Full Stack Developer!

You need to be honest here. If you’ve racked up about five years experience in recruitment there’s a fair chance that, when you started, the job title of ‘Full Stack Developer’ didn’t exist. It wasn’t a role you placed a candidate into.

If you are brutally honest you might not be certain of what a ‘Full Stack Developer’ is even now. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. There’s a  lot of debate as to what it actually means. Most pundits now seem to agree that it’s someone with an overview of technology, not specialising or expert in any one, but pulling it all together, making it happen.

Sounds a bit like a recruitment consultant in a way! But that’s not the point.

The recruitment business moves quickly.

That’s the point.  We’re in a world where, as recruiters, you’re placing candidates into roles that didn’t exist five years ago. Roles within technologies that didn’t exist five years ago. And it moves so quickly that one of the newer job titles is already one of the fastest growing highest paid jobs around. For the moment. Because it will move on again. Quickly. When it does, you’ll need to be moving with it. In fact, ideally, you’ll need to be one jump ahead of it.

It’s like jumping on to a moving merry go round.

That’s what it’s like. The business is moving and you want to jump on to it. Now. That can be dangerous. When you’re planning a start up recruitment business you have to be engaged with a huge number of disciplines. Finance. Premises. Branding. IT and Systems. You’re running from one thing to another, keeping the plates spinning, trying to get your great idea off the ground, and you’re rapidly approaching the moment when you have to take that leap. On to the fast moving merry go round. One false move, and you slip.

Be sure footed when you launch your recruitment start up.

The best way to make sure you don’t slip is to be completely organised, at every level. To have plans in place for the immediate short term and, at the least, the medium term as well. We think we can help. At The Recruit Venture Group we have only one aim. To help recruitment professionals set up their own businesses with such a firm footing that they  can get on with the job of recruiting, and growing their business, no matter how quickly things are moving around them.

How does it work?

Our business model is based on our Joint Venture concept. We provide 100% risk free funding. We deliver legal help and guidance on everything from incorporating your company to finding your premises. We help with your marketing and website.  We give you access to our back office systems, ensuring that you’re operational and efficient from the moment you start your start up.

It’s your business. You’ll run it. But with us behind you, you’ll have several key advantages. You’ll be able to pay yourself a salary, which gives you tremendous freedom and peace of mind.  The constant presence of a mentor is a great help too. And with our support your finances and cash flow will be monitored and under control.

You’ll be up to speed.

As a Joint Venture with us you’ll be able to focus on what matters most to you. The recruitment business. Free of worrying about repayments to the bank, unencumbered by the stress of meeting your domestic bills and running tried, tested and compliant systems you’ll be fully operational. All of that means you’ll be able to focus. You’ll be able to keep up to date and up to speed with the changes and developments that happen all the time. Like the arrival of new jobs, and new job titles.

 

Be honest, you’ve been dreaming about running your own recruitment business. Being a  director. The boss.  Lots of recruitment professionals feel the same. Running that desk, finding clients, placing candidates, hitting the numbers – it’s as good as running your own company anyway. Except the rewards aren’t quite as good.

One of the problems that many new start ups face is that suddenly the entire business of dealing with the media becomes an issue. Inside your employer’s team you’ve been somewhat protected from establishing a deal with the job boards for instance. You’re posting lots of roles on them, but someone else is looking after the monthly cost of that.

 

And people do love the job boards!

Yes, they’re important. Recent research has shown that the job boards are still the favourite means for recruiters to source candidates. They are a means of accessing talent. So you’re ‘on trend’. You’re doing the right thing as a hard working consultant. But then again, they’re not the only source open to you are they? And that’s where it starts to raise questions.

 

The questions.

Well, let’s start with the one we’ve already alluded to. You’re trying to run your new, just started up, recruitment business. You’re not used to dealing with ‘the deal’ by which you negotiate the rate for using the boards. And as a new business you don’t have a credit record with them either. It’s going to be a challenge.

Then there’s the question about the future. Will the job boards be the future? This is a digital, social media, world and new media opportunities emerge quickly. Some make sense and have potential. Some don’t. But they all need examining and as a recruiter you’ll need to make an informed decision about using them or not.

 

The answer is rooted in your being able to find the time, and have the ‘space’ to make those examinations and decisions. It’s about you having the status to do business with the media on favourable terms too. Which is why we think our Joint Venture model is the perfect answer for you.

At The Recruit Venture Group we specialise in helping recruitment professionals start up their own businesses. We provide 100% risk free funding. You get shares in, and dividends from, your own company. You’ll be able to pay yourself a salary from the start, which means you have the freedom to concentrate on recruitment.

 

We give you full access to our back office and systems so you’ll be operational from the outset.

And we’ll be behind you with our reputation to support you in your dealings and in your intelligence gathering. While you’re concentrating on recruitment – your business –  we’ll be monitoring the business. We’ll be watching the trends, the new media and the latest techniques so that we can feed it back to you. So that you can make the right moves, and get the right deals.

To give that amount of support we do need to know you’re serious about starting up. We want to know you’ve got five years continuous experience in recruitment, and you’ve specialised in a sector. We’d like to see your business plan.

 

Taking that step into running your own business can be daunting, for a variety of reasons. But perhaps the most challenging of all is deciding if you really are a leader. So far, working hard and doubtless achieving results, you’ve been part of the team. Most likely you’ve been a senior member of the team. You’ve probably made it to running your own desk for example.

So what exactly is leadership?

It’s a big question, and one that’s debated endlessly. Recently, the management coach Chris Hallberg has approached the subject in a new book. He says that leadership is really all about one main thing. In an interview he said that “A leader’s primary job is to be a support system for their employees. Serving them in any way you can will not only benefit your rapport with each employee but will also benefit the company and its culture as a whole.”

It makes sense. But, picture yourself as a new start up. Let’s assume you’ve arranged some finance. That has to be good. But now, top of your mind most of the time is making the repayments. Plus, you’ll be up to your neck in arranging the IT and systems you need, finalising the seemingly endless details of your new premises, getting your marketing sorted out, trying to arrange credit with the local press and national job boards and – oh yes – trying to find clients and candidates so you can actually get on with some recruitment. Which is going to pay the bills.

Will you have time to be a supportive leader?

That would seem to be the next big question. How are you going to lead your new business, and be a support system for your staff, when you’re so tied up with all these demands that come with running your own business? Frankly you’ll be ticking all of the above boxes, before you really have a chance to support and lead your team. Which is ironic really, because running your own show, and leading your own team is pretty much why you started up in the first place.

Maybe the way to be a supportive leader is to have your own support system.

We think that’s the secret to it. Which is why, at The Recruit Venture Group, we’ve devised the business model that’s aimed specifically at helping recruitment professionals start up on their own.

For a start we provide 100% risk free funding. You’ll get shares in, and dividends from, your own company. A key element is that you’ll be able to pay yourself a salary from the start, which means you’ll have the freedom to concentrate on the job.It’s an important piece of peace of mind.

We’ll help you with all the legalities of finding premises and we’ll help sort your marketing and branding.  We’ll handle your invoicing and cash flow too.

And then, we’ll give you full access to our back office and systems. You’ll be up and running, effective and efficient, from the day you open your doors.

With that level of support network behind you, you can get out in front and lead. With the time to offer support to your team. Which will make them more productive. Which will make your business grow.

It’s working for start ups all over the uk, and we’d like to see if we can help you. We’d like to know that you’ve got five years continuous experience in recruitment, and you’re  serious about starting up on your own. We’d like to know that you’ve specialised in a sector and run your own desk. And then we’d like to get know you.