DC Personnel

But now his initials are above the door of DC Personnel, the agency he has just launched in the city where he grew up.

With 13 years’ experience and career progression already under his belt he wanted a new challenge. Starting a business was his next logical step and, like a lot of recruiters, it was something he talked about with friends and family frequently.

So last autumn he picked up the phone to The Recruit Venture Group, which has already supported more than 70 experienced recruitment employees to make the move to entrepreneurship.

“I spoke with their MD Paul Mizen, and it was clear their joint venture model could give me the realistic pathway to business ownership I was looking for.

“The setup makes transitioning from a safe, secure salary to starting a business simple. It felt more like a natural step in my career rather than a leap into the unknown and all the risk that comes with it. 

“This is very much my business though and it will be down to my hard work and the quality of service I can provide that will ultimately determine its success.”

Their unique joint venture model includes a ready-made and comprehensive back office support function, incorporating payroll, accounts, credit control, IT, legal and marketing. They also help launch the business, securing premises, setting up a website and helping to ensure everything is ready for launch day. Mentoring is on hand for Daniel at every step of the business journey from The Recruit Venture Group’s senior team.

That means Daniel has been able to focus on his strength – recruitment – and using his years of experience and local knowledge to hit the ground running.

DC Personnel is based in Leicester city centre and will focus primarily on industrial recruitment, which is Daniel’s background, but also commercial and engineering roles on both a temporary and permanent basis. He has also hired a team of two to get started.

Daniel has been able to create a business with his recruitment approach at its core and one area he feels he can add value is in candidate service..

He said: “Too often I see candidates who show up at agencies not given the service they deserve. At DC Personnel we have a dedicated candidate reception hub where we give them time and attention to really find out what they are looking for in a new role. It is about offering that first class service and if we can keep our candidates happy, it will make the service we offer to clients much more effective.”

As a local man, who grew up in the city and attending local schools, starting a business in his hometown has been a proud moment.

“Leicester and the East Midlands is buoyant right now, so it is also a fantastic time to launch the business,” he said.

“Employment and economic growth is strong, which is great for recruitment and it is exciting to be starting a business at this time and in an area I know so well.”

The launch is one of several across the UK already backed by The Recruit Venture Group in 2020.

Paul Mizen said: “We are all about investing in experienced, driven recruiters like Daniel who may otherwise feel there are just too many barriers to starting a business. We know there are more out there and we are ready to invest further in 2020.

“Daniel is a very talented recruiter and absolutely ticked all the boxes for the kind of people we like to back and we will be supporting him every step of the way.”