All's well that ends well for Shakespeare

After almost 2000 rejected applications, Richard Shakespeare decided it might now be time for a bit of do-it-yourself job creation

I consider myself fairly fortunate because I live completely independently. Sadly, that means I have to do all the housework myself.

Initially, I worked at a bank where I stayed until I was made redundant. I never intended to stay there for five years, but I just got used to the salary and I got too comfortable.

After redundancy, it became an obsession looking for work. I devised plans of how I would attack my job search. I compiled a database, split into different categories and sectors, so I knew exactly which companies I’d contacted.

I probably spent a good 50-60 hours a week doing something job-search related. I drove around with a car full of CVs – starting as far away as I was prepared to commute to – and then worked my way home, dropping them into every company on the way.

You have to try every method. I delivered, emailed, telephoned and posted. The woman in the post office used to dread me coming in with hundreds of letters – I spent around £1,000 in stamps in nine months.

Finally, when I discovered I’d applied for 1,923 jobs (yes, I counted) I realised I wasn’t prepared to do it anymore, I’d done all I could do. Self-employment was probably the way.

I quickly realised, particularly in my geographical area, there aren’t many people providing disability advice or training which companies can access. Even less have real life experience. At the bank, we used to have annual disability awareness training. It took all of ten minutes. There was no value in it, it didn’t challenge anything.

I offer businesses my lifetime experience and expertise rather than using a training manual written by someone they’ve not seen or don’t know. And it’s at a reasonable rate. Businesses who are enthusiastic about disability and inclusion often get scared off by the cost other consultancies ask for, and that’s partly what I want to combat in my business.

I run a lot of accessibility and inclusion courses for businesses as well as disability awareness training in schools. I’ve done mystery visits like at the Novotel Hotel in Nottingham and I’ve worked with podiatry clinics. I’ve also worked with the Rough Guide on their Accessible Guide to Great Britain. At the moment, I am concentrating on business start-up courses to help people set up on their own.

It’s great being self-employed. No one is telling you the hours to work. No one is telling you how much money you can earn. I can work where I like, I meet different people every single day. I’m not limited to what I can do, it’s my business, so I can take it in any direction that I want.

• Richard Shakespeare was talking to Annie Makoff