Create. Invest. Support. Grow.
When it comes to starting a recruitment business it’s important to identify some key steps. Going out on your own is exciting, and hopefully rewarding, but being unprepared can only lead to disappointment and failure.
Breaking the launch of your business down into these four key areas will stand you in good stead.
Create. Starting any business needs a creative input, both in terms of generating the business idea, and the presentation of the brand.
In the recruitment business there are several factors to add to the process. You will need experience of the sector. Most recruitment start-ups are launched by recruitment professionals, often consultants, who want to put their own ideas into practice and reap the rewards of their own labours. Having knowledge of how the business operates, where to look for new clients and knowing your geographic area are all essentials, and if you’re already operating in the sector you have a head start.
Being good at recruitment however does not automatically mean that you are good at design. It will pay dividends to have professional creative input to the execution of your logo, identity and, crucially, your website and literature. You need to have your brand, and its presentation, ready to launch and professionally produced to begin trading it what is by any standards a competitive market.
Invest. You might have funds of your own that you’re planning to invest in your new business. Even if you do, you need to prepare a detailed business plan before you launch. Cash flow will be crucial. Think for instance of the ‘temps’ who will want paying weekly, when your client companies will probably pay you monthly.
If you don’t have the funds to invest yourself you need to consider carefully the options available to you. Even with today’s low interest rates there are often charges and conditions attached to business loans that can prove demanding.
Ideally you need sufficient capital to cover the immediate start-up costs, such as furniture, computers, design work and stationery, as well as backing to ease the cash flow requirements of the early days.
Support. There are a lot of banks and organisations who promise ‘ongoing support’ for start-up businesses, but what does that really mean? And do they really understand recruitment?
Financial support is crucial, but back office support is vital. You’ll need to have industry compliant systems and software up and running from day one; and the support and back up for them after that.
Establishing a relationship with an experienced provider, with recruitment sector knowledge, is a vital step in starting up.
Grow. Of course that’s the next step! You’ve ticked all the above boxes, you’re fired up and ready to fly. But this is where the first three steps lead to the fourth. It’s difficult to be out there pitching for new business, and delivering outstanding service to existing clients, if you’re not visible enough, the bank is chasing you, and the systems are falling over.
You need to get yourself into a position where all of the ‘business worries’ are taken care of, allowing you to ‘take care of business’. It’s the only way to grow.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Simons has extensive recruitment knowledge and experience having worked in the industry for over 20 years. He is currently Managing Director of Recruit Ventures where he works closely with joint venture partners, assisting and advising them on their start-up businesses. dsimons@recruitventures.com 01362 8825 85 or 07900 26 30 43
