Episode 20 – Get off your arse and make it happen, with Brad Burton

June 7, 2015 Podcast

Welcome to the 20th episode of the Graduate Job Podcast.

This week I speak with Brad Burton, motivational speaker, business owner, and best-selling author, who shares his inspirational story of how he made it in the business world and his many challenges along the way. As a warning, Brad pulls no punches with the language he uses, so if you don’t like the odd swear word it’s best that you skip this one. However, if you like your motivation full, frank, and straight between the eyes then this is definitely for you. Brad covers what is holding you back from success, why working for other people is a gamble, and why you should definitely think about starting your own business. Nothing else to say but sit back, relax, and brace yourself for half an hour with the one and only Brad Burton.

You can download the podcast to your computer or listen to it here on the blog. Additionally, you can subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher Radio or Spotify.

MORE SPECIFICALLY IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

  • Why working for other people is a gamble
  • Why you should look for a client not a job
  • The excuses you tell yourself which are holding you back
  • Why there has never been a better time to start your own business
  • The 3 things you need to start your own business
  • Brad’s inspirational story

 
SELECTED LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Check out the ‘How to Get a Graduate Job’ step-by-step online course at https://howtogetagraduatejob.com/
  • Don’t even think about applying for graduate jobs until you’ve read my free guide, ‘The 5 steps you must take before applying for graduate jobs’. Click here NOW. It will completely change the way you apply for jobs!
  • Would you like a free 30-minute video coaching call? Simply select a time that works here https://calendly.com/gradjob/ We can go over your CV, application, or anything that you are struggling with.
  • Assessment Day – One of the top providers of psychometric tests. Click HERE and support the show
  • Career Gym – Use code GJP to get 20% off all of their tests!
  • Job Test Prep – One of the top providers of psychometric tests. Click HERE and support the show
  • Get Off Your Arse – Brad’s first book. Click the image below to buy now on Amazon!

Transcript – Episode 20 – Get off your arse and make it happen, with Brad Burton

James:  Welcome back everyone to the Graduate Job Podcast, with your host James Curran. The Graduate Job Podcast is your weekly home for all things related to helping you on your journey to finding that amazing job. Each week I bring together the best minds in the industry, speaking to leading authors, entrepreneurs, coaches and bloggers who bring decades of experience into a byte size weekly 30 minute show. Put simply, this is the show I wish I had a decade ago when I graduated.

This week I speak with Brad Burton, motivational speaker, business owner, and best-selling author, who shares his inspirational story of how he made it in the business world and his many challenges along the way. As a warning Brad pulls no punches with the language he uses, so if you don’t like the odd swear word it’s best that you skip this one. However if you like your motivation full, frank, and straight between the eyes then this is definitely for you. Brad covers what is holding you back from success, why working for other people is a gamble, and why you should definitely think about starting your own business. Nothing else to say but sit back, relax, and brace yourself for half an hour with the one and only Brad Burton.

Brad:   Hey hello Jimbo. Hey, listen, that 500 plus five star reviews, I’m just — I sort of discovered that about a week ago I went, ooh, look at that!  I don’t know with these books and what have you.  In fact, everything, I’m just waiting for someone to tap me on the shoulder and say, you’ve been found out piss off. No but seriously Jim, I’m sure we will get to it, it’s a pleasure to be on the podcast.

James:  Excellent.  Thank you and now for listeners who haven’t come across your work before, after hearing that introduction as the author of three of the highest rated business books in Amazon, they might have images of someone with a background of Harvard Business School and MBA’s but your story and path is slightly different.  Would you like to give our listeners a proper introduction to your business and what you do and also, how you got to where you are today?

Brad:   Well, I was born in 1973, over in Salford, Manchester as you can gather from my dulcet tones, that’s where I’m from and I was brought up by a single parent, my mom.  My dad was a heroin addict. Council estate background in Manchester and no qualifications, a bit of a class clown, if I’m honest.  I’ve been on the dole for about four years.  I’ve been a doorman, a cleaned chalets cash in hand, many moons ago taxman, you know valeted cars.  I’ve been a retail manager of shops.  I was a marketing guy, managed to blag myself a job at 25 grand a year, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla.  Bottom line is, and now I own my own business but it wasn’t always that way.

I remember back in 2005 I was working for a company over in London, and I was earning about 30 grand a year and I worked it out and I thought hang about, I’m commuting from Somerset to London, if I was to, you know, take off all my costs in terms of travel and the like, I might as well have been flipping hamburgers over at Weston Super Mare sea front.  It’s funny because somewhere along the way when we’re were employed we blag ourselves with the headline figure, you know, you forget to take into account the two and a half hours commuting you do a day.  Put that in your hourly rate and all of a sudden, your hourly rate drops massively.

So, I was working for a company over in London and I was just getting more and more pissed off. And I remember one evening going past a guy going in a house with electric gates and you got the Mercedes or BMW, some posh car and they got into their house with electric gates and he was a marketing guy at the company, and when he turned in to the house I thought to myself, you know, I could work 80 or 100 hour weeks for this company, I’m still never be able to afford the frigging gates and with that, at 30, 31 years old my whole world changed when I realized that everything I had been told about, you know, get a job for life and at least you know where you stand is all bullshit.  You know, when you run your own businesses which I do right now, you know exactly where you stand.  Skint get used to it.

You know, so I started my own business off back in 2006, 2005, a marketing business and I was promised nine contracts from people and then fast forward  three months, I’m sat in my boxroom in my underpants aggressively waiting for the phone to ring.  None of those contracts actually materialized.  So, I started my own business off and I did okay.  I did all right, about 28 grand turnover in the first year.  It was a struggle.  It was a struggle and I ended up delivering pizzas on the weekends to keep my business afloat.  And then that was the marketing business.

Then I landed on this thing called business networking which is a bit like a subculture.  I’m not even going to go into it too much but I run this big business network group.  Now we’re over 5,000 meeting across the UK every single year.  It’s like a membership organization.  And that’s my story, really, in a nutshell.

James:  Excellent.  And this is episode 20 of the Podcast and so far we’ve focused on the nuts and bolts of getting a job, interview skills, how to ace assessments centres, how to use LinkedIn and how to get into specific industries. But in other words, you know, helping people to get a proper job.

Brad:   James, James, James.  What’s the advantage of a proper job?  See, this is the thing, mate.  You know, your guys are graduates who have spent years — I don’t know even know — how many years did you spend getting a degree?

James: Three or four.

Brad:  Gee, whiz.  Right?  Listen, I’m—

James:  And lots of money as well.

Brad:  Right.  Admirable, completely and I’d like a degree.  If I could press a button and get a degree, I’d get one.  If I had to do four years, nah.   I’d rather sit in fields getting off my head on ecstasy tablets which is what I did when most people were doing degrees my age, but I think the point is this.  You have this whole situation where, where we’re told actually, you go and get your degree, you go and get a 2/1, 2/2, and that will have a massive effect and you’ll get 30 ground basic and you can build on that.  Well, let me tell you something.   I don’t have an MBA.  I don’t have a degree.  Yet genuinely, go and google me, go and Amazon me.  You’ll see I’m the highest rated business author on Amazon.  You know, I didn’t need an MBA for that and sometimes, sometimes what we do, we kid ourselves that the thing that’s holding us back is the qualification.  You know, once again, I don’t have a qualification to my name.  Dad was a heroin addict, brought up in a council estate in Manchester, bla, bla, bla, bla, bla.  The point I’m making is it’s hardly ideal conditions–  you know, my business is an international business well in excess of a million pounds and the likes and once again, I didn’t have a degree. So, the thing is, with a degree, I get people coming to me for jobs in our congested market and they will take a 12 to 14,000 pound job with a degree.  And that saddens me greatly because wouldn’t they be better rather than looking for a job, looking for a client?  Think about it.  Rather than looking for a job, dicking about with CVs, having CVs, making CVs, bla, bla, bla, what about sending a sales letter to someone.  Honestly, when you come out of college or uni, you manage to live on nothing for so long anyway.  So, why don’t you live on nothing and start your business up and build something that is transferable.  Because this is the thing, when you start a business up — I started mine up with 25,000 pounds in debt; right?   And I’m sure all you guys who’ve got degrees are 25,000 pounds in debt.  So, well done.  You’re in the same position as I was when I started my business up.  So I’m really — Look, someone’s got to do the jobs.  I understand and accept that.  But, honestly do open your eyes to this opportunity that maybe, just maybe in the course of this next 30 minutes, the opportunity that presents itself to you is one of you starting your own business off.




James: I love the positivity and enthusiasm which flows through all of your books, and the question that really struck me and I think it’s a really powerful one that you ask is, what’s your excuse?

Brad:     Right.

James:  What is the story you’re telling yourself that is holding you back?

Brad:     I was telling myself I’m a northern monkey. My teachers said to me I’d never amount to anything and up to 10 years ago he was right.   He was right. No question. But I changed. I changed. I changed. I decided that I was not willing to work 88-100 hour weeks for some taskmaster and end up at the end of my life with fuck-all.   Listen, when you said to me, I’m full of enthusiasm, that’s all I’d ever have. You know it was like playing a game of poker with a pair of twos, I had nothing.   I had a dead man’s hand. But what I had was enthusiasm. I had belief. I had vision, vision I could make this thing happen and that’s what your guys are going to need. To start a business off you’re going to need three things. Here’s what you’re going to need to start a business off, a mobile phone, shoe leather and big balls. Right? If you ain’t got big balls forget it right now, call it a day and go and get yourself a proper job. At least you know where you stand. Tell that to the 10,000 people that just got laid off from Tesco’s. Or the other one from Phones4U that got binned or TalkTalk or whatever it was. You know exactly where you stand when you own your own business. Skint, get used to it.

See, being employed, being employed is a bit like being self employed. The difference is you’ve got one client and if that client, your boss, decides he no longer wants your services, you’re gone. I don’t care about legal law and all that shit, employment law, you’re gone. So. there’s no security.   You’ve been blagging, you’ve been told a myth, you’ve been blagging yourself. You’ve been telling yourself, actually, if you get a job you’re secure because — It’s not secure, people. It’s not secure. Look at that business I don’t even know who it was, Lehman Brothers, billion dollar business, Lehman Brothers. I’ve worked in that office over in London which is this big posh office over in Docklands. Went overnight people going in previously on £100,000, people who’ve got degrees and so forth. Went overnight, next thing they got themselves a cardboard box with the stuff in it pissing off on the DLR. So, you’ve got no security right now. The only security you’ve got is that you are always going to be there. The last day of your life, you’re going to do the best for yourself. Oh, I’m on fire now James. Let’s have it.

James: I love the detail you tell about your friend Roger at Tesco which a so ring tale of what having a proper job would—

Brad:     Would you like me to share that, James?

James:  Yeah, if you could that would be great.

Brad:     Good enough. A guy that I know, a guy called Darren. Darren is a friend of mine and he was, he worked at Tesco and he was on their management program. He’d been there about 12 years and earning 65 grand a year.   So, good money by all accounts. The guy who trained him was a guy called Roger. Roger had been there years. He was at 105,000 pounds, senior manager over in Tesco, superstore. And on a Friday afternoon, which was his last day, on a Friday afternoon one of the directors from Tesco was coming down to drive to a two hour journey from Tesco’s HQ to the branch so he could give Roger a send-off in front of a 100 staff and 500 customers on a busy Tesco, superstore on a Friday afternoon and at about 14:00 in the afternoon comes a phone call. Ring. Ring. Hello? Hi, is that Roger? Yes, it is. Hello Roger, it’s Steve, one of the directors over at Tesco. How are you today? Great. Roger, what it is, and you know always know when you get your name followed by what it is. What it is that follows this is generally called shit. Roger, what a day it is. I can’t really make it down today.   Run out of day, run out of hours in the day, you know what it’s like. So, I suppose all there is to say on behalf of myself and indeed all the directors at Tesco and all the staff and everyone else, thank you for all your hard work and all the best and he put the phone down. Roger was taken aback by it and he had a word with Darren who he trained for 12 years and told him that the director wasn’t coming down and Darren was furious. And isn’t there times in your life when you been furious, and you’re unwilling to go, you know what? And people say, keep your mouth shut. Keep your head down. And you go bollocks, I’m not having that. Darren was furious and Roger tried to stop him but he wasn’t having any of it, and he walked right onto a busy Tesco superstore on a Friday afternoon really pissed off and he went straight to the center of the store, took a big deep breath and realized the severity, ofwhat he was about to do and that potentially, just potentially this may well throw into every question, his career, his pension and the life. So, he took a deep breath in, looked around, sense checked it again, and said, am I really going to do this? And he said, yeah. I want to do this. You know what he did people, he took another deep breath in, lent forward and he stole a cake, a caterpillar cake to be exact and he pissed off into the staffroom and he cut into the cake and him and Roger ate the cake and then Roger walked home after 52 years of service at Tesco. No gold watch; no whip round; no fuck all.

This is what I say to you people, are you willing to gamble your career, your best years of your life, on getting a stolen frigging caterpillar cake or are you heading for greatness on the last day of your career and the only way that you’re going to know, is whether you’re responsible for your career. Forget a career. You’re responsible for your own business because I’m telling you now, let these words ring out to you right now. Do not get to the end of your working days, on your 65th birthday and think to God, I wish I would have listened to that bloke that I listened to on Graduate Job Podcast.   Because this is the thing; I see so many people working their life to get to the end where they retire and I’ll tell you, one of the interesting things in the book, “Life. Business. Just Got Easier” — is available at all goof book stores. Was this guy that put into his pension all his life. Worked on the tools, saved over 100,000 pounds or £200,000 pounds in his pension to retire and enjoy his pension and three days before he was due to retire he died. Died. Finished. Gone. Over. So, all that money that he had saved on a gamble that when he was 65 he could enjoy, finished.   What I’d ask your audience right now is this. Can you tell me what is going to happen in 25 minutes time? Can you tell me what’s going to happen in 25 days time; 25 months time; or perhaps 25 years? Because it’s a long way to start thinking about your future. Forget about thinking so far down the future that you forget about the living for today, living for tomorrow, living for next week because this is where I’m at right now.

You know, our friend, I do Brad Camps, which is like bringing people, like self development with me and 15 people. I did one the other week. I was there and the MD of a 50 million pound company was there. Fifty million pounds; right? Started in 2012. Fifty million. He’s the guy who is the majority shareholder of this business and he said to me, we started talking a while and he said, you know what? I’m going to retire in another six years. I’m going to work like crazy and I’m going to retire in six years time. He’s got children. I said, what about this for a daft idea, that you retire today and rather than having this hard line, where you retire in six year’s time, you retire properly in 12 years time and actually start enjoying the next six years rather than working yourself to the bone. I could bang on and on about that. But look, I think the point I’m making is I’m an advocate of this whole piece about taking control of your own life, taking control of your own career, because every time that you can work for someone, you know as well as I do, somebody else basically is cupping your balls and if they decide that you’re finished, or they don’t like your face or you did a bad job, you go.




James:  I love the message and I think one problem that people have is when they hear the message is they always put blockers in front of themselves. So, they think, oh well, you know, it’s all right for you. You probably got more money or you probably got a better degree or better job.

Brad:     James. James. James. James. It’s all right for me. So let me just talk to you about it’s all right for me. Once again, you know, a 31 year old and living in the maisonette above the chippy. No money, 25,000 pounds in debt delivering pizzas. So, hardly — Oh, and that’s right, I’ve been addicted to drugs twice — you know it’s hardly all right for me. It was hardly all right for me, but I was giving myself these excuses that my life is shit so I know what I’m going to do. I’m going to go and smoke some my weed because my life is shit. And guess what, my life is shit because I’m smoking weed and you just continue to continue to continue. And actually my lifestyle began coming together when my boy was born and I realized I need to be sensible. So actually if you can’t do it for yourself, do it for your family. Do it for someone you love because somewhere along the way, as a 31 year old, as a grown man, I couldn’t do it for myself. I couldn’t become an entrepreneur. I couldn’t start a business off because I had no belief. I had to reason to do it. But then all of a sudden — So when people say it’s all right for you, yes, I’ve got a bit of money now. I’m good now. I’m good now. But to get to where I am, which is let’s say C, you’ve got to go by A and B and A and B is the bit where people laugh at ya. A and B is the bit where you deliver pizzas.   A and B is the bit where you don’t want to go on, where actually you’re making no money but I’ve been in business now 11 years in total. And actually for the first seven years, forget it. I didn’t make a bean. Maybe nicking a thousand quid there, 200 quid there, 500 quid there. Begging, stealing and borrowing. But I’m yet to come across a self employed person that starved to death, starved to death. Now my mates who were employed back then, telling me I’m crazy and to go get a proper job. Guess what they’re doing? They’re still on these daft jobs where maybe they’ll earn 30,000 quid a year and they’ll work their bollocks off all year. They work the weekend and the boss turns on says, hey, great news. We’re going to give you a three percent pay increase. Wow, you got an extra 60 quid a month; brilliant. Where as actually what happened with me is that I didn’t get any increase throughout that time but now I’m there. Where actually, I can retire and chill out today. I can go out and play Witcher 3 which is what I’ve been playing on the Playstation 4 prior to this interview. I didn’t have to ask a boss, could I have the morning off to take my kids to the sports day the other day. This is what I’m trying to say. So you can work your life in this safe zone where you consider it to be safe. And bear in mind, I’ve worked in safe jobs and bear in mind I’ve had the conversation where I’ve been sat down by the HR guy and says, Hi, Brad. Please do take a seat. Not great news I’m afraid but obviously with the economic climate right now and da, da, da, da, I’m afraid I’m going to have to let you go. But don’t worry. We’ll pay you till the end of the month. We only need to pay you to the end of next week but we will pay you an extra two weeks. That’s fucking great. Thank you. This is what I’m trying to say.   I got bored of hearing that. So, now I take control of your own destiny and I sit in front of people and tell them that the economic climate is not great and they’re going, never done it yet but that’s my point.

James: Definitely and there’s no better time than when you just finish university than to start your own business.

Brad:     Well, you’re already used to living on frigging super noodles and having no money. You know what I mean? So think about it?   I’m not taking the piss there trying to be hilarious right. I’m saying you’re already used to living on bare bones. Now is the time to do it, to go right. Lock it down. Get your head right. Plow yourself for the next three, four, five years of starting your own business up. Where do you start Brad? Where did you start your own business from? What I would do is say, look at your passions. Look at what you like doing. So what I like doing is waffling shit online, whether it’s Twitter, whether it’s forums, da, da, da, da, da. I like playing computer games. I also like people. Right? That’s why I like talking to people.  I like the sound of my own voice as you might have gathered. So here’s what I done. I started a business off that involves me waffling shit off online and meeting new people. Nuts! So this is the thing.

Now, you know, it’s not easy. Don’t get me wrong but the starting point for your audience would be to look at my books on Amazon. They’re on Kindle. I brought them down for this podcast; 99 pence a piece. They were 12.99 on Kindle. They’re 99 pence now. Get off Your Arse and Get Off Your Arse Too. They’re 99 pence? Oh, well, I can’t be bothered reading. Well, if you can’t be bothered fucking reading, well, guess what? You’ve got no chance to be on the next stage because that’s your first test. That is your first test. If you cannot be arsed, spending a pound on a book and you can’t be arsed reading it, spending the three hours, then guess what? You might as well go and get a proper job, at least you know where you stand. I mean, that’s what I’m trying to say. I say to people, people come to me on Twitter and they ask me questions and I answer the question. Then they ask me another question and another question and I say, listen, do yourself a favour and read the book. It’s all answered in there. Oh, well, I don’t read. Well, you know what I don’t do? I don’t answer a fucking third or fourth question when someone is asking me the same questions that I spent four months writing. So this is what I’m trying to say is these things are testing you. And the fact that every decision that you’ve ever made has brought you to listen to this podcast is sending a message to you. Get off your ass. Make it happen because I don’t have a qualification to my name. I don’t have a degree. Right? I don’t. You guys have an advantage over me. So, why don’t you use that unfair advantage and the fact that you’re listening to this says to me, you’re a go getter. Make it happen people. Make it happen.

James:  I love it and as you mention in the book, people have a hope of passive magic of the ideal job just suddenly tapping them on the shoulder or the opportunity just suddenly appearing when they’ve got to actually, you know, the difficulty is in the persistence, in going out and making it happen.

Brad:     Let me— James, if I had not delivered pizzas at 31 year old, I wouldn’t be speaking to you know.   I wouldn’t have three books. I wouldn’t have bla, bla, bla, bla, bla.   And this is the thing with it, you know my ideal job is doing what I’m doing right now. That’s my ideal job. But it was never going to exist. No one was ever going to say to me, hey, how did you fancy being a little bit of a media celebrity in the business field. Yeah, I’d love that. Well, guess what you need to do then, Brad. What’s that? Work your bollocks off for 10 years and have people laugh in your face for 10 years at which point you’ll break through, because that’s the reality of it because when I started my business off, I was a laughing stock. People said I was crazy. People said you’re mad. You’re mad. You’re mad. You’re mad. Fast forward 10 years, I’m a genius.   I’m on the front cover of magazines and double page spread in The Times, bla, bla, bla. Right? Guess what? That happened as a result of all the people, sorry all the things I did while it seemingly all the people were saying it didn’t work, or it wasn’t working. This is what you’ve got to do, you’re not going to find an ideal job through starting and getting your ideal job day one. It’s not going to happen. It will be 20 years of graft. 10 or 20 years of working graft unless you’re exceptional. And even if you’re exceptional, guess what? Other people are exceptional and I say to you, this is the other thing about qualifications, what I say to you about this whole thing, yes, you’ve got a 2.1 or a 2.2, I’m not even sure which one is better. I genuinely don’t know which one is better.




James: 2/1.

Brad:     But I’m not bothered. I mean it in the nicest possible way. It’s irrelevant to me in my world.   I’m not trying to underline that but here’s the thing. How many fucking people do you think have got a 2.1 that are going for the same job? Five? Ten? Fifteen? Twenty? So, what’s gonna differentiate you between those other people in the field? It’s not going to be a 2.1 or a 2.0, whatever the hell it is. It’s going to be your personality and guess what? Guess what? I’ve had people I’ve employed for my business have come in with a 2.1 and a 2.2 and I’ve had people who come in with no qualifications and guess who got the job; someone who didn’t have the qualifications. So, somewhere along the way, and I’m not trying to set this away from what you’ve achieved because if you achieve any sort of degree, fair play to you. If you failed or you flunked, fair play to you because you tried. This is what it’s about. Don’t worry about it. This is not life formative. I could go put on my CV now that I’ve got a 2.1; right? Because my CV might as well have a foreword by J K Rowling. Fucking just full of bullshit. A, I’m not using the CV again anyway. I write my own CV. When is the last time that anyone asked me for a CV in the past 11 years? Not once; right?   I’m now on two TV shows filming for Sky in the next month. None of them asked me for a CV. They didn’t ask if I had a degree. This is what I’m trying to say, sometimes we say to ourselves that these are things that are holding us back but the reason you didn’t get that job was I’ve only got a 2.2, not a 2.1. That’s the reason. Bullshit.   That was your personality. Find a way. Find a way. Ask yourself the question, what can you do today with what you’ve got. Stop fucking sending stupid amounts of letters and CVs to employers. You know, the ones that have got me anytime, I’ll tell you, if you do want to go for a job, it is a podcast I’m not taking anything away from it. But, if you do want to go for a job, be different; right? Because I tell you what, when you get CVs sent to you, rah, rah rah rah, they all the look the same, look that’s fancy paper well done. Go make a bright yellow one; right? Go make a bright yellow one in a field of, you’ve got a hundred CVs, one that is bright yellow or go put a tea bag on there, or a free ITunes voucher, or whatever, saying money talks, or whatever. Shake it up. Be different.   Put a KitKat in there and say, listen. I know it’s probably hard work going through all the CVs but why don’t you take break. Shake it up. Get yourself known. You know, “Brad the Kit Kat man Burton” in speech marks, send a KitKat in your CV. Get yourself known if you’re going for a marketing job. Stand out from the crowd because I promise you, if you competing in a field of 2.1s or 2.2s, guess what?   It’s irrelevant. The thing that is going to be relevant in your job search is going to be your personality and how do you present yourself. Be different.

James: Excellent, and for those of you who have never seen Brad before, he’s famous always wearing jeans and t-shirt whether on TV or presenting on stage.

Brad:     Well, I think— Sorry, go on, James.

James: As you mentioned early, it’s all about, about being yourself and wherever that comes across in your CV and how you, you know, you come up with a creative application or the type of job you go for, you just need to be yourself.

Brad:     Really interesting one in that I spoke, not last year, the year before last, The Business Show. I think I actually did speak this year but this story comes back from 12 months ago, I spoke at The Business Show over in Excel and there’s 250 speakers there of which I’m one of them. I was one of the keynotes and of the 250 speakers how many do you think wore jeans, trainers and t-shirt? One.   Right? And on that basis I was five deep. People could not get in because it was five deep to get to see me. Was it down to the t-shirt, jeans and trainer? No. It was part of the mix. It was part of the mix. What would me wearing a suit in business prove? It proved that I know how to go to Burton and spent £99 quid on a machine washable suit. That’s about the size of it.   You know, would me wearing a suit make me any more successful as a business person? No. It’s bullshit. This is what I’m trying to say.   We have to stop kidding ourselves, that we need a Versace belt in order to succeed or we need to— Shut up.  So, I got booked as a result of me wearing jeans, tennis and t-shirt and everything else that is associated with it, people five deep trying to get in by JCB and I spoke at their site. It’s a billion dollar business, twice. All because what? Because I set myself a personal brand and this is what you guys needs to ascertain themselves and understand about themselves. What does your personal brand say about you? Does it say, snooty academic? Does it say wily risk taker street kid who has done well. What does it say? Because this is what an employer like me when he is sat opposite you will be trying to work out, what sort of individual. It’s a bit like when you see a Big Brother pictures, a press release of a photo of someone on Big Brother. You look at that picture and you get a rough idea as to what that person is. Blond hair, big tits, sassy; right? You just, you paint a picture and this is what you will be painting a picture every time you present yourself, either in the business capacity or a job interview.

James:  One of the things you talk about in your book quite a lot with having your own business is the importance of having a “why,” having a reason that is going to get you up in the morning, you know, get you up when it’s 5:00 in the morning and it’s dark and get you out there and making things happen.

Brad:     Yeah totally. And my “why,”— I never had my “why” back in the day was to go and get stoned and party at weekends. That was my “why.” You know, that was my “why” and I ended up living for those weekends, well you look forward to 6:00 p.m. and then party time through to Sunday and then you feel like shit until Wednesday. You know, that was my “why” back then and then all of a sudden, family comes along and they “why” now is about being sensible and creating not a role model because I don’t consider myself a role model but create a home and a stable environment, and a dad that the boys — I’ve got three, 2 boys and a girl — that they can look up to. And obviously go, you know what, this is my dad and that’s what I can be. Because once again, in terms of my tool kit, I didn’t have anything conventional to allow me to succeed but if I look at anyone, if you think about any of your audience here, listeners. Look at what you’ve got in your tool kit. My tool kit was, I was street savvy. I’m a risk taker. You know, all these sorts of things have been massive qualities that you can’t sort of teach someone. I think I’ve used every element of what I stand for. The fact is, you and I are talking now doing this interview. You know, 10 years ago I couldn’t have done this. But what’s happened over the last 10 years have built that experience up. I built that experience up and I’m now applying myself. See, 10 years ago I was great at chatting girls up. Fabulous. Right? Great at chatting girls up and making joints and getting stoned, not so good at it now to be honest that’s because I’m married and I’m behaving myself but what I’m trying to say is whatever you focus on, you apply it, and this is the thing, if you’ve only got bandwidth, if you’ve only got bandwidth in terms of what are you applying your bandwidth to? Are you applying your bandwidth to being Mr. Cool when you go out on weekends? Well, that’s great but you’ve got less bandwidth to apply yourself at being good at business, or good at a job search, whatever it is. You’ve only got 100 resource, you need to define it like a computer game. You need to define where you apply your resource and right now, I think I’m applying 50 percent of my life to business, 50 percent of my life to family. I think it was, the equilibrium was probably 85 percent business, 15 percent family as recent as three years ago. So, I managed to get a balance right in my life and when I say balance, what I do is that I do what I want when I want. That’s the reality of it. So, if I can’t be arsed working, I won’t work and go play computer games. If I want to work, I’ll put the computer games down and go and work. So, I’m working at optimum performance, where everything works. When you’re employed, you’ve got to sit there till half past five pretending to work.   A quarter past five, I’m thinking, fucking hell I’ve got 15 more minutes to go tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap; only five more minutes to go; just pretending to work. What a waste of everyone’ life. Waste of the employer’s time. Waste of your life. That’s what we do in this world. So my “why” is to make a positive difference to my family, and it’s also to take my kids to Disney World. I take them to Disney World every year for a wonderful holiday there. And that’s like, you would think, working class lad from Manchester no money going to Disney World? On these 18 days, 21 day vacations? Ten years ago how would I have managed to do that, it would have been okay for everyone else whose there but somewhere along the way the decisions that I’ve made, that I’ve made have brought me to the position where I can do just that.




James:  And you mentioned in the intro when I was reading out the list of achievements and you said, you know, you’re waiting for someone to tap you on the shoulder and I think that imposter syndrome is such a common thing, where people don’t realize how common it is that everybody feels like that and you know, I’m still waiting for someone to tap me on the shoulder and say, why are you doing a podcast?

Brad: Well, you know what? This is the thing about it. You mustn’t let it drag you down. I sort of saw that flippantly now, because I realized, actually, if you can do the job, you qualified. You know, and I’m doing the job where I’m getting booked by these companies, I mean I do motivational speaking and people can Google me and find videos and stuff of me speaking there. The good one actually, at a university called, Google Brad Burton Bucks, that’s a belter. I had well meaning people and informed people telling me that I could never be a motivational business speaker cause you’ve got big forearms tattoos, you look like a drug dealer, shaved head; you know, you wear jeans and trainers. What you need to do, Brad, is cover up those tattoos, wear a nice crisp suit and nice shoes and you need to walk to the left to be an orator. Nonsense. When I spoke at Bentley a few weeks back, a looked left and I looked right a lot right when I was on stage and I said, those people that gave me that advice, I don’t see them speaking here. So sometimes, sometimes, you just got to do things your way which is what I did. So the imposter syndrome? Nah, not any more. I just play up to it.

James: The main businesses of yours is 4Networking as well as the writing.   What advice would you give to students and graduates who maybe have a fear of networking, is something which is, you know, can strike fear into their heart, otherwise confident people. How can you start networking straight out of university?

Brad:     Well, you know what? I’ve been thinking about networking and I’m being fearful and that and I was the same. So it’s not like I’m some uber charismatic confident person when it comes to networking because I wasn’t and I’m still not in some respect. I don’t really share that often but I’m not. I don’t go into a room and say, oh, well, look at me. Nah. So I’ve got the same nerves that everyone has. The thing is, what happens in networking — and people get this wrong — they all turn up. You meet someone for two seconds and go, oh, here you go James. Here’s my card. If you get me any leads or referrals, I’ll give you 50 percent on the referral fee. And then I turn to the next person and say the same; and the next person. Nonsense. Let me ask your audience. Would you pass a lead, a referral, a job, a contact to someone you don’t like, somebody you don’t know, somebody you don’t trust yet? And the answer of that is, of course not. So in that basis, just think the reason that people pass your leads, you referrals, you jobs, you contacts, are people that like you, they know you, they trust you. Don’t expect others to forgo the same checks that you’re doing.   So that’s the key to networking. Go there with no preconceptions other than just getting out of the house, about just getting to know yourself, getting over those nerves. Don’t go there thinking you’re going to land a £20 grand contract or job, because you ain’t. It’s a myth. I can give you stories of people landing a £20 grand job on day one, but in the round it doesn’t happen. So, let’s not even go there pretending it does. You know, so this is the key to networking. Start doing it but do check out my organization. We do have groups everywhere across the UK, 4Networking, with digit 4, networking.biz.

James:  Excellent and all the links and everything we’ve discussed will be linked to in the show notes on graduatejobpodcast.com.   So Brad, it’s been a whirlwind half hour and we’re running out of time, so just moving on to the lightening question round. What one book would you recommend that listeners should read?

Brad:     The book that changed my life back in the day when I had nothing, 20 years ago I was struggling, down and out effectively near as damn it, and a book called Twenty-Three Steps to Achievement and it’s also called Twenty-Three Steps to Success. Same book, different titles for whatever reason. It was produced in 1976 by a guy called Robert J. Lumsden. You know, it’s a little bit out of date now in that your wife should have your dinner prepared for 5:00 p.m, all that.   The principal is solid, and I can’t help but think that my Get off Your Arse books and stuff, its quite formative reading those books and I think they might have had a steer on me. He’s dead now. I got a private investigator to find him to thank him for helping me when I had nothing but Robert J. Lumsden, Twenty-Three Steps to Achievement, Twenty-Three Steps to Success; massive influence on my life.

James: Excellent. I’ll definitely read that one.

Brad:     £2.99 on Amazon. Amazing!

James: Can’t go wrong with that.

Brad, what one website would you recommend our listeners check out?

Brad:     Twitter. You know, I mean that and I’m not being facetious.   Twitter. Twitter is the absolute communication tool of now.   Well I haven’t got time for Twitter, no one is interested that I’ve had a cheese sandwich. Well, guess what? I’ve got 114,000 people that are interested that I’ve just walked my dog LOL. So, Twitter for me is by far the communication tool that you should be involved in because it’s a conversation that is happening whether you’re involved or not. Twitter. Twitter. Twitter. Twitter.

James:  Definitely recommend, definitely agree as well. And this is, you know, Twitter is how I got in touch with Brad.

Brad:     James, what it does, it’s like a Trojan horse. You can just contact anyone and as long as you say the right thing, you’re going to get picked up. So, you know, in the old days you’d have to ring a gatekeeper and get through.   Get on Twitter @BradBurton, Hiya Brad do you fancy going on the Graduate Job Podcast? Yes, please. Done. You know, Twitter is massive and from a job hunt perspective it’s great as well but do start, all you’ve got to start doing is following employers that you are interested in or people who work there and just start, just start chatting people up, it’s that principle.

James:  It’s a good way to look at it. And finally, what one top tip would you give to listeners that they can implement today?

Brad:     Be yourself.  Right? Be yourself because somewhere along the way, once again go back to that bandwidth, because if you’re spending 20 percent of your time, or 20 percent of your energy being something you’re not to try to appease people, to make people happier or to be more employable, then guess what? You’re only 80 percent you and that means that actually you’re failing. So, my life started coming together when I spent 100 percent of my time being 100 percent me and if people don’t like me for being me, fuck off. I couldn’t give two shits. My life is okay without those people and the world is a big place and people say, well, your style is not for everyone. Well, guess what? You show me one person whose style is for everyone. We’re all individuals. So, why don’t you start embracing that individuality and be you.

James: Brad, it’s been a honour to have you on the show. Before we finish, what’s the best way for people to get in touch and to find out more about your work?

Brad:     Google my name, Brad Burton; as simple as that. I am on Twitter always and YouTube and stuff.   But Twitter. Please do get a hold of me on Twitter and say hello. Say listened to the Graduate Job Podcast and share it as well.   Like I say, you’re trying to make a positive difference there and I hope in some respects and some people out there will go, you know what? Maybe, just maybe, the self employment route is a more safer bet than the what is perceived to be a safe bet of getting a real job.

James: Brad, thank you very much for your time.

Brad:     Cheers friend. Bye.

James: There you go, phew! Many thanks again to Brad for his time and honesty. He covered a lot so it will be well worth hitting the rewind button and going over it again as there was lots to take in. 3 things really resonated with me. The first is his question, ‘What’s your excuse?’ We all have stories that we tell ourselves that limit what we do and hold ourselves back. Job wise two places I was interested in working were Goldman Sachs and Mi-5, but I never got in……you know why? I never applied as I told myself that there was no point as I would be rejected. I might well have been put now I’ll never know. Looking inwards at the stories and excuses you tell yourself is a difficult task because of them can be so deeply ingrained. Brad talked about the phrase ‘It’s alright for you….’ It doesn’t matter what school you went to, the university you went to, the grades you got, how rich your parents are. It’s just an excuse you’re telling yourself. Have a think about the excuses that are holding you back, and begin to recognise them for what it is, just a story, and one that you have the power to change.

Second key things for me is on starting your own business, and how as a current student, or recent graduate, there will never be a better time for you to start your own business. Brad mentioned you just need 3 things, a phone, shoe leather and big balls, well I think more important than the last 2 is internet access. For literally pounds a month through a service such as bluehost you can multiple brilliant professionally hosted websites. I loved his quote, don’t get a job get a client. If people invested as much energy into creating a business as they did looking for work they would be well on the way to success. Check out the show notes and click on the link to Bluehost. You’ll be surprised just how cheap and easy it is to set up a website and you can be selling to the world within hours. And for me this is a risk free venture, as if it doesn’t work then you can just get a graduate job anyway. In my mind you will be a stronger applicant if you’re applying 2 or 3 years after graduating than if you apply straight after uni. It will look great on your CV to have that you ran your own business. In an interview situation when asked what you’ve been doing since graduating, the interviewer will be fascinated and impressed if you say, ‘I was running my own business’, just think of all the amazing competency or skill based answers you would have up your sleeve should you ever have to get a job. Do it while you have the chance, before mortgages and marriage come to tie you down.

And finally the third point, and its one that many previous guests have touched on before…..be yourself. No matter what you think about Brad or his style, he is honest. He knows who he is and as he said, if you like it that’s great, if not he doesn’t care. Think about who you are and what’s going to make you happy. If every time you put on a suit and tie you feel like your suffocating, working for the civil service might not be the best fit for you, or if you’ve been a born entrepreneur all your life, don’t hide it. Find a career and job, whether working for yourself or anyone else that’s going to align with who you are, your personal brand and style. And most importantly, once you know who you are and what you want to do, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

So, there you go with episode 20. Slightly different episode today but I hope you enjoyed it. If did send Brad your appreciation via twitter @Bradburton and definitely check out his books. For a full transcript of everything that we’ve discussed and all the links check out the show notes at www.graduatejobpodcast.com/arse.

Do get in touch with us on Twitter @gradjobpodcast, and if you’ve enjoyed the show please leave a review on ITunes or Stitcher radio, as I say every week it’s the best way other than sharing us with your friends to show appreciation for the podcast and it helps massively in the ranking on iTunes. Also if you’ve not already subscribed via Itunes or Stitcher radio, you need to sort that out, it’s the easiest way to get each episode delivered to you for free and to make sure that you don’t miss a thing. Join us next week when I speak to tech guru Prash Majmudar as we discuss data science. I hope you enjoyed the episode today, but more importantly I hope you use it and apply it. See you next week.

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