his community, Lance serves as the founder and president of Longmont Community Gardens, a non-profit dedicated to urban sustainability and education. He is also a professional angler and shares his outdoor adventures on his YouTube channel. Known for his “superpower” of designing innovative structures while rucking 50-pound packs through Colorado trails, Lance embodies a resilient and multifaceted approach to leadership.