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Why have clicked on this article?
Seriously.
What is it about the subject of this article that has made you stop what you’re doing today & click through to read more? After all, why would you want to know about the reasons why recruitment start-ups fail?
Talk about a depressing topic!
Well, can I fathom a guess? I might be wrong but give me a chance, hey?
I bet you’re either a superstar recruiter toying with the idea of starting their own agency or an ambitious recruiter who has already ‘made the leap’ to recruitment startup business ownership (like so many of our great clients); & whatever stage you find yourself, you may (just may) be sitting there thinking about the worst-case scenarios.
We all do. Whenever you really want something, whenever you’re really excited about something &, funnily enough, whenever something feels 100% right; your mind often wanders to the things that could go wrong – & who can blame you, you’re human. It’s an instinct &, if you ask me, you’d be an idiot not to naturally think about some of the challenges that will occur throughout your recruitment startup journey.
& Look, we get it.
We’ve been launching & supporting exceptional recruiters in their own recruitment agencies for a heck of a long time, & we know that in the majority of cases these journeys work out famously. They’re tough, they’re challenging & they’re full of hairy situations from time to time – that’s just part of the journey, but they very rarely fail.
Let me, if you don’t mind, make some sweeping assumptions about you, the reader of this article today.
You’re a recruiter who, for a few years now, has thought about the idea of starting their own recruitment startup. You’re great at what you do, you’re a consistent biller within a market that you know like the back of your hand & you know the peaks & troughs that come with your market.
You know that to be a successful recruiter in your market you need that eclectic equilibrium of focus, passion, flexibility & mental toughness to focus on the one & only thing that will keep you progressing within your new recruitment startup; making placements.
After all, as an employee within a recruitment business, that is the only thing that matters.
Quite frankly, whichever way we slice it, recruitment is a performance-based industry; if you don’t make placements & you don’t make them consistently & in the right way – you simply won’t survive.
(Blimey – “survive”, that’s a bit much isn’t it? But you know what I mean)
You won’t.
& so if we were to then look at what it takes to start, run & grow your own agency; would it not make sense to build a business & a support structure around you that allows you to continue to focus on that; making placements.
Nothing less.
Because speaking openly, as I feel like you & I know each other in this way now – the number one reason your recruitment startup will fail is if you, the exceptional & ambitious recruiter fixated on starting their own recruitment agency, focusses on other things that detracts from you making placements within your business.
Every other exceptionally important element of your recruitment startup can (& should) be provided by people that understand that; that understand that you
Cristiano Ronaldo is a fantastic footballer, right? But would it be right to suggest that if he played in a team where he was asked to defend, play holding midfielder & goalkeeper all while banging in 35 goals a season; he might, just might, not quite fulfil his potential?
It’s the same for you.
Sorry Max, are you saying that nothing else in my recruitment startup matters?
Great question – but no. Of course it does.
Is it important to ensure that you have the right accounting functions around your recruitment startup? Yes, of course but why not get someone else to support you in that department.
Is it important to ensure that you have the right funding & payroll solutions within your recruitment startup if running that temp’ arm is important to you? Yes, of course but why not get someone else to support you in that department.
Is it important to ensure that you a rigid legal & compliance set of procedures within your recruitment startup? Yes, of course but why not get someone else to support you in that department.
Is it important to ensure you have an exceptional marketing & creative backbone to ensure that your recruitment startup is presented in the ways that you feel are important? Yes, of course but why not get someone else to support you in that department.
Is it important to ensure you have access to the procurement tools & systems you need to succeed but not at the cost of impacting your P&L when they decided to whack those monthly fees up because “they just can”? Yes, of course but why not get someone else to support you in that department.
Who can you lean on to ensure that you can focus on what has got you to the exciting position of seriously exploring the idea of starting, running & growing your own recruitment agency?
Who do you trust to support you in areas of your business that you perhaps simply don’t have time to focus on?
Who can you count on to be there at every stage of your recruitment startup journey, to know the support you need & to know the hurdles you’re facing? Not only to provide you with the real-time advice to support you but to also allow you to focus on what will really drive this new business forward – making placements.
That’s the question.
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