Setting up your own recruitment business? Why go it alone?

This article was provided for the Recruitment Start up Centre by James of www.initiate8.co.uk

I know … there are many articles here telling you to branch out on your ‘own’: take risks: set up your ‘own’ business!  So what’s this U-turn about?  Actually being ‘alone’ is a relative term.  Do we ever do anything on our own?  Can anything ever be truly ‘ours’?

We think of a company like Apple and Steve Jobs springs to mind.  Steve Jobs, who started Apple in his garage at home.  But not alone!  Steve Wozniak was an invaluable part of this duo of Steves, with Wozniak doing most of the labour when building Apple I.

To his dying day, Jobs was an advocate of people, and of businesses being about people not products.  He understood the importance of building a great team, and of tapping into the right support.

“The secret of my success is that we have gone to exceptional lengths to hire the best people in the world”. (Steve Jobs)

There are many reasons why you should branch out on your ‘own’.  Often you need to strike a better work/life balance, or feel that you are being overworked and undervalued.  In fact 6/10 workers in 2015 are not happy with their jobs (HR magazine), and that can be reason enough for most to set sail under their own steam.

As we’ve explored in previous blogs, the working landscape is changing rapidly, particularly due to advances in technology, and today there is no better time than to leave the comfort of what you know and embark on your own journey.

But it’s daunting, it’s risky, and you do feel alone.  At Initiate8 we understand your desire to go it alone, but we also know how necessary it is to surround yourself with the right people.  Headed up by James Aitman and Roger Sugarman, who both have over 20 years experience of running a successful recruitment business, we have a team in place, 24 hours a day, ready to help your fledgling business thrive in all business areas.

Take administration for example.  Research produced by Hitachi Capital Invoice Finance highlighted back office administration as an area of particular concern in the recruitment industry.  63% of the 100 managing directors questioned reported that admin had become their most time consuming task, whilst a large proportion of them were not taking adequate steps to invest in this area of their business.  The research highlights how this ineffectiveness is damaging long-term growth of recruitment businesses and underlines the need for administrative support to relieve the burden from the business owner who should rather be investing his time in growing and managing the client base.

At Initiate8, among many other services, we provide you with effective professional back office support from day 1, including help with all accounts, invoicing and VAT returns.  We arrange all of the invoicing and factoring of your temporary and permanent positions, so that you don’t waste time chasing money, and every month we produce for you a set of reports detailing precisely your financial position.

“A small company depends on great people much more than a big company does”. (Steve Jobs)

So whilst we encourage you to branch out on your own, we can offer you a team of great people – an unparalleled support system so you have everything necessary to ensure the success of your business.  Being your own boss doesn’t have to mean being alone, contact us and find out how we can work together.