Jeffrey Rome never thought when he got his degree in architecture that he’d spend most of his time designing wireless networks. Now, some 24 years later, 90% of billings at his Jeffrey Rome & Associates Inc. firm come from projects for major telecommunications companies such as AT&T, Crown Castle International Corp. and Verizon.
“When I started off, I needed to do anything to stay in business,” he said. “We got in with L.A. Cellular back in 1989. I figured we’d do work for them for about four years and the network would be built out, and we would [come up with] something else. But over time, the business just kept growing. My whole strategy was to try to diversify, but we diversified by doing more work in other states for all the different carriers.”
The specialized work appears to be paying off.
The private Irvine-based company, which employs 65, reported $18 million in billings for the 12-month period that ended June 30, a 79% year-over-year increase. It moved up three spots on the Business Journal’s list of architecture firms, placing ninth.
Jeffrey Rome & Associates helps telecommunication companies develop and modify wireless networks across the country. It’s licensed to work in 48 states and currently has assignments in 40.
The projects turned out to be a lot more complex and therefore generated more business over time than Rome first envisioned.
“We do all the design, engineering and entitlement work for new sites and existing sites that are modified when new technology comes aboard,” Rome said. “As the capacity increases, the network has to evolve. And just like the phones, the equipment for the network gets better every year, gets faster; so they need to change it out. Because of the complexity and [location of the sites], they need an architect to help them implement those changes.”
The firm is working on a project for the University of California-Los Angeles designing outdoor distributed antenna systems to provide better AT&T cellphone coverage for the campus. The system is often used in locations where new towers are impractical and where capacity issues vary.
Last year, Jeffrey Rome & Associates worked on about 4,000 projects, and this year it’s on track to do the same.
Rome “had no idea” his business would “have such a heavy focus” on telecommunications, but he’s pretty clear where he wants to take it next.
“I think over the next three to four years, our diversification will go to 60-40 now that the economy is picking up,” he said, explaining that he hopes 40% of the workload will come from the commercial retail sector, “now that we are a bigger firm, a bigger team licensed in almost every state.”
He said he’s looking for clients with multiple properties and “not having to constantly sell yourself and your services on every project.”
The telecommunication assignments that have made up the bulk of the firm’s jobs come at a high volume and command lower fees. Rome said he’d prefer fewer projects with higher returns.
“… it becomes a whole different dynamic if we are doing $50 million projects or doing 4,000 $2,000 projects,” he said. “We do the volume, and now our whole objective is to try to find projects that pay a little more, add a little more diversity, and grow the firm in that direction.
“We have a big advantage over a lot of competitors because we are a larger firm now. Ten, 15 years ago, we had three or four people. Now we are 65. We can offer a lot of different services that we couldn’t offer in the past.”
Rome said he’s also supporting his employees in obtaining their architecture licenses—an arduous process that calls for eight years of experience and education, and requires passing eight exams—to make sure Jeffrey Rome & Associates remains a “high-level professional firm.” He said the majority of architecture degree holders never obtain their licenses.
“I was fortunate to work for two great architects in Newport Beach, Bill Ficker and Paul Ruffing, when I got out of college,” Rome said. “Both of them truly instilled into me that you choose where you go in life. You can be a professional and do … things a certain way, or you can go after the dollar. We are trying to make a living, but at the end of the day, we want to be different than everyone else.”
