Whether you are an athlete or a recruiter, the challenges you will have to overcome in business to suceed are similar…
There are some lessons to be learned from the world of sport when thinking of starting up a recruitment business.
I was interested to read recently that double Olympic gold medal rower Alex Gregory gave a talk to recruiters, and spoke about how the lessons he’d learned in training and competing can be related to business.
Key among his points were that you need to stay focused on your goal, and that despite setbacks and being wracked with nerves he’d persisted, never giving up hope. He also said that the big breakthrough came when he realised that he needed to focus on his weaknesses to overcome them.
In my experience, there are lots of recruitment consultants who have a goal – of starting up on their own – and just like a sports person – they can be deterred by nerves. It’s understandable. Setting up your own business is exciting but it does present enormous challenges. There’s the finance to arrange. And not just a lump sum to start the ball rolling but a committed level of support to help establish the business during the early days when income might not, straightaway, match outgoings. It does make people nervous! There’s the need for systems; road tested and compliant systems that will ensure efficient administration from the outset. And of course there’s the big jump from a salaried position to being the boss.
So, think about this. If you could overcome your – justifiable – nerves, what would be the next best step. Focusing on your weaknesses would be a good start. And those weaknesses would be all of the above. Best plan then would be to get expert help and support to overcome them wouldn’t it?
With the weaknesses covered you can then focus on your strengths. And it’s obvious what they are. Recruiting. Finding and supporting clients. Developing the business. In short, doing all those things you’re good at, but are currently doing for someone else’s gain.
Now, if you could get the support you need, to eradicate the weaknesses, and focus on your strengths; if you could be in a position where you could really concentrate on your goal, and that goal was your own recruitment business, you’d have every reason to hold on to that dream, to not give up hope. Wouldn’t you?
Well why not live the dream. At Recruit Ventures we have a business model that provides recruitment professionals, who have five years plus experience, with 100% funding, a guaranteed salary, no personal financial risk and access to a full back office support function to support their business.
It’s possible. We have over 38 successful joint venture recruitment businesses who’ve done it. Go for gold.
Contact me on jbuckman@recruitventures.com and let’s have a confidential chat.
You can find out more about Recruit Ventures unique business model at www.recruitventures.com
Author
John Buckman is chairman of Recruit Ventures and a true entrepreneur himself. Having launched and grown many successful businesses especially within the recruitment sector, John’s expert knowledge and experience grants him the opportunity to offer advice and support to others in the industry considering setting up on their own.