Mirror, Mirror on the Wall do I get to make the final call?

The big question for every experienced Recruiter is “Can I go it alone and set up my own business?” Your main motivation for this could be to earn all that you bill, break free of corporate rules and constraints, stop having to do someone else’s KPIs, have the flexibility to live and work as you want or simply to build your own legacy. 

There is nothing to really stop you from doing this other than YOU, so why don’t you take the plunge and get on with it? There are no licensing regulations to stop you and it’s a service industry based upon your relationships in the market without the massive overheads of stock or manufacturing that you see elsewhere. At the moment you are probably generating anywhere between £120k – £300k of revenue but earning less than a third of that before tax, which may have you scratching your head as to why you are doing that for someone else. 

It’s time for some home truths. There are some rather large egos knocking around our industry and you are constantly forced to mask any signs of weakness otherwise you are a failure (personally I don’t subscribe to that, but just think about how you are treated if you ask for help or show any signs of vulnerability! All in the name of ‘banter’) but you have to go into a new business self-aware and honest with yourself. It isn’t the time to kid yourself about what you can do or what you feel you ‘should’ like doing.  

Some of our industries most successful recruiters are brilliant account managers and have huge results with a big brand behind them, but put them in a start-up with no name, no database and tight restrictive covenants for the next 6 months then you could be setting yourself up to fail. Then there are some more very capable recruiters, like one I met recently who is billing just over £250k a year, that just feel they have invested too much into their current desk and don’t have the desire or energy to do that all over again. He was running a Contract desk, which I admit would be even harder to walk away from, but he is in his late twenties and has the majority of his career ahead of him. He’s accepted the chains around his wrists! 

When you look into that mirror, you can’t just get fixated with the pound signs. You have to be brutally honest with yourself about whether you have the ability, energy, commitment and nervous excitement about building your own company with your name above the door. It will be bloody hard, especially early doors!

So, what are you feeling now? Are you put off by the idea? That’s absolutely fine, just make sure you are now committing your career to a company that matches your values and ambitions and one that gives you the best platform to succeed. However, if you are getting that tingle of excitement by the prospect of using your pent–up energy to build something of your own; excited by the idea of having the autonomy to make the decisions; the freedom to manage your work and home lives as you wish; and of taking home significantly more of your hard-earned billings each month BUT you don’t quite know how to start that journey then I have a proposition for you. Call me!

I can’t promise you that it will lead to the immediate inception of your new empire but it could be the start of that new chapter. Here at Sunblink Emerge, we are supporting start-up recruitment businesses across all sectors. The level of support is bespoke to your needs and could include the infrastructure (i.e. tools like LinkedIn licenses, job board access and a database platform as well as support functions like payroll, temp compliance, marketing/branding, credit control, etc..), guidance from 45+ years in the industry, financial support whilst you get up and running and pretty funky office space to give you somewhere to base yourself and bounce of others within.

So, what do you see when you look in the mirror?

Jason