Gus Fares

As a teenager Gus Fares would spend hours drawing the many buildings he loved before they were destroyed by bombings. Architecture was his calling, but his home city was being decimated, and his love of beautiful buildings must have been challenged. When his first office was destroyed by a bomb it was time to make a new start.

‘What’s the worst that could happen?’…a question we often ask ourselves when we’re facing a difficult decision or tough situation.

You’re nervous about an important business call you’re about to make; ‘what’s the worst that could happen?’ Probably someone hanging up on you, so you tell yourself you could survive that.

When you started dating; ‘what’s the worst that could happen?’ They would say no, so you tell yourself you could survive that.

Even when you first learnt to ski; ‘what’s the worst that could happen?’ You could break a leg and even then you tell yourself you could survive that.

But what if the answer to ‘what’s the worst that could happen?’ about an everyday event is that you might die?

That adds a whole new dimension to the question, doesn’t it? Most of us would probably not do it, whatever ‘it’ was, after all, what ordinary activities are really worth dying for?

For Gus Fares, growing up in war-torn Lebanon in the seventies and eighties, there was no choice. Even something as simple as walking to school meant you could possibly be killed by a stray bullet, or bomb.

Gus recalls, “I was twelve when the war started, so in a way it was a good thing, because being so young you became quite resilient fairly quickly.

“There were many times when I feared for my life, but honestly I used to say ‘what’s the worst that could happen?’ I could die! So resilience is something you find fairly quickly and you end up not being scared of anything.”

Looking back, Gus admits “it was a shocking time, but you have to deal with it, and being so young when it started you just got used to it. It’s like you haven’t really known anything else.

“You wake up in the morning and say ‘oh, more bombings so no school today’ or if it had been a quiet night you would go to school.”

The reality for Gus was simply that “war was a fact of life and you adjust. Obviously you avoid the troublesome areas with the most fighting and the most bad people. So it’s just an adjustment.”

Viewing growing up in a war zone as ‘an adjustment’, seems way too simple; it’s hard to fathom these days in Australia – but it was the only way a young Gus Fares could survive.

Even with his best efforts to adjust and survive, Gus was eventually directly affected, recounting that “you can’t plan your life if you live in a war zone: you live day-by-day, and sometimes your hopes are crushed.

“In 1989 I had just opened my first office after graduating as an architect. I was only in the office for a month when it was destroyed by a bomb. The entire building was burnt down.

“Luckily it happened at night when I wasn’t in the office, but I lived just two kilometres away and heard the blast. I was only renting, so that was a blessing, but it took me a full year to get back on my feet.”

At that point, Gus comments that “you get into a survival mode. After all, what can you do? The next day you’re still alive and you just keep going.”

It was in those early war-ravaged years that Gus developed a passion for drawing: in particular drawing buildings. Maybe because so many buildings were being destroyed, he felt the need to record them before the bombs hit. He realised fairly early that he admired the architecture in his city.

“I was about fifteen or sixteen when I started to understand what architecture was, and I became quite passionate about drawing buildings. I was drawing all the time. Even today I love sitting in front of a building and scribbling, adding trees and people, getting a feel for the building and its place in the landscape. It’s more than a business for me.”

It’s very evident during our interview that Gus has a real passion for what he does.

After graduating and working for a few years in Lebanon, Gus decided it was time to look for somewhere else to live and there were several options at the time. He applied the Goldilocks strategy.

“America was too big and too chaotic; Canada was too cold; Australia was just right and it was a long way from everything that was happening in my country.

“Everything I’d heard about Australia was positive. It was a country with a lot of opportunities, so I applied for a visa and it all happened quite quickly.”

Australia was looking for skilled migrants at the time and “as I was an architect, I could speak English and I was under thirty, I ticked all the boxes. I got my visa within three months.”

He wasn’t able to set up his own business straight away as, despite his qualifications, Gus had to work for two years for an architectural firm in Australia and complete some additional study. It was a price he was quite willing to pay.

He arrived in Australia in 1991 and by 1995 he had set up his own business. Twenty-three years on, ‘what’s the worst that could happen?’ “Probably that I get too big.”

Getting the work-life balance right is important to Gus, and having a business that employs six full-time staff, and an extra three or four part-timers when things get a little hectic, is ideal.

As so many small business owners experience, “I had to sacrifice a lot at the start, and that was okay because I was keen to build my business, but getting the right mix between work and family was always a goal, and I think I’ve achieved that now.

“After two years of receiving a regular income, working for someone else, I went out on my own. It was tough then when the money wasn’t so regular, so one of the first things I did was build my network.”

Gus became proactive, intentionally going out and being more involved with people, “injecting myself into the community. Gradually people started to know my name, to appreciate my work, and the business began to grow.

“In fact, looking back on my career it was probably one of the best decisions I made. Understanding the value of networking has been a crucial part of the success of my business.”

Gus has never advertised his services. “I don’t believe in it, especially not in this business. It’s all about word of mouth.”

The crucial element for Gus is “people believe you are good at what you do by seeing what you’ve done. That speaks louder and more meaningfully than anything I could say about myself.

“If I tell you I’m good you’re probably not going to believe me. But if you’ve seen what I’ve done, and even spoken to those I’ve worked for, that’s way more powerful. If they say I’m good, there’s every chance you’re going to believe them.”

Clearly that approach has worked for Gus, “because I’ve been doing this for nearly thirty years and it’s been my only form of advertising.”

It’s a challenging business though, because everyone has an opinion about what is good and bad when looking at buildings.

Gus thinks one of the biggest problems in his business is that “people don’t really understand what an architect does. They think architects, draftsmen, building designers and even building surveyors are all pretty much the same.”

This, Gus believes, is “a major problem for the Institute of Architects. They need to be more proactive in promoting our profession and making the general public understand what an architect can actually do for them.”

For Gus, the majority of his business is residential and commercial. There has also been some industrial work, but his core business is residential, and meeting the hopes and dreams of his clients is demanding.

“Architecture is about designing a building that is functional and aesthetic. It can’t be just one or the other, it has to be a combination.

“It’s the most important aspect of my job as an architect: to get that balance between functionality and looks. For me, the mark of a successful architect is one who can do both with a good balance.”

When studying architecture, “getting the function right is one of the first things you learn. You have to understand how people live, the social fabric of the family and how they will be using the home.

“If it’s a commercial premises, you need to understand how customers come to the shop, how they move from shop to shop, even things like going up and down stairs, and the impact that has on how the building will be used.”

The challenge then becomes designing a building that is attractive, while staying true to its functions. For him, “the ‘look’ part of architecture is a talent which develops over time. It’s the artistic element of architecture and is the area that is most open to criticism.”

Gus is the first to admit the aesthetics of his designs have changed over the years and even improved: “my understanding of the artistic element developed more finesse the more I did.”

That doesn’t mean he’s not proud of the work he did twenty years ago, in fact, quite the opposite – he’s very proud of his early work. He’s also proud, though, of how he’s been able to grow as an architect.

When driving past “buildings I designed early in my career, I still admire that work, but I wouldn’t design them the same way today. Those buildings are still functional, that’s an aspect that doesn’t really change, but design trends do change.”

Gus previously admired the heritage look and some post-modern architecture, however that’s not what he’s about today. “Now I tend to like more minimalist architecture: modern, simple designs.”

Having that type of approach to architecture means there’s not a ‘Gus Fares style’. It’s unlikely you’ll look at his buildings and say ‘that’s got Gus Fares written all over it’.

While admitting it would do his ego a lot of good to hear that kind of comment, “it’s just not me. I like to continue to evolve. I don’t want to be identified with one style, it’s more fun to keep moving forward, changing with the times. For me, that’s far more satisfying.”

So today, the worst thing that could happen to Gus Fares is that he could die professionally: “If I stopped evolving, that would be death of me as an architect.”

ADVICE

Patience, passion and focus are three elements Gus believes are the keys to his success.

Patience to persist even in the tough times, a passion to keep the joy alive and a focus so as not to lose sight of where you’re going.

In retrospect, Gus admits “I never put a time frame on my success. I made a decision to start my own business so that’s what I was going to do. There was never any thought of quitting and going back to work for someone else – I was going to keep doing this until I achieved my goal.”

In his opinion, “too many people quit after a few hurdles. Be patient, keep working towards your goal and don’t stop until you reach it. You will eventually get there, as long as you stay focused, are passionate about what you’re doing and have a little patience.”

As is the case for many successful business owners, “a love for what you are doing is crucial. If you don’t like what you’re doing, you’ll never succeed.”

Gus believes a combination of those three elements will lead to success, because they feed each other.

“It’s easy to be patient if you’re focused and enjoying what you’re doing; it’s easy to stay focused if there’s a genuine passion. Just love what you do.”

Being wary of the influences that come your way is another of Gus’ keys to success.

As an architect, “that didn’t mean I only learnt from other architects. In fact one of my heroes was an inventor, Nikola Tesla. While many might have described him as crazy, there was no denying his passion for the many projects on which he worked. He invented a lot of products we actually use today.”