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Any good recruiter bringing in business for an agency that isn’t their own will, sooner or later, start to think about bringing in that business for themselves and taking the director’s cut.

The trick to the transition is timing – when’s the right time to make a new start-up agency for yourself?

There are a few things to take into account.

Starting Balance

Between what you have in your own account and any start-up finance you acquire, you should make sure you have, at minimum, six months’ worth of money to survive on – because it’ll be three to six months before your agency is strong enough to start putting money into your pocket.

As always when discussing finance – make sure you’re comfortable with repayment patterns.

Your Industry Sector

While many recruitment agencies work in multiple industry sectors, most recruiters focus on a specific area to keep their contacts and candidates suited to one another.

You’ll be accustomed to your industry sector’s shifts – and the time to make the jump is when your sector is about to boom, providing a steady supply of opportunities that can sustain your business as you find your feet and it grows.

Your Current Agency

To be a successful recruiter calls for excellent people reading skills and good gut instincts. It’s hard to turn those off, but it’s also a bad idea. If you find yourself worrying about your current agency, thinking that it’s not reacting swiftly enough to changing technology or evolving trends – listen to your gut.

That shouldn’t be enough on its own to make you take the plunge, but if you’re worrying about your employer’s viability, you need to develop an exit strategy.

An agency of your own might just be that strategy.

Back Office Preparation

Sooner rather than later you’ll need a back office in place. While the ideal solution for many new agencies – and this may include yours – is TBOS Complete, whatever the case your agency will need well-maintained books as well as invoices regularly raised, documents prepared and filed for compliance checks and much more.

Knowing someone, whether it’s TBOS or just someone you know, who has the skills and experience to handle this – or having the training to handle it yourself – is a huge step up against any new agency which hasn’t got this preparation.

It’s an easy way to give yourself the edge.