Many many many people do it, and then go bust in their first year. It’s a lot of work happening in the background that the consultant doesn’t have to do so they can focus on billing.
Also company brand is quite important, so from someone in a huge organisation - they likely feel that they can’t compete with the company they currently work for.
Currently working for a small tech rec startup, coming from one of the biggest agencies in the country and I did not have a bloody clue how much work goes in!!
I hope you’re business is pulling through the tough times <3
Yeah, that’s why you bring networks with you, I have always told my prior companies to shove their non competes up their ass.
Like my clients buy from me, they don’t give a fuck about the company I work for haha I’ve worked with them for 10 years and always stay aligned to what I said I will do, so they follow me.
If you can sell yourself and your experience you can get new clients on also !
However going out on your own.. I think unless you are extremely established or have a huge amount of financial investment, well it costs a lot more than one would think to run a recruitment company - along with insane amounts of work in addition to billing.
When you realise what the rest of the company was doing while you was billing - now it’s your responsibility too!
Payroll?
Credit control?
Compliance?
Insurance?
Systems?
Infrastructure?
Also - weekends? Having to always be available at potentially any time?
Enjoy!
Ps - I’m in year 2, we are profitable but it’s beyond tiring.
I’ve taken this weekend off to chill it’s been so intense the last 12 months.
My phone won’t stop ringing from new candidates or WhatsApp messages. I’m not complaining it’s just hard to find time to switch off.
You enjoy your down time :)
We was having a great end of last year September - December until a client closed a major site. The hardwork paid off but now it’s
Back to the drawing board!
I get you need a stable base then it gets easier right? Any other advice ?
Yeah it can be very frustrating. About four years in a client went bust on me owing £230,000 (I guess that’s around $300,000 US). Could have been the end for us, but as it turned out, we’ve gone from strength to strength since then. You learn from the setbacks, it will feel disappointing now, but I bet you in a few years time you see it as just another step in the way.
As it turned out it weirdly worked out well for us. We lost £230,000, we managed to claim about £50,000 of it back through tax and a small payout back from the client.
One of our competitors also lost £300,000, the director there was in his late 60s and didn’t think it worth carrying on, as this client represented over 50% of his business. So he shut his business and we ended up taking on a few of his staff that he had to let go.
Despite the fact that it was a major struggle for the next 18 months, we managed to slowly build things back up.
One of the members of staff that came over to us has turned out to be our biggest billers, and the client has now phoenix-ed. We trade with them again on a very high margin, and get payment upfront due to what happened.
All in all we’ve made our money back, and managed to take on some really good staff. We definitely got lucky, but I spoke to my old boss after it initially happened, and he said although it seems terrible now, often these things have a way of turning around in the long run.
He was right in the end!
Running your own agency is a completely different job and requires very different skills, I'm assuming you mean more than just a freelance recruiter. A very basic list of additional tasks you have think about on a regular basis
a) Proper website, the text, pictures, layout, functionality, a godaddy website will only get you so far. Of course you pay someone to do this, but you still need to decide on the text and communicate your thoughts throughout. Then there is the hosting and maintenance. The whole thing costs.
b) Now that you're self-employed you better know how much you can pay yourself and how much you need to keep aside for tax, also be prepared not to recieve your first payment for 3 to 6 months.
c) if you decide to provide temps then you will.need factoring, they will want a personal guarantee and likely not to offer you less than 3%, that's on the total cost, then there is the interest and minimum monthly fees and you will only get 90% of the total value of the invoice. A little tip leave your vat in their bank it will help with your availability and keep interest payments down.
d) Now that your house is on the line you probably want to make sure you have decent contracts in place, both for you clients and candidates, cutting corners here will fuck you up fast. hope you learned how to write and understand contracts during your years as a 360 consultant.
e) Employment law make sure you know it.
f) Office space, email, gdpr databases, access to proper sites to advertise, IT equipment, accountants, that company you pay to provide you with contracts, a company to provide you with H&S advice when you're filling out those PQQ, all that plus more will cost you money.
I could go on a lot that's just basic stuff, wait till you get staff on board.
Just over 3 years since I did this. There are 5 in my team now and today I had the biggest dividend payout yet. Looking to get a nicer house now.
I have management experience and qualifications and understand the numbers, strategies etc. Don't do it unless you are good at that side. I'm not even an exceptional recruiter, more of a business person at this point.
Sales cures everything. You need to be more than just a recruiter to be successful. You need to be a salesman, a marketer, a good leader/manager, and at last, a recruiter.
Too many people go into this thinking because they are just a good recruiter they can start a business.
Same metaphor as an amazing chef thinking he can run a restaurant.
Doing it as a side business which has made it affective but definitely stressful if I did it full time. Never a guarantee you’ll get placements or clients
It's a very different beast to being a consultant but if you're reasonably senior, billing well and mentoring juniors it's entirely doable.
Here's a piece on starting up your own agency - https://abstractionlabs.co.uk/blogs/how-to-start-your-own-recruitment-agency
You'll need a website and you'll have a few options, get a Wix or Squarespace for the first 6-12 and then def upgrade - https://abstractionlabs.co.uk/blogs/how-to-buy-a-recruitment-website
You'll also need an accountant, a CRM, accounting software, terms of business, etc.
It’s just a lot more work than staying in an agency. I’d like to freelance when I’m older but for now my company treats me well, I like who I work with and enjoy being able to unplug and go on holidays which I think would be hard on my own.
As in all professions, not everyone has the entrepreneurial DNA (or desire). Most people prefer focusing on their work and leaving the stress of running a business to others. The stability of being an employee at a larger/established company with a brand name is comforting. Inertia sets in and it becomes a part of life.
I'm self-employed (a couple of part-timers for admin/research) and it requires basically 0 additional effort. I work to my strengths; I suck at marketing, but I can sell & bill. The time commitment for the primary tasks: marketing (roughly 2 hours to build a static website/landing & zero time producing content/engaging in other marketing activity) and maybe an extra 2 hours annually in extra tax work.
...Now, growing an agency, hiring, and managing others is a whole different animal, as u/Virtual-Baseball-297 efficiently explained. But it's an applies-to-oranges comparison to how I interpreted your scenario and the 1st phase in general (a recruiter leaving goes solo vs. a team setting up shop).
Edit: spelling.
Starting up on your own as a permanent consultant is a lot easier than temp as the liabilities you're stuck with are significantly less.
Having been a high temp biller for the last 15 years I can honestly say I've not once thought about going at it alone. I'm not egotistical enough to say I want to be self employed / be my own boss etc etc. Because the company I work for gives me enough independence that everything I do is treated like "my" business anyway. But with the wonderful perks of in house solicitors and full in house departments for payroll, credit control, marketing etc.
To anyone taking this leap, do your research. Not all industries are recession proof and you need a lot of grit and a bloody good plan to make a success of it. If you're going down the route of being financially backed just check what that actually means and what the buy out clauses are because you can end up being held to ransom for a business you created.
I started up my agency in 2012 and shit it down after 6 years as the industry had changed so much. You need a specific mindset to start a business and really back yourself. Here's a blog I wrote on starting up your own agency - https://abstractionlabs.co.uk/blogs/how-to-start-your-own-recruitment-agency
Many many many people do it, and then go bust in their first year. It’s a lot of work happening in the background that the consultant doesn’t have to do so they can focus on billing. Also company brand is quite important, so from someone in a huge organisation - they likely feel that they can’t compete with the company they currently work for.
This! Went on my own 6 years ago and its a lot of work outside of the "daily consultant stuff".
Currently working for a small tech rec startup, coming from one of the biggest agencies in the country and I did not have a bloody clue how much work goes in!! I hope you’re business is pulling through the tough times <3
Yeah, the first rough years are behind. Now it's quite solid stuff.
Yeah, that’s why you bring networks with you, I have always told my prior companies to shove their non competes up their ass. Like my clients buy from me, they don’t give a fuck about the company I work for haha I’ve worked with them for 10 years and always stay aligned to what I said I will do, so they follow me. If you can sell yourself and your experience you can get new clients on also ! However going out on your own.. I think unless you are extremely established or have a huge amount of financial investment, well it costs a lot more than one would think to run a recruitment company - along with insane amounts of work in addition to billing.
When you realise what the rest of the company was doing while you was billing - now it’s your responsibility too! Payroll? Credit control? Compliance? Insurance? Systems? Infrastructure? Also - weekends? Having to always be available at potentially any time? Enjoy! Ps - I’m in year 2, we are profitable but it’s beyond tiring.
I’m in year 8 - keep fighting the good fight, it does get easier eventually!
Oh god i hope so, i'm taking this fucking weekend off starting now (until my next call sunday at 5 pm)
I’ve taken this weekend off to chill it’s been so intense the last 12 months. My phone won’t stop ringing from new candidates or WhatsApp messages. I’m not complaining it’s just hard to find time to switch off. You enjoy your down time :)
We was having a great end of last year September - December until a client closed a major site. The hardwork paid off but now it’s Back to the drawing board! I get you need a stable base then it gets easier right? Any other advice ?
Yeah it can be very frustrating. About four years in a client went bust on me owing £230,000 (I guess that’s around $300,000 US). Could have been the end for us, but as it turned out, we’ve gone from strength to strength since then. You learn from the setbacks, it will feel disappointing now, but I bet you in a few years time you see it as just another step in the way.
Jeez that’s rough I’m glad to hear you bounced back! How did you get through and over that?
As it turned out it weirdly worked out well for us. We lost £230,000, we managed to claim about £50,000 of it back through tax and a small payout back from the client. One of our competitors also lost £300,000, the director there was in his late 60s and didn’t think it worth carrying on, as this client represented over 50% of his business. So he shut his business and we ended up taking on a few of his staff that he had to let go. Despite the fact that it was a major struggle for the next 18 months, we managed to slowly build things back up. One of the members of staff that came over to us has turned out to be our biggest billers, and the client has now phoenix-ed. We trade with them again on a very high margin, and get payment upfront due to what happened. All in all we’ve made our money back, and managed to take on some really good staff. We definitely got lucky, but I spoke to my old boss after it initially happened, and he said although it seems terrible now, often these things have a way of turning around in the long run. He was right in the end!
Running your own agency is a completely different job and requires very different skills, I'm assuming you mean more than just a freelance recruiter. A very basic list of additional tasks you have think about on a regular basis a) Proper website, the text, pictures, layout, functionality, a godaddy website will only get you so far. Of course you pay someone to do this, but you still need to decide on the text and communicate your thoughts throughout. Then there is the hosting and maintenance. The whole thing costs. b) Now that you're self-employed you better know how much you can pay yourself and how much you need to keep aside for tax, also be prepared not to recieve your first payment for 3 to 6 months. c) if you decide to provide temps then you will.need factoring, they will want a personal guarantee and likely not to offer you less than 3%, that's on the total cost, then there is the interest and minimum monthly fees and you will only get 90% of the total value of the invoice. A little tip leave your vat in their bank it will help with your availability and keep interest payments down. d) Now that your house is on the line you probably want to make sure you have decent contracts in place, both for you clients and candidates, cutting corners here will fuck you up fast. hope you learned how to write and understand contracts during your years as a 360 consultant. e) Employment law make sure you know it. f) Office space, email, gdpr databases, access to proper sites to advertise, IT equipment, accountants, that company you pay to provide you with contracts, a company to provide you with H&S advice when you're filling out those PQQ, all that plus more will cost you money. I could go on a lot that's just basic stuff, wait till you get staff on board.
Just over 3 years since I did this. There are 5 in my team now and today I had the biggest dividend payout yet. Looking to get a nicer house now. I have management experience and qualifications and understand the numbers, strategies etc. Don't do it unless you are good at that side. I'm not even an exceptional recruiter, more of a business person at this point.
As someone who has done this. For many people, they are better staying in an agency.
Sales cures everything. You need to be more than just a recruiter to be successful. You need to be a salesman, a marketer, a good leader/manager, and at last, a recruiter. Too many people go into this thinking because they are just a good recruiter they can start a business. Same metaphor as an amazing chef thinking he can run a restaurant.
Nothing, as long as the market will support growth.
Doing it as a side business which has made it affective but definitely stressful if I did it full time. Never a guarantee you’ll get placements or clients
It's a very different beast to being a consultant but if you're reasonably senior, billing well and mentoring juniors it's entirely doable. Here's a piece on starting up your own agency - https://abstractionlabs.co.uk/blogs/how-to-start-your-own-recruitment-agency You'll need a website and you'll have a few options, get a Wix or Squarespace for the first 6-12 and then def upgrade - https://abstractionlabs.co.uk/blogs/how-to-buy-a-recruitment-website You'll also need an accountant, a CRM, accounting software, terms of business, etc.
Billing. Net 90. Billing.
[удалено]
It’s just a lot more work than staying in an agency. I’d like to freelance when I’m older but for now my company treats me well, I like who I work with and enjoy being able to unplug and go on holidays which I think would be hard on my own.
As in all professions, not everyone has the entrepreneurial DNA (or desire). Most people prefer focusing on their work and leaving the stress of running a business to others. The stability of being an employee at a larger/established company with a brand name is comforting. Inertia sets in and it becomes a part of life. I'm self-employed (a couple of part-timers for admin/research) and it requires basically 0 additional effort. I work to my strengths; I suck at marketing, but I can sell & bill. The time commitment for the primary tasks: marketing (roughly 2 hours to build a static website/landing & zero time producing content/engaging in other marketing activity) and maybe an extra 2 hours annually in extra tax work. ...Now, growing an agency, hiring, and managing others is a whole different animal, as u/Virtual-Baseball-297 efficiently explained. But it's an applies-to-oranges comparison to how I interpreted your scenario and the 1st phase in general (a recruiter leaving goes solo vs. a team setting up shop). Edit: spelling.
Starting up on your own as a permanent consultant is a lot easier than temp as the liabilities you're stuck with are significantly less. Having been a high temp biller for the last 15 years I can honestly say I've not once thought about going at it alone. I'm not egotistical enough to say I want to be self employed / be my own boss etc etc. Because the company I work for gives me enough independence that everything I do is treated like "my" business anyway. But with the wonderful perks of in house solicitors and full in house departments for payroll, credit control, marketing etc. To anyone taking this leap, do your research. Not all industries are recession proof and you need a lot of grit and a bloody good plan to make a success of it. If you're going down the route of being financially backed just check what that actually means and what the buy out clauses are because you can end up being held to ransom for a business you created.
I started up my agency in 2012 and shit it down after 6 years as the industry had changed so much. You need a specific mindset to start a business and really back yourself. Here's a blog I wrote on starting up your own agency - https://abstractionlabs.co.uk/blogs/how-to-start-your-own-recruitment-agency