Meet Will Kalkman | Architectural Firm Principal

We had the good fortune of connecting with Will Kalkman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Will, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I come from a working class family. I am from Michigan and most of my grand parent’s generation worked as car manufactuers and my parents generation worked in retail or labor jobs. When I was younger, my father became disabled with a back injury and was never able to work again. The company he worked for fought him about his benefits until he died. My mother worked for a retail store for 20 years and was let go during covid. My parents were both dedicated employees who worked above and beyond for their employers. I decided that I needed to work for myself to keep that from happening to me. I started my own firm so I could build equity in my hard work when I am younger. I wanted to be able to take care of my team and control the type of work we seek.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My firm is KO Design Group LLC. We are a pragmatic architecture firm that works to provide solid construction documents and get a permit in hand. We understand that time is important to our clients. We want to finish our plans quickly and push to get a permit to get construction started. If we can save a couple of weeks or month on the projects, the client saves on finanicing charges and they can get open quicker. We do not want to over design projects and make sure the cost is spent on items that will provide the biggest return on investment. We take pride in working with our consutants and contractors to get projects done. We are proud that we have many repeat clients and they refer others to us.

I got to where I am by doing hundreds of projects over my career. I was lucky enough to work for a couple great firms that gave me a chance to work on projects and learn. I feel architecture is learned from experience and you get better the more projects you complete. I tried to learn as much as I could about architecture and the business of the firm. I would volunteer to do the projects or tasks that no one else wanted. I have also learned from several great contractors that have helped me gain technical construction knowledge they do not teach you in college. It has not been easy and I have made many mistaked but the best way I know to overcome anything is to work harder. The only thing I can control is how hard I work and I do not want to be outworked. I also try to learn something from everyone.

I want everyone to know that hard work and treating people right will add value to your name. In the end, your reputation follows you and if you help others out you will be paid back. If you do not do people right, they will not want to work with you anymore.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
When we have people visit, we have a couple things that we always try to do. When the rodeo is in season, we always have family visit. It is something that is different and hard to discribe to someone not from here. We take people to the Menil Collection and have lunch at their Bistro. We go to see the Astros with a pregame meal at El Tiempo. We live close to St Arnolds and take people there for lunch and enjoy the view. Discover green and the Grove restaurant is great food and good people watching. We recommend a couple restaurants that we frequent: BB Butcher, Georgia James, Brasserie Du Parc, Maison Puch Bistro, Ragin Cajuns.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
First I would like to recognize my wife, Morgan. She has given me the confident to go out on my own and start my company. She is supportive and helps keep from working too much.

Website: www.kodesigngroup.net

Instagram: kodesigngroupllc

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/william-kalkman