This post is written and sponsored by John Buckman of Recruit Ventures; the joint venture operation funding and supporting entrepreneurial recruiters start-up in business. To find out more, follow the above link to get in touch!
As I often say, most successful recruitment consultants possess a strong entrepreneurial flair; it goes with the territory. If you’ve ever considered going at it alone and taking the plunge from top biller to top business owner, you’re definitely not the only one, so keep on reading!
Let me share with you some of the expertise I have gained from personal experience. As a top-billing consultant interested in starting up your own successful agency, it’s absolutely key that you endeavour to build a solid business around you which runs smoothly, allowing you to continue to do what you do best; finding and servicing clients.
But beware! Before you put that entrepreneurial flair of yours into practice, check out the 7 things you need to set up your own recruitment agency:
1. Finance
Firstly, the financial support has to come from people who understand the business. There are cash flow, accountancy and legal demands on a recruitment consultancy or agency that many banks or investors won’t understand. Talk to those first or maybe consider a joint venture partnership to help you on your way.
2. Infrastructure
Secondly, the support needed goes beyond the purely financial. You can’t ‘hit the track running’ unless you’ve got the IT in place and a road-tested, fully compliant system up and running from day one. What about premises… where are you going to build your empire? And then, where do you start with lease agreements, rent etc… it can all be a bit daunting.
3. Branding
Then, as much as you’ll have ideas about launching your own recruitment business you have to understand that you’re not automatically an expert in every aspect of launching a business. You’ll need professional advice on branding, your logo and your identity.
4. Back office
Because you’re setting up on your own you’ll want to concentrate on what you do best; actually doing the business and making new relationships.
If you’re always worrying about getting vital invoices out on time, you’ll end up being distracted from generating the work that ultimately generates the invoices, causing your business pipeline to dry up. You need the backup (which includes the dreaded cash flow again!) to provide not only the systems that allow you to match people to roles, but also to make your own business run like clockwork.
5. Support
I set my business up with the backing of a partner who trusted me to get on with running it… ‘a joint venture’ which provided the right support at the time I needed to get going. I am strong evidence that joint ventures really do work.
6. Dedication
I know about hard work too. Getting here wasn’t a walk in the park. My guess is that you’re not afraid of the hard graft either! It’s just that you’re starting to think that it would make more sense if you saw the rewards of that effort you put in, yourself.
7. Freedom
This one’s really important; you’re going to need some freedom, too. If you’ve started out on your own for the first time, you need to be able to do it your way and get on with doing what you love. You don’t need a backer or financial package that ties you down, turning you back into the restricted and frustrated employee you were before.
So, if you’re interested in setting up your own recruitment business, remember these key points: you need sound backing from people who understand your business. You need the right systems in place to support the front and back end operations of the business. You need to have professional advice on branding and presentation. You need a whole lot of dedication and finally, you need freedom to concentrate on what you do best!
About the author: John Buckman is chairman of Recruit Ventures. To find out more about how John can help you launch and build a successful recruitment business, check out their website at Recruit Ventures.
