You will now be aware that in these challenging business times, getting a grip on your cash flow can help navigate your post-pandemic Recruitment business.

Whatever the changes that may be happening in your business, first establish the facts; ‘Where is your business at now?’ Plan carefully, and don’t forget to include the impact of any deferred tax payments.

Your business model could now be facing a complete overhaul. Here are 3 things to consider to help ease cash-flow worries;

1. Negotiate retainer fees from clients. This will help bridge the gap between placing the candidate and getting paid.

2. You may be a perm now considering moving into the temps market… Or a Recruiter who is reliant on cash reserves finding these now depleted and considering using a finance company. A note of caution, when deciding which finance company to use, read any terms and conditions very carefully.

3. Get better processes in place. The downtime you may have been experiencing could be a good excuse to explore new technology and get business chaos into order.

For help with cash flow planning and getting your business in order, book a 10 minute chat with us…

In our initial chat we will;

• Identify your current business worries and frustrations

• Establish if our proven methods can help your Recruitment business

• If we believe we can add value to your business, arrange a longer call to develop an action plan
  

No, I’m not going to write about the dreaded new ‘C’ Word today, as you’ve probably like me received dozens of e-mails already on that topic!

As my Clients have been asking me about what they should do now, what I am writing about today is how you can help your own business over the next few weeks until further financial support is available to you.

Cashflow Management is the Key.

Consider the impact of the following;-

·         Customers paying more slowly –and not just the small ones!

·         Bad Debts due to business failure.

·         Fewer new customers.

·         Risk of customers moving to lower priced competitors.

·         Customers asking for lower prices because their profits are hit.

·         Look at payment terms.

·         Offer customers more time to pay.

·         Cut out non-essential expenditure.

·         Delay capital purchases.

·         Finance all capital purchases.

·         Avoid discretionary costs.

·         Contact your bank –if you have an overdraft, can it be converted into a loan?

·         Loan holidays.

·         Alternative funding for the business

·         Bookkeeping, VAT and Payroll –can our accountant help us?

Of course, some of these points have been considered in the latest March Budget and subsequent briefings but until further support in the shape of Grants and Low-interest Loans etc. reach you via Government Bodies and Local Authorities, please bear these points in mind and hopefully we will soon be permanently free of, at least this, ‘C’ Word!

Ar Cooper Curtis we have worked with Companies developing their plans and not just the financials, which are important, but also helping them to maximising their true potential.

When you started your recruitment venture, be it recently or a while ago, you probably started with one key thing in mind – making yourself more money than you earned as an employed fee-earner. This is a common thought from a lot of recruiters.

There’s no getting away from it, it’s a journey and, to make that journey work for you, you have to overcome many obstacles on the way.

In the early years of working for yourself, you have issues including;

1. Getting started and putting systems into place. Getting to grips with business finances.

2. Not having a proper business strategy.

3. Working Long hours and having little time off

As you progress on your journey there will be the need for ;

1. An office to house staff and to raise the profile of the business

2. Growing your business and taking on Admin and more fee-earners

3. Bigger systems, and the need for having the best tech

As you become established and are getting transformational growth, you may wish to consider;

1. Your future outside of recruitment –do I have an exit plan in place?

2. Can I make a tidy sum by selling my business to capitalise on my success?

3. Do I feel good about what I have achieved so far?

Over these series of blogs, I will be giving you the benefit of my many years of experience working with small to medium sized recruitment firms and helping them in all these areas to achieve their success.

If you think Cooper Curtis could help you on your journey, book your ten minute chat with a Recruitment Agency Business Advisor here.

Why you should have a ‘niche’ for your Recruitment Business?

Setting up your own Recruitment Agency comes with a whole manner of things to consider. You may already have an industry you are decided on targeting, but here are some reasons why homing in one industry can make things much easier for your new Recruitment venture.. .

1. You’re putting yourself out there as an expert in your field rather than being a ‘jack of all trades’

2. You can command better placement fees

3. You can home in on your target market reducing wastage and improving KPI’s

4. You can surround yourself with suppliers within the same industry gaining industry insight

5. Build a better all round experience to candidates and clients and a reputation as the go to business

Top tips for helping you choose your Recruitment Agency Niche

1. Who do you enjoy working with?

2. Businesses need passion, hard work and determination to survive. What are you passionate about? Write it down and keep reminding yourself.

3. Research your competition. Is the market saturated with others working on the same niche? If yes, consider micro-niching.

4. Where do your experiences lie?

5. Review any opportunities that you could be sitting on.

Cooper Curtis have helped many start-up Recruitment Businesses to get processes in place and free up your precious time. To speak with us about setting up your new Recruitment Business make a booking and click the button below.

Blog by Caroline

Your Recruitment business may now be converted to cloud bookkeeping, but ask yourself, do you feel that you are getting valuable business insight out of your cloud service?

Having doubts in your cloud service leaves you questioning it’s value, adding a resistance to using it. Another year slips by and it’s too late to maximise on any in-year opportunities .

How can you plan growth for your Recruitment business without full confidence in the tools you are using?

But what if you were so streamlined you knew what was going on in your business in REAL TIME? Perhaps having the ability to optimise on opportunities you’re sitting on and get more money out of the business?

Now is the time to take action.

Can you answer these questions honestly?

1. Are you realistic on what money you can extract from the business?

2. Are you managing your cash-flow?

3. Are you efficient?

4. Do you know what your return on investment is?

If you can answer all the above questions with YES then that’s great.

BUT if you are looking for help on how to overcome these common Recruiter pain points, book your 10 minute chat with a Recruitment business advisor below;

Cooper Curtis have been working with Recruitment Agencies for the past 9 years. In that time, we have developed an extensive knowledge of the industry and enjoy sharing our knowledge with other successful businesses.

Blog by Caroline

Whether you have just set up as an agency and considered your start-up plans or been going for a few years and are now established - what about your business exit plans?

Too early to be thinking of exiting now we might think but we all need to consider our end games! These can be in as little as 5 years if you are carefully planning your business development.

Yes, it can be a good income during the next 5 years but you want to see the rewards for your hard-earned efforts later down the line too!

We at Cooper Curtis have worked with Companies developing their plans and not just the financials, which are important, but also helping them to maximising their true potential.