John Petronis, president of Architectural Research Consultants Inc. (Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal) ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — John Petronis speculates that he went about starting his own business, Architectural Research Consultants Inc., in one of the worst ways possible. “The way you get work is to have experience,” said Petronis, the company’s founder and president. He had little when he began the architectural consulting firm with three other people right out of graduate school. ................................................................ But few places were offering planning services for municipalities and institutions in New Mexico in 1976, and Petronis found that ARC Inc. filled a need. Stubbornness and persistence got the company through the early days, he said of his Albuquerque-based business, which provided consulting services to federal, state and local governments.