Jon Clayton:

I'm a big music fan, so when I see one of my favourite

Jon Clayton:

bands is on tour, I immediately start to feel FOMO about it.

Jon Clayton:

I want to get that ticket.

Jon Clayton:

Just imagine if you could create FOMO, that fear of

Jon Clayton:

missing out for your business.

Jon Clayton:

If you could generate a buzz about the events that you run,

Jon Clayton:

or build genuine excitement and urgency about working with you.

Jon Clayton:

I'm joined by the original FOMO creator, Mei King Zhang, who will

Jon Clayton:

share her proven strategies to build a buzz and excitement about what you

Jon Clayton:

do on this episode of Architecture Business Club, the weekly podcast for

Jon Clayton:

small firm founders who want to build their dream business in architecture

Jon Clayton:

and enjoy more freedom, flexibility and fulfillment in what they do.

Jon Clayton:

I'm John Clayton, your host.

Jon Clayton:

I know that building an architecture business can feel hard, especially

Jon Clayton:

if you're a sole practitioner.

Jon Clayton:

The good news is that you don't have to do it alone.

Jon Clayton:

Last year, we launched our membership community to a small

Jon Clayton:

group of founding members, including architects, architectural

Jon Clayton:

technologists, and interior designers.

Jon Clayton:

We meet online each week and occasionally in person to support

Jon Clayton:

each other in building our businesses and to have some fun along the way.

Jon Clayton:

On the 1st of March 2025 we are opening the doors to a

Jon Clayton:

limited number of new members.

Jon Clayton:

If you'd like to join this supportive group of like minded

Jon Clayton:

professionals, now's your chance.

Jon Clayton:

Just go to www.

Jon Clayton:

architecturebusinessclub.

Jon Clayton:

com forward slash waitlist or click the link in the show notes and enter your

Jon Clayton:

details so we can let you know when and how you can join this incredible group.

Jon Clayton:

And if you have any questions, just email john, that's j o n

Jon Clayton:

at architecturebusinessclub.

Jon Clayton:

com.

Jon Clayton:

Now, let's find out how to build some FOMO in your business.

Jon Clayton:

Mei King Zhang is the original FOMO creator, generating buzz and excitement

Jon Clayton:

to help sell out your next event.

Jon Clayton:

FOMO means the fear of missing out, and in business, that is a good thing.

Jon Clayton:

FOMO helps raise your profile, sells your products and services, gets

Jon Clayton:

people to your expo, and increases footfall to your trade show booth.

Jon Clayton:

Mei King has been helping clients generate FOMO since 2012, both

Jon Clayton:

online and in person, and she is available now to help you too.

Jon Clayton:

You can connect with Mei King Zhang on LinkedIn,

Jon Clayton:

LinkedIn,

Jon Clayton:

just click the link in the show notes.

Jon Clayton:

Mei King, welcome to Architecture Business Club.

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: How are you, John?

Jon Clayton:

It's so lovely to see you.

Jon Clayton:

I'm very well thank you, yeah.

Jon Clayton:

It's a shame this isn't in person, but you know, online is, online is good too.

Jon Clayton:

But yeah, it's, it's a pleasure to have you here.

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: Well, thank you so much for having me.

Jon Clayton:

Awesome.

Jon Clayton:

May King, before we get stuck into our topic I've heard that

Jon Clayton:

you've got a, a growing interest.

Jon Clayton:

That you've, do you like that?

Jon Clayton:

The pun.

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: I do.

Jon Clayton:

I do.

Jon Clayton:

Do you want to tell me about that new, uh, interest outside of work?

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: Absolutely.

Jon Clayton:

Well, we have something in common, don't we?

Jon Clayton:

We tell to kill plants.

Jon Clayton:

not

Jon Clayton:

anymore.

Jon Clayton:

Because this year, I've decided, well, last year, actually, I've decided.

Jon Clayton:

Steve, my partner, potters around in the garden all the time.

Jon Clayton:

My garden looks amazing, or our garden looks amazing, and it's

Jon Clayton:

because I've not touched it.

Jon Clayton:

But I thought, you know what?

Jon Clayton:

I really ought to get involved.

Jon Clayton:

Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Jon Clayton:

So, whilst Steve is tending to his bonsai, um, I'm helping him a

Jon Clayton:

little bit and we are doing little bits around the garden and he's

Jon Clayton:

teaching me stuff and it's fantastic.

Jon Clayton:

So yeah, that's my hobby outside of work.

Jon Clayton:

Oh, that sounds really cool.

Jon Clayton:

Um, as you sort of alluded to there I am not very green fingered.

Jon Clayton:

My, my wife is the one that sort of tackles the garden and the planting.

Jon Clayton:

And, I have even managed to kill a cactus on my day.

Jon Clayton:

I, I over,

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: Really?

Jon Clayton:

watered it.

Jon Clayton:

Who knew?

Jon Clayton:

Who knew?

Jon Clayton:

I just thought, plants, they need water, but apparently you can very

Jon Clayton:

easily overwater and kill a cactus.

Jon Clayton:

So, um, I've got one now that's hanging in there.

Jon Clayton:

I've not killed it yet, so maybe things are looking up.

Jon Clayton:

Anyway, we are going to talk about something that I'm really

Jon Clayton:

excited to talk about this.

Jon Clayton:

And it's something that some of the listeners, they might

Jon Clayton:

not be familiar with it.

Jon Clayton:

So, I think it's going to be a really interesting topic.

Jon Clayton:

We're going to talk about FOMO, so that architecture firms can build a buzz.

Jon Clayton:

They can build some excitement about what they do.

Jon Clayton:

I think really, the best place to start is for you to just explain

Jon Clayton:

to everybody, what is FOMO?

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: Well, uh, thanks for asking the question, John.

Jon Clayton:

FOMO, for those of you not Danwick kids, uh, means the fear of missing out.

Jon Clayton:

Now, it is part of everyday parlance because, um, we often look on

Jon Clayton:

Facebook and we think, Oh gosh, our friends are going on holiday again.

Jon Clayton:

Oh gosh, that person's got a new car.

Jon Clayton:

You know, and all that kind of, and we feel a little bit sad, don't we?

Jon Clayton:

We, we, we feel the sads a little.

Jon Clayton:

However, In business, as you alluded to in my bio, it is

Jon Clayton:

actually a really good thing.

Jon Clayton:

If you've built that buzz, that hype, and that excitement in your business,

Jon Clayton:

and other people are talking about you and their, um, and your, uh, business,

Jon Clayton:

that generates that fear of missing out.

Jon Clayton:

And then people think, Oh my gosh, I better not miss out.

Jon Clayton:

I better buy that thing, or I better go to that stand, or I better go

Jon Clayton:

and talk to that architecture firm.

Jon Clayton:

So in.

Jon Clayton:

business, FOMO is actually a really good thing.

Jon Clayton:

And so that's what I do.

Jon Clayton:

I teach people to, um, well, I explain and teach people how they can do it.

Jon Clayton:

And I'm also hired to create that FOMO for people too.

Jon Clayton:

And I have had the pleasure of seeing you in action at conferences

Jon Clayton:

and events creating that FOMO live, and it is pretty amazing to watch.

Jon Clayton:

If anybody meets Mei King in person, you need to check out

Jon Clayton:

how fast she can use her phone.

Jon Clayton:

It is unbelievable the speed that she can tweet at.

Jon Clayton:

I've, I've never seen anyone be able to tweet as fast as Mei King.

Jon Clayton:

It must be a record.

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: Can I, can I share my personal best?

Jon Clayton:

yeah, go on then.

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: It is, it's 1, 276 tweets.

Jon Clayton:

It reached 31 million people.

Jon Clayton:

Um, I was also at that conference we met, I spoke twice.

Jon Clayton:

Um, so not only was I a public speaker, I was a FOMO creator.

Jon Clayton:

Did all the tweeting, as I've just said, I also created Instagram posts and stories

Jon Clayton:

and, uh, did lots of interviews as well.

Jon Clayton:

And because of that hype, that FOMO that I generated, um, that particular

Jon Clayton:

conference, they sold 55 percent of their tickets for their next event.

Jon Clayton:

At this event, so that's why FOMO works.

Jon Clayton:

It works not just for conferences.

Jon Clayton:

That's my specialty, but not just for conferences, but that's why it's

Jon Clayton:

important to create that buzz and hype by creating live social media content.

Jon Clayton:

So it can help you to sell tickets or sell your products and services.

Jon Clayton:

Yeah, absolutely fantastic.

Jon Clayton:

Which I guess this leads nicely into the next question I wanted to ask

Jon Clayton:

because state the obvious, not everybody is going to be organizing a big

Jon Clayton:

conference or a big event, particularly for a small architecture firm.

Jon Clayton:

They might be organizing some events, but who is FOMO for?

Jon Clayton:

Can you sort of tell us about the, who is this for?

Jon Clayton:

Because it's not just for people that are organizing big conferences, is it?

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: No, absolutely not.

Jon Clayton:

Um, it is for architects.

Jon Clayton:

It is for architect firms.

Jon Clayton:

Uh, it's for anyone who is involved in the architect industry um, to gain their

Jon Clayton:

presence and gain more visibility online.

Jon Clayton:

So, uh, before you, you know, um, the end result is to Um, you know,

Jon Clayton:

get that, gain that customer, but how do we gain that customer?

Jon Clayton:

Well, you can't just thrust a business card at somebody, can you?

Jon Clayton:

No, we don't like to be sold to.

Jon Clayton:

So how do you do that?

Jon Clayton:

How can you get people really buzzing, excited about and hyped

Jon Clayton:

about who you are and think, Oh, I've got to talk to the architect

Jon Clayton:

or I've got to talk to that firm.

Jon Clayton:

Well, this is where FOMO is really, um.

Jon Clayton:

You know, uh, where it's all at really.

Jon Clayton:

And so I have a five step process, John,

Jon Clayton:

to generating that FOMO.

Jon Clayton:

And it all begins with your brand.

Jon Clayton:

Now, John, you're amazing online because you are everywhere.

Jon Clayton:

And, you know, uh, I worked for Google for a year and, uh, with Google, they

Jon Clayton:

said that, um, you have seven seconds to impress somebody when they're

Jon Clayton:

looking at you from their desktop.

Jon Clayton:

And that's reduced to four seconds if they're looking

Jon Clayton:

at you from their smartphone.

Jon Clayton:

So people are not just Googling, they're looking at your socials.

Jon Clayton:

And if you haven't posted for like, you know, three months, then that leaves a

Jon Clayton:

bad taste in someone's mouth, you know?

Jon Clayton:

So.

Jon Clayton:

You know, for architects and people involved, um, you know, in a firm, your

Jon Clayton:

branding is so important, getting your presence online, um, showcasing that you

Jon Clayton:

are an expert in your field, um, building relationships with people online and in

Jon Clayton:

person, letting the world know what it is you do on a daily basis, you know, a

Jon Clayton:

day in the life of an architect firm or an architect, um, you know, these are the

Jon Clayton:

kind of things that you can post about.

Jon Clayton:

If you've got glowing testimonials from your clients, you definitely

Jon Clayton:

need to share them as well.

Jon Clayton:

Don't keep that to yourself, get them shared.

Jon Clayton:

And then when the time is right for your lurkers, because let's

Jon Clayton:

face it, John, we've all got lurkers on the socials, right?

Jon Clayton:

Ha ha ha

Jon Clayton:

Absolutely.

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: When the time is right for your lurkers, they will

Jon Clayton:

slide into your DMs and then you can get the conversation started.

Jon Clayton:

So, that's my five step process to, uh, FOMO in a nutshell.

Jon Clayton:

Ha ha ha ha!

Jon Clayton:

B R A N D. Anyway, um, but, um, yeah, a lot,

Jon Clayton:

dig into that a bit

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: yeah, yeah,

Jon Clayton:

sure.

Jon Clayton:

we've got, we've got an understanding of now

Jon Clayton:

what FOMO is and who it's for.

Jon Clayton:

So let's, can we dig into that a little bit more about how we can create this

Jon Clayton:

FOMO for ourselves and for our business?

Jon Clayton:

Do you want to take a little bit more time to talk us through

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: ha ha

Jon Clayton:

Yeah, sorry, I get so hyped.

Jon Clayton:

I just go blah blah blah talk a hundred miles an hour So I talked about the five

Jon Clayton:

step process, which I just mentioned which is B for branding So, you know

Jon Clayton:

getting your socials all perfect, not perfect, but you know getting your bio

Jon Clayton:

up your you know your Pinned post or your featured post, you know, wherever

Jon Clayton:

you are on the socials, make sure that that tells the world what it is you do.

Jon Clayton:

As I say, if you, if people are looking at you and you've only got seven seconds

Jon Clayton:

before they switch on to something else, make those seven seconds or Four

Jon Clayton:

seconds on your smartphone counts, you know, that's what we mean by branding.

Jon Clayton:

So making sure that wherever you are, and you don't have to be on

Jon Clayton:

all socials, but where you are on the socials, just make that count.

Jon Clayton:

Try and look at your profile and your content as an, uh,

Jon Clayton:

you know, um, objectionally.

Jon Clayton:

objectionally.

Jon Clayton:

And see if people, if you think people will be interested in that.

Jon Clayton:

Then R is, the second step is relationship building, R. And it's

Jon Clayton:

not just about posting on socials.

Jon Clayton:

It's about getting into conversations.

Jon Clayton:

Can you get into conversations with people?

Jon Clayton:

Not to sell your business card and, you know, and say come buy, buy my stuff.

Jon Clayton:

But genuinely have conversations where you can help people.

Jon Clayton:

Is there an opportunity to showcase your expertise anywhere?

Jon Clayton:

There are loads of conversations that are being had on LinkedIn

Jon Clayton:

or Instagram or wherever you are.

Jon Clayton:

Can you get involved in some of them and maybe steer people your way?

Jon Clayton:

Then A, The third step is for authority.

Jon Clayton:

You've got to show that you're an expert.

Jon Clayton:

You can't tell the world that you're an expert with your business card.

Jon Clayton:

So writing about what you've done, uh, where you've helped people, you know,

Jon Clayton:

um, John, you're helping people all the time with this incredible podcast.

Jon Clayton:

You're sharing your expertise, your knowledge.

Jon Clayton:

You're bringing all these fabulous guests on.

Jon Clayton:

So.

Jon Clayton:

sharing that with the world, your expertise on what you do, that gives,

Jon Clayton:

you know, your lurkers, you know, give them a bit of credibility because

Jon Clayton:

they'll think, Oh, this person really knows what they're talking about.

Jon Clayton:

And then, as I mentioned earlier, um, you know, to share your

Jon Clayton:

testimonials, N is for notoriety.

Jon Clayton:

Now, I don't mean be famous and be like a Kardashian, but

Jon Clayton:

definitely share your testimonials.

Jon Clayton:

Don't keep them to yourselves, explain to the world how you got the testimonial,

Jon Clayton:

what kind of work you did for them.

Jon Clayton:

And this is the result, you know, tell that story.

Jon Clayton:

And then, as I mentioned, when your lurkers, when the time is right for

Jon Clayton:

them, they will slide into your direct messages, D. So D is for direct messages.

Jon Clayton:

And so, uh, it means that you no longer need to.

Jon Clayton:

actively go out and do the cold, cold calling because your lurkers will

Jon Clayton:

get excited and slide into your DMs.

Jon Clayton:

That's how a lot of my clients come to me because they've seen what I've shared

Jon Clayton:

and they think, Oh, she's an expert.

Jon Clayton:

Um, she might be good for, um, you know, my, uh, firm, slide into her,

Jon Clayton:

her DMs and that's what's happened.

Jon Clayton:

Does that make sense?

Jon Clayton:

Absolutely.

Jon Clayton:

Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

I love the way that you've explained it.

Jon Clayton:

And I love the fact that there's a framework there.

Jon Clayton:

I love a framework, you know, the acronym, acronym's brilliant.

Jon Clayton:

Um, What kind of Information or content that we, we could share

Jon Clayton:

with people constitutes as FOMO.

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: FOMO?

Jon Clayton:

any opportunity that you can show, showcase your expertise

Jon Clayton:

and also the way that you can talk around your subject as well.

Jon Clayton:

So, um, you know, as you know, people don't buy from you

Jon Clayton:

because of your price point.

Jon Clayton:

People buy from you because they like you, they've gotten

Jon Clayton:

to know you, they trust you.

Jon Clayton:

So how can they buy from you?

Jon Clayton:

Build that, you know, how can they get to know you?

Jon Clayton:

How can they build that trust and how can they, you know, like you?

Jon Clayton:

So you don't have to talk about just architecture and

Jon Clayton:

just your work all the time.

Jon Clayton:

Talk about you as a human being.

Jon Clayton:

And this is where people can get to know you.

Jon Clayton:

Now, um, my dad always told me never to laugh like that.

Jon Clayton:

Cause he said it would get me into trouble.

Jon Clayton:

But out of respect for my dad, I don't laugh like that when I'm in front of him.

Jon Clayton:

But I know that when I laugh like that, it makes other people laugh.

Jon Clayton:

And so I want to make people feel at ease.

Jon Clayton:

So out of respect to my dad, I don't laugh when I'm with him.

Jon Clayton:

But in that way, but I'll laugh everywhere else because this is my genuine life and

Jon Clayton:

people either love it or they hate it and it's part of my, you know, personality.

Jon Clayton:

And in fact, there was one time where Steve cracked a joke and I thought it was

Jon Clayton:

hilarious, started laughing my head off.

Jon Clayton:

Um, he recorded it because he thought it was ridiculous and I just put it up on, on

Jon Clayton:

the socials and I got so many DMS for it.

Jon Clayton:

Is that going to get me sales?

Jon Clayton:

No.

Jon Clayton:

But it will get people to know who I am as a person and that know, like

Jon Clayton:

and trust factor is so important before we get to the salesy bit.

Jon Clayton:

So um, you know, share human stories, not necessarily related

Jon Clayton:

to your business all the time.

Jon Clayton:

Um, but you know, obviously share about your, um, um, your business as well.

Jon Clayton:

Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

And, and when we talk about sharing some personal stories and that

Jon Clayton:

type of content doesn't have, it doesn't have to be super personal.

Jon Clayton:

Like it can be, it can show, share part of your personality, but you

Jon Clayton:

get to choose, you know, what, what you share and what you don't share.

Jon Clayton:

So we're not talking about airing your dirty laundry online, I suppose it's

Jon Clayton:

just sort of picking out the kind of some strands from your life or your personality

Jon Clayton:

that are things that you're comfortable to share that, you know, will help build

Jon Clayton:

a bigger picture of, of you so that you are like people can connect with the human

Jon Clayton:

side of it, that you're not just some work You are actually a real person behind this

Jon Clayton:

business because people buy from people.

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: Absolutely.

Jon Clayton:

And, um, you know, there are people who do choose to, um, share

Jon Clayton:

stories about their children.

Jon Clayton:

Um, I'm a pet parent, so I will talk about, uh, Missy.

Jon Clayton:

But then there will be some people who do not talk about their, um, family.

Jon Clayton:

And this is what is powerful.

Jon Clayton:

You get to decide what you want to put out onto the socials.

Jon Clayton:

And with regards to airing your dirty laundry, um, you know, I know

Jon Clayton:

some people who do bang on about their life all the time, but it's

Jon Clayton:

what makes them feel comfortable.

Jon Clayton:

And for me, um, I talk about my mental health journey sometimes, you know, I

Jon Clayton:

want to bang on about it because it's.

Jon Clayton:

Boring!

Jon Clayton:

But, um, a few times where I have shared, um, you know, where things went, you

Jon Clayton:

know, didn't go well for me, um, I have had people who have sent me DMs and

Jon Clayton:

said, Thank you so much for sharing that.

Jon Clayton:

I'm going through this too.

Jon Clayton:

And we've had a great conversation.

Jon Clayton:

And, you know, from a human level, that's, you know, that's really, really important.

Jon Clayton:

Um, And I have managed to win a couple of clients that way.

Jon Clayton:

That's not why I did it though, you know.

Jon Clayton:

Um, so, not everything that you put out online has to be calculating and

Jon Clayton:

towards your, you know, to your goal.

Jon Clayton:

It's whatever make, whatever makes you feel comfortable.

Jon Clayton:

Um, so, um, but ultimately people want to know you as a human first before you

Jon Clayton:

as an architect firm or as an architect.

Jon Clayton:

Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

I like the way that you framed that.

Jon Clayton:

Thinking back at some of the posts that I've put out on the socials on

Jon Clayton:

like, LinkedIn, for example, some of the posts that had had the most

Jon Clayton:

engagement have been the fastest.

Jon Clayton:

posts to put together.

Jon Clayton:

It's literally just been a

Jon Clayton:

quick

Jon Clayton:

quick selfie and I'd be out somewhere and maybe it was just something I

Jon Clayton:

thought of I wanted to share and it was just really quick and easy and then

Jon Clayton:

it's like those have been the ones that have really resonated because they've

Jon Clayton:

been, I've not overthought it too much so it's been authentic and it's shown.

Jon Clayton:

a little bit of me and, um, that that you mentioned about talking about mental

Jon Clayton:

health that it's showing a little bit of vulnerability and that's something that

Jon Clayton:

really does help to build connection with people and that's something that

Jon Clayton:

depending on who you are, like there's going to be, you mentioned about, it's

Jon Clayton:

about what, what feels comfortable to you.

Jon Clayton:

So there's going to be some people that might feel more comfortable than others.

Jon Clayton:

To talk about those sorts of things, but it's finding that

Jon Clayton:

balance for yourself, isn't it?

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: Absolutely.

Jon Clayton:

Uh, and I think as well, uh, we are in danger of, uh, comparing

Jon Clayton:

ourselves to other people.

Jon Clayton:

Um, and thinking, oh gosh, you know, look at them, look at what they've

Jon Clayton:

done, look at what they've shared.

Jon Clayton:

You know, they're having such a great time and, you know, uh, and then

Jon Clayton:

you look at yourself and you think, oh no, you know, what do I think?

Jon Clayton:

Listen, do not compare yourself.

Jon Clayton:

You know, do not compare your journey with anybody else's journey.

Jon Clayton:

You do what is right for you.

Jon Clayton:

You do what is comfortable for you.

Jon Clayton:

Um, there's a fabulous lady that I follow because I've helped people create

Jon Clayton:

FOMO in the pet, uh, business industry and she swears like a trooper online.

Jon Clayton:

Now, I think it's hilarious, but for me, and I swear like a trooper when,

Jon Clayton:

you know, when I've had a few drinks and stuff, but for me and my branding.

Jon Clayton:

I don't feel comfortable in my branding to do that.

Jon Clayton:

I'll laugh like a silly person, but I won't swear with my branding.

Jon Clayton:

Um, but that's no judgement against this fabulous lady who swears like a trooper

Jon Clayton:

because that's her branding and it helps her to get, you know, lots of sales.

Jon Clayton:

And it's all, you know, all hats off to her.

Jon Clayton:

It's amazing.

Jon Clayton:

So do what is comfortable.

Jon Clayton:

for yourself.

Jon Clayton:

Um, and, and like I say, don't think about it too much.

Jon Clayton:

I mean, it's quite frustrating, isn't it, John?

Jon Clayton:

Where we think, oh, we'll do this post and we, we think, oh

Jon Clayton:

yeah, this is going to be great.

Jon Clayton:

And we, you know, we thought really hard, long about it.

Jon Clayton:

And we, you know, done the video, posted it up, two likes.

Jon Clayton:

We take a selfie, you know, yeah, crickets, yeah.

Jon Clayton:

And then we take a selfie just.

Jon Clayton:

Pop it up there and then we get loads of engagement.

Jon Clayton:

Uh, it's crazy.

Jon Clayton:

Uh, it actually happened to me yesterday.

Jon Clayton:

I created a, um, um, uh, a video, uh, I'm part of a 30 day challenge to do.

Jon Clayton:

A video every day, so I've decided to create a tip, a FOMO tip

Jon Clayton:

every day for 30 days, and I'm gonna convert that into a book.

Jon Clayton:

And, uh, I just did it quickly off the fly, no edits or

Jon Clayton:

anything, just posted it up there.

Jon Clayton:

And it was the biggest engaged video that I've ever done!

Jon Clayton:

And the ones I've thought really long and hard with.

Jon Clayton:

Crickets, like you say.

Jon Clayton:

It's just how it happens at

Jon Clayton:

how it works out, isn't it?

Jon Clayton:

Yeah, I recall, chris Doe, he published a video that I saw on his socials not

Jon Clayton:

that long ago in the last couple of months, um, and it'll still be up there.

Jon Clayton:

I wouldn't know where to find it, but it's on there somewhere.

Jon Clayton:

He was talking about, um, showing up authentically, and how people talk about

Jon Clayton:

authenticity, and you know, be authentic.

Jon Clayton:

And

Jon Clayton:

He was talking about the gap, like this authenticity gap between how, like how you

Jon Clayton:

show up versus how you are in real life.

Jon Clayton:

And he was saying that the differences between like how you show up online

Jon Clayton:

versus like how you are in private.

Jon Clayton:

And he said that the narrower that gap is, You know, if you show up

Jon Clayton:

more like you, you are in private, then that gap is much narrower and

Jon Clayton:

it's going to be more authentic.

Jon Clayton:

Because often when we do decide to start making content and showing up online,

Jon Clayton:

we're, like, sometimes we'll try to present, like, to be somebody else or to

Jon Clayton:

present a different version of ourselves because we think that we need to be

Jon Clayton:

that way because that's how we think we need to show up for other people.

Jon Clayton:

And you think, what, you know, what could be easier than just being yourself?

Jon Clayton:

But that's the thing is actually being yourself and being really comfortable in

Jon Clayton:

your own shoes to show up can actually be quite difficult for many people.

Jon Clayton:

Bizarrely, and you'd think it would be the easiest thing in the world.

Jon Clayton:

I remember going to some in person networking events where I didn't

Jon Clayton:

know anybody and I remember like I went and I, I dressed differently.

Jon Clayton:

I turned up and I presented myself differently because I, I expected,

Jon Clayton:

oh, I need to come across a bit more professional and a bit more businessy.

Jon Clayton:

Whereas like the usual me is just like t shirt, jeans, hoodie.

Jon Clayton:

And that's how I am, you know, and I'm, I'm a lot more kind of relaxed about

Jon Clayton:

like the most sort of non businessy person that you probably would meet.

Jon Clayton:

So that, I just thought that was something interesting to mention

Jon Clayton:

actually about, you know, when we're talking about sort of showing up and

Jon Clayton:

Being yourself online ideally if you can

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

Absolutely.

Jon Clayton:

so Hey King, let's get back on track to talk about FOMO

Jon Clayton:

because I know that I've heard you talk about different types of FOMO.

Jon Clayton:

So I'm wondering if you could just share with everybody what those

Jon Clayton:

different types of FOMO are and if you could perhaps give some examples?

Jon Clayton:

Remember, don't forget to join the wait list for our membership community,

Jon Clayton:

where you can meet other business owners who want the same thing as you.

Jon Clayton:

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Jon Clayton:

just go to architecture, business club.com forward slash waitlist, or

Jon Clayton:

click the link in the show notes.

Jon Clayton:

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Jon Clayton:

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rating wherever you listen to podcasts.

Jon Clayton:

Now, back to the show.

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: Absolutely.

Jon Clayton:

So before we recorded this podcast, I did what's known as pre FOMO.

Jon Clayton:

So before the thing that you're going to do.

Jon Clayton:

So as I say, as we've mentioned before, it's not exclusive to

Jon Clayton:

events, it's what ever you are doing.

Jon Clayton:

Um, so before the thing that you're going to do, you know, if you're about

Jon Clayton:

to head into a meeting, uh, if you're about to, um, I don't know, potentially

Jon Clayton:

partner up with somebody, I don't know, I'm giving terrible examples, but

Jon Clayton:

whatever it is before you're about to do, that's the pre FOMO, um, period.

Jon Clayton:

And so you can do a quick selfie or a quick, uh, note, uh, And make it about the

Jon Clayton:

event that's going to happen, you know, so you can make an event out of anything.

Jon Clayton:

So, you know, I've spoken to lots of product based businesses and service

Jon Clayton:

based businesses and helped them to understand how they can create an event

Jon Clayton:

out of anything by generating that.

Jon Clayton:

Pre FOMO, you're setting up the anticipation.

Jon Clayton:

Oh, we're just going to get started.

Jon Clayton:

Oh, we're just going to meet.

Jon Clayton:

We're just going to do this.

Jon Clayton:

Um, and you can remind people, you know, if it's a three weeks time, you're

Jon Clayton:

about to meet the person, you can post about that and then a day before, so

Jon Clayton:

excited to talk about, um, that person, talk to that person, so creating lots

Jon Clayton:

and lots of posts in the lead up to the thing that you're about to do.

Jon Clayton:

That's a pre FOMO.

Jon Clayton:

Live FOMO.

Jon Clayton:

is, as it suggests, live.

Jon Clayton:

So, not exactly in the meeting itself, because that would be wrong, but if you've

Jon Clayton:

had a meeting, you know, just after the meeting, uh, you can do a quick selfie,

Jon Clayton:

or if you feel brave enough, uh, if you're ready to, you can do a quick, um,

Jon Clayton:

video and say, just had a great meeting.

Jon Clayton:

You obviously don't need to the ins and outs because you want

Jon Clayton:

to generate that FOMO, right?

Jon Clayton:

But share a few points from, you know, from the meeting that you've had and

Jon Clayton:

then post FOMO, that's the last period you could say, Oh, this time last week

Jon Clayton:

we had a great, you know, meeting about la la la, or this time last week went

Jon Clayton:

to a fantastic trade show when, you know, I met up with all these people.

Jon Clayton:

So this is the pre.

Jon Clayton:

Live and post.

Jon Clayton:

Um, and you can do that for anything.

Jon Clayton:

Um, absolutely anything.

Jon Clayton:

It doesn't need to be exclusive to events or meetings.

Jon Clayton:

It's whatever you're doing in your business life.

Jon Clayton:

Oh, I love that.

Jon Clayton:

So I think if we were to try and give a simple example for an architecture,

Jon Clayton:

an architectural designer, it could be something as simple as, let's say

Jon Clayton:

you were visiting a property, you, you'd got a new client, or you had a

Jon Clayton:

project that you're going to look at.

Jon Clayton:

Maybe it's somebody that's thinking about doing something to their home.

Jon Clayton:

So the pre FOMO could be a post.

Jon Clayton:

A text post or an Instagram story, anything like that

Jon Clayton:

to say, I'm just outside.

Jon Clayton:

I'm in the car.

Jon Clayton:

I'm just outside this property.

Jon Clayton:

I'm about to go in.

Jon Clayton:

I'm really excited.

Jon Clayton:

The homeowners, they're thinking about doing this exciting extension

Jon Clayton:

and I'm really looking forward to discussing it with them.

Jon Clayton:

Or it could be some some photos about like the before photos of the property.

Jon Clayton:

And then the live FOMO could be the, like, immediately afterwards.

Jon Clayton:

It could be, Oh, just got out of the meeting.

Jon Clayton:

It went absolutely amazing.

Jon Clayton:

I'm so excited to start working on this design and to share my ideas with you.

Jon Clayton:

And I suppose then the post FOMO could be, you know, a week or two later, maybe

Jon Clayton:

you've done some sketches or you've got the design prepared for the customer.

Jon Clayton:

You're taking the audience on this whole journey, aren't you?

Jon Clayton:

There's this story arc from the pre FOMO to the live FOMO to the post FOMO.

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: Absolutely.

Jon Clayton:

That's something that would be really simple for

Jon Clayton:

people to do in whatever way they decide to create the content.

Jon Clayton:

Whether it's text, or photos, or little videos, depending on

Jon Clayton:

what they're comfortable with.

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: Yes.

Jon Clayton:

But that would be a really simple way that they could start creating

Jon Clayton:

some buzz about what they're doing.

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: Fantastic.

Jon Clayton:

Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

Um, and, uh, thanks for, um, uh, creating that, uh, illustration.

Jon Clayton:

Obviously, we need to gain permission from the customer, of course.

Jon Clayton:

Um, but if the customer actually has a business, I mean, you're

Jon Clayton:

supporting them as well.

Jon Clayton:

You know, if you tag them, they'll absolutely love it too.

Jon Clayton:

So it's a, you know, it's an absolute, uh, win win.

Jon Clayton:

Um, so And remember that on social media, all your followers or fans or connections,

Jon Clayton:

they're not going to see everything that you do, you know, what we still we've got

Jon Clayton:

far too much time to stalk on, you know, a particular person see everyone's post.

Jon Clayton:

So, you know, you can never post too much, you know, you can do lots

Jon Clayton:

of pre FOMO, you can do lots of.

Jon Clayton:

Live FOMO, you know, you can say in case you missed it.

Jon Clayton:

These are the designs that, you know, we came up with.

Jon Clayton:

So creating lots and getting into the habit of creating

Jon Clayton:

content for your lurkers.

Jon Clayton:

Cause that's one of my phrases, create content for your lurkers there kids.

Jon Clayton:

Um, because you never know when the time is right for your lurker,

Jon Clayton:

they will slide into your DMs.

Jon Clayton:

And it's interesting.

Jon Clayton:

You talk about a story arc because, um, I know, um, listeners

Jon Clayton:

won't be able to see this.

Jon Clayton:

But, uh, John, you can see the Truman Show poster that I have behind me.

Jon Clayton:

We have the power to create our own Truman Show.

Jon Clayton:

We can decide what we want to put out onto the socials.

Jon Clayton:

Unlike, um, Jim Carrey's character from the Truman Show, he didn't

Jon Clayton:

know he was being recorded.

Jon Clayton:

Everyone was hooked, you know, they wanted to know his trials,

Jon Clayton:

tribulations, ups and downs.

Jon Clayton:

And when he decided he didn't want to be recorded, he escaped and then

Jon Clayton:

everybody went on their own merry way.

Jon Clayton:

And that's the same with us.

Jon Clayton:

If you don't create your own Truman Show, if you don't post on the socials,

Jon Clayton:

socials,

Jon Clayton:

people will ignore you.

Jon Clayton:

They'll find someone else who is visible on the socials.

Jon Clayton:

So that's why it's important to create that story arc. Pre

Jon Clayton:

FOMO, Live FOMO, Post FOMO.

Jon Clayton:

Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

that's fantastic.

Jon Clayton:

Well, firstly, that's a timely reminder that I haven't seen the Truman Show

Jon Clayton:

for ages, so I'm gonna have to dig the DVD out and watch that again,

Jon Clayton:

because that is an amazing movie.

Jon Clayton:

I love that

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: Way ahead of its time.

Jon Clayton:

It's amazing.

Jon Clayton:

Amazing.

Jon Clayton:

Yeah, I think sometimes as well, I think one of the things that

Jon Clayton:

will hold people back is thinking, well, who's going to be interested in this?

Jon Clayton:

Like, honestly, who is going to be interested?

Jon Clayton:

But people love this stuff.

Jon Clayton:

Like, the things that we do in our day to day working life

Jon Clayton:

that we find, or maybe think,

Jon Clayton:

other people

Jon Clayton:

find mundane.

Jon Clayton:

People will absolutely love it.

Jon Clayton:

They like to see behind the curtain, behind the scenes, to understand

Jon Clayton:

what goes on in businesses.

Jon Clayton:

and

Jon Clayton:

You've mentioned again about lurkers.

Jon Clayton:

It's so true that there are so many lurkers out there, and particularly

Jon Clayton:

with something like architecture.

Jon Clayton:

If you think about how, if you're making a purchasing decision, so

Jon Clayton:

if you were thinking about buying something, let's just say on, on Amazon

Jon Clayton:

or another, there are other online retailers available, but let's say

Jon Clayton:

you're thinking about buying something.

Jon Clayton:

If I, I might think a while.

Jon Clayton:

Even for something that costs less than, less than a hundred quid, I might spend

Jon Clayton:

ages researching it and thinking about it.

Jon Clayton:

And if I was making a bigger purchase booking a holiday or buying a car

Jon Clayton:

or something like that, like I would spend a long time thinking about it and

Jon Clayton:

researching it, same for architecture.

Jon Clayton:

Like people are, they're not just whether it's.

Jon Clayton:

a person and they're doing something to their home, or whether it's a business,

Jon Clayton:

potentially that overall project could be tens of thousands of pounds.

Jon Clayton:

You're, you as an architect, the fee might not be all of that, it may just

Jon Clayton:

be a small proportion, but they're going to be thinking about this for

Jon Clayton:

a heck of a long time potentially.

Jon Clayton:

So those Lurkers, you could have people on your socials that are lurking around

Jon Clayton:

for a long, long time, like it could be over a year before they decide to

Jon Clayton:

slide into the DMs and to get in touch.

Jon Clayton:

So it is so important, isn't it, to be making content to keep people's

Jon Clayton:

attention and keep them interested.

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: Absolutely, because everyone, uh, is on a different journey.

Jon Clayton:

Um, you know, every lurker You know, we're all lurkers, aren't we?

Jon Clayton:

We lurk on other people's stuff, you know?

Jon Clayton:

It's okay to be a lurker.

Jon Clayton:

Not a stalker, but a lurker.

Jon Clayton:

Um, and You know, lurkers are on different, um, parts

Jon Clayton:

of the journey with us.

Jon Clayton:

You know, some of us have known us for years.

Jon Clayton:

Some of us have only just met us.

Jon Clayton:

So creating that constant stream of content, um, you know, is really

Jon Clayton:

important to let people know.

Jon Clayton:

Uh, and sometimes, you know, those, in case you missed it posts, you know, I

Jon Clayton:

see why am I posts are really important because, you know, there will be people

Jon Clayton:

who didn't see it, so it's, it's okay to.

Jon Clayton:

Uh, share your story again and again, we call it repurposing,

Jon Clayton:

you know, repurposing our content.

Jon Clayton:

Um, you know, I did it this week, you know, I had a video, uh, that I thought,

Jon Clayton:

Oh my God, this is actually really good.

Jon Clayton:

Even if I might say so myself and I shared it and it's from an

Jon Clayton:

interview that I did four years ago.

Jon Clayton:

Actually, it was.

Jon Clayton:

ChatGPT, John, is amazing.

Jon Clayton:

My sister and I were, were fiddling on ChatGPT, um, and, um, she just

Jon Clayton:

put in, um, what, uh, are there any FOMO consultants out there?

Jon Clayton:

Now, consultant's not a word I normally use, but chat, ChatGPT

Jon Clayton:

actually recommended me and cited a source, which is an interview

Jon Clayton:

that I did four years ago with, um, a company in America, uh, lately.

Jon Clayton:

ai.

Jon Clayton:

So, you know.

Jon Clayton:

That is really important.

Jon Clayton:

So I've been creating content for such a long time and you never know

Jon Clayton:

when you can reuse it again And

Jon Clayton:

And uh,

Jon Clayton:

I'm telling you now, I'm milking that Quite a while.

Jon Clayton:

The fact that ChatGPT thinks I'm the number one expert in FOMO, of course

Jon Clayton:

Of course you are.

Jon Clayton:

Absolutely.

Jon Clayton:

Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

Yeah.

Jon Clayton:

The one and only,

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: Absolutely.

Jon Clayton:

yeah, we've talked and shared some great ideas.

Jon Clayton:

There's some simple things that people can do to start creating

Jon Clayton:

some FOMO in their business.

Jon Clayton:

What equipment do we need?

Jon Clayton:

You know, what equipment do we need to get started to create some FOMO?

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: Your phone.

Jon Clayton:

That's it.

Jon Clayton:

Okay, and I would say we've all got one.

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: Yeah, exactly.

Jon Clayton:

We don't need to procrastinate and think, oh, we need the latest video

Jon Clayton:

equipment we need a mic and all that.

Jon Clayton:

No, your phone!

Jon Clayton:

How hard is it to take a photograph?

Jon Clayton:

It's not.

Jon Clayton:

That's it.

Jon Clayton:

Just get started.

Jon Clayton:

You know, take a photograph.

Jon Clayton:

Be brave.

Jon Clayton:

That's it.

Jon Clayton:

That's the thing that's holding us back from, you know, creating content.

Jon Clayton:

Be brave and think, this is going to help me.

Jon Clayton:

This is going to help my firm.

Jon Clayton:

You know, this is going to get me out on socials.

Jon Clayton:

I'm going to gain a reputation online just as good as the one face to face.

Jon Clayton:

That's what I'm going to do.

Jon Clayton:

That's all you need a phone.

Jon Clayton:

That's, let's just leave it at that.

Jon Clayton:

Brilliant.

Jon Clayton:

So we just need a phone.

Jon Clayton:

So that's nice and easy for everybody to get started.

Jon Clayton:

What would be the main thing you'd like everybody to take

Jon Clayton:

away from this conversation?

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: I would just like people to Get started.

Jon Clayton:

It doesn't matter where you are.

Jon Clayton:

Get started.

Jon Clayton:

You know, breathe.

Jon Clayton:

Be brave.

Jon Clayton:

And start.

Jon Clayton:

That's it.

Jon Clayton:

Um,

Jon Clayton:

that.

Jon Clayton:

And is there anything else that you wanted to say about FOMO that we, we haven't

Jon Clayton:

already covered in the conversation?

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: Um, no, like I say, I want you to give it a try, and

Jon Clayton:

maybe message me if you're not sure.

Jon Clayton:

Just, you know, send me a DM, slide into my DMs on LinkedIn, and just

Jon Clayton:

ask me, May King, is this okay?

Jon Clayton:

Remember, my first name is May King.

Jon Clayton:

Is this okay?

Jon Clayton:

And, you know, and we can have a bit of a chat, and, um, and,

Jon Clayton:

uh, you know, I can help you.

Jon Clayton:

Uh, but Getting into the habit of posting something about your life

Jon Clayton:

as a person, as well as, um, a business, um, and just write something

Jon Clayton:

and you never know who's watching.

Jon Clayton:

And like John said earlier, you know, we might think it's boring, you know,

Jon Clayton:

what we do, but it will be really interesting to the untrained eye, to the

Jon Clayton:

person who is looking for an architect.

Jon Clayton:

So, you know, showcase your expertise, um, and, uh, and don't be afraid.

Jon Clayton:

Thanks making there was another question I want to ask you.

Jon Clayton:

It's something I like to ask all of the guests on the show.

Jon Clayton:

It's about travel.

Jon Clayton:

I love to travel.

Jon Clayton:

I love to discover new places.

Jon Clayton:

And I was just wondering if you could tell me about one of your favourite

Jon Clayton:

places and what you love about it.

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: That's like choosing one of your favorite children, isn't it?

Jon Clayton:

And they

Jon Clayton:

don't

Jon Clayton:

Tuffy.

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: even have children!

Jon Clayton:

Um,

Jon Clayton:

Um,

Jon Clayton:

I Oh, golly.

Jon Clayton:

Um, do you know, I'm gonna be a bit biased here.

Jon Clayton:

I guess Hong Kong.

Jon Clayton:

Um, because my, uh, my dad is, uh, from Hong Kong.

Jon Clayton:

My mum was born in China.

Jon Clayton:

Um, and it's just a magical, magical place.

Jon Clayton:

Um Let's just leave it at that.

Jon Clayton:

It's just, it is literally a 24 hour city.

Jon Clayton:

There's lots of cities that claim their 24 hours, like London and, you know,

Jon Clayton:

they close up at two, three o'clock.

Jon Clayton:

But, but Hong Kong, literally a 24 hour city.

Jon Clayton:

And it's just so magical.

Jon Clayton:

Fabulous.

Jon Clayton:

Kong,

Jon Clayton:

what a fantastic place.

Jon Clayton:

I, um, I had the good fortune to be able to visit there.

Jon Clayton:

I think it was back in

Jon Clayton:

2006

Jon Clayton:

I want to say so crikey.

Jon Clayton:

It's like nearly 20 years ago.

Jon Clayton:

That's making me feel old.

Jon Clayton:

But it was only a short visit.

Jon Clayton:

It was a stopover and I was part of a bigger Backpacking trip and I had a

Jon Clayton:

few days in Hong Kong and I absolutely loved it and one of the things that

Jon Clayton:

made it really special was at the time I was part of a A community is

Jon Clayton:

probably still going it was called

Jon Clayton:

couchsurfing

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: oh

Jon Clayton:

And it was a bit of a precursor to Airbnb, where you could

Jon Clayton:

like go and couch surf, you could go and stay at somebody's home and

Jon Clayton:

it was, it was free, or you could meet somebody and they would just

Jon Clayton:

act as your like local tour guide.

Jon Clayton:

And I, when I went to Hong Kong, I was only there for a few days

Jon Clayton:

and I thought, well, it's such a big city and I don't really know.

Jon Clayton:

Where I'm going and everything.

Jon Clayton:

And I, I managed to find a couple of people that lived in Hong Kong.

Jon Clayton:

There was a lady that lived there.

Jon Clayton:

She was from Hong Kong.

Jon Clayton:

And then there was another guy that was a. Chinese American student that

Jon Clayton:

I then was studying over in Hong Kong.

Jon Clayton:

I was on some kind of work placement.

Jon Clayton:

And I met these people and it, we'd never met before other

Jon Clayton:

than a few messages online.

Jon Clayton:

And it was amazing.

Jon Clayton:

Like they, they were like my personal tour guides around Hong

Jon Clayton:

Kong for this weekend I had there.

Jon Clayton:

And it was so much fun.

Jon Clayton:

I got to just experience a little bit of culture and.

Jon Clayton:

You know, I went to visit some places that I wouldn't have found otherwise.

Jon Clayton:

And I, you know, I had some really nice food as well.

Jon Clayton:

And like street food and things that I wouldn't have known what I was ordering.

Jon Clayton:

And they're like, Oh no, we'll, we'll order this, try this and try that.

Jon Clayton:

And it was so much fun.

Jon Clayton:

So yeah, I'd, I'd love to go back one day, be a good place to go and visit.

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: absolutely.

Jon Clayton:

Yeah, cool.

Jon Clayton:

Well, look, thank you so much, May King.

Jon Clayton:

I really appreciate you bringing the FOMO to the show today.

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: You are welcome.

Jon Clayton:

Where is the best place for people to connect with you online?

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: Yeah, it's probably LinkedIn actually.

Jon Clayton:

So making sang, that's M A Y K I N G T S A N G. Uh, that's probably

Jon Clayton:

the best place you can catch me.

Jon Clayton:

Awesome.

Jon Clayton:

And if they want to learn more about you, could you remind everyone

Jon Clayton:

of your website address as well?

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: It's FOMOcreator.

Jon Clayton:

social.

Jon Clayton:

Perfect.

Jon Clayton:

Fantastic.

Jon Clayton:

Well, thanks again, May King.

Jon Clayton:

May King Tsang: Thanks, John.

Jon Clayton:

John!

Jon Clayton:

Next time, Sarah Noelle Block shares how businesses with

Jon Clayton:

tiny or non existent marketing departments can build a lean marketing

Jon Clayton:

engine to grow their business.

Jon Clayton:

Thanks so much for listening to this episode of architecture business club.

Jon Clayton:

If you liked this episode, think other people might enjoy it.

Jon Clayton:

Or just want to show your support for the show.

Jon Clayton:

Then please leave a glowing five-star review or rating wherever you listen

Jon Clayton:

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Jon Clayton:

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Jon Clayton:

And if you haven't already done, so don't forget to hit the subscribe button.

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So you never miss another episode.

Jon Clayton:

If you want to connect with me, you can do that on most social media platforms,

Jon Clayton:

just search for at Mr. John Clayton.

Jon Clayton:

The best place to connect with me online, though is on LinkedIn.

Jon Clayton:

You can find a link to my profile in the show notes.

Jon Clayton:

Remember.

Jon Clayton:

Running your architecture business.

Jon Clayton:

Doesn't have to be hard and you don't need to do it alone.

Jon Clayton:

This is architecture business club.