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2:04 PM 17th January 2022
business

10 In 10: Liam Patterson

 
Liam Patterson, Founder and CEO of Leeds-based Google Shopping specialist, Bidnamic, is the latest regional business professional in the hot seat as The Yorkshire Times gives him just 10 minutes to answer our 10 burning questions.



What does a typical working day for you involve?

Every working day for me starts off as a dad first and foremost. I’m up early, making breakfast for the kids and dropping them off at school, then it's off to the office. The first half hour of the day I use as focus time to plan out and gamify my to-do list, and triage the tasks in front of me. I usually tend to “eat the frog”, and take care of the most challenging ones first, to get them out of the way. I like to block out time to do tasks, so they have my full attention. We’ve got these booths in our office that are great to help our team zone in and cruise through work.

For the work itself, as the cliche goes, no two days are ever the same. I tend to work more with the sales and marketing side of the business, and will spend time catching up with the different department heads, or shareholders and investors to talk about things like expansion plans or corporate structure, and jump on some account calls when I can.

I also try to exercise every other day. It’s important to take time for that and I really believe it helps me feel fresh for tackling challenges ahead!

What makes your company special?

In a word - people! We’ve got an amazing team here, mostly recruited from the local area, and we’re a proud northern employer. We’ve been able to bring in some great talent and the way we approach problem solving, the research we do, and the processes we put in place have our entire team being more and more efficient. We’ve had buy-in from the top down and bottom up, which has really helped us grow to become the company we are today.

Do you have any business rules that you swear by?

I wouldn’t say I have any rules, but more of a methodology that I try to follow. I had some mentors in my earlier days that told me: ‘build the company you want to build’, and that’s what we’ve done at Bidnamic. This goes beyond the products and services we offer, and is something we wanted to cascade down through the entire company. Everything from the culture we want to develop, to how we conduct ourselves in the day-to-day is influenced by this methodology.

I mentioned earlier “eating the frog”, so during the day, if something is on my mind, I get it done! If a challenging task is left hanging in the balance, it will always be in the back of your mind while you’re doing other things, which can make you rush through those, or not complete them to the best of your ability. Taking on the hardest projects first potentially improves the quality of the work that ensues.

Do you dress up or down for work?

We like to keep it fairly casual around the office. I can usually be found in a white tee, jeans, and a jumper!

What piece of advice would you give to your 18-year-old self?

18 year-old Liam, now we’re going back! I would tell that lad to not stress about the benchmarks in life. Those are nonsense, and you can’t judge your position in life by those around you, or where you think you should be. This idea that you need to have ticked certain boxes by various stages of your life is rubbish and I think it causes unnecessary stress for young people.

What’s your favourite Yorkshire venue for an event or team away day?

Arcade Club in Leeds has an incredible atmosphere, and we actually just had our Christmas party there! They’ve got arcade games, VR, karaoke, pizza, and beer! It’s a great place for the team to unwind. Turns out we’ve got quite a few video game enthusiasts and singers among our ranks!

How do you prefer to travel for business?

It’s always nice to take the train when we have to travel for business. We’ll go to expos in London, or Birmingham where the train is best. You get some beautiful views that never get old when you travel through Yorkshire by train. We’ve been to international expos in Europe and the US as well, and on any trip it's nice getting to spend some time and build a rapport with colleagues outside of a work setting.

What’s your favourite place in Yorkshire to relax?

I’m partial to the Victorian towns in the area. I grew up in Buxton and love spending time at the stately homes in Yorkshire with the family. They’re great places to take the kids for a walk, and there’s lots of activities for them to do there. Anywhere outdoors really, that's something I’ll never grow tired of in Yorkshire!

Where is your favourite place to eat in Yorkshire, and what dish do you recommend?

I love the food at Almost Famous, a burger joint in Leeds, with a couple other locations in the North. Their Phoenix burger is probably my favourite. You get a nice crunch from the shoestring onions they put on it!

What do you miss most about Yorkshire when you are away?

Obviously I miss my family the most when I’m away, but after that it's got to be the culture we have at Bidnamic. I know it sounds cheesy, but I miss the vibe we have in the office, the work environment, and even the commute to the office! We really took to heart building a company that we wanted to, and one that we would want to be a part of ourselves, to the point where it doesn’t feel like work sometimes!