LESSONS FROM INSANITY HOW TO STAY SANE BY EMPLOYING YOURSELF
RICHARD PATEY
INSANITY: DOING THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND EXPECTING DIFFERENT RESULTS. ALBERT EINSTEIN
MY PATH TO INSANITY 1997-2000: BA Management @ Hull 2000-2001: Temped at Norwich Union >> got fired 2001-2002: MA Development Studies @ UEA 2002-2003: Tried to break into not-for-profit sector >> gave up and went to OZ / NZ 2004-2005: First career job as Funding Adviser for Voluntary Norfolk Winter 06: Did a ski season Whistler, Canada >> learned poker 2006-2007: Attempted to open up Norwich’s first backpackers hostel 2007-2009: Second career job as Social Enterprise Development Manager for supported employment charity >> REALISED WAS INSANE
INSANITY!
FOR MOST OF MY WAKING HOURS I WOULD SIT AT THIS DESK LEARNING NOTHING NEW, SAVING NO MONEY AND GOING NOWHERE FAST BUT I KEPT COMING BACK DAY AFTER DAY!
TIME TO TAKE ACTION! July 2009: Worked out that every day I sat at my desk I earned ÂŁ94.20 (including holiday / sickness and other benefits) August 2009: Felt confident (enough) that I could replace that amount from poker (as taxfree) and private work (bid-writing, business advice) September 2009: Figured out how many hands of poker a day I would have to play to make my previous salary October 2009: Felt confident enough to hand in my notice December 2009: Set up Profit Is Good Ltd >> left full time-employment Jan - Mar 2010: Experienced my biggest poker downswing >> REALISED WAS INSANE
INSANITY! • Poker is about dealing
with variance - you can make correct decisions which will win you money in the long run but in the short-term you can lose every hand
• Whatever I did I could not stop losing
• The only thing you can
do is to keep playing as theoretically it will even itself out like a coin flipped an infinite number of times - this is called expected value
BUT TO KEEP PLAYING EXPECTING A DIFFERENT OUTCOME IS INSANE!
TIME TO TAKE ACTION PART 2! • April 2010: Realised I had to focus 100% on the company • Created a logo for the business • Built a basic website using Wordpress • Got business cards, flyers and posters made up • Got an accountant and insurance • Started looking for clients and ways for them to pay for me (funding) • February 2011: Realised had to expand my services and up-skill personally • March 2011: Put myself through SROI training and started learning Adobe Creative Suite
PROFIT IS GOOD LTD A social impact consultancy
• Business advice for social entrepreneurs • Bid-writing for charities • Business plans for social enterprises
• Social impact consultancy
• Graphic design for web / print
TIPS ON HOW TO EMPLOY YOURSELF • DO WHAT YOU LOVE AND DO IT WELL • PACE YOURSELF • VALUE YOURSELF • GET SOME % MONEY UP-FRONT • NETWORKS ARE EVERYTHING • USE TWEETDECK / LINKED IN • FIND A WORKSPACE (WWW.BUSREV.CO.UK) • KEEP LEARNING / HAVING FUN
RICHARD PATEY RICHARD@RICHARDPATEY.COM