When the studio slows down – whether over summer, during staff leave, or at unpredictable points in the year – there is the valuable opportunity to strengthen your business. Watch this recording for a session that explores how to use downtime to tighten your systems, build a stronger culture, plan smarter resourcing, and create meaningful client connections. Originally held 3 December 2025.
In this webinar our panellists discuss how practice owners, directors and managers can use quieter periods strategically, refining systems, strengthening culture, planning resourcing and engaging clients in meaningful, low-pressure ways. Drawing on expertise in HR, finance, culture and operations, this session provides practical tools and real examples for turning downtime into high-value preparation for busy times ahead. Merilyn Speiser from Catalina Consultants, Rebecca Caldwell from Maytree Studios and the ACA’s Emma Brain (also at the Fulcrum Agency) are featured in the recording. Due to sudden illness Brad Wetherall from Good Office couldn't make the session live but provides his detailed speaker notes to complete the information on offer.
What's covered:
- HR policy review, leave planning and culture-building initiatives
- Financial processes, forecasting and resourcing systems
- Alternative approaches to client engagement during quiet periods
- Annual planning and strategic review practices
- Setting up your “Ideal Monday Morning Meeting” to connect daily operations with quarterly and annual business goals
MEET THE PANELLISTS
Rebecca Caldwell is a Director of Brisbane-based Maytree Studios, an employee-owned studio that combines ethics and social responsibility with the forward-thinking sensibilities of contemporary architecture. The driving idea behind the practice is that good architecture should be grounded in kindness. Rebecca is passionate to show that profitable business, good design and staff wellbeing are all achievable in small practice. As well as employee ownership, Maytree has a nine-day fortnight, policies on parental leave and overtime, and has engaged with the ACA’s EAP.
Merilyn Speiser is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Catalina Consultants and has more than 20 years’ experience in the development of business strategies, leadership development, people and performance management and succession planning. In addition to running her business, Merilyn also develops and delivers leadership programs both in Australia and internationally, and she is a sought-after presenter, writer, mentor and coach.
Brad Wetherall runs Good Office, working with directors of small and medium architecture practices on the business side of practice – fees, positioning, operations, culture, and the everyday systems that make a studio healthier and easier to run. Alongside that, Brad is practice manager at Whispering Smith, keeping projects organised, clients steady, and the studio functioning smoothly day to day. He writes monthly articles on Substack, most of them drawn directly from his work. Across all of it, Brad’s focus is simple: helping architects build practices that support better projects, better teams, and better lives.
COST
Members $30 incl GST
Non-members $60 incl GST
*One ticket per person.
Links to the recorded session, reference materials and CPD questions will be provided via follow-up email from trybooking, separate to the booking acknowledgement and receipt.
CPD
1 hour – 1 formal CPD point
Learning outcomes – Completion of the webinar will help attendees to identify productive tasks appropriate to their practices to complete during quiet periods to strengthen HR, finance, culture, operation and business development, to contibute to establishing a clear set of systems and strategies to support sustainable practice growth over time.
AACA NSCA - Practice Management and Professional Conduct – PC 2, PC 4, PC 7.
CPD questions will be provided with a link to upload your answers and for issue of a CPD certificate of completion. Please keep your receipt, completed questions and certificate for your CPD records.
CONTACT
For any questions, please contact Katherine Ygosse webinars@aca.org.au.
Contact Form
Resend recently purchased tickets to our events to your email.
Enter email to start search
You can review the event organiser's terms and conditions here.