Summer often gives us something we don’t get much of during the working year: time to switch off, take stock and think about what comes next. For recruitment consultants, a well-earned break can also create the space to reflect on their career, what they’ve achieved so far and whether they’re ready for their next move.
For some, that next move could be starting their own recruitment agency.
Over the years, MAYACHI has seen an increase in enquiries during September and October from recruitment consultants who have used the summer break to reflect on their careers and are now considering taking the leap into agency ownership.
But how do you know if you’re ready? While there’s no single formula for becoming a successful agency owner, there are certain skills and experiences that can put recruiters in a particularly strong position to make the move.
Here are five signs you could be ready to start your own recruitment agency.
YOU’RE A TOP-BILLING RECRUITMENT CONSULTANT
If you’re consistently one of the top billers within your agency, you’ve already demonstrated one of the most important skills you’ll need when going it alone: the ability to generate revenue.
Starting your own agency means taking responsibility for bringing in enough business to support yourself and cover the costs of running the company. A strong track record of billing can therefore provide a solid foundation for building a successful agency.
That doesn’t mean only top billers can succeed, but consultants who have yet to establish consistent billings should think carefully about the additional financial pressure that comes with starting a business.
YOU HAVE TEAM LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE
Team leaders and managers often develop skills that transfer particularly well to running a recruitment agency.
Alongside managing their own workload, they may have experience managing other consultants, achieving team targets, monitoring costs and taking responsibility for profit and loss (P&L).
Running an agency requires you to think beyond your own desk, so experience of managing people, performance and finances can be a real advantage during the early stages of building a business.
YOU’VE BUILT YOUR OWN DESK
Being able to build a recruitment desk from scratch is excellent preparation for starting your own agency.
Recruitment agencies often include restrictive covenants within employment contracts that prevent departing consultants from contacting certain existing clients and candidates for a specified period. This can mean that new agency owners need to develop new client and candidate relationships when they first launch.
If you’ve already demonstrated that you can find new clients, attract candidates and build a successful desk, you’ll be better prepared to do the same within your own business.
YOU’RE A 360 RECRUITMENT CONSULTANT
When you start your own agency, particularly if you’re starting alone, you need to be comfortable managing the full recruitment cycle.
Some consultants specialise in individual areas, such as resourcing, account management or business development. These are all valuable skills, but running your own agency may require you to do all three.
If you’re already a 360 consultant who can win new clients, source candidates, manage relationships and successfully make placements, you’ll have many of the core recruitment skills needed to get a new agency off the ground.
YOU’RE RECEIVING LESS THAN 30% OF YOUR BILLINGS
For many recruiters, one of the biggest attractions of starting their own agency is the potential financial reward.
If your salary and commission combined represent less than 30% of the billings you generate, you may be starting to question whether you could benefit financially from working for yourself.
Of course, running an agency also comes with costs and responsibilities that you don’t have as an employee. However, for established consultants with a strong billing history, understanding how much revenue they generate compared with what they receive can be an important part of deciding whether agency ownership makes financial sense.
MAYACHI has many years of experience advising recruitment consultants on how to set up and run their first recruitment agency. From understanding the set-up process and allowable expenses to getting to grips with the numbers and securing funding where required, MAYACHI
