The RAG Podcast - Recruitment Agency Growth Podcast

Season 9 | Ep26 Jon Woolley: How a Solo Recruiter Billed $1M in Two Years from Home

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0100

Jon Woolley spent nearly a decade at Vantage Consulting. He opened their US arm, built a team of eight, and scaled it to $1.6 million. Then, three weeks before his third child was born, he walked away.

No team. No clients. No pipeline. Just £30,000 in savings and a niche most recruiters have never heard of: industrial automation. The people who programme the machines that make the stuff, from pharmaceuticals to Amazon warehouses. Average fees of $20,000 to $22,000 a placement.

Year one at Candid Talent he billed £112,000. Year two, $500,000. And then Q1 of year three: over $350,000 in a single quarter. Solo. From a farmhouse in Staffordshire. Three kids under seven. 25 hours a week. Almost all inbound from LinkedIn.

"Honestly, it's wild. Compared to the stress of year one... coming into year three with that kind of quarter. It's awesome."

This week on The RAG Podcast, Jon breaks down how he went from employed recruiter to solo founder billing over $1 million in just two years, whilst being more present for his family than he ever was in agency life.

We Cover:

How Jon built a $1.6M US desk for someone else before going solo
Why he left a senior role three weeks before his third child arrived
The reality of year one: £112K billed, three months to land the first deal, and constant self-doubt
How industrial automation recruitment works and why the fees are three times higher than UK averages
Why almost all of his business now comes inbound through LinkedIn
The lifestyle model: 25 hours a week, from home, present for school runs and gymnastics
How he plans to grow from solo to six to ten people without an office
Why he invested £30K in The Boardroom two years into building his agency

Jon Woolley is not running a massive agency. He's not chasing headcount or office space or awards.

He's building a business that lets him be present for his family whilst billing more than most teams.

If you've ever wondered whether you could leave an established desk, start solo, and build something that works around your life rather than the other way around... this episode has the blueprint.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Remote Recruitment

Hiring shouldn’t be slow, stressful, or expensive. That’s why there’s Remote Recruitment — the smart hiring partner for modern businesses.

They don’t just help you find great people. They help you access elite South African talent that’s ready to deliver. No PAYE. No NI. No bloated overheads. Just trained, remote professionals who integrate seamlessly into your team.

Their process handles everything: sourcing, shortlisting, onboarding, and retention. Fully managed. Fully supported. Fully remote.

And now, Remote Recruitments has entered a new chapter. From ops to admin, sales to strategy, we’re helping businesses scale smarter with people they trust, at a cost they can afford.

Clients have seen:

* Up to **60% productivity boosts**

* **300% ROI** on BD roles

* **30% faster completion** of operational tasks

No overhead burden. No talent shortage panic. Just growth-focused hiring that makes business sense.

Remote Recruitment is your flexible hiring solution for the modern era.

**RAG Listeners:** Get 5% off your first hire + a free strategy session at www.remoterecruitment.co.uk/rag

Season 9 | Ep25 Christian Mather: The Wealth Planner Recruitment Founders Are Calling First

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0100

This is not a typical RAG episode.

Christian Mather is not a recruiter. He has never filled a role, run a desk, or managed a team. He is a wealth planner. And since niching into recruitment founders about two and a half years ago, he has become one of the most in-demand advisors in the industry.

Since January alone, he has had over 100 enquiries and spoken to 60 founders about the same thing: how to turn business success into personal financial freedom. Not through selling the business. Not through scaling to 50 heads. Through understanding one number.

He calls it your freedom number. The amount you need in assets to cover your lifestyle for the rest of your life. And most founders massively overestimate what that number is.

His simple formula gives you your starting point. In this episode Christian walked through real examples of his clients goals and challenges.

A founder who thought he needed £5 million but actually needed £1.2 million. A 29-year-old woman billing half a million on her own, working 20 hours a week, about to hire staff she didn't need. A business doing 1.6 million net fee income with 16 staff but only £150K EBITDA because the founders were doing 80% of the work.

Only 0.3% of recruitment agencies ever successfully sell. That number comes from the REC, and Christian has built his entire practice around the other 99.7%. His argument is simple: your business should fund your wealth, not be your wealth.

We cover:

Why 0.3% of recruitment agencies sell and what that means for your retirement plan
How to calculate your freedom number using the monthly spend x 300 rule
The real cost of treating your business as your pension
Why founders between 40 and 45 are the ones making the call
The financial mistakes costing recruitment founders the most money
How co-founders can align on what they actually want from the business
Why property is not the passive investment most founders think it is
The post-exit identity crisis that nobody prepares for

Christian and I also get into our own stories and share our personal strategies for wealth creation.

If you have ever wondered what your number actually is, or whether you are closer to freedom than you think, this episode has the blueprint.

-----------------------------------------------------

Episode Sponsor: Remote Recruitment

Hiring shouldn't be slow, stressful, or expensive. That's why there's Remote Recruitment, the smart hiring partner for modern businesses.

They don't just help you find great people. They help you access elite South African talent that's ready to deliver. No PAYE. No NI. No bloated overheads. Just trained, remote professionals who integrate seamlessly into your team.

Their process handles everything: sourcing, shortlisting, onboarding, and retention. Fully managed. Fully supported. Fully remote.

And now, Remote Recruitment has entered a new chapter. From ops to admin, sales to strategy, we're helping businesses scale smarter with people they trust, at a cost they can afford.

Clients have seen:

- Up to 60% productivity boosts

- 300% ROI on BD roles

- 30% faster completion of operational tasks

No overhead burden. No talent shortage panic. Just growth-focused hiring that makes business sense.

Remote Recruitment is your flexible hiring solution for the modern era.

RAG Listeners: Get 5% off your first hire + a free strategy session at www.remoterecruitment.co.uk/rag

-------------------------------------------------

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn. Spending thousands on Recruiter licences. Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks.

But here's the question almost no one can answer:

- How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business?

- Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash.

- That's the problem we solve.

At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics.

Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K to £300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process.

To show you how it works, we've created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners.

In less than 10 minutes, you'll learn:

- Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn

- How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand

- The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel

So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency's most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Season 9 | Ep24 How David Bloxham Flipped a 130-Person Agency to 95% Contract Revenue

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0100

David Bloxham first appeared on The RAG Podcast in March 2020. That episode was recorded the week before the world went into lockdown. He had 130 staff, a fresh MBO behind him, and a business that was growing.

Six years later, he is back. Same seat. Very different business.

In the years since, David has navigated a pandemic, a post-COVID hiring boom, a brutal tech slump, and the rise of AI. Each time, his response was the same: strip the model apart and rebuild it stronger.

GCS is now 100 people across 10 global offices, generating over 12 million in revenue with 95% coming from contract. 50% of the team now operates from offshore delivery centres in Cape Town, Mumbai, and Delhi. The permanent division that drove record numbers in 2022 has been deliberately wound down.

"Year on year, since 2019, our contract number has grown year on year. The perm has gone up and down, but the contracts kept rising."

But perhaps the most striking part of this conversation is what comes next. David is building an AI-enabled recruitment tool designed to sit alongside his traditional business, one that could eventually generate the same revenue as his human team. He is not waiting for disruption. He is building it himself.

WE COVER:

How GCS went from 60/40 perm-contract split to 95% contract in under three years
The board-level conversation with nGAGE CEO Tim Cook that changed everything
Why David cut his highest-performing permanent teams at their peak
How 50% of the workforce moved offshore and what the 120-120-120 delivery model looks like in practice
The pivot from software development (47% of vacancies) to AI, cyber, and cloud (after coding roles dropped to 13%)
Why fill rate matters more than job volume and the metrics David tracks at CEO level
The GCS Leaders Series podcast and how 100+ episodes became a business development machine
David's plan to build an AI recruitment tool that could cannibalise his own business

If you have ever wondered whether resilience is a strategy or just a word people put on their LinkedIn profile, this episode has the answer. David Bloxham has been at the same company for nearly 30 years. He has rebuilt it three times. And he is about to do it again.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Remote Recruitment

Hiring shouldn’t be slow, stressful, or expensive. That’s why there’s Remote Recruitment — the smart hiring partner for modern businesses.

Their process handles everything: sourcing, shortlisting, onboarding, and retention. Fully managed. Fully supported. Fully remote.

And now, Remote Recruitments has entered a new chapter. From ops to admin, sales to strategy, we’re helping businesses scale smarter with people they trust, at a cost they can afford.

Clients have seen:

* Up to **60% productivity boosts**

* **300% ROI** on BD roles

* **30% faster completion** of operational tasks

No overhead burden. No talent shortage panic. Just growth-focused hiring that makes business sense.

Remote Recruitment is your flexible hiring solution for the modern era.

**RAG Listeners:** Get 5% off your first hire + a free strategy session at www.remoterecruitment.co.uk/rag

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn.

Spending thousands on Recruiter licences.

Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks.

But here’s the question almost no one can answer:

How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business?

Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash.

That’s the problem we solve.

At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics.

Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process.

To show you how it works, we’ve created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners.

In less than 10 minutes, you’ll learn:

- Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn

- How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand

- The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel

So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency’s most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Season 9 | Ep23 Ben Richardson & Mike Bott: Why LHi Group appointed two CEOs

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0100

Ben Richardson & Mike Bott: Why LHi Group appointed two CEOs

For 25 years, LHi Group had one CEO.

Founder Tom Glanfield built the business from scratch with Jim Denning taking over in 2020 and leading it it through COVID.

A global recruitment group, LHi has

5 brands.

300 people.

9Offices across the US and Europe

Ben Richardson and Mike Bott had both spent their careers inside LHi.

Both joined as entry level recruiters

Both built desks, teams and international offices from the ground up.

Both eventually became global recruitment directors.

And both had their eyes on the same job.

"I wanted to be CEO about a week after I joined LHI in 2007."

When Jim Denning stepped down, the expectation was simple.

One of them would get the role.

Instead, the board made a call neither of them had anticipated.

They would run the business together.

Co-CEOs.

This week on The RAG Podcast, Ben and Mike break down how the decision happened and what it actually takes to make a leadership structure like this work.

We cover:

How two recruiters who joined the business years apart both ended up competing for the CEO job
The moment they were told they would be sharing the role instead of one of them taking it
Why the board believed the co-CEO model would work for LHi
How they divide responsibility running a global recruitment business
The leadership principles that allow two CEOs to operate without conflict
Why ego is the biggest risk in a structure like this
The level of trust required to make joint leadership work long-term
What founders should think about when planning succession inside their own businesses
Why promoting from within can be a competitive advantage in recruitment
What the next phase of growth looks like for LHi Group

This episode isn’t really about recruitment.

It’s about succession.

It’s about trust.

And it’s about whether the traditional idea of a single CEO is always the right answer.

Because if you’re building a recruitment business and thinking about who should lead it next…

This conversation might challenge the way you think about it!

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Remote Recruitment

Hiring shouldn’t be slow, stressful, or expensive. That’s why there’s Remote Recruitment — the smart hiring partner for modern businesses.

Their process handles everything: sourcing, shortlisting, onboarding, and retention. Fully managed. Fully supported. Fully remote.

And now, Remote Recruitments has entered a new chapter. From ops to admin, sales to strategy, we’re helping businesses scale smarter with people they trust, at a cost they can afford.

Clients have seen:

* Up to **60% productivity boosts**

* **300% ROI** on BD roles

* **30% faster completion** of operational tasks

No overhead burden. No talent shortage panic. Just growth-focused hiring that makes business sense.

Remote Recruitment is your flexible hiring solution for the modern era.

**RAG Listeners:** Get 5% off your first hire + a free strategy session at www.remoterecruitment.co.uk/rag

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn.

Spending thousands on Recruiter licences.

Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks.

But here’s the question almost no one can answer:

How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business?

Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash.

That’s the problem we solve.

At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics.

Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process.

To show you how it works, we’ve created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners.

In less than 10 minutes, you’ll learn:

- Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn

- How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand

- The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel

So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency’s most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Season 9 | Ep22 Lucy Robinson: Fired from her job, now running a £650k global search firm

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0100

Lucy Robinson: Fired from her job, now running a £650k global search firm

Lucy Robinson runs LCR International, a global executive search firm specialising in fresh produce across six continents.

Today, the business is doing around £650k in revenue, but the story really started in December 2019 when Lucy was fired from her job for not hitting targets.

At the time, she had no savings, a three-year-old at home, and had just spent months trying to build a new desk for an agency she’d previously worked for.

Two weeks before she got fired, her husband had said something half-jokingly:

"The only way you’ll ever start your own agency is if you get sacked."

Two weeks later, that’s exactly what happened.

Starting a business at that point didn’t exactly look like the sensible move.

Lucy had a young family, no financial buffer, and was launching into a market she already knew was competitive.

But she did it anyway.

She launched LCR International, working three days a week, just as the world walked into COVID.

The first year, she billed £100k and was mostly filling contingent work.

She wanted to move into retained search, but it wasn’t really working.

In 2023, she decided to change the model completely and invested in proper search training and it changed everything.

The business moved to around 90% retained search, margins improved, and growth accelerated.

Revenue went from £250k to £500k to £650k across three years.

Now the focus isn’t on scaling faster.

It’s about building a profitable, sustainable business that works for her family as well as her career.

The business currently runs at around 20% net profit, with a small team and clients across the world.

And Lucy has no interest in building a huge agency just for the sake of it.

Instead, she’s focused on growing the business in a smarter way - using better positioning, retained search, automation and AI rather than simply adding more headcount.

Her goal now is £800k this year and £1m next year, whilst keeping the business lean and flexible.

This week on The RAG Podcast, Lucy shares the full story.

We talk about:

• Getting fired with no savings and a young child at home

• Starting a business just before COVID hit

• Building £100k in the first year working three days a week

• Taking maternity leave twice whilst growing the business

• Why contingent search stopped working for her

• The training that helped shift the business to retained search

• Growing from £250k → £500k → £650k

• Running a global niche search firm across six continents

• Raising two young kids whilst building the business

• Why she prioritises flexibility over building a massive team

• Her focus on profitability and a 20% net margin

• Using automation and AI instead of headcount

• Her plan to reach £1m revenue without sacrificing family life

What I really liked about Lucy’s story is that she’s building the kind of business more founders are starting to want.

A niche firm.

A strong reputation in a specific market.

Good margins.

A small team.

And a business designed around life, not the other way round.

It’s a great example of what a modern recruitment business can actually look like.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Let’s be honest. Admin is one of the biggest drains on growth in a recruitment business.

That’s where Atlas comes in.

Atlas is the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies that want to scale without adding more manual work.

It doesn’t just track CVs and calls. It captures every conversation - emails, interviews, client calls - and makes it fully searchable.

With Magic Search, you can literally ask:

- Who mentioned they’re open to relocating next year?

- Who talked about wanting a four-day week?

- Who’s worried about their commute?

Atlas searches across real conversations, not just keywords on a CV, and gives you answers instantly.

Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier. With Opportunities, you can track and grow client relationships using generative AI, all inside your existing workflow.

And this isn’t hypothetical.

Atlas customers have reported up to 41% EBITDA growth and an 85% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform.

No admin. No silos. No lost information.

Just faster shortlists, better hires, and more time spent on the work that actually drives revenue.

If you want to see what the future of recruitment looks like, unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at:

https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

Season 9 | Ep21 Jory Humphreys & Sam Hope: How they built $25M in 25 months using offshore leverage

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0100

In June 2023, Jory Humphreys and Sam Hope launched H People with limited capital but an insane energy to work hard.

Within 25 months, they'd built a $25 million business. $8.2 million in year one, $15.5 million revenue and $1 million in EBITDA in their second full year. They're now Australia's number two fastest-growing company.

But what makes their story different isn't the revenue. It's the model they built to get there.

Most founders choose between growth and sanity. Jory and Sam chose leverage.

From day one, they integrated an offshore team from the Philippines. Not as a cost-cutting exercise. As a strategic partner. One offshore resource supporting one onshore consultant.

This involved structured daily huddles, clear shared targets and the growth of a real partnership culture.

The offshore team handled high-volume screening, candidate qualification, compliance and administration. The onshore consultants handled what only they could do: client relationships, business development, negotiation, and revenue generation.

This operating model has been the foundation of their success.

As Jory explains: "If it was just me and Sam battling it out without offshore support, we would have only made half the amount of placements. They enabled us to deliver a better service."

Today, H People is 21 people strong, expanding nationally across Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney, and they're running one of the most profitable recruitment operations in Australia. They've also launched Wingman Recruitment, helping other agencies replicate the offshore model with the same rigour.

Inside this unique story, we cover:

- How two bootstrapped founders went from zero to $25M in 25 months

- Why the offshore model isn't about cost-cutting - it's about leverage

- The exact structure: one consultant, one resource, shared targets

- How they grew 16 net new contractors every single month

- The culture piece: why their offshore team outperforms typical VAs

- How they built $1M EBITDA in year two (without venture capital)

- Why they split focus between H People and Wingman Recruitment?

- The real numbers: revenue, GP, EBITDA, and what's actually possible

- How they managed family life while scaling a $25M business in 25 months

- The future of recruitment: onshore consultants + offshore leverage + AI automation

This is a story of two recruiters who understood their market, built the right operating model, and scaled with intention. It’s super inspiring and I can’t wait for you to listen!

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Remote Recruitment

Hiring shouldn’t be slow, stressful, or expensive. That’s why there’s Remote Recruitment — the smart hiring partner for modern businesses.

Their process handles everything: sourcing, shortlisting, onboarding, and retention. Fully managed. Fully supported. Fully remote.

And now, Remote Recruitments has entered a new chapter. From ops to admin, sales to strategy, we’re helping businesses scale smarter with people they trust, at a cost they can afford.

Clients have seen:

* Up to **60% productivity boosts**

* **300% ROI** on BD roles

* **30% faster completion** of operational tasks

No overhead burden. No talent shortage panic. Just growth-focused hiring that makes business sense.

Remote Recruitment is your flexible hiring solution for the modern era.

**RAG Listeners:** Get 5% off your first hire + a free strategy session at www.remoterecruitment.co.uk/rag

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn.

Spending thousands on Recruiter licences.

Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks.

But here’s the question almost no one can answer:

How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business?

Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash.

That’s the problem we solve.

At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics.

Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process.

To show you how it works, we’ve created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners.

In less than 10 minutes, you’ll learn:

- Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn

- How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand

- The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel

So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency’s most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Season 9 | Ep20 Emma Storey: How 2 part-time working mums billed £500K in their first 2 years!

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0100

Emma Storey: How 2 part-time working mums billed £500K in their first 2 years!

Emma Storey never thought she'd still be in recruitment after having kids.

She'd never worked with a mum in the industry. Never had a role model who'd done it. The assumption was always the same: have a baby, and your recruitment career is over.

But after successfully juggling recruitment and becoming a mum inside the pandemic, in 2023 she launched her own agency with colleague Nicola Morse, a fellow working mum.

They launched Hera with the plan to both work part-time, and within months, Emma soon fell pregnant with baby number 2.

Inside the first 2 years, working part-time around school runs, nursery pickups and a maternity leave, they have billed £500K.

That's £150K in year one during one of the worst recruitment markets in a generation, and £350K in year two with Emma off for three months and working three days a week for the rest.

But what makes Emma different isn't the revenue. It's the reason she built the business in the first place.

Female candidates regularly tell Hera they're nervous about wearing their wedding ring to interviews because they know it signals they might want children. Hiring managers have told them directly: we don't want people from that age range.

Emma lived it herself. In one agency, a mum who left at three o'clock was met with the same comment every single day: "Thanks for coming."

So Emma and Nicola built Hera around a guarantee most agencies won't make: a diverse shortlist on every single role. They positioned diversity and inclusion not as a side project but as the commercial engine. And it worked. Every client they've won has bought into it.

Their target is £500K this year. They have no plans to hire a team. No plans to scale beyond two. No plans to stop billing.

Inside this unique story we cover:

Why Emma assumed motherhood would end her recruitment career
The "thanks for coming" culture that still exists in agencies
Why female candidates hide their wedding rings in interviews
How two part-time working mums billed £500K in their first two years
The diverse shortlist guarantee that wins every client
Why they target £500K a year and have zero interest in scaling beyond that
How shared parental leave changed everything for their family
The co-founder relationship that started at kids' swimming lessons

This isn't about scaling fast or building an empire.

It's about two women who were told, directly and indirectly, that motherhood and recruitment don't mix. They billed half a million pounds in two years working part-time and proved it wrong. Without sacrificing bedtimes, school runs, or being present for their kids.

If you're a female recruiter wondering whether you can have children, build a business, and still love what you do, this episode is your blueprint.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Let’s be honest. Admin is one of the biggest drains on growth in a recruitment business.

That’s where Atlas comes in.

Atlas is the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies that want to scale without adding more manual work.

It doesn’t just track CVs and calls. It captures every conversation - emails, interviews, client calls - and makes it fully searchable.

With Magic Search, you can literally ask:

Who mentioned they’re open to relocating next year?

Who talked about wanting a four-day week?

Who’s worried about their commute?

Atlas searches across real conversations, not just keywords on a CV, and gives you answers instantly.

Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier. With Opportunities, you can track and grow client relationships using generative AI, all inside your existing workflow.

And this isn’t hypothetical.

Atlas customers have reported up to 41% EBITDA growth and an 85% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform.

No admin. No silos. No lost information.

Just faster shortlists, better hires, and more time spent on the work that actually drives revenue.

If you want to see what the future of recruitment looks like, unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at:

https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn.

Spending thousands on Recruiter licences.

Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks.

But here's the question almost no one can answer:

How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business?

Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash.

That's the problem we solve.

At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics.

Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process.

To show you how it works, we've created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners.

In less than 10 minutes, you'll learn:

Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn
How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand
The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel

So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency's most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Season 9 | Ep19 Avetis Antaplyan on how he spent millions protecting his team (they still left anyway)

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0100

In 2022, Avetis Antaplyan was absolutely flying...

HIRECLOUT, his global recruiting firm with 30 employees across the US, Colombia, Armenia, and India was breaking record after record.

Two-time Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Company, his best year ever and he felt everything was working.

Then when the market hit hard in 2023-2024 and every other founder was doing layoffs, Avetis refused to cut people.

Instead, he took most of his profits out of the business to keep his team employed through the downturn.

He genuinely believed loyalty would be returned. That when things turned around, they'd kill it together.

It didn't work that way.

"Those were the first people who resigned when we put some pressure on," he admits. "All it did was burn my profit."

For two and a half years, he broke even. The money was gone. The people left anyway. But that failure taught him something most founders never learn: protecting average people doesn't build loyalty. It destroys capital.

Now he's building the opposite.

His new obsession: take exceptional people (circa $500-600k billers) and use AI, systems, and tools to turn them into $1m producers.

He's recently hired a principal on executive search, a director of business development, and is planning a head of consulting…. Serious hires for a new phase of growth.

In this episode, we cover:

- Why he chose loyalty over layoffs (and what it cost)

- Two and a half years of breaking even

- The moment he realised protecting people was destroying capital - How he rebuilt with "bar raisers or nothing"

- Building AI to turn $600k billers into million-dollar producers

- Why he's never burnt out (and why most founders do)

This story highlights a founder who made a decision based on loyalty, watched it blow up in his face, and chose to learn instead of blame the market.

If you've ever wondered what happens when you prioritise people over profit, this episode may change how you think about loyalty. __________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Remote Recruitment

Hiring shouldn’t be slow, stressful, or expensive. That’s why there’s Remote Recruitment — the smart hiring partner for modern businesses.

Their process handles everything: sourcing, shortlisting, onboarding, and retention. Fully managed. Fully supported. Fully remote.

And now, Remote Recruitments has entered a new chapter. From ops to admin, sales to strategy, we’re helping businesses scale smarter with people they trust, at a cost they can afford.

Clients have seen:

* Up to **60% productivity boosts**

* **300% ROI** on BD roles

* **30% faster completion** of operational tasks

No overhead burden. No talent shortage panic. Just growth-focused hiring that makes business sense.

Remote Recruitment is your flexible hiring solution for the modern era.

**RAG Listeners:** Get 5% off your first hire + a free strategy session at www.remoterecruitment.co.uk/rag

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn.

Spending thousands on Recruiter licences.

Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks.

But here’s the question almost no one can answer:

How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business?

Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash.

That’s the problem we solve.

At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics.

Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process.

To show you how it works, we’ve created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners.

In less than 10 minutes, you’ll learn:

- Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn

- How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand

- The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel

So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency’s most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Season 9 | Ep18 Peter Kornberg: How a Non-Recruiter Built $1M+ Revenue 15 years in a row (with Just 6 People)

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0100

Peter Kornberg: How a Non-Recruiter Built $1M+ Revenue 15 years in a row (with Just 6 People)

Peter Kornberg never worked a day as an agency recruiter.

He worked in Advertising and Marketing and became a Chief Digital Officer.

He ran a product design agency in New York City. Clients started asking for talent they couldn't afford to engage the agency for. So Peter said: "We can provide you some people."

That was 15 years ago.

What started as an ad hoc favour became UX Hires -a staffing and recruitment firm that's done $1M+ in revenue every single year since (with a team of six).

But it wasn't always lean and profitable.

In 2021, they had 60 open roles. A full team of employees. An expensive New York City office. Peter hired a leader to run the recruitment business.

"He didn't bring in any business. He wasn't particularly effective at managing," Peter admits.

"Didn't really fulfil that potential."

They were grinding. Burning out. Taking on everything that came through the door.

"We didn't effectively weigh the roles that came in as we saw everything as money. Everything was opportunities. So we just went for everything."

The team wasn't profitable, this model wasn't working.

So Peter stripped it back.

He kept only his best recruiters and sourcers. People who could deliver exceptional outcomes regardless of market conditions. No 360 recruiters, only delivery consultants with him focusing on winning all new business.

"Really focus on people that can deliver great outcomes," he says. "I can handle the rest around that, which is client relationships."

But here's what makes Peter different.

He split his team between sourcing and recruiting. Sourcers find people; that's all they do. Recruiters manage clients and placements. It's all relationship-based building.

60% of his revenue now comes from contract and he's rebuilt his entire approach to work: "I could probably get more done in five hours of really productive work than 15 hours of grinding away and burning out."

He doesn’t believe in “hustle culture” and he’s not trying to build an empire. He’s quietly built a sustainable, profitable role business that gives him his life back.

We cover:

- Why never being a recruiter became his biggest advantage

- The 60-role mistake that nearly broke the business

- How he rebuilt around just 6 people and hit $1M+ consistently

- The split desk model (and why he refuses 360 recruiters)

- Why 60% contract revenue changed everything

- The failed leader hire (and why BD roles are so hard to delegate)

- Time blocking and the 5-hour productivity principle

- How AI is reshaping UX and product design recruitment

This isn't about scaling fast or an exit strategy.

It's about a non-recruiter who stumbled into being a recruiter, nearly burned out chasing growth, and rebuilt a million-dollar business around what actually works: small team, high margins, client relationships.

No investment decks and growth-at-all-costs. Just profitability and freedom.

If you've ever wondered whether you can build a 7-figure recruitment business without the complexity, the burn-out, or the endless headcount - this episode will help!

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Remote Recruitment

Hiring shouldn’t be slow, stressful, or expensive. That’s why there’s Remote Recruitment — the smart hiring partner for modern businesses.

Their process handles everything: sourcing, shortlisting, onboarding, and retention. Fully managed. Fully supported. Fully remote.

And now, Remote Recruitments has entered a new chapter. From ops to admin, sales to strategy, we’re helping businesses scale smarter with people they trust, at a cost they can afford.

Clients have seen:

* Up to **60% productivity boosts**

* **300% ROI** on BD roles

* **30% faster completion** of operational tasks

No overhead burden. No talent shortage panic. Just growth-focused hiring that makes business sense.

Remote Recruitment is your flexible hiring solution for the modern era.

**RAG Listeners:** Get 5% off your first hire + a free strategy session at www.remoterecruitment.co.uk/rag

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn.

Spending thousands on Recruiter licences.

Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks.

But here’s the question almost no one can answer:

How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business?

Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash.

That’s the problem we solve.

At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics.

Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process.

To show you how it works, we’ve created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners.

In less than 10 minutes, you’ll learn:

- Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn

- How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand

- The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel

So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency’s most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Season 9 | Ep17 Alex Hashash: A Decade of Building Offshore Teams Across Three Continents

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0100

At 21 years old, Alex Hashash was managing 15 people and 18,000 hours of temporary nurses every single week.

By his early thirties, he had 120 staff. Most of them offshore.

But it didn't start with a playbook. It started with 3 am phone calls, traumatic Blackberry ringtones, and weekend rotas that never seemed to end.

When his company decided to build an offshore capability, Alex didn't manage it from a distance.

He moved to India for eight months to build the team from scratch.

Night shifts. Culture clashes. Teaching people who'd never worked in recruitment how to fill nursing shifts at 2 am UK time.

He's spent over a decade learning what separates the founders who make offshore work from those who give up after six months.

Most treat it like a cost-cutting exercise. They hire one remote person, hope for the best, and blame the model when it fails.

Alex took the opposite approach.

"If someone makes a mistake, it's really easy to blame them because they're so far away. But if that was a colleague on your desk, would you be as harsh?"

The problem isn't the talent. It's the leadership.

This week on The RAG Podcast, Alex tells the full story.

We cover:

Why most recruitment founders fail at offshore within six months How to build culture when your team is thousands of miles away The biggest mistake UK consultants make when managing offshore staff Why hiring people without recruitment experience often delivers the best ROI How to structure probation and promotional targets for offshore hires The leadership buy-in you need before going offshore How he scaled to 120 staff with the majority based offshore

This isn't theory. It's a decade of hard-won experience across three continents.

If you've ever wondered whether offshore could work for your agency - or why your previous attempt failed - this episode has the blueprint.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Admin is a massive waste of time. That's why there's Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies.

It doesn't only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it's entering a whole new era.

With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords.

Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow.

Need insights? Custom dashboards give you total visibility over your pipeline. And that's not theory. Atlas customers have reported up to 41% EBITDA growth and an 85% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform.

No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue.

Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting.

Don't miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn.

Spending thousands on Recruiter licences.

Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks.

But here's the question almost no one can answer:

How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business?

Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash.

That's the problem we solve.

At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics.

Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K - £300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process.

To show you how it works, we've created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners.

In less than 10 minutes, you'll learn:

Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn
How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand
The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel

So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency's most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Season 9 | Ep16 Logan Naidu: How he made 100 cuts after a £30M deal (and survived the downturn)

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0100

Logan Naidu runs Kernel Global-a multi-brand recruitment group with 200 people across London, Hong Kong, Charlotte and New York.

We first spoke in April 2021. He had 180 people. The market was about to explode.

2021: £7 million EBITDA. 2022: £10 million EBITDA. Headcount doubled to 300.

Then March 2023 hit. Logan closed a second PE deal. Paid out over £30 million to staff. The biggest individual payout? Multiple millions.

One month later, he started making cuts.

"I remember talking to my father-in-law saying I'm really embarrassed by this. I've just taken on a load of money from new investors and we're already talking about making cuts and the business shrinking."

By the end of 2023, Logan had cut 100 heads—a third of the business.

But here's what makes this story different: he saw it coming.

December 2022. Their Christmas party. Logan stood up and said: "I think we've forgotten how hard this industry can be. We've had a record year, but we're cutting corners. We're taking clients for granted. That's going to bite us if we don't get back to it really quickly."

It was poorly received. Then 2023 happened.

This week on The RAG Podcast, Logan breaks down the full story.

We cover:

Scaling from £4.9M to £10M EBITDA in three years during the boom
Why he warned his team in December 2022 that they'd "forgotten the basics"
Closing a PE deal on a Saturday morning hours before Silicon Valley Bank collapsed
Making 100 cuts across two waves (and why the second wave was harder)
The criteria he used to decide who stayed: character, work ethic, client treatment
Why his sleepless nights dropped from 2–3 per week to 2–3 per year
Rebuilding to 2022 levels by 2025 with a completely different foundation
His approach to AI, offshoring, and why he won't chase every new tool
Why he still hires graduates despite the cost and cultural shifts
The plan to double the business again by 2029

This isn't about avoiding pain.

It's about a founder who moved fast, made hard decisions early, and came out the other side with a business built to last through cycles.

If you've ever wondered how the best operators stay level when everyone else is drinking their own Kool-Aid, this episode is the blueprint.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Remote Recruitment

Hiring shouldn’t be slow, stressful, or expensive. That’s why there’s Remote Recruitment — the smart hiring partner for modern businesses.

Their process handles everything: sourcing, shortlisting, onboarding, and retention. Fully managed. Fully supported. Fully remote.

And now, Remote Recruitments has entered a new chapter. From ops to admin, sales to strategy, we’re helping businesses scale smarter with people they trust, at a cost they can afford.

Clients have seen:

* Up to **60% productivity boosts**

* **300% ROI** on BD roles

* **30% faster completion** of operational tasks

No overhead burden. No talent shortage panic. Just growth-focused hiring that makes business sense.

Remote Recruitment is your flexible hiring solution for the modern era.

**RAG Listeners:** Get 5% off your first hire + a free strategy session at www.remoterecruitment.co.uk/rag

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn.

Spending thousands on Recruiter licences.

Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks.

But here’s the question almost no one can answer:

How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business?

Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash.

That’s the problem we solve.

At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics.

Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process.

To show you how it works, we’ve created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners.

In less than 10 minutes, you’ll learn:

- Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn

- How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand

- The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel

So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency’s most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Season 9 | Ep15 Ryan Gorman: How He Built £250k in Fees Without Making a Single Cold Call

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 12:00:00 +0100

Ryan Gorman: How He Built £250k in Fees Without Making a Single Cold Call

Ryan Gorman launched Lofthouse Group in January 2021 with a newborn daughter at home.

His wife asked him one question: "What sort of person do you want Isla seeing? Do you want her growing up seeing work as something you love, or just something you do to earn money?"

Year one, solo, working part-time around his newborn: £93k invoiced. £60k profit. Home for every bath time.

"Everything has been warm. I've never had to sit down and just cold-call tons of people."

While other recruiters smashed the phones, Ryan built a podcast as a BD tool. Used LinkedIn to warm every approach. And went to Instagram to find architects who weren't even on LinkedIn.

Four years later? £250k in fees. Average placement of £12k (market average is £7.5k). 85% repeat business. 70% net profit.

This week on The RAG Podcast, Ryan tells the full story.

We cover:

Why he left tech recruitment to go back to architecture
The question his wife asked that gave him the push to start
How he used Instagram to find candidates not on LinkedIn
Why he's never made a cold call and still bills £250k
Hiring his first employee after four years solo
How his first hire billed £50k in two and a half months
His plan to become number one in architecture recruitment

If you've ever wondered whether you can build a profitable recruitment business without grinding the phones, this episode is for you.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Remote Recruitment

Hiring shouldn’t be slow, stressful, or expensive. That’s why there’s Remote Recruitment — the smart hiring partner for modern businesses.

Their process handles everything: sourcing, shortlisting, onboarding, and retention. Fully managed. Fully supported. Fully remote.

And now, Remote Recruitments has entered a new chapter. From ops to admin, sales to strategy, we’re helping businesses scale smarter with people they trust, at a cost they can afford.

Clients have seen:

* Up to **60% productivity boosts**

* **300% ROI** on BD roles

* **30% faster completion** of operational tasks

No overhead burden. No talent shortage panic. Just growth-focused hiring that makes business sense.

Remote Recruitment is your flexible hiring solution for the modern era.

**RAG Listeners:** Get 5% off your first hire + a free strategy session at www.remoterecruitment.co.uk/rag

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn.

Spending thousands on Recruiter licences.

Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks.

But here’s the question almost no one can answer:

How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business?

Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash.

That’s the problem we solve.

At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics.

Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process.

To show you how it works, we’ve created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners.

In less than 10 minutes, you’ll learn:

- Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn

- How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand

- The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel

So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency’s most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Season 9 | Ep14 Stuart Mitchell: How he built $3M in 3 years (then realised he hated his own job)

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 12:00:00 +0100

Stuart Mitchell: How he built $3M in 3 years (then realised he hated his own job)

Stuart Mitchell launched Hampton North in September 2022.

$1.6 million year one. $2.5 million year two. On track for $3 million plus in year three.

Now 10 staff and projects $1m profit for next year.

I interviewed him on the show in the middle of 2023, and things were flying.

But over the following 18 months, he nearly broke.

His dad died. His wife fell pregnant. And the VP he'd promised her-the guy who was supposed to take the pressure off-pulled out in January.

"I had to go home to my newly pregnant wife and have a really hard conversation."

For 6 months, Stuart ground it out alone. High expectations, low empathy. The worst version of himself.

Then at a wedding, his old running mate Greg Anderson said: "I think we should do this again."

Greg joined in June and immediately told Stuart the truth: "There is nothing here. No process. Nothing written down. You're making it impossible for anyone who joins to actually do well."

This week on The RAG Podcast, Stuart tells the full story.

We cover:

Launching just before the 2023 downturn and hitting $1.6M in the first year
Losing his dad and how it derailed him for two months
The VP hire that fell through one week after his wife fell pregnant
Why he admits "I had my own company and I didn't like my job"
How one hire professionalised a business built entirely on talent
Building a $3M agency with 10 people (and why he'll never scale past 25)
Why he takes profit first and doesn't care about a big exit
The role this LinkedIn profile and brand played in attracting top-tier talent

This isn't about sacrifice for success.

It's about a founder who built a multi-7-figure business, then redesigned it so he could pick his kids up from school.

If you've ever wondered whether you can have both profit and peace, this episode is the proof you need!

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Admin is a massive waste of time. That's why there's Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies.

It doesn't only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it's entering a whole new era.

With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords.

Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow.

No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue.

Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting.

Don't miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn.

Spending thousands on Recruiter licences.

Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks.

But here's the question almost no one can answer:

How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business?

Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash.

That's the problem we solve.

At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics.

Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process.

To show you how it works, we've created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners.

In less than 10 minutes, you'll learn:

Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn
How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand
The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel

So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency's most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Season 9 | Ep13 Pete Watson: 22 years as a solo Rec2Rec in Australia (and why he'd never do it again)

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 12:00:00 +0100

Pete Watson: 22 years as a solo Rec2Rec in Australia (and why he'd never do it again)

Pete Watson is the longest-serving boots-on-the-ground Rec2Rec in Australia.

22 years running Mint R2R. Thousands of placements. A recognisable name across the entire Australian recruitment market.

But 18 months ago, he was at the gym when he asked himself one question:

"Would I do it all again?"

His answer was immediate: "A fast no."

Not because he failed. But because of what success actually cost him.

"Even though people look at 22 years as a business owner and go 'that's amazing, congratulations' - it's been brutal. It's been lonely. It's been isolating. It has not been good for mental health."

So that afternoon, he knocked up a logo on Canva and launched Recruitment United.

Within a week, 70 agency owners joined a WhatsApp group.

Within four months, 500.

Today, there are 330 subscribing members accessing weekly training, mate rates discounts, and a proper community of peers.

This week on The RAG Podcast, Pete tells the full story.

We cover:

Why 22 years as a solo Rec2Rec nearly broke him mentally
The gym moment that changed everything
How he built a 500-member community in four months with zero plan
Why the majority of his members have no intention of scaling
The rise of lifestyle businesses over exit strategies
Navigating divorce, becoming a stepdad, and buying back his family home
13 years alcohol-free and why he finally started talking about it

This isn't about building an empire.

It's about a founder who realised that isolated recruitment success was killing him—and built something to solve that for himself and others!

If you've ever felt lonely as a solo founder, or wondered whether there's another way to build, this episode is for you.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Admin is a massive waste of time. That’s why there’s Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies.

It doesn’t only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it’s entering a whole new era.

With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords.

Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow.

Need insights? Custom dashboards give you total visibility over your pipeline. And that’s not theory. Atlas customers have reported up to 41% EBITDA growth and an 85% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform.

No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue.

Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting.

Don’t miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn.

Spending thousands on Recruiter licences.

Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks.

But here’s the question almost no one can answer:

How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business?

Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash.

That’s the problem we solve.

At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics.

Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process.

To show you how it works, we’ve created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners.

In less than 10 minutes, you’ll learn:

- Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn

- How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand

- The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel

So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency’s most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Season 9 | Ep12 Michael Green: How he made $700K in year one (after not billing for 6 years)

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 12:00:00 +0100

Michael Green: How he made $700K in year one (after not billing for 6 years)

Michael Green spent six years running teams of 100+ recruiters.

Building offices. Managing people. Zero placements.

When he launched Unico in April 2024, he had to go back to basics.

"I had to do role plays to myself. I hadn't qualified a candidate in six years."

Day one was brutal. Just him, his house and a dog.

But Michael had something most recruiters don't: a genuine answer to "what makes you different?"

While everyone else competed on job boards chasing $30K fees, Michael went the opposite direction.

Senior positions only. Architect level and above.

New York Location only

His average fee jumped from $30K to $60K overnight.

His biggest placement? $170,000.

12 months later: $700K gross profit. Solo.

Year two: $1.5M with just four people.

But here's what makes Michael different.

He's not scaling headcount - he's scaling quality.

Ultra-niche: ServiceNow and bleeding-edge SaaS. One technology. Total focus.

Last week, a major partner messaged him: "I've seen your posts. I've heard your reputation. We want to use you exclusively."

He'd never spoken to them before..

He's now targeting growth15 profitable recruiters and $3M in 2026.

This week on The RAG Podcast, Michael tells the full story.

We cover:

- Why he walked away from running 200 people to start from scratch

- How he made $700K in year one after six years out of recruitment

- The "top 3%" model that clients can't say no to

- Why he pivoted from $30K to $100K+ fees overnight

- The AI screening tool that's changing his close rate

- His LinkedIn strategy that generates 70% conversion rates

This isn't about scaling fast.

It's about a man who had to relearn his own trade, doubted himself daily, and built a

$1.5M business in 20 months that doesn't require 100 heads to hit seven figures.

No venture capital. No growth-at-all-costs.

Just profitable headcount over vanity metrics.

If you've ever wondered whether you can start your own agency after years of management - or if there's a smarter way to scale than just adding bodies – this episode has the blueprint.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Admin is a massive waste of time. That’s why there’s Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies.

It doesn’t only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it’s entering a whole new era.

With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords.

Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow.

No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue.

Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting.

Don’t miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn.

Spending thousands on Recruiter licences.

Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks.

But here’s the question almost no one can answer:

How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business?

Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash.

That’s the problem we solve.

At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics.

Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process.

To show you how it works, we’ve created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners.

In less than 10 minutes, you’ll learn:

- Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn

- How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand

- The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel

So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency’s most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Season 9 | Ep 11 Jen Gaster: How she sold her business to her team (and kept the tax bill at zero)

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 12:00:00 +0100

Jen Gaster: How she sold her business to her team (and kept the tax bill at zero)

Jen Gaster launched HR Heads in 2008 at the height of the financial crisis with a six-month-old baby and zero income security.

17 years later, she runs three brands, 22 people, and just completed an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) transaction.

Tax-free exit, 5-year payout. The employees own the business when the mortgage is paid off.

One week after they completed the deal, Rachel Reeves changed the rules.

EOT payments are now taxable for anyone doing it after the budget.

Jen got in just in time.

But here's what makes this story different.

She built the business with her husband Rupert. Same office but separate brands and working processes (They've literally only attended one client meeting together in their entire lives!)

This week on The RAG Podcast, Jen tells the full story.

We cover:

Starting a business during the 2008 financial crash with a baby
Working with your spouse without destroying your marriage
Why she admits "I don't think I'm a brilliant man manager"
The EOT transaction and how they structured a tax-free exit
How Rachel Reeves' budget changed the rules one week after they completed
Why legacy mattered more than a trade sale

This isn't about building an empire.

It's about a founder who wanted to reward the people who built the business with her and managed to do it without a tax bill.

If you've ever wondered whether there's another way to exit, this episode has the blueprint.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Admin is a massive waste of time. That's why there's Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies.

It doesn't only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it's entering a whole new era.

With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords.

Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow.

No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue.

Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting.

Don't miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn.

Spending thousands on Recruiter licences.

Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks.

But here's the question almost no one can answer:

How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business?

Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash.

That's the problem we solve.

At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics.

Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process.

To show you how it works, we've created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners.

In less than 10 minutes, you'll learn:

Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn
How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand
The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel

So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency's most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Season 9 | Ep10 Helen Buchan-Connor on why she's building offshore teams and hitting $600K revenue

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 12:00:00 +0100

Helen Buchan-Connor on why she's building offshore teams and hitting $600K revenue

"All I wanted to do was make £100,000. That's it"

Helen Buchan Connor started her recruitment business in September 2020.

Her husband had just been diagnosed with lymphoma.

COVID had locked down Singapore a week earlier.

She was working from her lift lobby because there was no space for an office.

Most people would've waited for a "better time."

Helen didn't have that luxury.

First year: $350K revenue, $50K profit.

But then 2023 hit. The market turned. She lost $200K.

She'd taken investment. Signed a JV with a well-known player in the industry.

The advice she got?

"Work harder. Do more calls."

But you can't bring UK-style metrics into Southeast Asia and expect them to land.

"In Southeast Asia, trust is built off relationships. In the West, it's built off performance."

So Helen stripped it back. Looked at what the big tech companies were actually doing.

Amazon. Google. The major media agencies.

They were all offshoring. Quietly.

She decided to do it loudly.

Today:

- Three-person team

- $600K revenue

- Phone off at 7 pm

- Present mother and wife

- Building offshore hubs for ad tech clients across Southeast Asia

This week on The RAG Podcast, Helen breaks down exactly how she built it.

We cover:

- Why she started in the middle of a pandemic with a seriously ill husband

- How she turned $350K Year 1 into a $200K loss in Year 3

- Why the JV investment model failed her (and what she learned)

- The Southeast Asia + Philippines combination that changed everything

- How she's consulting clients OUT of hiring decisions (and still growing revenue)

- Why "surviving is thriving" when you're a working parent building a business

This isn't about grinding harder or scaling to 50 headcount.

This is about building a recruitment business that fits your life.

Not the other way around.

"Surviving is thriving. If you've got it together at the end of the week, you're good. If your kids like you, you're good. If you've got a couple of clients and you can invoice them, you're good."

If you want to understand how to build profitably without sacrificing everything else, this episode is essential.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Admin is a massive waste of time. That’s why there’s Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies.

It doesn’t only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it’s entering a whole new era.

With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords.

Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow.

No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue.

Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting.

Don’t miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn.

Spending thousands on Recruiter licences.

Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks.

But here’s the question almost no one can answer:

How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business?

Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash.

That’s the problem we solve.

At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics.

Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process.

To show you how it works, we’ve created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners.

In less than 10 minutes, you’ll learn:

- Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn

- How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand

- The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel

So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency’s most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Season 9 | Ep9 Emily Van Eyssen on why she's firing staff and replacing them with AI

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 12:00:00 +0100

Emily Van Eyssen on why she's firing staff and replacing them with AI

"I automated someone's entire job out of my business."

"They're gone. That role doesn't exist anymore."

Emily Van Eyssen isn't talking about the future.

She's talking about last month.

She had no recruitment experience when she started.

Zero training. Never worked for an agency. Stumbled into it during the pandemic through a government contract she still doesn't understand why she won.

Most people would have crashed and burned.

Emily placed 200 young people into employment, made a lot of money, and accidentally built a completely virtual recruitment business.

When the pandemic ended and the scheme shut down, she had a choice.

Go back to managing Airbnbs (which she hated), or figure out how to make recruitment work.

Three years later:

30-35 placements per month
Team of just 8 people
300+ people placed globally
Jobs being automated out of existence in real-time

But here's what makes Emily's story urgent.

She's not planning for an AI future. She's living it right now.

South African talent + AI super users = roles disappearing overnight.

She fired someone last week for refusing to use AI. That job is now gone forever.

One of her team automated their own role out. They're still there. The role isn't.

She's training 5,000 people per month in South Africa on AI (and employing none of them).

She's targeting 100 placements per month by Easter. Same 8-person team.

This week on The RAG Podcast, Emily tells you exactly what's coming.

We cover:

Why she fired someone for refusing to adopt AI (and automated their job immediately)
How one team member automated an entire salary out of the business
The South Africa + AI combination making UK roles obsolete
Why she's training thousands in AI but employing none of them
What happens to recruitment when one person can do the work of five
Her plan to 3x placements without hiring a single person

This isn't a prediction about 2030.

This is happening right now. In Emily's business. Today.

And if you're not preparing for it, you're already behind.

If you want to understand what the next 12 months actually look like for recruitment, this episode is essential.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Admin is a massive waste of time. That’s why there’s Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies.

It doesn’t only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it’s entering a whole new era.

With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords.

Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow.

No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue.

Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting.

Don’t miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn.

Spending thousands on Recruiter licences.

Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks.

But here’s the question almost no one can answer:

How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business?

Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash.

That’s the problem we solve.

At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics.

Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process.

To show you how it works, we’ve created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners.

In less than 10 minutes, you’ll learn:

- Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn

- How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand

- The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel

So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency’s most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Season 9 | Ep8 Mark Thomas walked away from a six-figure salary without a concrete plan.

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 12:00:00 +0100

Mark Thomas walked away from a six-figure salary without a concrete plan.

Three co-founders. One investment. Strict 9-month covenants.

Then came March: dozens of pitches, everyone loved the vision, but almost no one was buying.

The retained leadership search model wasn't landing. They started questioning everything.

One week later, four retained searches landed. Revenue hasn't stopped climbing since.

12 months in: £1M+ revenue, 75% retained work, and a business model nobody else in insurance recruitment is executing at this level.

In this episode:

Why he nearly pivoted to golf (and why recruitment pays better)
The £150k-£350k leadership gap nobody was serving properly
Turning down every role under £120k to protect the brand
Building the "Real Madrid of recruiters" with 10-15 elite billers
How retained search gives you three-month revenue visibility
The profit share model that creates a partnership without equity

This isn't a scale-to-50-people story. This is about building a boutique firm where being the worst recruiter in the room means you've hired brilliantly.

For recruitment founders who want quality over quantity and believe 10 great people beats 50 average ones.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Admin is a massive waste of time. That’s why there’s Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies.

It doesn’t only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it’s entering a whole new era.

With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords.

Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow.

No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue.

Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting.

Don’t miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn.

Spending thousands on Recruiter licences.

Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks.

But here’s the question almost no one can answer:

How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business?

Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash.

That’s the problem we solve.

At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics.

Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process.

To show you how it works, we’ve created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners.

In less than 10 minutes, you’ll learn:

- Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn

- How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand

- The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel

So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency’s most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Season 9 | Ep7 Chris & Gemma built a 7-figure agency by saying NO to 90% of clients

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 12:00:00 +0100

Chris & Gemma built a 7-figure agency by saying NO to 90% of clients

Chris walked into a client meeting. Got the job brief. Then said "No way."

The client looked at him like he was insane.

"You haven't shown me the office. I don't know your team. I can't work on this job."

She'd just told him they were more expensive than every other agency.

He didn't care.

This is how Chris and Gemma built Mixos - a husband-and-wife recruitment agency that operates completely backwards.

They REFUSE to take briefs over email. They WON'T work with clients who rush them. They'd literally rather go bankrupt than cut their fees.

And somehow? Rookies from retail are billing £50k+ quarters. They've grown to 15 people in 18 months. Their LinkedIn DMs are full of warm leads.

In this episode:

Why they lost one job last month and Chris "felt like someone stuck a knife in him"
The cocktails-in-Mallorca conversation that merged two agencies during a pandemic
How they got a psychology graduate with zero experience to £53k in 90 days
Building a 400-person local community that makes cold calling irrelevant
Why they walked away from their biggest client (and replaced it with 5 better ones)
The "blueprint everything first" strategy that stops quality diluting as you scale
What happens when you tell a client, "I can't help you" in the first meeting

This isn't about growth hacks or AI tools or scaling fast.

This is about two people who set impossible standards, refuse to compromise, and somehow built an agency where saying NO is their superpower.

For every recruiter who's tired of competing on price and wondering if there's another way.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Admin is a massive waste of time. That’s why there’s Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies.

It doesn’t only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it’s entering a whole new era.

With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords.

Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow.

No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue.

Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting.

Don’t miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn.

Spending thousands on Recruiter licences.

Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks.

But here’s the question almost no one can answer:

How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business?

Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash.

That’s the problem we solve.

At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics.

Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process.

To show you how it works, we’ve created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners.

In less than 10 minutes, you’ll learn:

- Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn

- How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand

- The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel

So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency’s most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Season 9 | Ep6 Mick Donaghy: How he built $1.4M from $7K (after his partnership collapsed)

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 12:00:00 +0100

Mick Donaghy: How he built $1.4M from $7K (after his partnership collapsed)

Mick Donaghy's mother died when he was in his twenties.

Life's too short became his operating system.

He left Ireland. Moved to New Zealand. Became a top-billing recruiter!

A few years later, he got his shot at ownership. A partnership to launch an Australian business for the agency he worked.

For many reasons, this partnership didn’t work, so Mick paid back his business partner and walked away with $7,000 in his bank account.

No business. No plan B.

This time, he was doing it alone.

GEDON was born - named after his Mum.

Ultra-niche: quantity surveying and cost management. One discipline. Total focus.

12 months later: $1.4M AUD in billings.
65 placements. One person every three days.

But here's what makes Mick different.

He's not building an empire.- he’s building freedom!

Currently has 9 people, 5 offshore making 40%+ profit margins.

Last week, he won 3 new clients from his personal brand. Zero cold calls.

He just bought a 100-year-old house in Belfast. Cash.

He drives an old Toyota Corolla, does 30 minutes in the sauna daily and is two and a half years into rebuilding his relationship with alcohol.

He’s now set a new and incredible target: 20-hour work week. $300-400K profit annually.

This week on The RAG Podcast, Mick tells the full story.

We cover:

The partnership in Australia that COVID nearly destroyed
How he started Gedon with $7K and built it to $1.4M in year one
Why ultra-niche made his business borderless
The personal brand strategy that replaced cold calling
Why he refuses to scale headcount
His sobriety journey and the 20-hour work week plan

This isn't about scaling fast.

It's about a man who lost his mom young, tried a partnership that collapsed, and rebuilt everything from $7,000 into a million-dollar business that gives him his life back.

No investor decks. No growth-at-all-costs.

Just freedom over headcount.

If you've ever wondered whether there's another way to build a business—one that doesn't trap you -this episode has the blueprint.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Admin is a massive waste of time. That's why there's Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies.

It doesn't only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it's entering a whole new era.

With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords.

Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow.

No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue.

Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting.

Don't miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn.

Spending thousands on Recruiter licences.

Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks.

But here's the question almost no one can answer:

How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business?

Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash.

That's the problem we solve.

At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics.

Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process.

To show you how it works, we've created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners.

In less than 10 minutes, you'll learn:

- Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn

- How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand

- The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel

So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency's most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Season 9 | Ep5 Jordan Shlosberg: Why agency recruiters will win (and internal TA won't)

Wed, 05 Nov 2025 12:00:00 +0100

Jordan Shlosberg: Why agency recruiters will win (and internal TA won't)

Jordan Shlosberg runs Atlas CRM—the fastest-growing, AI-native recruitment platform in the world.

Thousands of recruiters use his technology every day. Real-time data. Real billings. Real problems being solved.

If anyone knows what's actually working with AI in recruitment, it's him.

"Internal talent teams have a lot to worry about. Agency recruiters? There's a renaissance coming."

Here's why:

Agency recruiters have years of candidate conversations. Reference calls. Market knowledge built through relationships. The ability to cut through 1,500 AI-generated applications with actual insight.

Internal TA has a resume. Sometimes a screening call. That's it.

But here's the problem: agency recruitment only represents 7-8% of all hires in Europe.

We could grow our share massively. Or we could shrink into irrelevance.

The difference? How quickly we become AI-literate.

This week on The RAG Podcast, Jordan and I go deep on what's actually happening in recruitment AI.

We cover:

Why Atlas crossed $1M ARR in 10 months while the market contracted
How clients are growing from 4 to 15 seats in under a year
The fatal flaw in "agentic job boards" like Jack & Jill
Why sourcing platforms only show you 50% of LinkedIn's data
The partnership we're launching to make recruiters top 5% AI users

This isn't another "AI is coming for your job" panic post.

This is strategic intelligence from someone watching what actually works across thousands of recruiters every day.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Admin is a massive waste of time. That's why there's Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies.

It doesn't only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it's entering a whole new era.

With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords.

Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow.

No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue.

Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting.

Don't miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn.

Spending thousands on Recruiter licences.

Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks.

But here's the question almost no one can answer:

How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business?

Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash.

That's the problem we solve.

At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics.

Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process.

To show you how it works, we've created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners.

In less than 10 minutes, you'll learn:

- Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn

- How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand

- The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel

So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency's most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Season 9 | Ep4 Ricky Burns: How to build £1.1M profit in year one (after losing it all at 32)

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 12:00:00 +0100

Ricky Burns: How to build £1.1M profit in year one (after losing it all at 32)

Ricky Burns made incredible money at 28

Then he drank it all away.

Partied it into oblivion and got hit with a massive VAT bill he couldn't pay.

Most people never recover from that kind of failure, but at 32, he decided to shut the business down and start again.

He went back into employment for 11 years.

Ran European divisions. Watched. Learned. Took notes on what actually works.

Then in September 2024 he launched Pulse Group with his co-founder Tony.

12 months later:

£1.4M in fees
£1.1M in EBITDA (profit)

I don't know anyone who's achieved these numbers in year one.

This week on The RAG Podcast, Ricky breaks it all down.

We cover:

How they hit £1.1M profit in 12 months (it's simpler than you think)
What killed his first business (beyond the partying)
The 10 years of lessons that made the comeback inevitable
Why he paired recruitment with SOW consultancy
The systems and client focus driving 83% margins
How AI is making them more efficient without adding headcount
Why work-life balance is now non-negotiable

This isn't your typical "I scaled fast" story.

This is brutal honesty about failure, sobriety, and building something sustainable the second time around.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Admin is a massive waste of time. That’s why there’s Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies.

It doesn’t only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it’s entering a whole new era.

With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords.

Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow.

No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue.

Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting.

Don’t miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn.

Spending thousands on Recruiter licences.

Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks.

But here’s the question almost no one can answer:

How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business?

Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash.

That’s the problem we solve.

At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics.

Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process.

To show you how it works, we’ve created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners.

In less than 10 minutes, you’ll learn:

- Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn

- How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand

- The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel

So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency’s most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Season 9 | Ep3 Matt Fox achieved a life-changing exit and walked away in 90 days!

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 12:00:00 +0100

Matt Fox achieved a life-changing exit and walked away in 90 days!

Matt Fox was 72 hours from a multi-seven-figure exit when COVID killed the deal.

What followed: a complete breakdown, 2 years of therapy, and a total rebuild.

But he did it differently the second time.

Cut from 30 stressed employees to 10 people he loved. Stripped costs. Turned it into a cash machine. By 40, he'd cleared his mortgage and bought Spanish properties with cash.

Then, in November 2024, he sold the business and walked away in 3 months.

In this episode:

Why scaling to 30 people nearly destroyed him
The "cash cow" strategy that made him wealthy before the exit
How to build a team that doesn't need you
What selling a business actually feels like (the bit nobody warns you about)
Why 80% of recruitment founders get exits wrong

This isn't your typical scale-and-sell story. This is what it really takes to lose everything, rebuild on your terms, and exit with your sanity intact.

For recruitment founders running 5-30 person agencies, wondering what happens next.

Chapters

00:03:00 Building Dynamite Recruitment
00:09:00 Challenges and Resilience
00:15:00 Restructuring for Profitability
00:21:00 The Sale Process
00:27:00 Lessons Learned and Future Plans

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Admin is a massive waste of time. That’s why there’s Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies.

It doesn’t only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it’s entering a whole new era.

With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords.

Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow.

No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue.

Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting.

Don’t miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn.

Spending thousands on Recruiter licences.

Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks.

But here’s the question almost no one can answer:

How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business?

Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash.

That’s the problem we solve.

At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics.

Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process.

To show you how it works, we’ve created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners.

In less than 10 minutes, you’ll learn:

- Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn

- How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand

- The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel

So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency’s most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Season 9 | Ep2 Nick Hoadley on scaling Insurance Search to 7-figures at 50% plus profit

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 12:00:00 +0100

This week on The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Nick Hoadley, founder of Insurance Search, a specialist executive search practice in the global insurance market.

Nick quit a successful broking career nine years ago and launched a recruitment business with zero agency experience. Since then, he has shifted from 100% contingent to 100% retained, built a lean team, and maxed out a seven-figure practice while holding 50 to 60% profit margins. He is now expanding in the US with a partner model designed to scale without fixed overheads.

We talk about:

- How he went from insurance broker to founder with no prior agency experience

- The playbook for moving from 100% contingent to 100% retained

- Why a podcast and thought leadership now drive executive mandates worldwide

- Building a lean delivery engine, research and board search that sustains 50% plus margins

- The US partner model that scales without headcount or fixed overhead

- What to productise next, from human capital research to peer forums

- Practical advice on letting go of delivery to win bigger work

If you are aiming to grow an executive search practice while protecting profit, this is the episode to watch.

Chapters

00:00:30 Nick Hoadley's Journey

00:01:00 From Contingent to Retained

00:01:28 Impact of Podcasting

00:01:57 Aligning Personal and Professional Goals

00:02:27 AI and the Future of Recruitment

00:02:57 Building Client Trust

00:03:27 Scaling with a Partner Model

00:03:59 The US Market Expansion

00:04:28 Conclusion and Future Outlook

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Admin is a massive waste of time. That’s why there’s Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies.

It doesn’t only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it’s entering a whole new era.

With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords.

Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow.

No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue.

Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting.

Don’t miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn.

Spending thousands on Recruiter licences.

Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks.

But here’s the question almost no one can answer:

How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business?

Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash.

That’s the problem we solve.

At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics.

Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process.

To show you how it works, we’ve created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners.

In less than 10 minutes, you’ll learn:

- Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn

- How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand

- The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel

So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency’s most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Season 9 | Ep1 Samm Green on rebuilding Few & Far towards £1m EBITDA in 2025, despite serious burnout and two years of losses

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 12:00:00 +0100

This week, on episode 1 of season 9 of The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Samm Green, co-founder of Few & Far, a UK-based product management recruitment business with 22 people and a powerful story of resilience.

Samm was the very first guest I ever recorded on The RAG back in 2019, and at that time, he had big plans to scale to 40 staff and eventually exit. While some of that came true, the road since has been far from smooth.

In this episode, Samm opens up about:

- The financial and emotional toll of losing over £350,000 during the market downturn.

- How burnout and stress led to physical illness and a trip to A&E.

- The decision to rebuild and focus on profit, not just growth.

- Why transparency and community have been key to recovery.

- How he’s turned the business around to be on track for £1m EBITDA in 2025.

This is one of the most honest conversations I’ve ever had on The RAG. It’s a story about resilience, leadership and learning what success really means when the pressure hits hardest.

Chapters

00:00 Sam Green's Journey

02:53 The Growth and Challenges of Few&Far

05:55 Navigating the Post-COVID Landscape

09:00 The Impact of Financial Loss on Mental Health

11:27 Lessons Learned from Redundancies and Business Cuts

14:36 Rebuilding and Regaining Profitability

17:20 The Importance of Mental Health in Business

20:17 Strategies for Business Development and Community Building

23:16 The Future of Recruitment in a Changing Market

26:00 Personal Reflections and Future Aspirations

28:48 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Admin is a massive waste of time. That’s why there’s Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies.

It doesn’t only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it’s entering a whole new era.

With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords.

Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow.

No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue.

Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting.

Don’t miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn.

Spending thousands on Recruiter licences.

Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks.

But here’s the question almost no one can answer:

How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business?

Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash.

That’s the problem we solve.

At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics.

Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process.

To show you how it works, we’ve created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners.

In less than 10 minutes, you’ll learn:

- Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn

- How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand

- The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel

So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency’s most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Anthony Webster on authenticity, inclusion and leading DVF Recruitment to success

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 12:00:00 +0100

This week on The RAG Podcast, I am revisiting my episode with Anthony Webster, Managing Director of DVF Recruitment and board member at Career Legal.

Anthony and I go way back - we worked together for five years and even planned to launch Hoxo together before his journey took a different turn. At that point, Anthony made a life-changing decision: he came out as gay after years of hiding his true self.

We talk about:

The challenges of coming out in a male-dominated industry
Why authenticity and inclusion are vital for culture and growth
His journey from recruiter to MD and board member
The impact of living openly on his career and leadership style
How DVF has grown under his leadership as part of the Career Legal group

Anthony’s story is powerful, personal, and incredibly inspiring. It’s about resilience, honesty, and the importance of creating safe and inclusive spaces in recruitment.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the RAG Podcast and Guest Introduction

01:28 Anthony's Journey: Coming Out and Career Choices

03:36 Career Path: From Recruitment to Managing Director

08:25 The Drive for Success: Personal Background and Motivation

11:19 Building Relationships in Recruitment: The Importance of Consistency

15:28 The Decision to Come Out: Personal Struggles and Growth

19:03 Navigating Life After Coming Out: Personal and Professional Changes

22:51 Integrating into the LGBTQ Community: New Experiences and Friendships

33:00 The Future of DVF Recruitment: Growth and Inclusion

48:58 Creating an Inclusive Environment in Recruitment

01:00:01 Looking Ahead: Future Plans for DVF and Personal Life

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Now how many of those conversations can you recall with 100% accuracy? How many hours a week do you spend making notes to try and retain as much as possible? And how much is still getting lost along the way?

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

They were built to rely on the structured, tagged, categorised, and formal data you could feed it. Manual processes that needed you to input specific information, based on specific questions and answers.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Recruitment agency founders - this one’s for you.

What’s your plan for the rest of 2025?

If it’s based on more cold outreach, referrals, or hiring more recruiters… we’ve got news for you. That’s not where the smart money is going.

The market has changed. AI is everywhere. Noise is louder than ever.

So if you want to scale profitably this year, you need to do things differently!

It starts with what you already have.

Your experience. Your network. Your voice.

And we are showing you exactly how to use it in a brand-new, FREE Masterclass - built specifically for recruitment leaders like you.

You’re going to learn:

Why your LinkedIn content isn’t working - and how to fix it fast
How to generate inbound leads without being “LinkedIn famous”
And the exact Hoxo 3X System agencies are using to book more calls - in just a few hours a week

78% of our clients made over 100K in the first 6 months using this. No fluff. No guesswork. Just stuff that works.

The Masterclass is free - but it’s only available for a limited time.

So if you’re serious about growing this year, don’t wait.

Head to https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0 to get started. See you there!

Laura Clark on taking over OA Group from her mum and leading it into the future

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 12:00:00 +0100

This week on The RAG Podcast, we are revisiting my episode with Laura Clark, CEO of OA Group.

Laura’s journey is one of the most unique I’ve ever shared on the show. She grew up watching her mum build Osborne Appointments (now OA Group), joined the business at 19, and earlier this year bought it from her mother to take over as CEO.

We talk about:

What it was like growing up with an entrepreneurial mother as inspiration
Joining the business at 19 and proving herself in recruitment
Navigating four children while building her own career and leadership style
The emotional and strategic process of negotiating the buyout with her mum
Her vision for OA Group, balancing legacy with innovation

This was the first time I’ve had a guest who has bought their business from a parent, and it raises so many relatable themes for any founder, from negotiating long-term relationships to building a business that truly reflects your values.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to The Rag Podcast and Laura Clark

02:21 Laura's Journey in Recruitment and Family Dynamics

12:03 Early Career Challenges and Growth in Recruitment

18:19 Transitioning to Management and Leadership

28:38 Taking Over the Family Business

32:44 Navigating Business Challenges

34:37 The Emotional Dynamics of Family Business

38:35 Reflections on Business Exits

41:30 Post-Acquisition Vision and Growth

49:54 Balancing Remote Work and Team Dynamics

55:03 Gender Equality in Leadership

59:43 Juggling Work and Family Life

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Recruitment agency founders - this one’s for you.

What’s your plan for the rest of 2025?

If it’s based on more cold outreach, referrals, or hiring more recruiters… we’ve got news for you. That’s not where the smart money is going.

The market has changed. AI is everywhere. Noise is louder than ever.

So if you want to scale profitably this year, you need to do things differently!

It starts with what you already have.

Your experience. Your network. Your voice.

And we are showing you exactly how to use it in a brand-new, FREE Masterclass - built specifically for recruitment leaders like you.

You’re going to learn:

Why your LinkedIn content isn’t working - and how to fix it fast
How to generate inbound leads without being “LinkedIn famous”
And the exact Hoxo 3X System agencies are using to book more calls - in just a few hours a week

78% of our clients made over 100K in the first 6 months using this. No fluff. No guesswork. Just stuff that works.

The Masterclass is free - but it’s only available for a limited time.

So if you’re serious about growing this year, don’t wait.

Head to https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0 to get started. See you there!

How Ben Wallin and Dan Cox scaled Edison Smart to 31 staff and expanded globally

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 12:00:00 +0100

This week on The RAG Podcast, I’m revisiting my episode with Ben Wallin and Dan Cox, founders of Edison Smart.

When I spoke to them in August 2022, they’d already hit £1.7m revenue and built a team of nearly 20 in just over a year. One year later, they scaled to 31 employees, expanded into the US, put boots on the ground in Dubai, and built a structure that no longer relies on their own billing.

We talk about:

How they built an operational and leadership team that runs the agency
Why they hired experienced recruiters while others were letting people go
The rebrand to Edison Smart and its focus on smart technology
How they achieved 40 percent growth in 2023
What it takes to truly work on the business, not in it

For any founder asking how to become more operational and scale sustainably, this episode is a clear roadmap.

Chapters

02:58 Edison Smart's Growth Journey

06:01 Operational Structure and Leadership Dynamics

09:11 Market Challenges and Strategic Responses

11:57 Hiring Strategies and Team Expansion

15:09 Navigating Market Changes and Client Relationships

17:58 Headcount Growth and Recruitment Strategies

22:03 Geographical Expansion: US and Dubai

25:10 Branding and Rebranding: Edison Smart

27:47 Operational Working Arrangements and Company Culture

30:57 Key Takeaways and Future Vision

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Recruitment agency founders - this one’s for you.

What’s your plan for the rest of 2025?

If it’s based on more cold outreach, referrals, or hiring more recruiters… we’ve got news for you. That’s not where the smart money is going.

The market has changed. AI is everywhere. Noise is louder than ever.

So if you want to scale profitably this year, you need to do things differently!

It starts with what you already have.

Your experience. Your network. Your voice.

And we are showing you exactly how to use it in a brand-new, FREE Masterclass - built specifically for recruitment leaders like you.

You’re going to learn:

Why your LinkedIn content isn’t working - and how to fix it fast
How to generate inbound leads without being “LinkedIn famous”
And the exact Hoxo 3X System agencies are using to book more calls - in just a few hours a week

78% of our clients made over 100K in the first 6 months using this. No fluff. No guesswork. Just stuff that works.

The Masterclass is free - but it’s only available for a limited time.

So if you’re serious about growing this year, don’t wait.

Head to https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0 to get started. See you there!

Kevin Frater on leading global recruitment growth from 12 to 180 at Frank Group

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 12:00:00 +0100

This week on The RAG Podcast, we are revisiting Episode 1 from Season 7 with Kevin Frater, Director at Stable10 and a recruitment leader with over 18 years of experience across Allegis and Frank Group.

Kevin built his reputation as a fixer, turning underperforming offices into high-performing teams. Most notably, he grew a team in Germany from 12 to 180 recruiters over six years, creating one of the most successful divisions within Frank Group globally.

We talk about:

The playbook for turning around underperforming recruitment teams
Scaling internationally across London, Singapore and Germany
What it really takes to grow and manage high-performing sales cultures
How to balance leadership, travel and personal life at scale
Why Kevin chose to take a break before his next chapter

Whether you’re a manager looking to build and lead bigger teams or a recruitment business searching for a leader to drive growth, this episode is packed with insight.

Chapters

03:02 Kevin Frater's Journey in Recruitment

08:25 Transition from Allegious Group to Frank Group

14:32 Leadership and Team Growth Strategies

20:10 Turning Around Underperforming Teams

31:50 International Experience: Asia and Germany

40:37 Challenges and Successes in the German Market

48:32 Scaling the Team from 12 to 180

55:35 Reflections on Career and Future Opportunities

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Recruitment agency founders - this one’s for you.

What’s your plan for the rest of 2025?

If it’s based on more cold outreach, referrals, or hiring more recruiters… we’ve got news for you. That’s not where the smart money is going.

The market has changed. AI is everywhere. Noise is louder than ever.

So if you want to scale profitably this year, you need to do things differently!

It starts with what you already have.

Your experience. Your network. Your voice.

And we are showing you exactly how to use it in a brand-new, FREE Masterclass - built specifically for recruitment leaders like you.

You’re going to learn:

Why your LinkedIn content isn’t working - and how to fix it fast
How to generate inbound leads without being “LinkedIn famous”
And the exact Hoxo 3X System agencies are using to book more calls - in just a few hours a week

78% of our clients made over 100K in the first 6 months using this. No fluff. No guesswork. Just stuff that works.

The Masterclass is free - but it’s only available for a limited time.

So if you’re serious about growing this year, don’t wait.

Head to https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0 to get started. See you there!

Joe Jani on growing Metric Search to 90 heads and a private equity deal in six years

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 12:00:00 +0100

This week on The RAG Podcast, I’m revisiting my episode with Joe Jani, founder and CEO of Metric Search, one of the fastest growing recruitment firms in the world.

Joe launched Metric in 2019 and in just six years has scaled to 90 heads across the US and UK. At only 31 years old, he’s already closed a private equity deal, taking seven figures off the table while setting the business on course for a $100m valuation.

We talk about:

The strategic decisions behind launching and scaling Metric
Navigating the COVID pandemic without slowing momentum
How leadership and culture have fuelled rapid growth
The truth about managing and billing at the same time
What private equity means for the next stage of growth

Joe’s story is proof that with the right vision, culture and commercial focus, you can scale globally at pace while still building a business that lasts.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Joe Jarny and Metric Search

02:09 Joe's Journey in Recruitment

11:52 Launching Metric Search and Navigating COVID

22:03 The MBO Process and Growth Strategy

35:14 Private Equity Deal and Future Plans

49:21 Personal Life and Work-Life Balance

01:00:38 Myths in Recruitment and Leadership

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Recruitment agency founders - this one’s for you.

What’s your plan for the rest of 2025?

If it’s based on more cold outreach, referrals, or hiring more recruiters… we’ve got news for you. That’s not where the smart money is going.

The market has changed. AI is everywhere. Noise is louder than ever.

So if you want to scale profitably this year, you need to do things differently!

It starts with what you already have.

Your experience. Your network. Your voice.

And we are showing you exactly how to use it in a brand-new, FREE Masterclass - built specifically for recruitment leaders like you.

You’re going to learn:

Why your LinkedIn content isn’t working - and how to fix it fast
How to generate inbound leads without being “LinkedIn famous”
And the exact Hoxo 3X System agencies are using to book more calls - in just a few hours a week

78% of our clients made over 100K in the first 6 months using this. No fluff. No guesswork. Just stuff that works.

The Masterclass is free - but it’s only available for a limited time.

So if you’re serious about growing this year, don’t wait.

Head to https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0 to get started. See you there!

Jordan Shlosberg on how AI can help you remove admin forever!

Wed, 13 Aug 2025 12:00:00 +0100

This week on The RAG Podcast, I’m revisiting my chat with Jordan Shlosberg, founder of Atlas, the first AI-first CRM built for the recruitment market.

Jordan’s no stranger to scale. Before Atlas, he founded Prosapien, growing it to $40 million in revenue in just five years before exiting. He’s now bringing the same disruptive approach to recruitment technology.

We talk about:

How Atlas uses AI to eliminate low-value admin work for recruiters
Why the recruitment industry is ripe for disruption
Lessons from scaling and exiting Prosapien
His vision for building a CRM that recruiters actually want to use
How he’s creating a culture where employees share in the company’s success

Jordan’s mission is to give recruiters more time to do what they do best, building relationships and making placements, while Atlas handles the admin.

If you’re questioning whether your CRM is keeping up with AI’s potential, this is one to watch.

--------------------------------------

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to The Rag Podcast and Guest Jordan Shlosberg

02:51 Jordan's Entrepreneurial Journey and Background

05:57 The Birth of Atlas and AI in Recruitment

08:51 The Role of Family Background in Entrepreneurial Drive

12:03 Transition from Finance to Entrepreneurship

15:03 Building ProSapient: The First Company

18:06 Growth Strategies and Challenges in ProSapient

20:55 Technology's Impact on Business Operations

23:52 Navigating Funding and Investment Rounds

26:41 The Evolution of Leadership and Management

29:47 The Future of Atlas and AI in Recruitment

43:54 Navigating a Competitive Recruitment Landscape

45:31 Building Software for Recruitment Success

48:48 Innovating in Recruitment Technology

50:31 The Future of Spec CVs and AI Integration

58:30 Streamlining Administrative Tasks with AI

01:00:27 Enhancing Data Management and Reporting

01:08:37 Customer Support and User Experience

01:17:42 Vision for the Future of Atlas

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Recruitment agency founders - this one’s for you.

What’s your plan for the rest of 2025?

If it’s based on more cold outreach, referrals, or hiring more recruiters… we’ve got news for you. That’s not where the smart money is going.

The market has changed. AI is everywhere. Noise is louder than ever.

So if you want to scale profitably this year, you need to do things differently!

It starts with what you already have.

Your experience. Your network. Your voice.

And we are showing you exactly how to use it in a brand-new, FREE Masterclass - built specifically for recruitment leaders like you.

You’re going to learn:

Why your LinkedIn content isn’t working - and how to fix it fast
How to generate inbound leads without being “LinkedIn famous”
And the exact Hoxo 3X System agencies are using to book more calls - in just a few hours a week

78% of our clients made over 100K in the first 6 months using this. No fluff. No guesswork. Just stuff that works.

The Masterclass is free - but it’s only available for a limited time.

So if you’re serious about growing this year, don’t wait.

Head to https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0 to get started. See you there!

Stuart Mitchell on using personal brand to build a seven-figure agency in nine months

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 12:00:00 +0100

This week on The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Stuart Mitchell, the founder of Hampton North, a specialist cybersecurity search firm based in the US.

Stuart launched his business, and in just nine months, he had already surpassed the seven-figure mark. There were no cold calls, no marketing spend, just LinkedIn and a consistent commitment to personal branding.

We talk about:

How he’s built a brand that attracts top talent and clients
What it was like launching through RecruitHub
His remote first mindset and how that’s shaped the team
The “Magic Inbox” that helped him scale at record speed
And why authenticity is his biggest competitive edge

Every one of Stuart’s hires so far has approached him directly after following his content. He’s building an Avengers-level team of high performers who believe in his approach and are now reaping the rewards of it.

If you’re running a recruitment business or thinking about starting one, this is the episode to watch.

Catch it live on my LinkedIn at 12 pm on Wednesday or listen back afterwards wherever you get your podcasts.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Stuart Mitchell and Hampton North

02:53 Stuart's Journey into Recruitment

06:08 Building a Personal Brand

08:59 Transitioning to Cybersecurity Recruitment

11:57 The Launch of Hampton North

14:34 The Role of Recruit Hub

17:36 The Impact of Personal Branding on Business

20:40 Navigating the Recruitment Landscape

23:28 Hiring and Building a Team

26:46 Work-Life Balance as a New Parent

29:40 Advice for Aspiring Recruitment Entrepreneurs

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Recruitment agency founders - this one’s for you.

What’s your plan for the rest of 2025?

If it’s based on more cold outreach, referrals, or hiring more recruiters… we’ve got news for you. That’s not where the smart money is going.

The market has changed. AI is everywhere. Noise is louder than ever.

So if you want to scale profitably this year, you need to do things differently!

It starts with what you already have.

Your experience. Your network. Your voice.

And we are showing you exactly how to use it in a brand-new, FREE Masterclass - built specifically for recruitment leaders like you.

You’re going to learn:

Why your LinkedIn content isn’t working - and how to fix it fast
How to generate inbound leads without being “LinkedIn famous”
And the exact Hoxo 3X System agencies are using to book more calls - in just a few hours a week

78% of our clients made over 100K in the first 6 months using this. No fluff. No guesswork. Just stuff that works.

The Masterclass is free - but it’s only available for a limited time.

So if you’re serious about growing this year, don’t wait.

Head to https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0 to get started. See you there!

Digital nomad to 60% profit: Chris Redmond on remote success and exit plans

Wed, 30 Jul 2025 12:00:00 +0100

Chris Redmond is back on The RAG for the third time and his story keeps getting better.

When I first interviewed Chris in 2019, he’d just gone fully remote and was chasing a digital nomad lifestyle with no fixed office. At the time, I thought he was mad.

Then COVID hit, and while the rest of the industry scrambled, Chris and his team were already built for the new world.

Fast forward to now, Redholt is a retained headhunting firm running at 60 percent profit with just 8 people. Chris lives in Dubai, has transformed his health (losing 35kg in six months), and is building towards something much bigger: a business that runs without him and can one day be sold.

In this episode, we cover:

His unique forensic recruitment model
What it takes to move from lifestyle business to scalable business
The pressure of being the only BD engine in your company
Why personal reinvention is key to professional growth
And how social media is helping drive both brand and client retention

Watch the episode live on my LinkedIn this Wednesday at 12 pm or catch up afterwards wherever you get your podcasts.

If you're a founder thinking about long-term value and lifestyle alignment, this one’s not to be missed.

Watch our ten-minute video on “The most profitable way to grow your recruitment agency in 2025” here: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Apply to be on the next RAG season here: https://hubs.ly/Q03yjlLd0

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to The Rag Podcast

03:23 Chris Redmond's Journey and Business Evolution

10:13 Red Hole's Unique Recruitment Methodology

17:56 Scalability and Future Plans for Red Hole

22:02 The Impact of Moving to Dubai

29:06 Personal Transformation and Health Journey

50:36 The Power of Social Media in Business

01:04:30 Future Vision and Exit Strategy for Red Hole

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Recruitment agency founders - this one’s for you.

What’s your plan for the rest of 2025?

If it’s based on more cold outreach, referrals, or hiring more recruiters… we’ve got news for you. That’s not where the smart money is going.

The market has changed. AI is everywhere. Noise is louder than ever.

So if you want to scale profitably this year, you need to do things differently!

It starts with what you already have.

Your experience. Your network. Your voice.

And we are showing you exactly how to use it in a brand-new, FREE Masterclass - built specifically for recruitment leaders like you.

You’re going to learn:

Why your LinkedIn content isn’t working - and how to fix it fast
How to generate inbound leads without being “LinkedIn famous”
And the exact Hoxo 3X System agencies are using to book more calls - in just a few hours a week

78% of our clients made over 100K in the first 6 months using this. No fluff. No guesswork. Just stuff that works.

The Masterclass is free - but it’s only available for a limited time.

So if you’re serious about growing this year, don’t wait.

Head to https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0 to get started. See you there!

Season 8 | Ep41 Season 8 wrap-up: What I’ve learned from 40 founder stories this year

Wed, 23 Jul 2025 12:00:00 +0100

What I’ve learned from 40 recruitment founder interviews in a year

This week’s episode of The RAG is a little different - it’s just me

After 40 in-person interviews across the UK, Dubai and Sydney, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on what I’ve learned in season 8 and what’s next for the show.

Here’s 3 key learnings that I cover in this solo episode:

Why headcount is no longer the main measure of success
Why remote teams, offshore talent and AI are shaping the future of recruitment
Why profit is becoming more important than scale and exit

If you’re a founder who's rethinking what growth really means and you want to build something profitable, sustainable and enjoyable - then this will help

Watch our ten-minute video on “The most profitable way to grow your recruitment agency in 2025” here: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Apply to be on the next RAG season here: https://hubs.ly/Q03yjlLd0

Chapters

00:00 Season Reflection and Future Plans

02:48 Shifts in Recruitment Success Metrics

05:44 Personal Business Transformation and Insights

09:01 Profit Maximization Focus for Future Seasons

11:43 Engagement and Community Building

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Recruitment agency founders - this one’s for you.

What’s your plan for the rest of 2025?

If it’s based on more cold outreach, referrals, or hiring more recruiters… we’ve got news for you. That’s not where the smart money is going.

The market has changed. AI is everywhere. Noise is louder than ever.

So if you want to scale profitably this year, you need to do things differently!

It starts with what you already have.

Your experience. Your network. Your voice.

And we are showing you exactly how to use it in a brand-new, FREE Masterclass - built specifically for recruitment leaders like you.

You’re going to learn:

Why your LinkedIn content isn’t working - and how to fix it fast
How to generate inbound leads without being “LinkedIn famous”
And the exact Hoxo 3X System agencies are using to book more calls - in just a few hours a week

78% of our clients made over 100K in the first 6 months using this. No fluff. No guesswork. Just stuff that works.

The Masterclass is free - but it’s only available for a limited time.

So if you’re serious about growing this year, don’t wait.

Head to https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0 to get started. See you there!

Season 8 | Ep40 Jamie Trevett on going all in on the US and shutting down his UK contracts business

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 12:00:00 +0100

Would you walk away from recurring revenue to chase a bigger opportunity overseas?

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Jamie Trevett, founder of Just Construction. Jamie was last on the show in 2022 when his UK construction recruitment firm had 25 staff and a growing contract book.

Fast forward to today and Jamie has completely transformed the business. He shut down the contract side in the UK and relocated the company’s focus to the US market, where he now runs a similarly sized team doing 95% of their work stateside.

In this episode, we discuss:

Why he made the bold decision to leave the UK market behind
The operational and cultural shifts required to succeed in the US
How time zones and remote management work across continents
The growing influence of AI on recruitment delivery
What the future could look like for Just Construction, including a potential sale

If you're thinking about scaling into the US or questioning how to futureproof your business in a changing market, you’ll get real insight from this one.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Jamie Trevett and Just Construction

02:59 Transitioning from the UK to the US Market

05:56 Challenges in the UK Construction Recruitment Market

08:49 Shutting Down the Contract Side of the Business

12:07 Building a Stronger Focus on Permanent Recruitment

14:57 Navigating Time Zones and Work Arrangements

17:53 Strategies for Expanding into the US Market

21:04 The Impact of AI on Recruitment

23:43 Future Plans and Potential Sale of the Business

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Recruitment agency founders - this one’s for you.

What’s your plan for the rest of 2025?

If it’s based on more cold outreach, referrals, or hiring more recruiters… we’ve got news for you. That’s not where the smart money is going.

The market has changed. AI is everywhere. Noise is louder than ever.

So if you want to scale profitably this year, you need to do things differently!

It starts with what you already have.

Your experience. Your network. Your voice.

And we are showing you exactly how to use it in a brand-new, FREE Masterclass - built specifically for recruitment leaders like you.

You’re going to learn:

Why your LinkedIn content isn’t working - and how to fix it fast
How to generate inbound leads without being “LinkedIn famous”
And the exact Hoxo 3X System agencies are using to book more calls - in just a few hours a week

78% of our clients made over 100K in the first 6 months using this. No fluff. No guesswork. Just stuff that works.

The Masterclass is free - but it’s only available for a limited time.

So if you’re serious about growing this year, don’t wait.

Head to https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0 to get started. See you there!

Season 8 | Ep39 Matt Tyson on two life-changing exits and the personal cost of chasing growth

Wed, 09 Jul 2025 12:00:00 +0100

What’s the point in building a business if you lose everything at home?

On this week’s episode of The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Matt Tyson, founder of Knockout Consulting and former owner of two successful payroll companies.

Matt has achieved what many founders dream of—two life-changing exits in 15 years. But behind the success was a personal cost he never expected. In his pursuit of business growth, he lost sight of the very reason he started—his family.

In this deeply honest conversation, we discuss:

How Matt built and exited two payroll businesses
The pressure of selling a company during uncertain times
What he’d do differently to protect his marriage and mental health
Why emotional balance matters just as much as financial goals
Strategies for building a business that doesn't cost you everything else

If you’re a founder chasing an exit or deep in growth mode, this is a powerful reminder to check in on what really matters.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Growth and Balance

02:52 Matt Tyson's Journey and Business Philosophy

06:03 Transition from Banking to Payroll

09:08 Building and Exiting Businesses

12:01 The Importance of Compliance and Contractor Welfare

14:54 Navigating Business Growth and Personal Life

17:47 The Emotional Impact of Business Success

20:54 The Role of Family and Support Systems

23:49 Establishing Walker Smith and Growth Strategies

27:01 Innovations in Contractor Support

29:41 The Journey of Building a Group of Businesses

32:56 Recognizing Personal Struggles and Changes

35:48 Reflections on Work-Life Balance

38:43 Conclusion and Lessons Learned

42:43 Navigating Business Exits During Uncertain Times

45:38 The Importance of Financial Control and Cost Management

49:27 Identity and Purpose After Selling a Business

50:39 The Emotional Impact of Business Transitions

56:52 Lessons Learned from Personal Relationships and Business

01:00:44 Finding Balance: Work, Life, and Personal Fulfillment

01:09:29 Key Strategies for Business Growth and Exit Planning

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Recruitment agency founders - this one’s for you.

What’s your plan for the rest of 2025?

If it’s based on more cold outreach, referrals, or hiring more recruiters… we’ve got news for you. That’s not where the smart money is going.

The market has changed. AI is everywhere. Noise is louder than ever.

So if you want to scale profitably this year, you need to do things differently!

It starts with what you already have.

Your experience. Your network. Your voice.

And we are showing you exactly how to use it in a brand-new, FREE Masterclass - built specifically for recruitment leaders like you.

You’re going to learn:

Why your LinkedIn content isn’t working - and how to fix it fast
How to generate inbound leads without being “LinkedIn famous”
And the exact Hoxo 3X System agencies are using to book more calls - in just a few hours a week

78% of our clients made over 100K in the first 6 months using this. No fluff. No guesswork. Just stuff that works.

The Masterclass is free - but it’s only available for a limited time.

So if you’re serious about growing this year, don’t wait.

Head to https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0 to get started. See you there!

Season 8 | Ep38 Dan Grim on what top recruitment talent really wants and why most agencies miss the mark

Wed, 02 Jul 2025 12:00:00 +0100

Why most recruitment businesses fail to attract top-tier leadership talent

On this week’s episode of The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Dan Grim, founder of Inside Recruitment.

With 25 years in the industry and two previous equity partnerships under his belt, Dan now runs a solo rec-to-rec firm helping recruitment businesses hire the kind of leadership talent that drives real scale.

In this episode, Dan explains:

Why most founders can't attract true A players
The key traits and expectations that top 10% performers are looking for
Why having a clear shareholder agreement matters more than you think
How personal struggles shape better leadership decisions
What a good general manager or MD actually enables in a recruitment firm

If you're thinking about stepping back from the day-to-day or need someone to drive your next phase of growth, this is essential listening.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to The Rag Podcast and Dan Grimm

02:36 Dan Grimm's Journey in Recruitment

09:52 Transitioning from Recruitment to Business Leadership

18:35 The Importance of Values in Business

25:57 Understanding Roles and Responsibilities in Business

31:26 Navigating Business Partnerships and Agreements

38:10 Personal Challenges and Career Resilience

40:21 Navigating Expat Life and Family Dynamics

43:11 Career Transitions and the Role of Networking

47:13 Challenges of Leadership and Personal Struggles

51:25 Reflections on Career Choices and Business Dynamics

55:07 The Importance of Self-Reflection in Leadership

59:44 Building a Business: Insights and Strategies

01:05:47 Finding the Right Fit: Recruitment and Company Culture

01:10:17 The Value of Retaining Top Talent

01:15:23 Final Thoughts on Leadership and Business Growth

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

Season 8 | Ep37 Why Martin Smith spends 90% of his time on what he's best at - BD and brand growth

Wed, 25 Jun 2025 12:00:00 +0100

Most recruitment founders try to do it all and burn out in the process.

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Martin Smith, founder of Talent Group, who shares how he's structured his business to double down on what he's best at and handed over the rest.

Martin runs TalentDrive and Talent Finance, with a 12-person team across the UK. In this episode, we talk about:

His journey from agency to founder
The lessons he learned from early mistakes
Bringing in an MD to run one brand while he focuses on growth
Spending 90% of his time on BD, brand, and community
Why self-awareness and strategic delegation can lead to long-term success

Martin’s also brutally honest about the personal side of business, living on the South Coast, navigating the loneliness of leadership, and staying motivated through tough times like COVID.

If you’re a founder who’s still figuring out where you add the most value or how to step back without slowing down, this one’s a must-listen.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Growth in Recruitment

02:15 Martin's Journey: From Recruiter to Founder

11:11 Transitioning from Agency to In-House Recruitment

18:35 The Decision to Start Talent Group

21:56 Navigating the Early Days of Entrepreneurship

24:21 Navigating Challenges During the Pandemic

27:32 Building Resilience and Community in Business

31:46 Leadership Lessons and Team Dynamics

35:30 Scaling the Business: Growth Strategies and Challenges

39:57 Adapting to Market Changes and New Ventures

46:51 Defining the Role of a CEO and Business Strategy

47:57 Navigating Life on the South Coast

50:07 Balancing Remote Work and Team Dynamics

52:05 Future Growth and Business Strategy

55:26 The Role of AI in Recruitment

01:01:16 The Human Element in Recruitment

01:04:30 Motivation and Personal Values in Business

01:10:11 Finding Balance in Work and Life

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Untapped is THE market leader and go-to agency for finding and hiring tried-and-tested offshore talent into UK, US and Australian-based recruitment companies.

They’re providing top-class TEAMMATES, NOT OUTSOURCES!

We use Untapped for Hoxo’s own offshore hires, and it’s been a total game-changer for our team. No one else can compete with the quality of their network, their in-depth candidate assessment process or their time to hire.

If hiring elite-level overseas talent into your business to boost sales and increase productivity whilst saving yourself a huge amount in employment costs isn’t on your radar for 2024, it should be!

Untapped are hiring recruitment, sales, marketing and support staff into recruitment agencies of all shapes, sizes and specialisms globally and they are growing rapidly!

Join the waiting list today so you don’t miss out on the next cohort of business-launching hiring projects. https://bit.ly/47GGdvZ

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Recruitment agency founders - this one’s for you.

What’s your plan for the rest of 2025?

If it’s based on more cold outreach, referrals, or hiring more recruiters… we’ve got news for you. That’s not where the smart money is going.

The market has changed. AI is everywhere. Noise is louder than ever.

So if you want to scale profitably this year, you need to do things differently!

It starts with what you already have.

Your experience. Your network. Your voice.

And we are showing you exactly how to use it in a brand-new, FREE Masterclass - built specifically for recruitment leaders like you.

You’re going to learn:

Why your LinkedIn content isn’t working - and how to fix it fast
How to generate inbound leads without being “LinkedIn famous”
And the exact Hoxo 3X System agencies are using to book more calls - in just a few hours a week

78% of our clients made over 100K in the first 6 months using this. No fluff. No guesswork. Just stuff that works.

The Masterclass is free - but it’s only available for a limited time.

So if you’re serious about growing this year, don’t wait.

Head to https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0 to get started. See you there!

Season 8 | Ep36 Philippa Smith on losing it all then scaling back to build a £1m+ EBITDA lifestyle agency

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 12:00:00 +0100

What happens when your 15-person agency runs out of cash and you have to start over from scratch?

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Philippa Smith, founder of Silver Swan Recruitment, a luxury staffing agency for ultra-high net worth individuals.

After growing her team to 15, COVID and poor cash flow caught up with her. In August 2024, she made the entire team redundant and scaled the business back to just herself.

Nine months later, Philippa is now generating more than £1 million in pro-rata EBITDA. She's happier, more focused, and running a business built around lifestyle and profit, not just headcount.

In this episode, we cover:

How she pivoted her model to charge upfront and improve cash flow
Why personal branding has transformed her client relationships
The emotional cost of scaling too fast
How she’s using podcasting and community to drive inbound growth
The upside of running a smaller, more agile agency

If you’re questioning whether scale is really the goal, this episode will give you a new perspective.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Silver Swan Recruitment

02:04 Philippa's Journey into Recruitment

07:52 Transition to Silver Swan Recruitment

10:00 Growth and Challenges in Recruitment

18:22 The Impact of COVID-19 on Business

22:01 Navigating Revenue Challenges

24:05 Strategies for Business Development

24:17 Building the Team: Structure and Challenges

25:08 The Turning Point: Running Out of Money

27:19 Facing Reality: Making Tough Decisions

30:01 The Aftermath: Adjusting to Change

32:10 Rebuilding: A New Business Model

34:12 Commitment to Change: Charging Upfront

39:04 Success Redefined: Filling Roles Effectively

41:21 The Power of Personal Branding

46:47 The Power of Podcasting in Recruitment

49:00 Building Communities for House Managers

52:58 Creating Value Through Events and Networking

56:58 The Balance of Work and Personal Life

01:01:02 Lessons Learned and Future Aspirations

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Recruitment agency founders - this one’s for you.

What’s your plan for the rest of 2025?

If it’s based on more cold outreach, referrals, or hiring more recruiters… we’ve got news for you. That’s not where the smart money is going.

The market has changed. AI is everywhere. Noise is louder than ever.

So if you want to scale profitably this year, you need to do things differently!

It starts with what you already have.

Your experience. Your network. Your voice.

And we are showing you exactly how to use it in a brand-new, FREE Masterclass - built specifically for recruitment leaders like you.

You’re going to learn:

Why your LinkedIn content isn’t working - and how to fix it fast
How to generate inbound leads without being “LinkedIn famous”
And the exact Hoxo 3X System agencies are using to book more calls - in just a few hours a week

78% of our clients made over 100K in the first 6 months using this. No fluff. No guesswork. Just stuff that works.

The Masterclass is free - but it’s only available for a limited time.

So if you’re serious about growing this year, don’t wait.

Head to https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0 to get started. See you there!

Season 8 | Ep35 How Levy Global is scaling post-MBO with a clear vision for growth and legacy

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 12:00:00 +0100

From recruiter to CEO and majority shareholder, Matt Murphy’s journey at Levy Global is nothing short of remarkable. Now, with Rory McGowan joining from Opus as COO, the business is entering what they call "Levy 2.0" - a new chapter focused on scale, structure, and serious wealth creation.

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Matt and Rory, who now lead a 50-person business headquartered in the UK with offices in Amsterdam and Belgium.

Matt shares how he joined Levy as a recruiter 22 years ago, led two management buyouts, and transitioned from top biller to CEO. Rory explains why he left a global leadership role managing 150+ people to join a high-margin, high-growth business with a clear trajectory and massive opportunity ahead.

In this episode, we discuss

How Matt took ownership through phased MBOs to lead Levy into its next phase
Rory’s decision to downsize the team size but upscale in ambition
What it really takes to scale a recruitment business for exit
How they’re building a leadership team and operational engine to match their vision
Why clarity, culture, and autonomy are key to navigating the AI era

If you're thinking about scale, succession, and what comes after strong performance, this episode is full of lived experience and strategy.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Levy Global and Its Growth Journey

03:03 Matt Murphy's Transition from Recruiter to CEO

06:05 Rory McGowan's Move to Levy Global

08:54 The Management Buyout Experience

12:03 Challenges and Lessons from the First MBO

14:49 Building a Leadership Team and Managing Growth

18:00 Navigating COVID-19 and Its Impact on Business

21:12 Cultural Differences in Professional Environments

25:11 Transitioning Leadership and Team Dynamics

28:41 The Drive for Growth and Legacy

36:36 The Role of a COO in Scaling Business

41:27 Navigating Change and Building a Strong Team

49:09 Financial Strategies and Preparing for Growth

50:57 Navigating Unique Deal Structures

52:05 Personal Reflections on Career Transitions

54:51 Exploring Business Opportunities and Challenges

57:58 Initial Impressions and Early Contributions

01:00:23 Gathering Insights from Team Members

01:02:22 Combining Business Models for Growth

01:05:08 Strategic Changes in Client Management

01:10:59 Future Vision for Recruitment and Growth

01:17:25 Advice for Future Leaders

01:23:49 Closing Thoughts and Future Aspirations

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Untapped is THE market leader and go-to agency for finding and hiring tried-and-tested offshore talent into UK, US and Australian-based recruitment companies.

They’re providing top-class TEAMMATES, NOT OUTSOURCES!

Untapped are hiring recruitment, sales, marketing and support staff into recruitment agencies of all shapes, sizes and specialisms globally and they are growing rapidly!

Join the waiting list today so you don’t miss out on the next cohort of business-launching hiring projects. https://bit.ly/47GGdvZ

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Recruitment agency founders - this one’s for you.

What’s your plan for the rest of 2025?

If it’s based on more cold outreach, referrals, or hiring more recruiters… we’ve got news for you. That’s not where the smart money is going.

The market has changed. AI is everywhere. Noise is louder than ever.

So if you want to scale profitably this year, you need to do things differently!

It starts with what you already have.

Your experience. Your network. Your voice.

And we are showing you exactly how to use it in a brand-new, FREE Masterclass - built specifically for recruitment leaders like you.

You’re going to learn:

Why your LinkedIn content isn’t working - and how to fix it fast
How to generate inbound leads without being “LinkedIn famous”
And the exact Hoxo 3X System agencies are using to book more calls - in just a few hours a week

78% of our clients made over 100K in the first 6 months using this. No fluff. No guesswork. Just stuff that works.

The Masterclass is free - but it’s only available for a limited time.

So if you’re serious about growing this year, don’t wait.

Head to https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0 to get started. See you there!

__________________________________________

Season 8 | Ep34 Jay Wynter on $1m billing for 7 years straight and leading Precision Sourcing’s largest and highest-performing team

Wed, 04 Jun 2025 12:00:00 +0100

What does it take to bill over $1 million a year for seven years straight, while leading the highest-performing team in your company?

On this week’s episode of The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Jay Wynter, SAP Practice Lead at Precision Sourcing in Australia. From a tough start in recruitment to becoming a standout performer, Jay has built an elite billing record and helped shape a team known for its consistency and culture.

In this episode, we discuss

How Jay has billed $1 million annually for seven consecutive years
The leadership mindset that built the most consistent team in the business
How personal branding and podcasting helped deepen relationships
Why balancing delivery, culture and family is at the heart of his approach

If you’re serious about high performance in recruitment—either as a biller or a leader—this is the one to watch.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to The Rag Podcast and Guest Introduction

01:07 Jay Wynter's Journey to Australia and Recruitment

07:25 Transition from Football to Recruitment

14:29 Early Challenges in Recruitment

19:45 Adapting to COVID-19 and Leadership Response

23:02 Embracing LinkedIn and Personal Branding

27:29 Early Wins and Building a Personal Brand

28:52 The Power of Podcasting in Recruitment

31:37 Leadership and Team Dynamics

36:19 Value-Driven Recruitment Strategies

41:36 Work-Life Balance and Family Impact

47:55 Future of Recruitment and Business Growth

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Recruitment agency founders - this one’s for you.

What’s your plan for the rest of 2025?

If it’s based on more cold outreach, referrals, or hiring more recruiters… we’ve got news for you. That’s not where the smart money is going.

The market has changed. AI is everywhere. Noise is louder than ever.

So if you want to scale profitably this year, you need to do things differently!

It starts with what you already have.

Your experience. Your network. Your voice.

And we are showing you exactly how to use it in a brand-new, FREE Masterclass - built specifically for recruitment leaders like you.

You’re going to learn:

Why your LinkedIn content isn’t working - and how to fix it fast
How to generate inbound leads without being “LinkedIn famous”
And the exact Hoxo 3X System agencies are using to book more calls - in just a few hours a week

78% of our clients made over 100K in the first 6 months using this. No fluff. No guesswork. Just stuff that works.

The Masterclass is free - but it’s only available for a limited time.

So if you’re serious about growing this year, don’t wait.

Head to https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0 to get started. See you there!

Season 8 | Ep33 Dan Moussa on growth, consulting skills and leading rec forward in the age of AI

Wed, 28 May 2025 12:00:00 +0100

What does growth really look like in 2025's recruitment market? For Dan Moussa, it means combining consulting skills, AI adoption and personal branding to move the industry forward.

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I'm joined by Dan Moussa, founder of Talesca, a specialist recruitment business in Australia. Dan’s story is one of consistent adaptation, leaning into the tools and strategies that add genuine value in a fast-changing space.

In this episode, we discuss

How personal branding has shaped Talesca’s growth
Why consistency and consulting skills are more vital than ever
How AI is transforming recruitment models and client expectations
What it takes to build a business that stays relevant and delivers value

If you’re a recruitment founder looking to evolve your business, sharpen your commercial edge or understand how to futureproof your brand and delivery, this episode is well worth your time.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the Rag Podcast

01:50 Overview of Talesca and Its Growth

03:36 Reflections on Recruitment Career Beginnings

09:14 The Importance of Consistency in Recruitment

20:28 Current State of Recruitment and AI Impact

28:53 The Value of Time in Recruitment

31:12 Consulting Skills in Recruitment

34:29 The Future of Recruitment: Data and AI

39:16 Changing Recruitment Models

44:01 Defining Success in Recruitment

49:05 Building a High-Performing Team

55:35 Community Building and AI in Recruitment

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Untapped is THE market leader and go-to agency for finding and hiring tried-and-tested offshore talent into UK, US and Australian-based recruitment companies.

They’re providing top-class TEAMMATES, NOT OUTSOURCES!

Untapped are hiring recruitment, sales, marketing and support staff into recruitment agencies of all shapes, sizes and specialisms globally and they are growing rapidly!

Join the waiting list today so you don’t miss out on the next cohort of business-launching hiring projects. https://bit.ly/47GGdvZ

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Recruitment agency founders - this one’s for you.

What’s your plan for the rest of 2025?

If it’s based on more cold outreach, referrals, or hiring more recruiters… we’ve got news for you. That’s not where the smart money is going.

The market has changed. AI is everywhere. Noise is louder than ever.

So if you want to scale profitably this year, you need to do things differently!

It starts with what you already have.

Your experience. Your network. Your voice.

And we are showing you exactly how to use it in a brand-new, FREE Masterclass - built specifically for recruitment leaders like you.

You’re going to learn:

Why your LinkedIn content isn’t working - and how to fix it fast
How to generate inbound leads without being “LinkedIn famous”
And the exact Hoxo 3X System agencies are using to book more calls - in just a few hours a week

78% of our clients made over 100K in the first 6 months using this. No fluff. No guesswork. Just stuff that works.

The Masterclass is free - but it’s only available for a limited time.

So if you’re serious about growing this year, don’t wait.

Head to https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0 to get started. See you there!

Season 8 | Ep32 From cleaning to global recruiter - Leon Mitton on scaling with AI at the core

Wed, 21 May 2025 12:00:00 +0100

What does it take to go from running a cleaning business to founding a global recruitment firm? Leon Mitton shares how he launched Agnes Cole Consulting during COVID and is now using AI to drive scale and efficiency in a way few are even attempting.

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Leon Mitton, founder of Agnes Cole Consulting, a specialist SAP and S4 HANA recruitment firm based in the UK and operating globally.

Leon started with no background in business and built everything from the ground up. In this episode, he opens up about his journey, the role of personal fulfilment in entrepreneurship, and how he’s using AI to build a lean, high-performing business for the future.

In this episode, we discuss

How Leon went from cleaning homes to closing global recruitment deals
What it was like launching a company at the peak of COVID
Why AI is the future of outbound and client engagement in recruitment
His vision for creating a long-term legacy for his family

If you're thinking about what recruitment could look like in five years or want to hear a story rooted in grit, innovation, and purpose, this episode is not to be missed.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Leon Mitton and Agnes Cole Consulting

02:14 Leon’s Journey: From Cleaning Business to Recruitment

10:01 Navigating Recruitment During COVID-19

12:29 The Transition to Entrepreneurship

15:05 Establishing Agnes Cole Consulting

17:12 Growth and Challenges in Year Two

19:11 The Messy Middle: Managing a Growing Team

24:28 Reflections on Business and Personal Fulfillment

27:08 Creating a Legacy for Future Generations

30:46 The Role of AI in Recruitment

32:19 Intentional Parenting and Education Choices

34:36 The Evolution of School Systems

37:04 Communication Skills as a Superpower

39:10 The Impact of Technology on Recruitment

41:44 AI's Influence on Client Relationships

46:18 Adapting to Change in Recruitment

51:00 The Future of Recruitment and Business Structure

55:23 Finding Joy in the Recruitment Journey

01:01:20 Inspiring Others Through Personal Stories

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Recruitment agency founders - this one’s for you.

What’s your plan for the rest of 2025?

If it’s based on more cold outreach, referrals, or hiring more recruiters… we’ve got news for you. That’s not where the smart money is going.

The market has changed. AI is everywhere. Noise is louder than ever.

So if you want to scale profitably this year, you need to do things differently!

It starts with what you already have.

Your experience. Your network. Your voice.

And we are showing you exactly how to use it in a brand-new, FREE Masterclass - built specifically for recruitment leaders like you.

You’re going to learn:

Why your LinkedIn content isn’t working - and how to fix it fast
How to generate inbound leads without being “LinkedIn famous”
And the exact Hoxo 3X System agencies are using to book more calls - in just a few hours a week

78% of our clients made over 100K in the first 6 months using this. No fluff. No guesswork. Just stuff that works.

The Masterclass is free - but it’s only available for a limited time.

So if you’re serious about growing this year, don’t wait.

Head to https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0 to get started. See you there!

Season 8 | Ep31 Tom Warner on why he downsized his agency and now prefers building solo at a £500K+ run rate

Wed, 14 May 2025 12:00:00 +0100

What happens when scaling your recruitment business doesn’t bring success, but stress? Tom Warner opens up about the highs and lows of building GroTech and why going solo was the best decision he ever made.

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Tom Warner, founder of GroTech, a specialist go-to-market recruitment agency for SaaS businesses in the Nordics.

Tom launched GrowTech during the COVID-19 pandemic, experienced two strong years of growth, built a team of seven and then decided to scale it all the way back to just himself. Now he's billing over £500K annually and loving the freedom and focus of a lean model.

In this episode, we discuss:

Why Tom chose to step back from managing a team and go solo
The lessons learned from hiring mistakes and scaling too quickly
The emotional and financial pressures that come with business ownership
How clarity, efficiency, and focus are driving his next chapter of growth

If you’re a recruiter who’s scaled, stumbled, or simply wondering if bigger is always better, this episode offers a refreshing and honest take on what success can really look like.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to The Rag Podcast and Guest Background

02:52 Tom Warner's Journey to Founding GrowTech

05:46 The Early Days of GroTech and Initial Success

08:52 Challenges of Scaling a Recruitment Business

11:59 Navigating the Recruitment Landscape During COVID

15:06 Reflections on Growth and Future Plans

20:50 Navigating Recruitment Challenges

23:01 The Impact of Hiring Decisions

26:08 Crisis Management in Recruitment

29:57 Building a Personal Brand

34:03 Future Growth and Scaling Strategies

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Untapped is THE market leader and go-to agency for finding and hiring tried-and-tested offshore talent into UK, US and Australian-based recruitment companies.

They’re providing top-class TEAMMATES, NOT OUTSOURCES!

Untapped are hiring recruitment, sales, marketing and support staff into recruitment agencies of all shapes, sizes and specialisms globally and they are growing rapidly!

Join the waiting list today so you don’t miss out on the next cohort of business-launching hiring projects. https://bit.ly/47GGdvZ

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Recruitment agency founders - this one’s for you.

What’s your plan for the rest of 2025?

If it’s based on more cold outreach, referrals, or hiring more recruiters… we’ve got news for you. That’s not where the smart money is going.

The market has changed. AI is everywhere. Noise is louder than ever.

So if you want to scale profitably this year, you need to do things differently!

It starts with what you already have.

Your experience. Your network. Your voice.

And we are showing you exactly how to use it in a brand-new, FREE Masterclass - built specifically for recruitment leaders like you.

You’re going to learn:

Why your LinkedIn content isn’t working - and how to fix it fast
How to generate inbound leads without being “LinkedIn famous”
And the exact Hoxo 3X System agencies are using to book more calls - in just a few hours a week

78% of our clients made over 100K in the first 6 months using this. No fluff. No guesswork. Just stuff that works.

The Masterclass is free - but it’s only available for a limited time.

So if you’re serious about growing this year, don’t wait.

Head to https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0 to get started. See you there!

Season 8 | Ep30 James Waissel on hitting £300K within 7 months as a rec agency founder

Wed, 07 May 2025 12:00:00 +0100

James Waissel set a modest goal of £125K in year 1 of launching his own agency. Instead, he ended up billing over £300K in revenue in just seven months.

On this week’s episode of The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by James Waissel, founder and CEO of Huntsman Consult, a construction and real estate recruitment business based in London.

James started the business in June 2024, backed by a couple of key clients, and has built a small but growing team of three. In this conversation, he shares what it’s really like in the first nine months of running a recruitment agency: the wins, the lessons, and the pressure of getting it right.

In this episode, we discuss:

What helped him smash his first-year revenue goal in just seven months
The financial, emotional, and operational challenges of early-stage growth
How he’s building the foundation for long-term success

If you're in the early stages of launching a recruitment business (or thinking about it), this is a must-listen.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to The RAG Podcast and James Waissel

02:31 James Waissel's journey into recruitment

10:02 The decision to start a business

16:54 Building a recruitment business from scratch

25:29 First steps and early successes

33:23 Achieving growth in a challenging market

34:27 Transitioning to a 360 role in recruitment

37:30 Leveraging LinkedIn for business growth

41:34 Exploring new business verticals

44:16 Building a partner network for growth

46:47 The role of AI in recruitment

49:44 The importance of quality over quantity

52:45 Understanding client needs for business success

56:35 Lessons learned from past experiences

01:00:06 The importance of financial management

01:03:36 Combining sales, AI, and brand for success

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode sponsor: Hoxo

Recruiters: are you sitting on a goldmine of LinkedIn connections without knowing how to turn them into real opportunities?

Most recruiters spend hours every day on cold outreach and endless scrolling, hoping for replies that never come. But what if LinkedIn could work for you instead?

The Hoxo 7-Day LinkedIn Challenge is a simple, step-by-step framework designed to help you:

Identify warm leads already in your network
Start meaningful conversations with potential clients and candidates—without feeling pushy
Share content that gets noticed and builds trust – without spending hours online

Transform LinkedIn into an inbound lead generator in just 7 days!

This challenge isn’t about writing viral posts or spamming DMs.

It’s about small, proven actions that take just 20 minutes a day – and start generating results from day one!

Ready to unlock your LinkedIn potential?

Over 7,000 recruiters worldwide have already used this framework to generate inbound leads, grow their pipeline, and win more business. Now it’s your turn.

Join the FREE 7-day LinkedIn Challenge today and start unlocking the opportunities already in your network.

Head over to https://hubs.ly/Q031DT2s0 to get started. See you there!

Season 8 | Ep29 Graham Cosgrave on growing MatchMedics by going niche and marketing to doctors worldwide

Wed, 30 Apr 2025 12:00:00 +0100

What happens when you go all-in on a niche? Graham Cosgrave shares how MatchMedics transformed from a traditional agency into one of Ireland’s leading medical recruitment brands by focusing solely on doctors.

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I'm joined by Graham Cosgrave, Director at MatchMedics, a recruitment business specialising in placing doctors from across the globe into roles in Ireland.

Graham began as a recruiter and is now helping lead an international brand that’s relocating entire families, not just individuals. From six-figure results driven by content to high-stakes international events, MatchMedics is proof that a focused strategy and great storytelling can fuel serious growth.

In this episode, we discuss:

Why they went from a multi-discipline agency to 100% doctor-focused
How their brand strategy attracts doctors from South Africa, Europe, and beyond
The power of podcasting, storytelling, and recruitment events to build trust and credibility
What it takes to build a recruitment business that changes lives and not just careers

If you're looking to grow your brand, go niche, or build an international talent pipeline, this episode is packed with practical insight and inspiration.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Graham

03:13 Graham's journey in recruitment

05:53 The impact of relocation on lives

08:56 Transitioning to a niche market

11:56 Building a brand and marketing strategy

15:14 The evolution of roles and responsibilities

18:05 The power of content and online presence

20:49 Nurturing relationships and ambassador networks

23:49 The decision to focus on doctors only

26:57 Global recruitment strategies

29:56 Conclusion and future outlook

31:17 The impact of international medical professionals

34:06 Challenges in South African healthcare

37:40 The power of storytelling in recruitment

40:34 Building credibility through real experiences

43:00 The role of podcasts in recruitment

46:02 Navigating the Irish job market

49:19 Engaging with South African doctors

52:05 Investment in recruitment events

54:04 Long-term vision for recruitment success

01:01:51 The future of medical recruitment

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Untapped is THE market leader and go-to agency for finding and hiring tried-and-tested offshore talent into UK, US and Australian-based recruitment companies.

They’re providing top-class TEAMMATES, NOT OUTSOURCES!

Untapped are hiring recruitment, sales, marketing and support staff into recruitment agencies of all shapes, sizes and specialisms globally and they are growing rapidly!

Join the waiting list today so you don’t miss out on the next cohort of business-launching hiring projects. https://bit.ly/47GGdvZ

__________________________________________

Episode sponsor: Hoxo

Recruiters: are you sitting on a goldmine of LinkedIn connections without knowing how to turn them into real opportunities?

Most recruiters spend hours every day on cold outreach and endless scrolling, hoping for replies that never come. But what if LinkedIn could work for you instead?

The Hoxo 7-Day LinkedIn Challenge is a simple, step-by-step framework designed to help you:

Identify warm leads already in your network
Start meaningful conversations with potential clients and candidates—without feeling pushy
Share content that gets noticed and builds trust – without spending hours online

Transform LinkedIn into an inbound lead generator in just 7 days!

This challenge isn’t about writing viral posts or spamming DMs.

It’s about small, proven actions that take just 20 minutes a day – and start generating results from day one!

Ready to unlock your LinkedIn potential?

Over 7,000 recruiters worldwide have already used this framework to generate inbound leads, grow their pipeline, and win more business. Now it’s your turn.

Join the FREE 7-day LinkedIn Challenge today and start unlocking the opportunities already in your network.

Head over to https://hubs.ly/Q031DT2s0 to get started. See you there!

Season 8 | Ep28 From recruiter to founder at 25: Haseena Mooncey on building a global life sciences business

Wed, 23 Apr 2025 12:00:00 +0100

Starting a recruitment business at 25 with just three years of experience takes serious courage.

Haseena Mooncey did exactly that – and she’s built something special.

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I'm joined by Haseena Mooncey, co-founder of CHR Life Sciences, a modern boutique recruitment firm focused on niche roles across the UK, Ireland, and Europe.

Haseena launched the business with a former boss as her co-founder, stepping into entrepreneurship with limited experience but a clear mindset and strong values. Her story is rare, especially as a young woman in recruitment. And it’s incredibly inspiring.

In this episode, we discuss:

What pushed her to take the leap from employee to business owner
The early challenges of launching with limited experience
The mindset needed to grow a global contract recruitment business
Balancing a modern outlook with traditional values in how she builds her team

If you’re in your 20s and thinking about starting your own business - or you're just looking for a story that proves age and experience don't define success, this episode is one to tune into.

Watch the full conversation live on my LinkedIn this Wednesday at 12 pm or search The RAG wherever you get your podcasts!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Haseena Mooncey and CHR Life Sciences

03:00 The journey of starting a business at 25

06:03 Navigating early challenges and building a network

09:05 The decision to transition from employee to entrepreneur

12:05 Establishing CHR Life Sciences and initial struggles

14:56 First deals and market expansion

18:11 Building a business from the ground up

20:54 Reflections on growth and future aspirations

22:00 Building relationships in recruitment

24:32 Navigating market changes and opportunities

26:06 The challenges of remote work and team dynamics

28:06 The importance of hiring and team growth

30:20 Learning from experience: hiring strategies

32:32 The impact of market fluctuations on business

36:52 Managing stress and maintaining team morale

44:54 Building a values-driven recruitment company

48:13 The role of AI in recruitment

50:22 Pharmaceutical industry insights

52:31 Navigating the future of work

55:23 Life goals and work-life balance

01:00:13 The importance of relationships in recruitment

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within seven days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming, and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document, you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe follow this process daily, and the results have been amazing!

You can have this, too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder and CEO, Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost your business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template

Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

Season 8 | Ep27 From refugee to 7-figure founder: Klajdi Bega on building Luminary Group by age 27

Wed, 16 Apr 2025 12:00:00 +0100

From Albanian refugee to running a seven-figure recruitment firm by age 27.

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I'm joined by Klajdi Bega, founder and CEO of Luminary Group, a life sciences headhunting firm operating across the UK, Europe, and the US.

Born in Albania and raised in North London, Klajdi’s story is one of grit, vision, and relentless drive. After starting in sales at 16 and entering recruitment six years ago, he launched Luminary just two years back—and hit £1 million in revenue in his second full year!

In this episode, we discuss:

- Klajdi’s journey from refugee to successful founder

- How he’s building a high-performance, values-driven team

- The lessons learned from year one versus year two of trading

- Balancing marriage, family life, and business ownership

- The power of mentorship, goal-setting, and staying focused on a clear vision

If you're in your 20s and thinking of launching a business—or if you just want to hear an incredibly inspiring story—this episode is not to be missed.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Klajdi Bega and Luminary Group

02:59 Klajdi's journey from refugee to CEO

06:01 Early life and challenges in North London

08:55 Career beginnings and entry into recruitment

12:13 The transition to entrepreneurship

15:08 Building Luminary Group: vision and strategy

17:52 Navigating the recruitment landscape

21:01 Growth and future plans for Luminary Group

24:03 Navigating marriage and business

27:10 Year one: achievements and expectations

29:29 Training the next generation

32:10 Building client relationships

34:48 Year two: growth and recognition

39:02 Balancing work and family life

45:03 Navigating recruitment challenges

47:56 The impact of AI on recruitment

50:08 Global expansion and client relationships

52:02 Scaling for success

55:06 Building a strong company culture

56:56 Vision for the future

59:53 Personal growth and work-life balance

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Untapped is THE market leader and go-to agency for finding and hiring tried-and-tested offshore talent into UK, US and Australian-based recruitment companies.

They’re providing top-class TEAMMATES, NOT OUTSOURCES!

Untapped are hiring recruitment, sales, marketing and support staff into recruitment agencies of all shapes, sizes and specialisms globally and they are growing rapidly!

Join the waiting list today so you don’t miss out on the next cohort of business-launching hiring projects. https://bit.ly/47GGdvZ

__________________________________________

Episode sponsor: Hoxo

Recruiters: are you sitting on a goldmine of LinkedIn connections without knowing how to turn them into real opportunities?

Most recruiters spend hours every day on cold outreach and endless scrolling, hoping for replies that never come. But what if LinkedIn could work for you instead?

The Hoxo 7-Day LinkedIn Challenge is a simple, step-by-step framework designed to help you:

Identify warm leads already in your network
Start meaningful conversations with potential clients and candidates—without feeling pushy
Share content that gets noticed and builds trust – without spending hours online

Transform LinkedIn into an inbound lead generator in just 7 days!

This challenge isn’t about writing viral posts or spamming DMs.

It’s about small, proven actions that take just 20 minutes a day – and start generating results from day one!

Ready to unlock your LinkedIn potential?

Over 7,000 recruiters worldwide have already used this framework to generate inbound leads, grow their pipeline, and win more business. Now it’s your turn.

Season 8 | Ep26 Tom Johnson on securing investment from Lord Sugar and buying back 100% of his recruitment business

Wed, 09 Apr 2025 12:00:00 +0100

What happens when you cold email Lord Sugar asking for investment? Tom Johnson did exactly that…and it worked!

On this week's show, I am joined by Tom Johnson, founder of Hernshead Group, a recruitment business he launched six years ago with backing from Lord Alan Sugar after watching The Apprentice.

In this episode, Tom shares the full story – from that bold email to building and scaling Hernshead Group, launching (and closing) multiple brands, and recently completing a management buyout to take full ownership of the company.

In this episode, we discuss:

How Tom secured investment from Lord Sugar and built the business from scratch
The reality of launching new brands and learning from failure
The highs and lows of building a team, navigating COVID-19, and scaling with clarity
How and why he bought back 100 percent of the shares

If you're looking for investment, currently working with a business partner, or planning for long-term ownership and growth, this is an episode you need to hear.

Chapters

00:00 The journey begins: Tom Johnson's entrepreneurial path

03:08 Investment and growth: Partnering with Sir Alan Sugar

06:14 Navigating challenges: The impact of COVID-19

08:56 Expanding horizons: The launch of multiple brands

11:56 Learning from failure: The downfall of new ventures

15:03 Refocusing on core strengths: The future of Hearnshead Group

30:06 Scaling the team and business growth

31:03 Implementing effective processes and training

33:14 Leveraging AI and technology in recruitment

34:21 Balancing AI assistance with human touch

36:33 Data-driven management and performance tracking

39:05 Overcoming fear and building confidence in sales

44:04 Strategic business decisions and future planning

49:09 Equity and incentives for team growth

52:50 Vision for the future and sustainable growth

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within seven days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming, and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document, you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe follow this process daily, and the results have been amazing!

You can have this, too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder and CEO, Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost your business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template

Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

Season 8 | Ep25 Helen Yarrow on embracing solo entrepreneurship after 30 years in recruitment

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 12:00:00 +0100

What if recruitment agency growth didn’t mean adding headcount?

Helen Yarrow has spent over 30 years in recruitment—and for most of it, she felt like she was falling short of the industry’s definition of success.

Why? Because she never scaled a big team.

Despite launching her business 14 years ago and building a strong reputation in the B2B events space, she carried a sense that staying solo meant she hadn’t really “made it”.

That belief stayed with her until her 50s.

This week on The RAG Podcast, Helen shares how she finally let go of the pressure to scale, and found clarity in building a business that fits her life—not someone else’s idea of success.

In this episode, we cover:

- Her journey from Rec2Rec into B2B events recruitment

- The realities of raising a family while running a business

- The turning point that helped her stop chasing a model that didn’t feel right

- Why staying solo might actually be the most powerful decision you can make

If you’ve ever questioned whether bigger really means better, this one will resonate.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Helen Yarrow and Jackson Barnes

02:58 Helen's Journey into Recruitment

06:02 Career Progression and Challenges in Recruitment

09:11 Transitioning to Motherhood and Work-Life Balance

11:51 Establishing Jackson Barnes and Finding Clarity

15:07 The Shift to Conference and B2B Events Recruitment

17:52 The Role of Conference Producers

20:55 Building a Business Around Family Life

24:00 Reflections on Success and Team Building

34:51 Redefining Success in Business

37:12 The Journey of Solo Entrepreneurship

39:34 Reflections on Parenting and Work-Life Balance

42:57 The Importance of Self-Awareness

45:00 Navigating Parenting Challenges

50:20 The Impact of COVID-19 on Business

54:58 Finding Fulfillment in Work

01:01:12 Marketing as a Game Changer

01:03:43 Advice for Women in Recruitment

01:07:52 The Importance of Open Communication in the Workplace

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Untapped is THE market leader and go-to agency for finding and hiring tried-and-tested offshore talent into UK, US and Australian-based recruitment companies.

They’re providing top-class TEAMMATES, NOT OUTSOURCES!

Untapped are hiring recruitment, sales, marketing and support staff into recruitment agencies of all shapes, sizes and specialisms globally and they are growing rapidly!

Join the waiting list today so you don’t miss out on the next cohort of business-launching hiring projects. https://bit.ly/47GGdvZ

__________________________________________

Episode sponsor: Hoxo

Recruiters: are you sitting on a goldmine of LinkedIn connections without knowing how to turn them into real opportunities?

Most recruiters spend hours every day on cold outreach and endless scrolling, hoping for replies that never come. But what if LinkedIn could work for you instead?

The Hoxo 7-Day LinkedIn Challenge is a simple, step-by-step framework designed to help you:

Identify warm leads already in your network
Start meaningful conversations with potential clients and candidates—without feeling pushy
Share content that gets noticed and builds trust – without spending hours online

Transform LinkedIn into an inbound lead generator in just 7 days!

This challenge isn’t about writing viral posts or spamming DMs.

It’s about small, proven actions that take just 20 minutes a day – and start generating results from day one!

Ready to unlock your LinkedIn potential?

Over 7,000 recruiters worldwide have already used this framework to generate inbound leads, grow their pipeline, and win more business. Now it’s your turn.

Join the FREE 7-day LinkedIn Challenge today and start unlocking the opportunities already in your network.

Head over to https://hubs.ly/Q031DT2s0 to get started. See you there!

Season 8 | Ep24 Tom Essex on losing their niche, and completely rebuilding the agency inside the first five years!

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 12:00:00 +0100

Founders fall out. Niches get blurred. This is what no one tells you about before you launch your own recruitment agency

On this week's show, I am joined by Tom Essex, co-founder of Kigyo Solutions, a recruitment business based in Amsterdam focused on logistics and renewable energy.

Tom launched the business in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. What started as a niche SAP agency quickly became a generalist business that lost its direction. In this episode, we break down how he and his co-founder navigated a tough few years, rebuilt their relationship, and refocused the business to find traction again.

In this episode, we discuss:

The reality of launching a recruitment business during a global crisis
What happens when you lose your niche and drift into unfamiliar markets
How to manage the dynamics of a co-founder relationship through difficult periods
Why doing less, better, can be the key to long-term success

If you're thinking of starting a business with a partner, or you’re in the early stages and feeling the pressure, this is a conversation you need to hear.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within seven days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming, and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document, you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe follow this process daily, and the results have been amazing!

You can have this, too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder and CEO, Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost your business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template

Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

Season 8 | Ep23 Marc Cohen on scaling in the US and securing an 8-figure exit!

Wed, 19 Mar 2025 12:00:00 +0100

Marc Cohen scaled his recruitment agency in the US and secured an 8 figure exit.

On this week's RAG Podcast, I am joined by Marc, founder of ConSol Partners, who achieved something that 99.9% of recruitment founders will never do.

Marc and his co-founder Graeme built their agency with an exit strategy in mind from day 1, navigating economic downturns, and predicting the success of future markets.

In this episode, we discuss:

Marc's unique story from Recruiter to Founder
The reason why he scaled the business stateside
The strategy behind selling 65% of the business before maximising the final sale
His thoughts on whether the US really is the golden dream for recruitment entrepreneurs
The emotional and financial complexities of exiting a business
What life looks like post-exit and how to stay motivated

If you have ambitions of scaling and selling a business—especially in the US—this episode is essential.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction
03:00 Marc's journey to America
06:09 Building a career in recruitment
08:57 The entrepreneurial spirit
11:56 Setting up ConSol Partners
15:02 Vision and philosophy in business
18:02 The startup journey
20:58 Navigating challenges in a new economy
22:58 Identifying future trends
25:10 Evolving business strategies
27:54 Expansion into AI and robotics
30:15 The move to the US
35:41 Maintaining relationships across borders
37:50 Preparing for an exit
44:54 The exit process and negotiations
50:02 Post-exit reflections and challenges
52:40 Investment strategies after the exit
56:49 Emotional connections in business
01:01:20 Identity and purpose after exiting
01:03:12 Daily life and new routines
01:06:09 Future aspirations and community engagement
01:10:18 Looking ahead: scaling in the US
01:12:26 Closing thoughts and final reflections

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Untapped is THE market leader and go-to agency for finding and hiring tried-and-tested offshore talent into UK, US and Australian-based recruitment companies.

They’re providing top-class TEAMMATES, NOT OUTSOURCES!

Untapped are hiring recruitment, sales, marketing and support staff into recruitment agencies of all shapes, sizes and specialisms globally and they are growing rapidly!

Join the waiting list today so you don’t miss out on the next cohort of business-launching hiring projects. https://bit.ly/47GGdvZ

__________________________________________

Episode sponsor: Hoxo

Recruiters: are you sitting on a goldmine of LinkedIn connections without knowing how to turn them into real opportunities?

Most recruiters spend hours every day on cold outreach and endless scrolling, hoping for replies that never come. But what if LinkedIn could work for you instead?

The Hoxo 7-Day LinkedIn Challenge is a simple, step-by-step framework designed to help you:

Identify warm leads already in your network
Start meaningful conversations with potential clients and candidates—without feeling pushy
Share content that gets noticed and builds trust – without spending hours online

Transform LinkedIn into an inbound lead generator in just 7 days!

This challenge isn’t about writing viral posts or spamming DMs.

It’s about small, proven actions that take just 20 minutes a day – and start generating results from day one!

Ready to unlock your LinkedIn potential?

Over 7,000 recruiters worldwide have already used this framework to generate inbound leads, grow their pipeline, and win more business. Now it’s your turn.

Join the FREE 7-day LinkedIn Challenge today and start unlocking the opportunities already in your network.

Head over to https://hubs.ly/Q031DT2s0 to get started. See you there!

Season 8 | Ep22 Kyle Winterbottom on how building his brand isn’t just attracting clients—it’s making his business an acquisition target!

Wed, 12 Mar 2025 12:00:00 +0100

Here is a recruitment business that doesn’t rely on outbound sales

Kyle Winterbottom has done things a little differently to the rest

Kyle and I sat down for this week’s episode of The RAG Podcast to discuss how his business has evolved since he was last on the show in 2022.

He’s built a global community of 1,500+ Chief Data Officers, driving all of his revenue through inbound relationships.

His brand, Driven By Data, isn’t just attracting clients – it’s making his business an acquisition target.

In this episode, we break down:

How community building generates sustainable, high-value recruitment revenue.
Why brand trust and credibility are the ultimate sales drivers.
The strategies behind monetising an engaged audience.
How inbound business creates new challenges for scaling and delivery.

If you’re serious about building a recruitment business that thrives on brand, credibility, and inbound opportunities, this episode is for you.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to growth in recruitment

02:56 Kyle's journey and business evolution

06:08 Market challenges and business adjustments

09:01 Streamlining operations and team structure

12:00 The importance of community in recruitment

15:07 Revenue insights and business sustainability

18:10 Future vision: recruitment landscape shifts

21:06 Driven by data: building a community

23:58 Monetising community engagement

28:53 Removing bottlenecks and building community

30:00 The power of quality networks in recruitment

31:50 Monetising community engagement

33:43 Sponsorship and revenue growth strategies

35:06 Consistency as a key to success

37:09 Building trust and credibility in recruitment

38:11 The importance of inbound relationships

40:11 The role of brand in sales

42:23 Long-term strategies for community building

44:55 Facilitating knowledge and connections

45:33 Valuing community in business acquisitions

47:28 The power of audience in monetisation

50:35 Expanding community beyond borders

52:44 Purpose beyond placements

54:30 Balancing short-term and long-term strategies

57:20 Future opportunities and business value

_________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Untapped is THE market leader and go-to agency for finding and hiring tried-and-tested offshore talent into UK, US and Australian-based recruitment companies.

They’re providing top-class TEAMMATES, NOT OUTSOURCES!

Untapped are hiring recruitment, sales, marketing and support staff into recruitment agencies of all shapes, sizes and specialisms globally and they are growing rapidly!

Join the waiting list today so you don’t miss out on the next cohort of business-launching hiring projects. https://bit.ly/47GGdvZ

_______________________________________

Episode sponsor: Hoxo

Recruiters: are you sitting on a goldmine of LinkedIn connections without knowing how to turn them into real opportunities?

Most recruiters spend hours every day on cold outreach and endless scrolling, hoping for replies that never come. But what if LinkedIn could work for you instead?

The Hoxo 7-Day LinkedIn Challenge is a simple, step-by-step framework designed to help you:

Identify warm leads already in your network
Start meaningful conversations with potential clients and candidates—without feeling pushy
Share content that gets noticed and builds trust – without spending hours online

Transform LinkedIn into an inbound lead generator in just 7 days!

This challenge isn’t about writing viral posts or spamming DMs.

It’s about small, proven actions that take just 20 minutes a day – and start generating results from day one!

Ready to unlock your LinkedIn potential?

Over 7,000 recruiters worldwide have already used this framework to generate inbound leads, grow their pipeline, and win more business. Now it’s your turn.

Join the FREE 7-day LinkedIn Challenge today and start unlocking the opportunities already in your network.

Head over to https://hubs.ly/Q031DT2s0 to get started. See you there!

Season 8 | Ep21 Lloyd Gordon: Merging 2 rec firms with 100+ staff into one unified team

Wed, 05 Mar 2025 12:00:00 +0100

In 2022, Lloyd Gordon had just acquired Cognitive Group, bringing his team to over 100 people.

Over the past 3 years, he has had the challenge of successfully integrating the two businesses.

On this week’s episode of The RAG Podcast, I am joined for the fourth time by Lloyd, CEO of Focus Cloud Group, and this time we discussed:

The challenges of merging two teams, cultures, and leadership styles.
How to unify systems, processes, and back-office functions.
The mistakes made along the way and the lessons learned.
What’s next as Lloyd sets his sights on further growth and investment.

If you're interested in scaling a business through acquisition, managing post-merger integration, or leading a company through rapid growth, this episode is a must-watch.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

02:24 Lloyd Gordon's journey and business overview

05:15 Personal life and work-life balance

12:31 Transitioning from acquisition to integration

18:05 Cultural integration and team dynamics

24:51 Technology and systems integration

40:12 Transitioning to a unified CRM system

42:04 Challenges in back office integration

44:34 Implementing Workday Financials

48:50 Navigating market challenges and workforce adjustments

55:01 Leadership decisions in tough times

59:51 Evolving leadership roles and responsibilities

01:07:55 Future vision and strategic planning

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode sponsor: Hoxo

Recruiters: are you sitting on a goldmine of LinkedIn connections without knowing how to turn them into real opportunities?

Most recruiters spend hours every day on cold outreach and endless scrolling, hoping for replies that never come. But what if LinkedIn could work for you instead?

The Hoxo 7-Day LinkedIn Challenge is a simple, step-by-step framework designed to help you:

Identify warm leads already in your network
Start meaningful conversations with potential clients and candidates—without feeling pushy
Share content that gets noticed and builds trust – without spending hours online

Transform LinkedIn into an inbound lead generator in just 7 days!

This challenge isn’t about writing viral posts or spamming DMs.

It’s about small, proven actions that take just 20 minutes a day – and start generating results from day one!

Ready to unlock your LinkedIn potential?

Over 7,000 recruiters worldwide have already used this framework to generate inbound leads, grow their pipeline, and win more business. Now it’s your turn.

Join the FREE 7-day LinkedIn Challenge today and start unlocking the opportunities already in your network.

Head over to https://hubs.ly/Q031DT2s0 to get started. See you there!

Season 8 | Ep20 Alex Dick on why 400 recruiters apply to work with his business every week!

Wed, 26 Feb 2025 12:00:00 +0100

Why 400 recruiters apply to work with Alex’s business every single week.

On this week's show, I am joined by Alex Dick, founder of Alexander Lyons Solutions.

Alex built a £1m legal recruitment desk for nearly a decade before a personal event led him to rethink everything.

Now, he’s on a mission to scale with a revolutionary recruitment model – one that sits between the traditional agency and incubator structures.

With 13 recruiters today and ambitions to grow to 200+, he’s a pioneer of what’s possible in recruitment in 2025!

In this episode, we discuss:The unique commission model that’s offering recruiters up to 80% take-home pay.

Why 400 recruiters apply to work with Alex’s business every week.
The shift from solo high-billing to building a scalable, exit-ready company.
How personal challenges can reshape your vision for success.

If you’re interested in scaling a recruitment business, challenging industry norms, or finding new ways to attract top talent, this is one you won’t want to miss.

Watch the full conversation live on my LinkedIn this Wednesday at 12 pm or search The RAG wherever you get your podcasts!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

02:23 Alex Dick's unique recruitment model

03:23 Early career and transition to recruitment

06:40 Building a successful legal recruitment business

16:04 Life changes and business realisations

24:14 Shifting focus: from legal to recruitment

30:34 Creating a flexible and rewarding work environment

37:13 Recruitment strategy and ideal candidates

41:47 International hiring and recruitment strategies

48:42 Building a company culture remotely

01:01:11 Personal health challenges and their impact

01:07:21 Future plans and business growth strategies

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Untapped is THE market leader and go-to agency for finding and hiring tried-and-tested offshore talent into UK, US and Australian-based recruitment companies.

They’re providing top-class TEAMMATES, NOT OUTSOURCES!

Untapped are hiring recruitment, sales, marketing and support staff into recruitment agencies of all shapes, sizes and specialisms globally and they are growing rapidly!

Join the waiting list today so you don’t miss out on the next cohort of business-launching hiring projects. https://bit.ly/47GGdvZ

__________________________________________

Episode sponsor: Hoxo

Recruiters: are you sitting on a goldmine of LinkedIn connections without knowing how to turn them into real opportunities?

Most recruiters spend hours every day on cold outreach and endless scrolling, hoping for replies that never come. But what if LinkedIn could work for you instead?

The Hoxo 7-Day LinkedIn Challenge is a simple, step-by-step framework designed to help you:

Identify warm leads already in your network
Start meaningful conversations with potential clients and candidates—without feeling pushy
Share content that gets noticed and builds trust – without spending hours online

Transform LinkedIn into an inbound lead generator in just 7 days!

This challenge isn’t about writing viral posts or spamming DMs.

It’s about small, proven actions that take just 20 minutes a day – and start generating results from day one!

Ready to unlock your LinkedIn potential?

Over 7,000 recruiters worldwide have already used this framework to generate inbound leads, grow their pipeline, and win more business. Now it’s your turn.

Join the FREE 7-day LinkedIn Challenge today and start unlocking the opportunities already in your network.

Head over to https://hubs.ly/Q031DT2s0 to get started. See you there!

Season 8 | Ep19 FIFA to Founder: How a 20yr old Harry Portch built HM Staffing by accident

Wed, 19 Feb 2025 12:00:00 +0100

On this week’s episode of The RAG Podcast with Harry Portch, founder of HM Staffing.

Harry’s journey is anything but ordinary. He started his business at just 20 years old – almost by accident – while playing FIFA!

Now, six years later, he’s built a leading sales and marketing recruitment agency, transitioned to a fully remote model, and became a LinkedIn Top Voice.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

- How Harry started his business + the COVID-19 challenges he had to face right from the start

- Why he wanted to take the risk and launch a business so early in his career (and the lessons he learned from his mistakes)

- How Harry is building a recognisable personal brand and staying authentic online

- His insights into managing business growth, going fully remote, and dealing with industry negativity

If you’re interested in building a business, growing your personal brand, or scaling a company with Gen Z talent, this episode is for you!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Harry Portch and HM Staffing

02:46 Harry's journey into recruitment

05:01 The accidental entrepreneur

09:00 Early challenges and growth

14:40 Navigating COVID-19 and its impact

19:47 Scaling the business post-COVID

21:11 Building a personal brand on LinkedIn

25:50 The importance of authenticity in content

30:00 Handling negativity and staying positive

34:21 Introduction to Atlas and Founders License

35:19 Negotiating with clients: the art of influence

36:14 Handling unsolicited opinions

37:09 The trade-off of public exposure

38:35 The emotional journey of content creation

39:34 The shift from private to public identity

40:58 Authenticity in online presence

42:21 The impact of remote work on lifestyle

44:14 The challenges of letting people go

45:37 Navigating business growth and challenges

46:35 Transitioning to a remote work model

49:20 The benefits of remote work culture

52:12 Future hiring strategies

54:05 Balancing work and family life

57:31 The realities of business ownership

01:00:18 Vision for the future of the business

----------------------------------------

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

If you’re a recruiter who’d love to listen and learn from some of the greatest recruitment owners and leaders, then you need to listen to The RAG Podcast!

We’re having real and raw conversations with successful recruitment entrepreneurs about what is happening in their businesses right now and their plans to navigate market changes.

Episodes are released every Wednesday at 12 pm

https://www.youtube.com/c/HoxoMedia?sub_confirmation=1

__________________________________________

Episode sponsor: Hoxo

Recruiters: are you sitting on a goldmine of LinkedIn connections without knowing how to turn them into real opportunities?

Most recruiters spend hours every day on cold outreach and endless scrolling, hoping for replies that never come. But what if LinkedIn could work for you instead?

The Hoxo 7-Day LinkedIn Challenge is a simple, step-by-step framework designed to help you:

Identify warm leads already in your network
Start meaningful conversations with potential clients and candidates—without feeling pushy
Share content that gets noticed and builds trust – without spending hours online

Transform LinkedIn into an inbound lead generator in just 7 days!

This challenge isn’t about writing viral posts or spamming DMs.

It’s about small, proven actions that take just 20 minutes a day – and start generating results from day one!

Ready to unlock your LinkedIn potential?

Over 7,000 recruiters worldwide have already used this framework to generate inbound leads, grow their pipeline, and win more business. Now it’s your turn.

Join the FREE 7-day LinkedIn Challenge today and start unlocking the opportunities already in your network.

Head over to https://hubs.ly/Q031DT2s0 to get started. See you there!

Season 8 | Ep18 How 100K LinkedIn followers delivered customers, revenue & an exit strategy

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:00:00 +0100

The fastest-growing LinkedIn account I have ever seen in the recruitment industry!

This week I sat down with Andrew MacAskill.

From launching Executive Career Jump to becoming Chief Commercial Officer at Fraser Dove, Andrew has built a personal brand that’s led to over 105,000 LinkedIn followers, a published book, and global business success.

What we cover in this episode:

How Andrew built his LinkedIn brand and the financial impact of visibility.
The power of personal branding in recruitment and executive career coaching.
Writing the Job Search Playbook and how it created new business opportunities.
Scaling Fraser Dove for exit – how branding & leadership drive ROI.
The future of recruitment, life sciences, and career coaching in a changing world.

If you’re serious about growing your LinkedIn audience, building a business that scales, or leveraging personal branding for success, this one is a must-watch!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Andrew McCaskill and his journey

05:48 The rise of personal branding on LinkedIn

10:06 The impact of writing a book

14:52 The importance of purpose in business

19:04 Building a personal brand for competitive advantage

24:51 Navigating the emotional side of content creation

29:08 Transitioning back to recruitment: The Fraser Dove experience

34:27 The intersection of food, exercise, and mental health

35:49 Navigating company culture and growth strategies

37:46 Expanding into new markets: The US and Switzerland

39:37 Building relationships with private equity firms

41:05 Balancing personal branding and professional growth

43:30 Challenges in the life sciences sector

45:54 Leadership dynamics during difficult times

48:40 The emotional journey of founders

51:34 The importance of self-awareness in leadership

53:01 Triggers for change in leadership dynamics

54:58 The cost of recruitment and leadership investment

56:25 Finding opportunity in recruitment

58:48 Creating community beyond transactions

01:01:41 Building purpose-driven communities

01:03:07 Long-term value creation in recruitment

01:06:34 Evolving the purpose of the show

-----------------------------------------

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Untapped is THE market leader and go-to agency for finding and hiring tried-and-tested offshore talent into UK, US and Australian-based recruitment companies.

They’re providing top-class TEAMMATES, NOT OUTSOURCES!

Untapped are hiring recruitment, sales, marketing and support staff into recruitment agencies of all shapes, sizes and specialisms globally and they are growing rapidly!

Join the waiting list today so you don’t miss out on the next cohort of business-launching hiring projects. https://bit.ly/47GGdvZ

------------------------------------------------

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Recruiters: are you sitting on a goldmine of LinkedIn connections without knowing how to turn them into real opportunities?

Most recruiters spend hours every day on cold outreach and endless scrolling, hoping for replies that never come. But what if LinkedIn could work for you instead?

The Hoxo 7-Day LinkedIn Challenge is a simple, step-by-step framework designed to help you:

Identify warm leads already in your network
Start meaningful conversations with potential clients and candidates—without feeling pushy
Share content that gets noticed and builds trust – without spending hours online

Transform LinkedIn into an inbound lead generator in just 7 days!

This challenge isn’t about writing viral posts or spamming DMs.

It’s about small, proven actions that take just 20 minutes a day – and start generating results from day one!

Ready to unlock your LinkedIn potential?

Over 7,000 recruiters worldwide have already used this framework to generate inbound leads, grow their pipeline, and win more business. Now it’s your turn.

Join the FREE 7-day LinkedIn Challenge today and start unlocking the opportunities already in your network.

Head over to https://hubs.ly/Q031DT2s0 to get started. See you there!

Season 8 | Ep17 Jordan Shlosberg: Using tech, branding & social selling to drive revenue

Wed, 05 Feb 2025 12:00:00 +0100

Introducing the Top 100 most influential recruiters on LinkedIn...

This week, I am re-joined by Jordan Shlosberg, founder of Atlas, for an unmissable episode of The RAG Podcast.

Since we last spoke in September, Atlas – the world’s first AI-powered CRM for recruiters – has skyrocketed to nearly £1M ARR in just 9 months!

But this episode isn’t just about AI: it’s about how recruiters can leverage technology, brand building, and social selling to drive real revenue.

Here’s what we cover:

How AI is reshaping recruitment CRMs & why voice tech is the future.
The Atlas x Hoxo Top 100 – ranking the most socially engaged recruitment leaders.
Why personal branding & social selling aren’t just buzzwords – they drive real business growth.
How the most successful recruiters are using content to generate inbound leads.
The power of consistency – why audience building is a long-term game with massive payoffs.

If you’re in recruitment and want to understand how AI, branding, and content can transform your business, this one’s for you!

Check out the ELITE TOP 100 list by Atlas & Hoxo discussed in this podcast here: https://hubs.ly/Q035mrPg0

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the RAG Podcast and Atlas

01:55 Atlas's growth and AI integration

10:36 Customer base and SaaS metrics

12:02 Balancing work and personal life

16:20 The Atlas and Hoxo partnership

20:37 The importance of social selling

25:23 The role of opinion in recruitment

29:03 The future of recruitment and AI

33:37 Navigating recruitment challenges in 2025

34:58 The power of building an audience

36:53 Personal growth and brand building

39:14 The importance of consistency in recruitment

41:32 Understanding market dynamics

43:54 Purpose beyond placements

46:21 The role of authenticity in content creation

49:47 Crafting engaging content and hooks

53:39 The importance of authenticity in communication

56:36 AI's role in recruitment and sales

01:01:28 Delayed gratification in building relationships

01:05:41 The future of recruitment and brand building

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Recruiters: are you sitting on a goldmine of LinkedIn connections without knowing how to turn them into real opportunities?

Most recruiters spend hours every day on cold outreach and endless scrolling, hoping for replies that never come. But what if LinkedIn could work for you instead?

The Hoxo 7-Day LinkedIn Challenge is a simple, step-by-step framework designed to help you:

Identify warm leads already in your network
Start meaningful conversations with potential clients and candidates—without feeling pushy
Share content that gets noticed and builds trust – without spending hours online

Transform LinkedIn into an inbound lead generator in just 7 days!

This challenge isn’t about writing viral posts or spamming DMs.

It’s about small, proven actions that take just 20 minutes a day – and start generating results from day one!

Ready to unlock your LinkedIn potential?

Over 7,000 recruiters worldwide have already used this framework to generate inbound leads, grow their pipeline, and win more business. Now it’s your turn.

Join the FREE 7-day LinkedIn Challenge today and start unlocking the opportunities already in your network.

Head over to https://hubs.ly/Q031DT2s0 to get started. See you there!

Season 8 | Ep16 James Sanders: 200 employees & 4 brands to selling 50% for £1 to survive!

Wed, 29 Jan 2025 12:00:00 +0100

Some recruitment founder stories end with an exit.

This one starts with it falling apart.

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I am joined by James Sanders

James built PSR Solutions from his bedroom to:

£65M turnover
200+ staff
Multiple acquisitions
4 specialist brands

Then came an unexpected call:

£3M due. 7 days to pay.

But some key lessons came from all of this and in this powerful episode, James candidly shares:

The rise of PSR Solutions from a startup in 2005 to a business with 200+ employees and four brands.
The challenges of navigating financial turmoil, including going into administration with £3M in debt.
Hard-earned lessons on leadership, adaptability, and resilience during the toughest times.
The importance of building strong client relationships, fostering team loyalty, and investing in personal well-being.
How James is rebuilding and looking ahead with a renewed focus on growth and stability.

This candid conversation dives into the highs and lows of running a recruitment business, offering valuable insights for entrepreneurs navigating challenges in any industry.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to PSR Solutions and James Sanders' Journey

02:49 Early Career and Transition to Recruitment

06:14 Branch Management and Leadership Style

09:09 The Decision to Start PSR Solutions

12:05 The First Year of Business and Initial Challenges

15:00 Building a Brand and Establishing Reputation

17:52 Growth and Expansion of PSR Solutions

20:47 Navigating Challenges and Market Changes

24:10 Leadership Changes and Strategic Decisions

27:03 COVID-19 Impact on Business Operations

43:12 Navigating the Pandemic: Building Loyalty and Transparency

45:08 Strategic Acquisitions: Expanding into Healthcare

47:33 Innovating Through Technology: The Birth of Novello

51:20 Challenges in FinTech: The Impact of Market Changes

56:30 Crisis Management: Facing Financial Turmoil

01:01:56 Rebuilding After Administration: A New Beginning

01:08:24 Stability and Future Growth: Lessons Learned

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

---------------------------------------------------------------

If you’re a recruiter who’d love to listen and learn from some of the greatest recruitment owners and leaders, then you need to listen to The RAG Podcast!

We’re having real and raw conversations with successful recruitment entrepreneurs about what is happening in their businesses right now and their plans to navigate market changes.

Episodes are released every Wednesday at 12 pm

https://www.youtube.com/c/HoxoMedia?sub_confirmation=1

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming, and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document, you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template
Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

Season 8 | Ep15 From doubt to £1M in 2yrs: How Hemish Ilangaratne built RX Group

Wed, 22 Jan 2025 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I am joined by Hemish Ilangaratne, founder of RX Group, a specialist life sciences recruitment agency.

In this candid episode, Hemish sheds light on his inspiring journey:

From 11 years at S3 Group (where he didn’t close a single deal in the last seven years) to launching RX Group in 2023.
Exceeding his modest first-year goal of £150k and reaching nearly £1M in revenue within two years.
How self-doubt and perseverance shaped his decision to become an entrepreneur.
Building a successful life sciences recruitment business serving clients across the US.
The role of personal branding, LinkedIn, and a supportive partner in his rapid growth.
Insights on leadership, team-building, and creating a positive impact in a niche market.

Hemish’s story is a testament to resilience, strategy, and the power of believing in yourself – even when doubt creeps in.

If you’re considering launching your own business or want to learn how to thrive in 2025, this episode is for you!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Hemish Ilangaratne and RX Group

06:49 Career development at S3

12:26 Transitioning to management roles

17:58 Challenges in leadership and team management

21:01 The decision to start RX Group

25:19 Navigating family expectations and career choices

29:49 Transitioning to entrepreneurship

32:38 Starting the journey

34:04 Building a personal brand

35:58 Leveraging LinkedIn for success

37:30 Quantifying revenue growth

39:54 The importance of leadership

41:21 Balancing work and personal life

43:17 Enjoying independence in business

45:29 Future growth plans

47:53 Hiring strategies and team dynamics

49:19 Creating a meaningful impact

51:54 The bigger picture of business goals

53:27 Attracting talent in a niche market

55:31 Building confidence before quitting

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Episode Sponsor: Beyond the Founder.

What is the essential senior hire you need to make to increase revenue and protect your recruitment business as it grows?

Let’s be honest, building and scaling an agency isn’t just about billing more. It’s about putting together a leadership team that you trust to help you take your business to the next level.

That’s where Beyond the Founder comes in.

They specialise in placing leaders who make an impact – whether it’s a Managing Director to shape your vision, a Sales leader to boost revenue, or an Ops expert to streamline your processes. Their no-nonsense, tailored approach is designed to save ambitious recruitment founders time and to deliver results.

Paul, the man behind Beyond the Founder, has over 20 years of experience scaling recruitment businesses himself, so he understands what’s at stake for his clients.

What Paul and his team do so well is relieve that pressure.

They help you remove your biggest obstacle to growth: finding and securing your key hires. And they do it in a way that supports your long-term business goals.

So, if you’re serious about growing your recruitment agency or if you want to build a business that suits your lifestyle, you need to contact these guys.

Head to beyondthefounder.co.uk or email them directly at paul@beyondthefounder.co.uk

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Untapped is THE market leader and go-to agency for finding and hiring tried-and-tested offshore talent into UK, US and Australian-based recruitment companies.

They’re providing top-class TEAMMATES, NOT OUTSOURCES!

Untapped are hiring recruitment, sales, marketing and support staff into recruitment agencies of all shapes, sizes and specialisms globally and they are growing rapidly!

Join the waiting list today so you don’t miss out on the next cohort of business-launching hiring projects. https://bit.ly/47GGdvZ

Season 8 | Ep14 Nick Asbridge on building a £1M AI rec business in 2 years – and working less!

Wed, 15 Jan 2025 12:00:00 +0100

This story is unlike anything I have heard in over 300 episodes of The RAG Podcast.

On this week’s episode, I speak with Nick Asbridge, founder of Asobbi, a UK-based AI-focused recruitment company.

Nick shares his incredible journey:

From 15 years in recruitment to launching Asobbi in January 2023, achieving £1M+ in annual revenue in just two years.
Why he worked less and felt less stressed as an entrepreneur compared to his corporate career.
The unique company culture he’s built by treating employees like adults.
How he prioritises building genuine relationships with candidates and clients.
The importance of productising recruitment services for efficiency and sustainability.
Balancing personal growth, family support, and business success.

Nick’s story is packed with insights on creating a sustainable, enjoyable business while embracing technology and modernising recruitment processes. Whether you're an existing recruitment agency owner or an aspiring entrepreneur, this episode is a must-watch!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Nick Asbridge and Asobi

07:05 Nick's journey into recruitment and early challenges

15:11 Transitioning from employment to entrepreneurship

24:09 Building Asobi: vision and early success

31:58 Creating a unique company culture at Asobi

36:18 Building a sustainable business model

39:04 Embracing brand building and technology

42:20 Growth and community building

45:24 Productising recruitment services

49:13 Navigating client relationships

52:07 The importance of quick decision-making

55:59 Developing a strong team culture

01:00:01 Future aspirations and work-life balance

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

Season 8 | Ep13 Reflections, resilience & recruitment: my take on 2024 and goals for 2025

Wed, 08 Jan 2025 12:00:00 +0100

This is exactly what I see happening in the recruitment industry in 2025…

This week is a special solo episode of The RAG Podcast, where I reflect on the challenges and lessons from 2024 and share my predictions for 2025.

In this episode, I’ll dive into:

📊 Why profit and quality are now prioritised over growth in recruitment.
🤖 How AI and LinkedIn are reshaping the way we recruit and build relationships.
🌍 The importance of community building for sustainable growth.
🎯 Setting clear goals for 2025 and focusing on quality over quantity in work and life.

2024 was a tough year for many in recruitment, but it’s also been a time of growth, change, and opportunity.

If you’re a recruitment founder, leader, or anyone looking to align personal and professional success, this episode is packed with insights that will resonate with you.

Click here to access our free 7-Day LinkedIn optimisation challenge: https://hubs.ly/Q031DT2s0

Chapters

00:00 Reflecting on 2024: A year of challenges

10:35 Embracing change: The evolution of recruitment businesses

18:04 Personal transformation: A journey towards better living

26:02 Looking ahead: Goals and aspirations for 2025

Season 8 | Ep12 Keith Cronin on life without alcohol: Sobriety and living with purpose

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 12:00:00 +0100

The man who’s helped me live alcohol-free for the past 12 months!

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I am joined by Keith Cronin, the founder of Alcohol Free Living.

Keith has been my personal coach for the past year and supported me in quitting the booze for a better life.

In this honest conversation, he shares his powerful journey from struggling with alcohol to living a purpose-driven, alcohol-free life.

In this episode, Keith and I discuss:

🍺 The cultural glorification of alcohol in Ireland and its impact on mental health.
💡 How taking a break (or quitting entirely) can transform your health, relationships, and sense of purpose.
👨‍👩‍👧 Why being a great dad and husband became a driving force for Keith.
🌱 Building a fulfilling business by helping others navigate their relationships with alcohol.
🤝 The importance of community support and coaching in making lasting life changes.

Keith’s story is a testament to the power of self-reflection, personal growth, and breaking free from societal norms.

If you’ve ever wondered how an alcohol-free lifestyle could elevate every area of your life – or how to help others do the same – this conversation will inspire you.

Our industry has always been centred around “working hard and playing hard”, but slowly, things are changing!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Keith Cronin and alcohol-free living

01:59 Keith's journey with alcohol

05:20 Cultural perceptions of alcohol in Ireland

10:00 Personal experiences with family and alcohol

13:14 Transitioning from teaching to recruitment

18:23 Realisations about alcohol and mental health

22:09 The decision to stop drinking

29:01 Building a business around alcohol-free living

36:05 The journey to alcohol-free living

39:09 Finding purpose in coaching

43:31 The impact of alcohol on life choices

49:06 Transforming relationships and health

53:19 The power of taking a break from alcohol

01:00:46 Building a successful alcohol-free business

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Beyond the Founder.

What is the essential senior hire you need to make to increase revenue and protect your recruitment business as it grows?

Let’s be honest, building and scaling an agency isn’t just about billing more. It’s about putting together a leadership team that you trust to help you take your business to the next level.

That’s where Beyond the Founder comes in.

They specialise in placing leaders who make an impact – whether it’s a Managing Director to shape your vision, a Sales leader to boost revenue, or an Ops expert to streamline your processes. Their no-nonsense, tailored approach is designed to save ambitious recruitment founders time and to deliver results.

Paul, the man behind Beyond the Founder, has over 20 years of experience scaling recruitment businesses himself, so he understands what’s at stake for his clients.

What Paul and his team do so well is relieve that pressure.

They help you remove your biggest obstacle to growth: finding and securing your key hires. And they do it in a way that supports your long-term business goals.

So, if you’re serious about growing your recruitment agency or if you want to build a business that suits your lifestyle, you need to contact these guys.

Head to beyondthefounder.co.uk or email them directly at paul@beyondthefounder.co.uk

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Untapped is THE market leader and go-to agency for finding and hiring tried-and-tested offshore talent into UK, US and Australian-based recruitment companies.

They’re providing top-class TEAMMATES, NOT OUTSOURCES!

Untapped are hiring recruitment, sales, marketing and support staff into recruitment agencies of all shapes, sizes and specialisms globally and they are growing rapidly!

Join the waiting list today so you don’t miss out on the next cohort of business-launching hiring projects. https://bit.ly/47GGdvZ

__________________________________________

Hoxo Message

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming, and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document, you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template
Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

Season 8 | Ep11 The road to a successful MBO: Lessons from Chris Peace’s £Million exit

Wed, 18 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0100

What does life look like on the first day after selling your business?

In this week’s episode of The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Chris Peace, founder of Peace Recruitment, a specialist construction and engineering recruitment agency based in Scotland.

Chris recently exited his business through a vendor-initiated management buyout (VIMBO) – a unique process that allows founders to sell their companies to their teams without the need for external financing or debt.

In this candid conversation, Chris shares:

💡 How he structured the VIMBO process to ensure a smooth transition for the business.

⚙️ The key considerations founders need to plan for when preparing to sell.

📈 The benefits of this approach for boutique agencies looking to empower their teams.

💪 The impact of coaching on leadership, team happiness, and business growth.

🔑 Insights into his leadership journey, the challenges of letting go, and his plans for life beyond Peace Recruitment.

Whether you’re dreaming of your next chapter or seeking a stress-free exit strategy, this episode offers actionable advice and real-life inspiration for boutique recruitment owners.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Chris Peace and his journey

02:51 The vendor-initiated management buyout process

06:05 Early career and entry into recruitment

12:13 Launching Peace Recruitment

21:02 Growth and challenges in business

29:03 Coaching and personal development

33:52 Translating personal skills online

34:21 The journey of building a brand

35:19 Evolving leadership styles

36:15 Authenticity in leadership

37:38 Coaching and empowering teams

39:02 Vision and business growth

40:58 Navigating business offers

42:51 Leadership structure for exit

45:18 Impact of COVID on business

48:40 Personal struggles during crisis

49:36 Management buyout process

52:29 Structuring the buyout

55:15 Tax implications of selling a business

57:40 Future plans and new ventures

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

They were built to rely on the structured, tagged, categorised, and formal data you could feed it. Manual processes that needed you to input specific information based on specific questions and answers.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low-value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming, and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document, you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 7000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template
Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 7000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

Season 8 | Ep9 Catherine Roughan on balancing a thriving solo business and parenthood

Wed, 04 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0100

How to build a thriving solo business while still being the best possible parent: This is Catherine Roughan’s inspiring journey

What if success in recruitment wasn’t about scale or exit – but about happiness, balance, and doing it your way?

This week on The RAG Podcast, I sit down with Catherine Roughan, founder of Kidmore Recruitment, a specialist Rec to Rec in the legal recruitment sector. Catherine has built an incredibly successful solo business while raising two boys, proving that you don’t need a massive team or a big exit plan to thrive.

Here’s what you’ll hear about in this episode:

👩‍💻 How Catherine runs a profitable, solo recruitment business in a competitive niche.

🤝 The power of building genuine client relationships over chasing scale.

💡 Insights on balancing family life and career without compromising either.

🎙️ Catherine’s deeply personal journey through pregnancy, miscarriages, and finding her path in recruitment.

📊 Why metrics like happiness and flexibility are just as important as profit.

In an industry obsessed with growth and exits, Catherine’s story is a refreshing reminder that there’s no one-size-fits-all path to success. If you’re a recruiter looking for inspiration to craft a career that aligns with your life values, this episode is for you.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Catherine Rowan and Kidmore Recruitment

03:12 Catherine's journey into legal recruitment

06:07 The challenges of managing a recruitment team

08:51 The decision to start a business

12:11 Personal struggles and family life

15:07 Navigating pregnancy and miscarriages

17:56 The impact of family on career choices

21:06 Building a business while raising children

23:55 Work-life balance and parenting challenges

33:45 Sponsorship and recruitment insights

35:06 The importance of family in business

36:35 Leveraging LinkedIn for growth

39:46 Revenue growth and work-life balance

42:08 Metrics for success in recruitment

46:58 Managing time and client expectations

49:11 Building relationships in recruitment

51:34 Future plans and personal growth

01:01:04 Consistency and the art of headhunting

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Untapped is THE market leader and go-to agency for finding and hiring tried-and-tested offshore talent into UK, US and Australian-based recruitment companies.

They’re providing top-class TEAMMATES, NOT OUTSOURCES!

Untapped are hiring recruitment, sales, marketing and support staff into recruitment agencies of all shapes, sizes and specialisms globally and they are growing rapidly!

Join the waiting list today so you don’t miss out on the next cohort of business-launching hiring projects. https://bit.ly/47GGdvZ

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming, and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document, you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes daily and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 7,000 recruiters around the globe follow this process daily, and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO, Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

– 4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost your business on LinkedIn
– Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template
– Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp, which has seen over 7000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

Season 8 | Ep8 Joe Jani on building towards a £100M valuation (at just 31!)

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 12:00:00 +0100

What does it take to grow a global recruitment company, secure private equity investment, and aim for a £100M valuation – all by the age of 31?

On this week’s The RAG Podcast, I’m sitting down with Joe Jani, founder and CEO of Metric Search, one of the world’s fastest-growing recruitment firms.

Here’s what we uncover:

🔥 How Joe scaled Metric Search from zero to 90 staff across the US and UK since 2019.

💰 The story behind his seven-figure private equity buyout, de-risking his future while fueling growth.

📈 His strategy to hit a £100M valuation in just three years.

🤝 The importance of building a high-performance culture to attract investors.

🌍 How Joe turned the pandemic's challenges into massive growth opportunities.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Joe Jani and Metric Search

02:22 Joe's early career and move to New York

06:08 Transition from Charlton Morris to Metric

08:23 Ambition and entrepreneurial spirit

11:45 Navigating the pandemic and business growth

14:54 Vision and strategy for growth

22:03 Completing the MBO and future plans

25:26 Scaling the business and leadership dynamics

30:43 From billing to business leadership

33:01 Innovative features of Atlas

34:01 Navigating private equity opportunities

35:57 Balancing family life and business growth

39:47 The private equity process explained

42:41 Building a high-performance culture

46:23 Hiring and developing talent effectively

48:08 Securing growth capital and its implications

51:57 Future plans and strategic goals

55:19 Understanding valuation multipliers

58:11 Personal life and work-life balance

01:01:34 Debunking myths in recruitment

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low-value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

Season 8 | Ep7 Don’t make this mistake on LinkedIn in 2025

Wed, 20 Nov 2024 12:00:00 +0100

If you are a recruitment founder planning on spending time and money on LinkedIn next year, then chances are, you’re likely to make this one critical mistake – and it will cost you big time.

On this week’s episode of The RAG Podcast, I’m sharing insights from my live talk at the Recruitment Agency Expo in Birmingham.

I’m revealing how recruiters can use traditional methods to unlock LinkedIn’s full potential in 2025.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

🔑 The #1 mistake recruiters make on LinkedIn (guaranteed).

📊 Why traditional recruitment methods are losing their edge.

💡 How to fix the mistake and drive inbound leads in 2025

This is my secret to building trust and recognition in a crowded market. It has delivered incredible results to the over 7000 recruiters around the world I’ve taught it to since 2020. Now it’s your turn!

I’m sharing simple, actionable steps using the tools you already have. This episode is a must-watch for anyone serious about leveraging LinkedIn to grow their business in 2025!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to The RAG Podcast and growth in recruitment
02:52 The importance of LinkedIn in recruitment
05:46 Overcoming burnout and finding new strategies
09:06 The shift from traditional methods to digital engagement
12:14 Building trust and recognition on LinkedIn
15:14 Maximising your LinkedIn network for success
17:53 The 3X System: Grow, Broadcast, Sell
21:06 Exclusive offer!

_______________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Untapped is THE market leader and go-to agency for finding and hiring tried-and-tested offshore talent into UK, US and Australian-based recruitment companies.

They’re providing top-class TEAMMATES, NOT OUTSOURCES!

Untapped are hiring recruitment, sales, marketing and support staff into recruitment agencies of all shapes, sizes and specialisms globally and they are growing rapidly!

Join the waiting list today so you don’t miss out on the next cohort of business-launching hiring projects. https://bit.ly/47GGdvZ

_______________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming, and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document, you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes daily and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 7,000 recruiters around the globe follow this process daily, and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost your business on LinkedIn

Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template

Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp, which has seen over 7000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

Season 8 | Ep6 Jim Sloan on how to build a scalable and profitable agency that doesn’t depend on you!

Wed, 13 Nov 2024 12:00:00 +0100

This week on The RAG Podcast, I’m sitting down with Jim Sloan, CEO and founder of Navartis a specialist recruitment agency in the infrastructure sector.

Jim’s journey is an incredible story of growth to a team of 110+ across multiple countries and significant profits of £2M EBITDA

Here’s what we discuss:

🔑 How Jim started the business as a new brand within a larger group

💼 The pivotal MBO process that happened shortly after and set the stage for exponential growth.

📊 Why understanding net margin could save your business.

🚀 How to build a scalable model that doesn’t depend on you.

🏆 The secret to balancing massive growth with your personal life.

Whether you’re in the trenches scaling up, bouncing back from setbacks, or planning your future exit when the time is right, this episode is full of actionable advice.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Jim Sloan and Navartis

02:25 Jim's Journey into Recruitment

06:42 The Entrepreneurial Spirit and Early Challenges

10:48 Navigating the Recession and Business Growth

13:59 The Management Buyout Experience

20:05 Post-MBO Growth and Expansion

26:34 Strategic Growth and Profitability

32:39 Investing in Future Growth

35:29 Identifying Market Opportunities

39:02 Building a Business for Better Returns

43:27 The Importance of Management in Growth

48:13 Effective Communication in Recruitment Management

55:31 Balancing Business Growth and Personal Life

01:04:33 Learning from Mistakes in Leadership

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low-value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming, and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document, you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 7000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template
Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 7000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

Season 8 | Ep5 Craig Whiting - On 6 years billing £1.5m per year before learning to “step off the tools”

Wed, 06 Nov 2024 12:00:00 +0100

On this week’s episode of The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Craig Whiting, founder of RLS Search, who shares his incredible journey from solo billing to building a 15-member team specialising in tech talent for investment management.

In this episode, Craig opens up about his transition from running a small operation with his partner—billing £1.5 million annually over 6 years—to managing a growing team, expanding internationally, and learning to "step off the tools."

Here are just a few reasons to tune in:

🧑‍💻 Understanding why he and his partner focused on remote, solo billing for the first 6 years of their business
📈 Learn how Craig scaled RLS Search organically, only adding team members when ready—and how remote work reshaped his business model.
🤝 Hear Craig’s tips for building meaningful client relationships that boost both credibility and profitability.
🥊 Discover how Craig's background in boxing instilled the discipline and integrity that fuel his recruitment success.
⚖️ How Craig ensures he constantly balances family life with business growth
🌍 Explore his plans for international expansion, including new offices in South Africa and Pakistan.

If you're looking to build a global recruitment team, you won’t want to miss this!

_______________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Untapped is THE market leader and go-to agency for finding and hiring tried-and-tested offshore talent into UK, US and Australian-based recruitment companies.

They’re providing top-class TEAMMATES, NOT OUTSOURCES!

Untapped are hiring recruitment, sales, marketing and support staff into recruitment agencies of all shapes, sizes and specialisms globally and they are growing rapidly!

Join the waiting list today so you don’t miss out on the next cohort of business-launching hiring projects. https://bit.ly/47GGdvZ

_______________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming, and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document, you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes daily and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 7,000 recruiters around the globe follow this process daily, and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost your business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template
Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp, which has seen over 7000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

Season 8 | Ep4 Kate Cross on running an agency with her husband and maintaining £500,000 in contract revenue annually for the past 17 years!

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 12:00:00 +0100

Ever wondered what it takes to build a thriving recruitment business with your partner?

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, Kate Cross joins me to reveal the highs, lows, and secrets to creating sustainable contract revenue while maintaining a successful personal relationship.

Kate is co-founder of Harvey Jacob, a construction recruitment agency that’s generated over £500,000 in contract revenue annually for the past 17 years.

Kate worked alongside her husband Simon as a recruiter before they made the bold decision to start Harvey Jacob together.

Now, through her new venture, Coral Coached, she’s on a mission to help other recruitment businesses find sustainable success for themselves.

💡 Why you should listen:

Unique challenges: Kate offers a behind-the-scenes look at the dynamics of running a family business and shares valuable insights into balancing work and personal life.
Sustainable success: Learn how she’s built consistent contract revenue and created a solid business model that stands the test of time.
Coaching for growth: Explore the value of coaching in fostering personal and professional development.
Lessons in leadership: Kate’s approach to emotional intelligence and resilience is something every leader can learn from.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to The RAG Podcast and Kate Cross

01:44 Kate's journey into recruitment

03:39 Transitioning from banking to recruitment

05:32 The move to Sydney and business setup

11:02 Challenges of running a business with a partner

15:20 Navigating personal and professional life

19:18 Rebranding and business growth

22:51 Managing a family business

27:49 Overcoming relationship challenges

30:39 Reflections on business and personal growth

32:36 Navigating stress and expectations in recruitment

35:24 Personal struggles and professional growth

38:40 The journey of motherhood and coaching

43:22 Life changes and returning to business

46:36 Evolving business strategies and realisations

51:25 The transition to coaching and supporting others

57:14 Building a sustainable business model

01:00:29 Lessons learned and future aspirations

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low-value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming, and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...x

If you follow the process in this document, you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 7000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template
Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 7000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

Season 8 | Ep3 Paul de Rozarieux on going from no recruitment experience to solo founder billing £1m a year!

Wed, 23 Oct 2024 12:00:00 +0100

From no recruitment experience to solo founder billing £1m a year– @Paul de Rozarieux’s Journey in Recruitment

This week on The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by an incredible guest, Paul de Rozarieux, founder of Fusion Search.

Paul’s story is truly one of a kind.

With zero recruitment experience, Paul built his business from scratch, growing it into a seven-figure success without formal training or support.

But there’s more to Paul’s story than just numbers.

After 20 years of running a generalist recruitment firm focusing on change and transformation in FinTech, Paul has decided to take a bold new direction.

He’s launching Beyond the Founder, a new venture aimed at helping ambitious recruitment companies avoid the mistakes he made and scale successfully.

In this episode, we dive deep into:

How Paul built a seven-figure business from nothing.
His decision to pivot after feeling unfulfilled despite his financial success.
Why checking in with yourself and finding your passion is crucial as an entrepreneur.

If you’re looking for inspiration, advice on scaling, or insights into finding joy in your work again, this is an episode you don’t want to miss!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Paul de Rozarieux

03:04 Paul's Unique Entry into Recruitment

05:56 The Early Days of Fusion Search

09:01 Navigating Challenges and Finding Success

11:49 The Evolution of Business Strategy

14:55 Financial Growth and Personal Reflections

18:06 Balancing Work and Family Life

20:54 The Pressure of Success and Self-Worth

24:13 Future Aspirations and Lessons Learned

31:18 Navigating the Challenges of Solo Entrepreneurship

32:42 The Importance of Strategic Hiring

33:12 The Journey of Niche Recruitment

35:30 Adapting to Market Changes During COVID

39:31 Recognising Burnout and the Need for Change

42:43 Exploring Personal Branding and Networking

46:52 Finding Passion in Recruitment

50:12 Building a Strong Business Infrastructure

54:17 Identifying Key Challenges for Founders

57:41 Establishing Effective Leadership Routines

_______________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Untapped is THE market leader and go-to agency for finding and hiring tried-and-tested offshore talent into UK, US and Australian-based recruitment companies.

They’re providing top-class TEAMMATES, NOT OUTSOURCES!

Untapped are hiring recruitment, sales, marketing and support staff into recruitment agencies of all shapes, sizes and specialisms globally and they are growing rapidly!

Join the waiting list today so you don’t miss out on the next cohort of business-launching hiring projects. https://bit.ly/47GGdvZ

_______________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming, and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document, you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes daily and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 7,000 recruiters around the globe follow this process daily, and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost your business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template
Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp, which has seen over 7000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

Season 8 | Ep2 Jordan Shlosberg on building The ONLY AI-first CRM for recruiters

Wed, 16 Oct 2024 12:00:00 +0100

AI is set to transform recruitment, and this episode will blow your mind!

On this week's episode, I am joined by Jordan Shlosberg, founder of Atlas, to discuss how his AI-powered CRM is set to transform the recruitment industry!

Now, Jordan knows a thing or two about building successful businesses. He took his previous company, ProSapient, to a massive $40 million in revenue before exiting.

He launched Atlas with one goal: to eliminate the tedious admin work recruiters face. Now, with over 1,000 users on their waiting list, Atlas acts as a virtual assistant, handling all the admin and delivering insights at the push of a button.

In this episode, we'll be talking about:

●Jordan's incredible journey to success.

●How he scaled ProSapient to $40 million and successfully exited the business.

●What he learned along the way, and how those lessons inspired him to create Atlas.

●We'll also dive deep into how Atlas is using AI to revolutionise recruitment.

●You'll discover how this powerful CRM can help you streamline your workflow, make better placements, and ultimately, boost your revenue.

I love what Jordan's doing with Atlas. It's like having a virtual assistant who takes care of all those tedious admin tasks that we recruiters have to deal with day in and day out.

This is why we have partnered together this year, and Atlas is now one of two headline sponsors for the show!

Tune in to learn how AI is reshaping recruitment, and see if Atlas is the game-changer your agency needs! Don’t miss this conversation with one of the industry's top innovators!

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming, and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document, you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 7000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template
Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 7000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you.

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter.

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now.

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day?

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own.

How?

By removing all your low-value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance.

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/

Season 8 | Ep1 - Life After a Major Exit with Tom Glanfield: A Story of Success, Sacrifice, and What's Next

Wed, 09 Oct 2024 12:00:00 +0100

Season 8 premiere!

In this episode, I’m bringing back one of the most talked-about guests we've ever had: Tom Glanfield, the founder of LHi Group (originally Lawrence Harvey).

Last time Tom was on, he shared his hilarious and inspiring growth journey and plans for exiting the business. Now, he’s back after successfully securing a massive exit!

We dive into

what life looks like after selling his company
how he’s spending his time
managing his wealth
and balancing his personal life.

Tom opens up about the highs and lows, from enjoying newfound freedom to reflecting on what he missed while building the business, especially as a father.

We also explore his health-focused lifestyle, his commitment to being more present for his family, and the wisdom he has for current and future recruitment founders.

Tom’s story is more than just about the numbers—it’s about creating a life that aligns with your values.

If you’re a recruitment leader, aspiring entrepreneur, or just curious about life post-exit, tune in for an episode full of inspiration, lessons on leadership, and a look behind the curtain of one of recruitment’s most successful founders.

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome back!

01:00 Reflections on growth and success

05:03 Navigating challenges during COVID

09:48 Employee Ownership Trust

14:59 Finding balance after exiting the business

19:58 Health, longevity, and personal growth

25:12 Parenting and life lessons

30:12 Aspirations for the future and legacy

34:58 Business development lessons

39:47 Final thoughts: Success beyond money

________________________________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming, and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document, you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 7000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template
Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 7000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

________________________________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Untapped is THE market leader and go-to agency for finding and hiring tried-and-tested offshore talent into UK, US and Australian-based recruitment companies.

They’re providing top-class TEAMMATES, NOT OUTSOURCES!

Untapped are hiring recruitment, sales, marketing and support staff into recruitment agencies of all shapes, sizes and specialisms globally and they are growing rapidly!

Join the waiting list today so you don’t miss out on the next cohort of business-launching hiring projects. https://bit.ly/47GGdvZ

Season 7 | Ep48 Introducing ELAY - The recruitment automation platform recently acquired by The Access Group!

Wed, 10 Jul 2024 12:00:00 +0100

Today, I'm excited to look at another of Access Group's products.

This time, it's an automation platform called ELAY that was recently acquired by the Access Group based on its initial success in integrating well with Vincere and its customers.

In this episode, I interviewed Mehdi Este, the founder and automation general manager, and Nick Beecroft, the head of new business for Access Recruitment.

I've known Nick for a long time, but this is my first time meeting Mehdi. They are a really good duo.

Mehdi tells us the back story of ELAY and explains how it automates processes within recruitment workflows, such as CRM automation, cold outreach emails, and chatbots.

Nick talks more from a client and industry perspective as to why you would want to put this into your operating system. Why automation, both in your CRM and on LinkedIn, will benefit a recruitment business of all sizes and scales

AI and automation are huge industry buzzwords right now.. I've talked about this frequently, and it can be overwhelming and scary.

In this conversation, we aim to break it down into logical steps in a way that Recruitment leaders can understand

Key Takeaways

ELAY integrates with CRM systems and offers features such as CRM automation, cold outreach emails, and chatbots.
AI and automation can help recruiters save time, improve efficiency, and nurture their database.
ELAY can be used by recruitment agencies of all sizes, from one-man bands to large enterprises.

If you wish to learn more about AI and automation, then this episode is for you. Education and understanding are key to navigating the world of automation and AI in recruitment, and it's important to start with small steps and build from there.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the RAG podcast and ELAY

09:20 Automating Recruitment Workflows with ELAY

13:09 The Benefits of AI and Automation in Recruitment

25:33 Maximising LinkedIn with ELAY

27:25 Re-engaging with the Database and Remembering Ryan McCabe

28:23 Integration with Access Recruitment

29:17 Early Successes and Acquisition

36:20 Impact of Vincere’s Acquisition

37:15 Partnership and Synergy

40:06 Benefits of Integration

43:30 Future of Automation

48:34 Navigating Automation and AI

__________________________________________

Hoxo Message

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within seven days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming, and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document, you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe follow this process daily, and the results have been amazing!

You can have this, too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder and CEO, Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost your business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template

Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Vincere

Vincere’s portals are a quick-win solution for agencies in need of a no-code candidate and client portal. It’s your one-way ticket to attracting top-tier candidates and clients with everything they need in one place.

Easily set up your candidate, client, and job portal straight within your Vincere account and

configure it to your own brand and theme so it feels like you.

You can publish jobs from Vincere’s Job Portal and sync them directly to your website in one easy click. You can also offer candidates a quick and easy job search interface, so it’s made easy for them to find their perfect role.

And for your clients, you can offer them unique logins so they can access everything

they need 24/7, so they can rate and review candidates and arrange interviews.

Find out more on vincere.io/rag

Season 7 | Ep47 Volcanic: the story since The Access Group acquisition!

Wed, 03 Jul 2024 12:00:00 +0100

What really happened to Volcanic and why they are making huge progress under The Access Group.

On this week's show, I'm joined by Nick Thomson and Rachel Kirton from Access.

Nick is the GM of Access Recruitment, and Rachel Kirton is Senior Product Manager for Volcanic.

Volcanic is an iconic brand in our sector.

Famous for SaaS recruitment websites, they were acquired by The Access Group in 2019.

Similar to the situation with Vincere, post acquisition, there’s been some noise in the market.

It is no secret that the business has faced challenges, including team changes and the need to regain customer trust.

On today’s show, I wanted to find out what actually happened and the future of Volcanic under the Access Group.

In the show we discuss:

The reality of post-acquisition
The vision to provide a complete end-to-end package of technology and services is crucial for recruitment websites
New features including WhatApp and diversity and inclusion tracking and compliance
Their strategy for creating good-looking, high-converting recruitment websites
Inside the Recruitment Operating System (RecOS) which integrates various recruitment products and provides a seamless experience for customers.

Nick and Rachel are incredibly open, candid and forthcoming in their opinions and what they're trying to achieve.

So, if you're a Volcanic customer or you're thinking about upgrading your digital marketing and using their platform in the future, then this one's for you.

__________________________________________

Hoxo Message

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within seven days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming, and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document, you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe follow this process daily, and the results have been amazing!

You can have this, too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder and CEO, Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost your business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template

Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Vincere

Easily set up your candidate, client, and job portal straight within your Vincere account and

configure it to your own brand and theme so it feels like you.

And for your clients, you can offer them unique logins so they can access everything

they need 24/7, so they can rate and review candidates and arrange interviews.

Find out more on vincere.io/rag

Season 7 | Ep46 Remembering Ryan McCabe

Thu, 27 Jun 2024 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's show, I've decided to completely pause the schedule and remember the amazing Ryan McCabe, who sadly lost his life this week.

I really don't have words to describe how amazing Ryan was.

I personally didn't know him that well, but we had great interactions.

We spoke semi-regularly about our businesses, and I always felt that we were similar and that we saw the world the same way.

He was among the first to sponsor the RAG podcast and take a chance on me.

He was a guest on the show twice in 2020

I felt it was appropriate to remember Ryan by replaying the episode we recorded in May 2020.

Just over four years ago, a 30-year-old Ryan tells us his unique story.

- His personal story from Mechanical Engineering to recruiter and technology leader

- How his vision for Odro took the platform into a new direction.

- How the business grew across the global recruitment industry

- His plans for Odro after 2020

- How he believed in putting 100% into everything he did

I hope this is received well and that you enjoy listening to Ryan and remembering how amazing he was.

I am also aware that this may be a difficult listen for some people.

This is my little way of sending love to his wife, Roisin and his kids, to his friends and those who worked closely with him at Odro over the years.

Please join us and let's remember the amazing Ryan McCabe.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Tribute to Ryan McCabe

03:11 Ryan McCabe's Journey from Mechanical Engineer to Recruitment Agency Owner

06:05 Introduction to Odro and its Evolution

10:16 The Story of Odro and its Expansion into the Recruitment Industry

24:00 Lead Generation Strategies and Growth of Odro

26:46 Starting Odro and Focusing on the Recruitment Market

36:06 Realizing the Potential of Odro

40:24 The Significance of the Adecco Deal

42:48 Transitioning to the Role of CEO

45:12 Future Plans for Odro

Season 7 | Ep45 Helen McGuire on her journey from founding the first women’s careers platform in the Middle East to exiting a global DEI tech business!

Wed, 19 Jun 2024 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's show, I'm super excited to be joined by Helen McGuire. Helen is the exited founder of Diversely.io, a technology business acquired by Access Group in 2023.

Entering the pandemic in 2020, Helen ran a recruitment business dedicated to helping return-to-work mothers find flexible jobs. Helen understood this cause well, as she’d previously been in this exact position herself.

But she soon realised that her recruitment agency's business model limited the number of people she could actually help. There was so much more to be done!

So, to solve the problem on a broader scale, she decided to pivot her recruitment company and become a technology business instead.

She partnered with a co-founder from a tech background who was as passionate about the project as she was.

Three years later, she successfully grew and exited the company.

In this episode, we discuss the problems women face when returning to work and Helen’s journey as a female founder.

Whether you’re a female founder yourself or a male founder who wants to understand the female perspective and how to balance your workforce, you’re going to enjoy this episode

Chapters

00:00 Challenges faced by women returning to work

04:15 The problem of Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace

06:59 Helen's journey as a female founder

15:10 The acquisition of Diversely and Helen's current work

36:31 Solving the DEI problem in Recruitment

40:19 Building networks and the importance of transparency

45:43 The acquisition by The Access Group

50:27 Scaling the impact of Diversely

57:21 Continuing the journey in the DEI space

__________________________________________

Hoxo Message

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within seven days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming, and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document, you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe follow this process daily, and the results have been amazing!

You can have this, too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder and CEO, Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost your business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template

Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Vincere

Easily set up your candidate, client, and job portal straight within your Vincere account and

configure it to your own brand and theme so it feels like you.

And for your clients, you can offer them unique logins so they can access everything

they need 24/7, so they can rate and review candidates and arrange interviews.

Find out more on vincere.io/rag

Season 7 | Ep44 Callum Beaumont on 5 key mistakes he’s made over the last 5 years of owning his recruitment agency.

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 12:00:00 +0100

I'm excited to be joined by Callum Beaumont, the founder of Cordell Beaumont, a specialist recruitment firm headquartered in the UK with an international client base in the shipping and maritime sector.

In this episode, we talk about Callum's five-year journey as a recruitment business owner and ultimately focus on the five biggest mistakes he's made in that time.

Callum reached out to me after listening to many of the shows I've done recently and said that he wanted listeners to hear his honest start-up story.

To balance out the classic growth story, today we take a deeper look at his lows and mistakes, the things he's done wrong, and the actions he's taken to put them right.

Key highlights

The importance of effective hiring processes for building and managing a successful team
The challenges and lessons learned from transitioning from a shipping broker to a recruiter
The impact of holding onto underperforming employees for too long and the need for timely action
The benefits and challenges of remote work and the value of international talent sourcing
The importance of managing cash flow and staying on top of invoice payments in business.
The impact of personal well-being and mental health on business performance and decision-making.
The significance of maintaining a balanced lifestyle and the challenges of alcohol-free living in a professional and social context.

So, if you're already a founder or you're thinking of launching a business in the future, I believe that you'll really benefit from listening to this.

Chapters

00:00 Navigating the Challenges of Business Ownership and Team Management

11:12 Transitioning from Shipping Broker to Recruiter: Lessons Learned

15:26 The Impact of Holding Onto Underperforming Employees

22:18 The Freelance Option: Trying Out International Talent

29:47 Navigating Business Challenges and Cash Flow Management

32:35 Strategies for Invoice Payments and Cash Flow Management

43:04 Balancing Personal Well-being and Business Performance

__________________________________________

Episode sponsor: Untapped

Safe to say, last year was tricky for the recruitment sector globally. Many have had to operate through uncertain times, making tough calls and streamlining where possible.

However, accessing lower-cost resources internationally has proven to be the 2023 cheat code for business performance. But anyone who has tried it knows it’s not easy to get right. That’s where Untapped comes in.

Untapped is one of the hottest companies in the market right now, helping agencies in the UK, US, Middle East and Australia transition to the new world, leverage elite remote individuals and even build whole offshore sourcing and recruiting teams.

They source from the most exciting talent pools on the planet for recruitment staff and embed elite talent into your company to improve diversity, productivity and the cost of your teams. Your UK team will also love the help with some of the repetitive, time-consuming work that lands on their desk, improving their job satisfaction.

They put around 3000 candidates per month through an intense 4-stage interview and online testing process to find the top 1% and secure these people roles in UK agencies doing research, marketing, finance, sourcing, end-to-end recruiting, coordination and account management.

All candidates are benchmarked against UK competency frameworks and are tested for the highest level of communication and language skills.

It’s a simple process: You pay a deposit to kick off the search, they provide a candidates shortlist in 14 days. You can also put people through your own process and then hire perm or on a freelance basis, depending on your needs. They are totally transparent with salaries. Typically, your global talent will earn 30% more than their local benchmark, giving you high levels of motivation and work ethic, but you’ll still pay 70% less than a UK equivalent support. It’s a no-brainer to complement existing teams to handle surplus demand or to ease cost pressures.

If you’re not using this time to rip up your business model and rebuild it with global resources, you are going to fall behind those that do. Due to demand and capacity restraints, they are operating a waiting list at the moment, so be quick to get in touch: www.tryuntapped.com

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

- 4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn

- Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template

- Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

Season 7 | Ep43 How team Hoxo and I generate 1000+ inbound leads per month, consistently generating £2m in sales for the past 3 yrs!

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 12:00:00 +0100

In this episode, I want to walk you through our very own Hoxo inbound lead generation model.

You probably see team Hoxo and I online each month, generating lots of content and engagement…

What you may not know is that we achieve an average of 1000 NEW inbound leads every month - all from our series of 5 consistent tactics (1360 leads in May 2024, to be precise :)

Our tactics are super simple and easily repeatable.

100% of Hoxo customers come from these leads, and I am really proud to say that we've consistently sold £2m+ per year for the past 3 yrs.

Many of our existing customers have been asking about the tools and tactics we use to achieve this, so we’ve decided to share EVERYTHING! All our processes are available exclusively as part of our new service: The Boardroom.

So, a very different episode today, but if you are seriously interested in generating more trackable revenue from your brand, I think you're going to really enjoy this one.

I hope it inspires you! If you’d like to find out more about The Boardroom and what it’s about, click here: https://hubs.ly/Q02zqTvF0

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to The RAG Podcast and inbound lead generation

01:22 The five strategic assets for converting followers into clients

10:52 Taster events and revenue generation

15:06 Generating leads through paid channels

23:40 Conclusion and invitation to explore Hoxo's services

Season 7 | Ep42 Diane Prince on receiving a $10m payout within 6 yrs of launching her recruitment agency!

Wed, 29 May 2024 12:00:00 +0100

Diane started the business with her husband without ANY experience in the industry. But what she did have was the vision to build a scalable and sellable business. And in this episode, she shares how she did it.

Diane saw the value in focusing on one staffing niche; in this case, they decided on title insurance and mortgage. Listen as she tells how they grew their team, why they hired people with industry-specific experience and their steady expansion into new regions.

The goal was always to exit the business. Diane achieved this in just 6 years!

In this inspiring conversation, Diane shares her experience of scaling and selling her recruitment agency and gives you an honest look at everything she’s learned in the process.

Key takeaways

Why starting a business with the intention to sell requires a clear vision and strategic planning
How hiring industry experts can be more effective than hiring experienced recruiters
Pay people well to attract and retain top talent
Building a scalable and sellable business requires a rinse-and-repeat model
Avoid distractions and stay focused on what works
Do less but do it better to achieve greater success
How to prepare your business for sale
Building a strong executive team is crucial for scaling and preparing for an exit
Be aware of the emotional and financial challenges involved in the exit process
Consider the lifestyle and personal goals you want to achieve before starting a new business
The impact the money had on Diane’s life (it's probably not what you would think!)

So, if you're launching a business and know you want an exit, you need to take notes!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the RAG Podcast and Diane Prince's Story

03:07 Realizing the Value of Knowledge and Experience

04:05 Starting a Business with the Intention to Sell

08:24 Building Relationships and Getting Business

10:39 Determination and Execution: Growing the Business

12:32 Expanding Geographically and Opening Branches

19:36 Finding Niche Markets and Achieving Growth

21:01 Building an Executive Team for Growth and Exit

23:26 Aligning Personal Goals with Business Goals

24:23 Scaling and Managing Branches in Different Locations

27:37 Seeking Support and Advice for Success

27:55 The Importance of Niche Focus and Building a Strong Team

29:22 Mistakes Made: Starting a School and Venturing into Different Areas

30:51 Staying Focused and Doing Less, but Better

34:39 Challenges and Emotions in the Exit Process

41:57 Preparing Your Business for Sale

45:11 Considering Lifestyle and Personal Goals in Business

__________________________________________

Episode sponsor: Untapped

Safe to say, last year was tricky for the recruitment sector globally. Many have had to operate through uncertain times, making tough calls and streamlining where possible.

All candidates are benchmarked against UK competency frameworks and are tested for the highest level of communication and language skills.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

- 4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn

- Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template

Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

Season 7 | Ep41 Why investing in AI to drive new business could be the biggest mistake you make right now!

Wed, 22 May 2024 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's show, I'm releasing my talk at this year's Recruitment Agency Expo, all about why AI and automation could be the biggest mistake you make in your recruitment agency in 2024.

In March, I was on stage in front of a room full of recruitment leaders who had been subjected to countless suppliers from technology companies promoting their latest AI tools and tech to automate parts of the recruitment process.

Everyone agreed that this tech sounds logical, efficient and exciting.

Personally, I don't believe that most recruitment businesses are ready for all of it just yet.

I think there’s a more logical place to start. The platforms and tools everyone is ALREADY paying for. LinkedIn is a great example. There is so much to optimise and capitalise on before moving on to automation.

I’ve seen what happens when companies try to automate too many things too soon. It can have a hugely negative adverse reaction in the marketplace, and really does more harm than good.

In this talk, I go through what you need to consider if you are going to invest in AI and what other options are on the table.

I also give away a very simple free process at the end of the episode, so stick around for that. This is the same process that my clients all over the world are using to reach thousands of people and engage at scale. And it doesn’t involve ANY automation!

Disclaimer: the tech crashes at the very end of the talk, so I had to edit an ending to the video. But you’ll get the gist.

I hope you enjoy this!

To find out more about the 3x system - book a call with my team here: bit.ly/43aQqjb

Chapters

00:56 The potential pitfalls of AI and automation

22:18 Success stories: revenue growth through the 3X system

23:14 Improving job satisfaction and enjoyment in recruitment

23:35 Book a call to learn more about the 3X system

__________________________________________

Hoxo Message

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within seven days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming, and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document, you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe follow this process daily, and the results have been amazing!

You can have this, too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder and CEO, Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost your business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template

Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Vincere

Easily set up your candidate, client, and job portal straight within your Vincere account and

configure it to your own brand and theme so it feels like you.

And for your clients, you can offer them unique logins so they can access everything

they need 24/7, so they can rate and review candidates and arrange interviews.

Find out more on vincere.io/rag

Season 7 | Ep40 Leo Hewett on building a purpose-led recruitment agency, donating 3% of revenue to make a positive impact on society!

Wed, 15 May 2024 12:00:00 +0100

Leo is the founder of Core3 Finance Recruitment, headquartered in Bristol, with 10 employees. Although the company is only two years old, Leo’s team has already reached just under £1 million in revenue in their second year.

What I love about this business is that they're all about making a positive social impact. They are B Corp certified and believe that business has a greater role to play in society than just making profit. This is why they’ve pledged 3% of their sales to people, planet, and progress before they even made a penny!

3% of their sales revenue is equivalent to 10-15% of profit, and Leo chose sales because they don’t have to make a profit to make an impact. It holds the team fully accountable with every placement, and measuring their contribution is easy.

Leo also talks about his professional journey, from working in a publicly listed company to starting his own business. He’s honest about the challenges and wins of taking that leap and how he managed to secure his first clients and build brand awareness.

Most importantly, Leo is serious about integrity and doing the right thing.

A truly impressive guy who represents everything that's amazing about our sector!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Leo Hewett and Core3

13:18 Influences from Leo's upbringing and family business

27:03 Transitioning from Robert Hall to starting Core3

37:08 Building the Core3 brand and approaching business development

40:27 Building relationships and shifting the balance

48:30 The power of authenticity and personal branding

53:38 Challenges and successes in the first two years

56:24 Future plans and scaling the business

58:40 Balancing work and family life

01:02:54 The importance of metrics and KPIs

01:03:22 Creating a positive and supportive culture

01:05:19 Sustainable growth and quality over quantity

__________________________________________

Episode sponsor: Untapped

Safe to say, last year was tricky for the recruitment sector globally. Many have had to operate through uncertain times, making tough calls and streamlining where possible.

All candidates are benchmarked against UK competency frameworks and are tested for the highest level of communication and language skills.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

- 4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn

- Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template

Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

Season 7 | Ep39 Jake Frazer on turning a team of ex-industry experts into remote headhunters!

Tue, 07 May 2024 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's show, Jake Frazer, CEO and Founder of Precision Talent Solutions, shares his journey of building a recruitment firm specialising in government contracting talent.

Jake is based in Switzerland, but the company is 100% remote, with employees working from 12 countries around the world.

The company's unique talent model involves hiring senior people from the industry and converting them into high-performing recruiters. The team is made up of 35+ people, all recruiting specifically within the sector they all used to work in!

Jake’s business model has evolved from contingent work to a retained executive search model, focusing on director, vice president, and senior vice president-level positions.

What really stands out about Precision Talent Solutions is how they combine technology with industry expertise and an international presence.

Jake is super intelligent, calm and organised. Take notes and digest what he says - there'll be some real learnings for you in this one!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Precision Talent Solutions

13:17 Building strategic relationships and adding value

30:27 Combining technology and best practices in recruitment

36:44 Building strong relationships and providing value in recruitment

41:29 Expanding services to support career transition

44:53 Promoting diversity and veteran recruiting

47:14 Focusing on existing customers and strategic partnerships

52:09 Learning from mistakes and focusing on value

56:07 Efficient and effective recruitment processes

59:27 Long-term vision and delegating tasks

01:04:50 The role of automation in recruitment

01:09:01 Building a strong brand and maintaining passion in the industry

__________________________________________

Hoxo Message

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within seven days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming, and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (The creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost your business on LinkedIn

Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template

Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Vincere

Easily set up your candidate, client, and job portal straight within your Vincere account and

configure it to your own brand and theme so it feels like you.

And for your clients, you can offer them unique logins so they can access everything

they need 24/7, so they can rate and review candidates and arrange interviews.

Find out more on vincere.io/rag

Season 7 | Ep38 - The 5 traits that all successful Recruitment Owners possess with Hishem Azzouz

Thu, 02 May 2024 12:00:00 +0100

This week’s episode is a collaboration between RAG Podcast and Recruitment Mentors Podcast!

Hishem and I host two of the most well-known, highly-regarded podcasts in our sector.

We started them at roughly the same time, and we even used to record them in the same Hoxo HQ studio!

After sitting down together at the recent recruitment expo, we realised that we’ve released well over 500 recruitment episodes and interviewed/met 1000+ over this period

We thought it would be interesting to come together to discuss the five traits that we see in the most successful recruitment founders.

You'll find that Hishem and I do agree on most areas, but we have slightly different views in certain areas too.

Hope you enjoy this special episode and do take notes!!

00:00 Introduction

09:03 Chapter 1: Creating a Business that Works for You

16:11 Chapter 2: The Power of Niche and Brand

33:30 Chapter 4: Building a Sales Culture

44:30 Getting Out of Your Own Way

56:44 Prioritising Personal Health and Well-being

__________________________________________

Episode sponsor: Untapped

Safe to say, last year was tricky for the recruitment sector globally. Many have had to operate through uncertain times, making tough calls and streamlining where possible.

All candidates are benchmarked against UK competency frameworks and are tested for the highest level of communication and language skills.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

- 4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn

- Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template

Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

Season 7 | Ep37 Lysha Holmes on building a 100% inbound Rec2Rec business since the pandemic!

Wed, 24 Apr 2024 12:00:00 +0100

I'm excited to be joined again by Lysha Holmes. Lysha is the founder of Qui Recruitment, a specialist Rec2Rec based in Manchester.

Someone I've worked with since the pandemic who's now built a 100% inbound business.

She went from being an amazing recruiter with incredible integrity who would only represent the best recruiters in the Northwest to carrying on that and building an online brand that is seen by thousands of people every single day!

She now sources all candidates via 100% inbound enquiries on LinkedIn and traditional offline inbound business referrals.

She explains why:

She does not use LinkedIn recruiter!
She doesn't send any outbound emails
She doesn’t send any outbound inMails or text messages

In this episode, we unpack how she's done it.

We also look at the reality of the Rec2Rec space right now.

What is going on for leadership roles in recruitment?
Are people hiring?
Are people moving?

We talk about the lot. So, take notes.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the RAG podcast and guest Lysha Holmes

07:24 Adopting a Consistent and Authentic Approach

13:28 The Importance of Trust and Consistency in Branding

27:14 Sponsor Message: Vincere's Time Temp Solution

41:18 Building Foundational Skills in Recruitment and Balancing Short-Term and Long-Term Goals

__________________________________________

Hoxo Message

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within seven days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming, and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (The creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost your business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template
Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Vincere

Easily set up your candidate, client, and job portal straight within your Vincere account and

configure it to your own brand and theme so it feels like you.

And for your clients, you can offer them unique logins so they can access everything

they need 24/7, so they can rate and review candidates and arrange interviews.

Find out more on vincere.io/rag

Season 7 | Ep36 - Scott Brown - from unfulfilled lawyer to world-leading ‘community first’ recruitment agency for in-house lawyers

Wed, 17 Apr 2024 12:00:00 +0100

On this week’s show, I'm joined by Scott Brown, the founder of Heriot Brown, a UK-based in-house legal recruitment specialist agency.

Scott started his recruitment business almost by accident.

He made the switch to recruitment because he felt unfulfilled as a lawyer and wanted to have more control over his career.

He wanted to gain sales experience.

Less than two years later, he launched his own recruitment firm.

Scott admits that his lack of experience before launching his business had both positive and negative results.

Eight years later, they’ve:

Got their in-house legal podcast
Built a community-first recruitment company
Expanded to be a global business and brand

And Scott hasn’t even scratched the surface.

This is a must-listen if you’re interested in finding out how Scott got to where he is today, what community-led actually means, and what’s next for this exciting business!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the RAG podcast and Scott Brown

09:41 Scott's journey from lawyer to recruitment entrepreneur

31:00 Starting Heriot Brown: challenges and successes

37:13 Untapped: Transitioning to remote recruitment solutions

38:40 Leveraging global resources

53:20 Building a personal brand

45:26 Investing in a structured approach

01:05:28 Innovation in the recruitment industry

__________________________________________

Episode sponsor: Untapped

Safe to say, last year was tricky for the recruitment sector globally. Many have had to operate through uncertain times, making tough calls and streamlining where possible.

All candidates are benchmarked against UK competency frameworks and are tested for the highest level of communication and language skills.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

- 4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn

- Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template

Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

Season 7 | Ep35 Paul Smith on completing the MBO to buy out his original partners and take full ownership of his recruitment agency!

Wed, 10 Apr 2024 12:00:00 +0100

I'm joined by an old client of mine, Paul Smith. Paul is the Managing Director of Deploy Recruitment, a specialist infrastructure and technology recruitment business heavily invested in the rail sector.

Paul started the recruitment side of this business just over 10 years ago.

In this episode, he tells me about the last year and how he completed the MBO to buy out the original Partners and fully own the company.

Today, so many recruitment founders partner with other people — whether business partners, back office providers, solutions providers, or investors.

And I see so many get to a point when, a little bit down the line, it doesn't feel like the right fit anymore.

Paul is open about why he decided to buy out his partners, the risks (personal and professional) he faced, and how he ultimately got it done. He also shares the emotional side of the process and how he’s felt since taking ownership.

A super honest guy who does not mince his words. That's what I love about Paul.

For anyone who's thinking about selling to their employees as an MBO, completing an MBO in the future, or buying out a business partner, you've got to listen to this episode.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the RAG podcast

00:29 Overview of Deploy Recruitment

01:27 Paul's decision to buy out the company

03:23 Paul's experience with laser eye treatment

04:21 Overview of Deploy Recruitment's services

05:20 Expansion into other industries and territories

06:17 Challenges and opportunities in the industry

07:15 The importance of infrastructure maintenance

08:12 Issues with technology and connectivity

09:08 Benefits and challenges of electric vehicles

10:34 Introduction to Paul Smith and Deploy Recruitment

11:04 Paul's background and decision to join Deploy Recruitment

12:19 Joining a non-recruitment company and leveraging their resources

13:44 The growth of Deploy Recruitment

14:41 Finding clients by observing train stations

18:12 The challenges of cash flow in the industry

20:08 Expanding into different sectors and offering additional services

22:14 The importance of process and procedure in the rail industry

23:13 Servicing internal projects and external clients

24:09 The 24/7 nature of the business

26:06 Managing on-call responsibilities

27:44 Understanding turnover, gross profit, and net fee income

28:14 Offering flexible payment options to clients

30:09 Expanding services and finding new ways to work with clients

31:55 Using data to provide real-time insights to clients

35:11 Taking over the business

36:12 Timing and circumstance

37:07 Impact of COVID-19

38:41 Opportunity to buy the business

39:05 Transition and management buyout

42:02 Executing the buyout

44:14 Personal risk and commitment

46:00 Challenges and considerations

49:30 Being a leader

50:26 Vision for the future

57:26 Hiring good people

58:11 Streamlining operations

01:00:03 Importance of content on LinkedIn

01:02:51 Continuous learning and growth

__________________________________________

Hoxo Message

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (The creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template
Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Vincere

Easily set up your candidate, client, and job portal straight within your Vincere account and

configure it to your own brand and theme so it feels like you.

And for your clients, you can offer them unique logins so they can access everything

they need 24/7, so they can rate and review candidates and arrange interviews.

Find out more on vincere.io/rag

Season 7 | Ep34 - Mirtes Lobaito on her journey from cleaning houses to successful recruitment agency owner!

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 12:00:00 +0100

I'm super excited to be joined by Mirtes Lobaito, the CEO and founder of AGM Tech Solutions, a recruitment firm headquartered in New Jersey in the US.

Mirtes shares her inspirational journey from Brazil to the US, where she started her business with no English language skills and worked her way up from cleaning homes to tech sales.

She eventually entered the recruitment industry and decided to start her own company.

Despite facing challenges and self-doubt, Mirtes grew AGM Tech Solutions into a successful IT staffing firm, achieving over $100 million in revenue in just five years.

And she's done all of this whilst raising three children too :)

Mirtes’s energy is incredible – her story inspired me, and I’m sure you will be too!

Takeaways

Advice for achieving success even in the face of massive challenges and self-doubt
The power of relationship and excellent service when you’re trying to build a business
Leveraging the support and knowledge of others can help overcome obstacles and learn new skills
How to prioritise results over perfection. Start with what needs to be done right now!
Remote work and building a distributed team to serve clients in different markets better
Focusing on solid client relationships and how to become an extension of their team
Believing in the impact of your work and allowing yourself to dream big

If you are looking for a story to get you off the ground and start or inspiration to drive your recruitment business even further, this is the one for you.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the RAG podcast

00:57 Overview of AGM Tech Solutions

06:18 Mirtes' decision to stay in the US

08:54 Mirtes' transition into tech sales

10:46 Mirtes' success as a salesperson

13:02 Mirtes' entry into the recruitment industry

20:45 Setting up AGM Tech Solutions

23:57 Building the team and growing the business

29:35 AGM Tech Solutions' growth and recognition

33:21 Building a business in a post-COVID way

34:19 The rationale behind dotted locations

36:31 Engaging with candidates and clients post-COVID

38:01 Winning business by becoming an extension of the customer

39:02 Opening the door with new business

40:09 The role of the CEO

47:19 The vision for the future

53:26 Balancing work and life

01:00:00 Tips for starting a recruitment agency

__________________________________________

Episode sponsor: Untapped

Safe to say, last year was tricky for the recruitment sector globally. Many have had to operate through uncertain times, making tough calls and streamlining where possible.

All candidates are benchmarked against UK competency frameworks and are tested for the highest level of communication and language skills.

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

- 4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn

- Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template

Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

Season 7 | Ep33 Chris Abbass on growing from £9m to over £30m in NFI in less than 4 years!

Wed, 27 Mar 2024 12:00:00 +0100

I am so excited to be rejoined by Chriss Abbass, the CEO of Talentful, four years after our first episode together.

For those who don’t know, Talentful is the world's leading embedded talent recruitment solution, working with some of the best tech companies on the planet.

I had Chris in my studio in London back in 2019. At the time, his business was 4 years old and had already grown to 150 people and £9 million in net margin.

Today, another 4 years have passed, and their last company account was over £30 million!

In this episode, Chris and I discussed

How Talentful has grown in headcount with offices across Europe and the US
Navigating uncertainties and building creative strategies to win more business
The boom in revenue and growth they experienced in 2021 and 2022
Why a focus on recruiting and talent advisory services and learning from mistakes is key to improving your business
Learnings from their expansion into key markets like San Francisco
The power of flexibility when it comes to terms and pricing
How starting in an agency environment can give professionals an advantage when transitioning to in-house roles
A realistic picture of the US talent market compared to Europe
What’s in store for Talentful’s future, including embedded services, a thriving global community, and technology for matching talent and teams

I personally learned so much from this conversation, hearing about the journey of one of the most innovative and cutting-edge recruitment agencies out there. I hope you love it too!

__________________________________________

Hoxo Message

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (The creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template
Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Vincere

Easily set up your candidate, client, and job portal straight within your Vincere account and

configure it to your own brand and theme so it feels like you.

And for your clients, you can offer them unique logins so they can access everything

they need 24/7, so they can rate and review candidates and arrange interviews.

Find out more on vincere.io/rag

Season 7 | Ep32 - Oliver Legg on the move from home security sales manager to global Cybersecurity recruitment leader within 7 years!

Wed, 20 Mar 2024 12:00:00 +0100

I'm super excited to be joined by Oliver Legg, the co-founder of Aspiron Search, a specialist headhunter in the cybersecurity market operating from the UK but placing people all over the US.

Oliver started his career as a regional sales manager for a home security installation company seven years ago.

Today, alongside Joe his co-founder, they generate over 7 figures a year with a team of five in the cybersecurity market.

A super modern agency with a focus on brand and content (their podcast alone last year made them 320,000 in net fee income)

Takeaways

The challenging but rewarding transition from sales to recruitment

Key to launching a business during a pandemic

The importance of a supportive network and the right guidance

The challenges of growing a team in 2022

Navigating expectations from the market

Adapting and the value of consistency in the early stages of a new business

If you're looking to grow your business or want to launch your own agency and want to hear from someone who didn't start too long ago, but is having an amazing journey, then you've got to listen to this!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background

01:26 Oliver's Journey into Recruitment

06:12 Transition from Sales to Recruitment

09:03 Joining Iceberg and Early Success

14:21 Starting Asperon Search

25:29 Early Success and Growth

28:29 Working with Recruit Hub

31:17 Opening the Crawley Office

34:12 Boom Time and Hiring

35:12 Introduction to Triuntapped

36:12 Process of Working with Triuntapped

37:08 Benefits of Using Triuntapped

37:37 Challenges of Growing a Team in 2022

38:59 Lessons Learned in 2022

40:43 Adapting the Business Model

43:10 The Impact of Change on the Business

44:39 The Importance of Consistency and Adaptation

45:07 Navigating the Challenges of 2023

46:04 The Resilience of the Business

47:29 The Power of LinkedIn and Content Creation

49:24 Investing in the Business

50:51 Starting a Business and Lessons Learned

53:46 The Decision to Move to Bournemouth

56:06 The Impact of the Move on the Team

58:01 Current Way of Working

59:27 Future Hiring Plans

01:02:16 The Benefits of Being Together

01:05:38 Goals for 2024

01:08:41 Closing Remarks

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Safe to say, last year was tricky for the recruitment sector globally. Many have had to operate through uncertain times, making tough calls and streamlining where possible.

All candidates are benchmarked against UK competency frameworks and are tested for the highest level of communication and language skills.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

- 4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn

- Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template

- Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

Season 7 | Ep31 - Ephram Stephenson on building an agency of 140 people with 500 years of recruitment experience under one roof (all in 2 yrs!)

Wed, 13 Mar 2024 12:00:00 +0100

In this episode, Ephram Stephenson, CEO and founder of Collar Talent Group, joins me for part 2 of the Collar Talent Group story!

I interviewed Ephram Jan 2023 when his business was just over a year old and he'd already reached a head count of 100.

13 months later, and the business now has 140 people across multiple Australian offices, making them the fastest growing agency in the country.

In this follow-up show, Ephram shares insights on how he has rapidly grown the business, built a strong company culture, and attracted top talent.

Ephram strategically headhunted his leadership team, and together they have a combined experience of over 500 years in recruitment!

Key takeaways

The impact of strategic hiring
How to build a strong company culture and prioritise the well-being of internal staff – and how this contributes to a high-performing business
The essentials for winning tenders and contracts
How to attract the best talent in your market
You can start a rec agency with minimal capital, but there are some things you can’t compromise on
The key to resolving internal conflicts in your business
Importance of a healthy work-life balance for both your personal and professional success

As always, we talk about the things he's got wrong as well as the success. Ephram’s got bags of energy, and he's fun to be around.

So if you're looking to grow your business at scale and with speed, check this one out!

__________________________________________

Hoxo Message

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (The creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template
Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Vincere

Easily set up your candidate, client, and job portal straight within your Vincere account and

configure it to your own brand and theme so it feels like you.

And for your clients, you can offer them unique logins so they can access everything

they need 24/7, so they can rate and review candidates and arrange interviews.

Find out more on vincere.io/rag

Season 7 | Ep30 - Alex Woodhead on why recruitment companies that build the best PRODUCT will always win

Wed, 06 Mar 2024 12:00:00 +0100

This week, I'm super excited to be joined by Alex Woodhead, the founder of a brand new 10-day-old talent and engineering consultancy called Apera.

A business that specialises in recruitment for future mobility, space and clean energy. This is a super niche futuristic market with so much space for growth. And it isn’t Alex’s first time attacking it!

We talk about how Alex started in recruitment: his journey from trainee to Director in his first firm, how he co-founded a company called Strativ, and built one of the fastest-growing recruitment companies on the planet.

Within four years, they had a 100+ headcount and £13 million in NFI.

Find out how they achieved this and why, a year later, he negotiated his exit and started his own business once again.

Alex is one of those founders who has a crazy work ethic, unbelievable self-confidence and belief in what he’s doing.

But what stands out about Alex – and we get into it in this episode – is that his success is not a result of having the best sales skills. It's about having the best product and then building a business around that product.

Takeaways

Building the best product in your industry is crucial for success

Confidence is not about being the best salesperson but about believing in what you’re doing

Leaving a business can be a difficult decision, but you always need to prioritise personal happiness and growth

Creating something special and having a meaningful impact should be the driving force behind any business

Focusing on specific markets and going deeper than anyone else is what leads to success and builds trust

In order to grow sustainably, you need to find the balance between being profitable and scaling

If you want to grow your recruitment firm or just listen and learn from one of the best leaders in our industry, then you do not want to miss this episode!

__________________________________________

Episode sponsor: Untapped

Safe to say, last year was tricky for the recruitment sector globally. Many have had to operate through uncertain times, making tough calls and streamlining where possible.

All candidates are benchmarked against UK competency frameworks and are tested for the highest level of communication and language skills.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template
Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

Season 7 | Ep29 - Oscar Orellana-Hyder on his journey from a sceptic of LinkedIn personal branding to doubling his billings and building a successful recruitment agency in the UAE.

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's show, Oscar Orellana-Hyder, the Founder of Cordell Partners, shares his journey from being a sceptic of personal branding on LinkedIn to building a successful recruitment agency in the UAE.

I’ve worked with Oscar since 2021. He was a Hoxo client whilst working for Robert Walters.

He went from someone who thought that using LinkedIn was complete nonsense and was billing £350k per year using only traditional methods, to doubling this within 12 months!

All through 100% inbound business, generated via his LinkedIn personal brand.

In late 2023, he decided that he finally had the skills and the confidence to launch his own agency. And his personal brand is still generating business all over the region.

If you're really interested in finding out how a personal brand on LinkedIn can actually pay dividends in terms of revenue, you've got to listen to this episode.

Takeaways

Personal branding on LinkedIn can have a significant impact on revenue and business growth – when done right
Living and working in the UAE and how the region values family
The value of niche recruitment markets and how to build deeper client relationships with key decision-makers
Focusing on quality over quantity in the mission to build a reputable and ethical recruitment agency
The realities of building a business from nothing in the UAE, how to navigate administrative challenges, and cultivating a strong network of local partners
Finding self-sufficient people to help grow your team
Learning and connecting as part of a community
Embracing change in dynamic and transient regions

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to The RAG Podcast and Cordell Partners

01:28 Oscar's transformation and launching Cordell Partners

02:52 The name and vision of Cordell Partners

03:49 The importance of family in the UAE

05:41 The influence of family ethics in business

07:34 The niche market of investment recruitment

09:59 Transitioning from corporate recruitment to niche market

11:24 The decision to move to Dubai

13:20 The impact of personal branding on revenue

16:14 Joining Robert Walters and focusing on Abu Dhabi

19:57 The impact of The RAG Podcast and LinkedIn

26:14 The catalyst for starting Cordell Partners

38:11 Setting up Cordell Partners and the vision for the future

45:15 Building businesses from nothing

45:42 Growing the team

46:41 Finding self-sufficient people

47:11 Value of being part of a community

48:08 Future plans and retirement

49:35 Expanding to other regions

50:05 Identity and accents in the region

51:01 Embracing change and transient nature

51:28 Infrastructure challenges

52:25 Living in a transient place

53:19 Future business goals

54:16 Importance of commitment to the region

55:37 Exploring other countries in the region

56:04 Openness to answering questions and helping others

56:56 Sponsor message: Hoxo

__________________________________________

Hoxo Message

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (The creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template
Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Vincere

Easily set up your candidate, client, and job portal straight within your Vincere account and

configure it to your own brand and theme so it feels like you.

And for your clients, you can offer them unique logins so they can access everything

they need 24/7, so they can rate and review candidates and arrange interviews.

Find out more on vincere.io/rag

Season 7 | Ep28 - Jonathan Berry on how building his LinkedIn brand has attracted lawyers from across the Middle East and converted into serious revenue!

Wed, 21 Feb 2024 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's show, I'm joined by Jonathan Berry, the director of the Middle East region for Robert Walters Group.

I’ve known him for five years and have been working with him for four years.

Jonathan was the first staff member at Robert Walters to join my bootcamp. And I'm now working with over 700 recruiters across the Group.

Jonathan came to Dubai after working for Robert Walters in Sydney, and is now running the business in the region.

In this episode, he shares his journey from being a lawyer to transitioning into recruitment and building a successful recruitment desk in Dubai. Jonathan discusses the challenges and opportunities of working in the Middle East market and the impact of COVID-19 on recruitment.

We also reflect on his leadership role and the importance of personal branding in his success so far. Jonathan explains how LinkedIn has translated into revenue and emphasises the need for a long-term strategy rather than a short-term focus.

Takeaways

Transitioning from law to recruitment requires adaptability and a willingness to learn new skills.
Building a successful recruitment desk in Dubai involves strategic hiring, building client relationships, and understanding the local market.
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted recruitment in Dubai, with many jobs being put on hold or canceled.
Effective leadership involves trust, clear communication, and the ability to motivate and support team members.
Personal branding is essential for recruiters to establish credibility and attract clients and candidates. LinkedIn provides value by building connections based on shared interests.
Consistent messaging and content creation on LinkedIn can lead to revenue generation.
A long-term strategy on LinkedIn is more effective than a short-term focus (Consistency is key)
LinkedIn can help you get in the room with potential clients and candidates – and keep you there!
Cultural inclusivity and motivation are important aspects of building and managing teams.
The Middle East offers exciting growth opportunities for recruitment agencies.
Consider the balance between personal and professional life when making career decisions.
Being an intrapreneur within a company like RW can provide support and resources for growth.

A great guy with a refreshing approach to recruitment – take notes, as this is super valuable!

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Safe to say, last year was tricky for the recruitment sector globally. Many have had to operate through uncertain times, making tough calls and streamlining where possible.

All candidates are benchmarked against UK competency frameworks and are tested for the highest level of communication and language skills.

__________________________________________

Sponsor: Hoxo

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template
Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

Season 7 | Ep27 - Calvin Lee-Picket on building a revenue-generating candidate community!

Wed, 14 Feb 2024 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's show, I'm delighted to be joined by Calvin Lee-Pickett, the CEO and founder of Calvin James Recruitment.

Calvin came from the UK to Dubai as an employee of Robert Half Recruitment, a global organisation. A few years later, he decided to start his own business.

Without any experience as a business owner, he has grown organically over the last five years. And in this past year, things have REALLY changed for Calvin and his team!

In this episode, Calvin discusses how he pivoted his business model to monetise the growing candidate base he’d built and the challenges he faced in setting up a business in Dubai. We also talk about the impact of COVID-19 on the business and the importance of building a solid personal brand.

Calvin is a really great guy who’s building something special. You don’t want to miss this one!

Takeaways

How pivoting your business model can create new revenue streams and opportunities for growth
The challenges (and opportunities) in setting up a business in a new country – and the importance of strategic planning and determination in getting it right
Agility and adaptability in the face of challenging circumstances
The role of an authentic brand in attracting the right team members, candidates, and clients
Lifestyle changes and how they can help you become more focused in every aspect of your work and personal life

__________________________________________

*RAG Sponsor message* Hoxo

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document, you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily, and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO, Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template
Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp, which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

__________________________________________

*RAG Sponsor message*: Vincere

Easily set up your candidate, client, and job portal straight within your Vincere account and

configure it to your own brand and theme so it feels like you.

And for your clients, you can offer them unique logins so they can access everything

they need 24/7, so they can rate and review candidates and arrange interviews.

Find out more on vincere.io/rag

Season 7 | Ep26 - Abdul-Rahman Risilia on building a modern recruitment agency with a core permanent team and a range of global freelancers!

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 12:00:00 +0100

Episode 2 of my LIVE series in the UAE and I'm joined by Abdul Rahman Risilia, CEO and founder of ARC Talent.

Abdul is someone I actually worked with when I started my recruitment career in Melbourne in 2011, but I didn’t realise this until the show because, back then, he worked under a completely different name!

In this episode, Abdul shares his journey from door-to-door sales to building a successful recruitment business in Dubai, growing through the various challenges along the way, and his unique business model and approach to hiring.

We talk about

ARC Talent’s unique business model and how they combine a core team in Dubai with freelancers around the world
Abdul’s recruitment career, starting with his first job in Melbourne and exploring the various challenges and successes he’s had along the way
The role of religion and faith in Abdul’s journey and his conversion to Islam
The importance of adapting to changing market conditions and building strong relationships with clients and candidates
Lessons for starting a business, including taking the time to learn from past experiences and being patient
A different approach to recruitment, focusing on relationships and quality over quantity, can lead to better outcomes
Building a strong brand and maintaining meaningful relationships
The future of ARC Talent and Abdul’s vision for expansion
How Dubai offers a unique environment for both personal and professional growth

You don’t wanna miss this!

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Safe to say, last year was tricky for the recruitment sector globally. Many have had to operate through uncertain times, making tough calls and streamlining where possible.

All candidates are benchmarked against UK competency frameworks and are tested for the highest level of communication and language skills.

Season 7 | Ep25 - Sean Anderson: what I have learned from almost 300 episodes of The RAG Podcast!

Wed, 31 Jan 2024 12:00:00 +0100

The first of our 5 x episodes recorded Live in the UAE kicks off with ME as the guest!

So Chris Redmond, who's been on our show three times since 2019, approached me about interviewing me and telling both the Hoxo story and my learnings from almost 300 episodes of the RAG on my recent trip to Dubai!

In this episode, I opened up a lot!

We discuss

The story of Hoxo to date
The impact of my personal brand on building the business
Why I started The RAG Podcast
The impact The RAG has had on the industry
My top learnings from 5 years of interviewing the best in the business
How my life and Hoxo are 100% different since the pandemic
My vision for building a life that I love both personally and professionally.

Thanks to Chris for taking the time to host this episode; it was so much fun to be on the other side of the mic!

I hope you find this valuable!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the RAG Podcast

05:11 The story of Hoxo Media

06:11 Hoxo's services: branding and personal branding

13:22 The impact of personal branding

20:02 The RAG Podcast: purpose and impact

24:25 Lessons from successful recruitment owners

30:05 Interviewing style and emotional moments

37:20 Hoxo's future plans

42:07 Scientist or artist: Sean's approach

43:31 Overcoming challenges and taking action

46:20 The power of energy and inspiration

47:15 Appreciation and friendship

47:44 Closing remarks and sponsorship

__________________________________________

*RAG Sponsor message* Hoxo

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (The creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template
Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

__________________________________________

*RAG Sponsor message*: Vincere

Easily set up your candidate, client, and job portal straight within your Vincere account and

configure it to your own brand and theme so it feels like you.

You can publish jobs from Vincere’s Job Portal and sync them directly to your website in one easy click. You can also offer candidates a quick and easy job search interface, so it’s easy for them to find their perfect role.

And for your clients, you can offer them unique logins so they can access everything they need 24/7, so they can rate and review candidates and arrange interviews.

Find out more on vincere.io/rag

Season 7 | Ep24 - Richard Morton on why it’s never too late to start your own agency!

Wed, 24 Jan 2024 12:00:00 +0100

In this episode of the RAG podcast, Sean Anderson interviews Richard Morton, the founder of MatchMedics. Richard shares his journey of launching a recruitment company in his 50s and emphasises that it's never too late to pursue your dreams. He discusses the challenges he faced in the early years and the turning point after reading the book 'Traction'.

Richard explains how MatchMedics narrowed its focus to specialise in recruiting doctors and the subsequent growth in team size and revenue. He also highlights the expansion into the local market and other specialities, such as general practice.

Sean and Richard discuss the impact of LinkedIn on his recruitment business and the potential it holds for finding high-level candidates. He shares how Hoxo's Personal Branding Bootcamp has helped his team develop a unified language and methodology for using the platform effectively.

The conversation also explores the impact of content generation and the importance of becoming a recognisable brand online. They discuss the future vision of the business, opportunities for growth, and the importance of building a strong team and environment. This is a must-listen for anyone wanting to hear first-hand about the journey of building a rec business from the ground up, and what it takes to start driving success!

Takeaways

It's never too late to launch a recruitment company and pursue your dreams.
Narrowing your focus and specialising in a specific niche can lead to significant growth and success.
Building a strong team and providing opportunities for growth and development are key to long-term success.
Transitioning from doing the work to managing can be challenging but is necessary for business growth.
Participating in training programs and seeking continuous learning can have a positive impact on business success.
LinkedIn has become an increasingly important sourcing strategy for recruitment businesses, particularly in the healthcare sector.
Hoxo's LinkedIn Bootcamp helps teams develop a unified language and methodology for using LinkedIn effectively.
Content generation on LinkedIn has had a massive impact on business growth and engagement.
Building a strong team and environment is crucial for long-term success in the recruitment industry.
Seizing opportunities and driving success requires dedication, energy, and the right vision and people.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the RAG podcast

00:56 Richard Morton's background and launching MatchMedics

04:16 Richard's start in recruitment in 1989

08:24 Transitioning from being an employee to an entrepreneur

12:15 Starting MatchMedics and the early challenges

19:14 The turning point after reading the book 'Traction'

25:17 Narrowing the focus to specialise in recruiting doctors

27:40 Expansion into the local market and other specialities

28:39 Growth in team size and revenue

38:22 Managing the resourcer-recruiter model

44:26 Expansion into the general practice market

45:21 Richard's role in the company

46:20 The challenges of transitioning from doing the work to managing

46:50 The benefits of participating in the Hoxo Personal Brand Academy

47:16 Discovering the potential of LinkedIn

48:13 The impact of LinkedIn on business

49:07 Creating a unified language and methodology

50:03 The Impact of Hoxo on content generation

50:33 Generating placeable candidates

52:29 Educating the competition

52:58 The vision and future of the business

53:24 Building a strong team and environment

56:13 The journey and potential growth

57:09 Seizing opportunities and driving success

58:04 Understanding rotations in the healthcare sector

59:16 Taking time off and reflecting on achievements

01:00:42 Closing remarks and sponsor message

Hoxo Message

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template
Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Safe to say, last year was tricky for the recruitment sector globally. Many have had to operate through uncertain times, making tough calls and streamlining where possible.

All candidates are benchmarked against UK competency frameworks and are tested for the highest level of communication and language skills.

Season 7 | Ep23 - Jamie Reynolds on the changes required to deliver multiple 7 figures of profit as former CEO of Cordant Group

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 12:00:00 +0100

In this week’s episode, I’m joined by Jamie Reynolds, a man who’s held some impressive titles in his career but most notably was the Former CEO of PMP Recruitment, a part of the Cordant Group, COO of Halian, and most recently, CEO of The Recruitment Co.

In this in-depth episode, he shares his journey from a 17-year-old trainee to his moves toward CEO.

During his time at Cordant, he delivered multiple millions in profit through a company wide business transformation programme.

Jamie is passionate about empowering people to think differently, and it’s inspiring to hear how he uses this mindset to deliver financial results!

It’s not always smooth sailing, and it’s refreshing to hear someone speak so realistically about mental health and wellbeing. Jamie and I discussed the lessons he learned during the acquisition and merger of Halian and Staff Group, including the need for empathy and respect when making tough decisions like redundancies.

One of the good guys in the recruitment sector, take notes- there is lots to learn!

Takeaways

Acquisitions and mergers can create synergy and growth opportunities for businesses.
It is important to ensure that promises of wealth creation are legally bound and fit for purpose.
Driving results requires finding efficiencies, building culture, and galvanising people.
Entrepreneurial skills can be applied to both large and small businesses.
Mental health and well-being should be prioritised in the workplace.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

02:20 Jamie’sackground and expertise

06:04 Transition from service sector to recruitment sector

07:20 Jamie's journey to CEO level

10:38 Joining the Cordant Group

12:59 Transformation within the Cordant Group

19:04 Implementing transformational projects

25:11 Managing multiple projects

32:15 Turning around the business

36:32 Transition to Group CEO

40:56 Transformation during the pandemic

43:46 Dealing with redundancies

49:55 Role evolution and disposals

52:06 Acquisition and merger of Halian and Staff Group

53:31 Lessons learned from exits and transformations

55:50 Success of PMP Recruitment

56:42 Driving results

57:08 Ability to work with both large and small businesses

58:58 Offering growth, transformation, and coaching/mentoring

01:00:37 Jamie's life and approach to work

01:02:31 Importance of mental health and well-being

01:04:06 Closing remarks and contact information

__________________________________________

Hoxo Message

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (The creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template
Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Vincere

Easily set up your candidate, client, and job portal straight within your Vincere account and

configure it to your own brand and theme so it feels like you.

And for your clients, you can offer them unique logins so they can access everything

they need 24/7, so they can rate and review candidates and arrange interviews.

Find out more on vincere.io/rag

Season 7 | Ep22 - Laura Clark on her vision for growing OA Group, an agency founded by her mother that she recently purchased!

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 12:00:00 +0100

In this week's episode, I was joined by Laura Clark, CEO of OA Group, who shares her journey of joining the family business and eventually taking over as CEO.

She discusses the challenges and rewards of working with her mother and the lessons she learned from her entrepreneurial upbringing.

Laura also talks about the growth and operations of OA Group, her early career in recruitment, and the negotiation process of buying out her mother's stake in the business.

This episode highlights the importance of hard work, independence, and the drive to improve in the recruitment industry.

Key takeaways

Working with family in a business can be genuinely rewarding, but only with clear boundaries and communication.
Growing up with an entrepreneurial parent can instil a strong work ethic and independence from a young age.
Success in recruitment requires a genuine passion for the industry and a willingness to go the extra mile for clients and candidates.
Taking over a family business involves careful negotiation and planning, with the support of external advisors and a clear vision for the future. Working with family can lead to better conversations and different perspectives.
Creating a meaningful and sustainable business means focusing on growth, training, and offering employee opportunities.
Balancing growth and fairness is essential for building a good business.
Being open-minded and embracing change usually leads to innovation and success.
Building a safe environment for feedback and ideas is crucial for business growth.
Gender equality should focus on removing limitations and treating everyone as equals.
Prioritising and being agile are vital in managing work and family life.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the RAG podcast

00:58 Laura's journey and joining the family business

03:18 Overview of OA Group

05:15 Laura's early career and working with her mother

08:06 Growing up with an entrepreneurial parent

09:04 Laura's interest in business and entrepreneurship

10:34 Joining Osborne Appointments

16:11 Early days of recruiting and the types of jobs

19:19 Balancing work and motherhood

25:45 Progressing in her career and becoming a manager

29:25 Realising her entrepreneurial ambitions

31:19 Negotiating the deal to take over the business

37:48 Taking ownership of the business

43:34 Working with family and post-acquisition vision

45:01 Creating a meaningful and sustainable business

46:20 Balancing growth and fairness

46:50 Key principles for a viable business

47:48 Embracing change and being open-minded

49:18 Seeking outside opinions and ideas

50:14 Creating a safe environment for feedback and innovation

53:02 The importance of in-person interaction in recruitment

58:12 Gender equality and avoiding self-limitations

01:02:48 Juggling work and family life

01:07:45 The importance of prioritising and being agile

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Safe to say, last year was tricky for the recruitment sector globally. Many have had to operate through uncertain times, making tough calls and streamlining where possible.

All candidates are benchmarked against UK competency frameworks and are tested for the highest level of communication and language skills.

Season 7 | Ep21 - Josh Huggins on driving a trade sale exit with a 5-year earn-out process before starting his own agency!

Wed, 03 Jan 2024 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's show, I'm delighted to be joined by Josh Huggins, the founder of GS2, a global sustainability search recruitment firm headquartered in Basingstoke. The business is just over 18 months old, with eight employees.

Josh shares his journey from being a professional footballer to starting his own recruitment business.

After becoming the second-largest shareholder at Principal People he, alongside Simon Bliss, led the process of selling the business.

He had to wait five years and faced many challenges before making the bold decision to leave and start GS2.

Takeaways

Negotiating an exit from a previous company can be challenging, especially when it comes to non-compete agreements and investment decisions.
Focusing on operational billing and setting high standards can help build a strong foundation for a recruitment agency.
Investing in personal branding and leveraging platforms like LinkedIn can have a significant impact on client retention and business growth.
Internal recruitment plays a crucial role in building a successful company and finding the best talent to drive growth.
Having a clear vision and exit strategy can guide the long-term goals and direction of a recruitment agency.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the RAG podcast and guest introduction

01:25 Josh Huggins' background and journey to starting GS2

03:20 Overview of GS2 and its divisions

04:39 Target market and clients of GS2

06:02 The changing recruitment landscape and opportunities in a post-COVID world

07:00 Josh's background in football and transition to recruitment

10:46 Joining Principal People and the growth of the business

16:28 Transitioning to a senior role at Principal People

20:44 The process of selling Principal People and the challenges faced

27:51 The decision to start GS2 and the challenges faced

36:48 The attempted buyback of Principal People and the decision to start GS2

40:33 The exit from Principal People and the start of GS2

44:28 Naming and structure of GS2

45:23 Negotiating the exit and setting up GS2

47:39 Starting GS2 and building the team

49:21 Returning to operational billing and setting standards

51:15 Recruiting levels and service offerings

52:08 Investing in personal branding and learning from Hoxo

53:07 Changing the mindset of recruitment and staying connected with clients

55:28 The impact of personal branding on revenue

57:21 Bringing Tom Glanfield on board and internal recruitment

01:00:15 Building GS2 with an exit in mind

01:02:09 The vision for GS2 and future growth

__________________________________________

Hoxo Message

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (The creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template
Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Vincere

Easily set up your candidate, client, and job portal straight within your Vincere account and

configure it to your own brand and theme so it feels like you.

And for your clients, you can offer them unique logins so they can access everything

they need 24/7, so they can rate and review candidates and arrange interviews.

Find out more on vincere.io/rag

Season 7 | Ep20 - Owen Myers & Jenna Mackie on doubling revenue YoY whilst working a 4 day week!

Wed, 13 Dec 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's show I was joined by Owen Myers and Jenna Mackie, the founders of Mackie Myers.

Mackie Myers is a specialist accounting and finance recruitment firm headquartered in London, two and a half years old with 14 employees.

Since launching, the business has doubled revenue year on year and operated in a sustainable way!

They've introduced a 4-day work week after 12 months, which has been hugely successful.

And they are now looking at growing from 14 to 40 - 50 over the next few years.

In this episode, we talk about:

Their start-up story whilst navigating the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic at the same time
Business planning basics
Transitioning to a four-day workweek and the benefits they’ve experienced
Managing client expectations and effective communication
Balancing work and parenthood
Returning to work after maternity leave
Challenges and successes of 2022
Profit margins in the recruitment industry
The current state of the business and their future vision!

For anyone who's listening, who wants to build a business in the future always right at the start of their journey, this one's gonna resonate because ultimately, these guys are two and a half years in, everything's fresh, everything's real, and they're making it work.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Mackey Myers

02:20 Working together at Michael Page

08:29 Leaving Michael Page and starting a new business

12:38 Navigating the challenges of Covid-19

19:40 Setting up Mackey Myers

27:19 Hiring and scaling the business

34:24 First year of Mackey Myers

42:47 Lessons learned and balancing personal life

45:42 Business planning basics

46:43 Transition to a four-day workweek

48:04 Benefits of a four-day workweek

49:02 Operating model of a four-day workweek

50:53 Managing client expectations

52:20 Communication with clients

54:07 Balancing work and parenthood

55:34 Returning to work after maternity leave

59:21 Challenges and successes of 2022

01:01:09 Profit margins in the recruitment industry

01:02:29 Current state of the business

01:05:06 Future vision for the business

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: RecruitHub

Our trusted partner RecruitHub helps new founders launch their own recruitment businesses in the UK, US & UAE. The community is growing rapidly, with over 70 founders on the RecruitHub platform.

Everything you need to launch your own recruitment business with ease.

- Receive 100% of the fees you bill

- Own full commercial control of your business and increase its value

- Cutting-edge tech stack, from ATS to sales automation

- No admin - they handle everything from company registration to contracts, to finance and support

- No setup costs on the platform, no recurring fixed costs, and no surprise fees

If you're thinking of taking the next step in your career and want to discuss your business idea, please book a confidential chat with RecruitHub's team or learn more here: https://www.recruit-hub.com/uk-awareness/

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Safe to say it’s been a tricky year for the recruitment sector globally. Many have had to operate through uncertain times, making tough calls and streamlining where possible.

All candidates are benchmarked against UK competency frameworks and are tested for the highest level of communication and language skills.

It’s a simple process: You pay a deposit to kick off the search, they provide a candidates shortlist in 14 days. You can also put people through your own process and then hire perm or on a freelance basis, depending on your needs. They are totally transparent with salaries. Typically your global talent will earn 30% more than their local benchmark giving you high levels of motivation and work ethic, but you’ll still pay 70% less than a UK equivalent support. It’s a no-brainer to complement existing teams to handle surplus demand or to ease cost pressures.

Season 7 | Ep17 - Vincere part 2 - what features are coming in 2023/24?

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's episode I was once again joined by Vincere, specifically their Head of Product, Kristy Gilham. This is a follow-up to the conversation we recorded back in September.

In this episode, we focused exclusively on the product roadmap and the things that they're working on right now to improve for you, the customer. You’ll hear some interesting insights into how they decide on which products to put into action, and which ones to leave off the table.

Despite the negative press post-acquisition, hopefully you're starting to understand that Vinny are still committed to the customer.

They’re also almost exclusively focused on working with small to medium-sized recruitment agencies – which is so important!

So whether you’re a boutique agency looking for a new CRM or a current Vinny customer, enjoy the episode, listen up, and take notes.

Takeaways

Vincere is committed to improving the user experience for small to mid-sized recruitment agencies.
The product roadmap includes enhancements to the user interface, email functionality, and automation.
Data security and compliance are top priorities for Vincere, especially when integrating with LinkedIn.
The company is actively seeking customer feedback and engagement to shape the product development.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the RAG podcast

00:57 Focus on the product roadmap

02:25 Discussion on market conditions and plans

03:23 Updates on product development

06:40 Product roadmap for small to mid-sized market

07:55 Improving UI and UX

09:20 Improvements to velocity and data import tool

10:20 Integration with LinkedIn and data security

13:52 Payroll integration and expanding marketplace

15:42 Revamping the scheduler for smaller agencies

17:06 Improving email functionality and automation

19:22 In-app training and product enablement

21:43 Improving internal communication and knowledge sharing

22:11 Introduction of workspace and AI functionality

23:07 Adopting AI in Vincere

25:03 Focus on improving system speed and security

27:05 Addressing compliance and email functionality

28:54 Marketing automation and marketplace mindset

30:45 Engaging with customers and gathering feedback

32:31 Prioritizing feature requests and engaging with customers

35:23 Openness to customer feedback and engagement

38:40 Closing remarks and contact information

__________________________________________

Hoxo Message

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (The creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template
Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Vincere

Easily set up your candidate, client, and job portal straight within your Vincere account and configure it to your own brand and theme so it feels like you.

And for your clients, you can offer them unique logins so they can access everything they need 24/7, so they can rate and review candidates and arrange interviews.

Find out more on vincere.io/rag

Season 7 | Ep18 - Dan Moussa & Kevin Warner on reaching over 7 figures in 11 months of trading through a 100% retained, productised recruitment model!

Wed, 29 Nov 2023 12:00:00 +0100

Today I was joined by Dan Moussa and Kevin Warner, the founders of Telesca.

Telesca is an 11 month old recruitment business headquartered in Brisbane with a completely unique model.

These guys recruit in the energy and sustainability space and in a short space of time they’ve built a business with the following

100% retained (30% upfront / 70% on success)
Productised model with clear pricing and delivery structure
Utlisation of Offshore experienced recruiters in Philippines.
Soon to be 11 staff, every member of the team has 7+ yrs of experience

In 11 months, they've generated over 7 figures but most importantly, they’ve done it in their own way!

In this episode, we talk about

How they met
How they started the business
Why they started the business
How they have achieved the 4 steps above!

We really go into detail about this model because I genuinely think it's amazing. I mean, it's super profitable, super scalable and sustainable as well, win win!

You don’t wanna miss this!

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: RecruitHub

Our trusted partner RecruitHub helps new founders launch their own recruitment businesses in the UK, US & UAE. The community is growing rapidly, with over 70 founders on the RecruitHub platform.

Everything you need to launch your own recruitment business with ease.

- Receive 100% of the fees you bill

- Own full commercial control of your business and increase its value

- Cutting-edge tech stack, from ATS to sales automation

- No admin - we handle everything from company registration to contracts, to finance and support

- No setup costs on the platform, no recurring fixed costs, and no surprise fees

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Safe to say it’s been a tricky year for the recruitment sector globally. Many have had to operate through uncertain times, making tough calls and streamlining where possible.

All candidates are benchmarked against UK competency frameworks and are tested for the highest level of communication and language skills.

It’s a simple process: You pay a deposit to kick off the search, they provide a candidates shortlist in 14 days. You can also put people through your own process and then hire perm or on a freelance basis, depending on your needs. They are totally transparent with salaries. Typically your global talent will earn 30% more than their local benchmark giving you high levels of motivation and work ethic, but you’ll still pay 70% less than a UK equivalent support. It’s a no-brainer to complement existing teams to handle surplus demand or to ease cost pressures.

Season 7 | Ep17 - Chris Redmond on transitioning from lifestyle business to building an agency of value and scale!

Wed, 22 Nov 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's episode, I'm excited as Chris Redmond, the founder and the CEO of RedHolt, is back on the show for the third time.

In Q4 2019, he came into my office in East London; we recorded in person together and he claimed that he wanted to be a digital nomad.

They’d just got rid of their office, cancelled the lease and were going completely remote.

This was a pre-pandemic world and I'll be honest, I thought it was a bit mad.

Six months later, the world went into lockdown.

Fast-forward nine months and he came back on my daily show, the RAG Report, and talked quite openly about how the systems he'd put in place pre-pandemic meant that he had no real disruption at all.

In 2023, Chris lives in Dubai, and he's still got a team in the UK that operate mainly in the media and broadcasting space. They are retained headhunters with a forensic process driven way of working.

Chris has built an amazing lifestyle business which has consistently been running at about 60% profit - this is madness in our industry!

He's now got the challenge of building a business that can be sold.

He wants an exit plan, but how does he navigate that?

Chris also lost 35 kg in 2023, and he looks incredible! How did he find the motivation and drive to make this lifestyle change?

In this episode, we talk about his professional plan, plus his personal life. And, as Chris does not hold back, we get into as much detail as ever!

You don't want to miss it.

__________________________________________

Hoxo Message

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (The creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn
Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template
Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Vincere

need in one place.

Easily set up your candidate, client, and job portal straight within your Vincere account and

configure it to your own brand and theme so it feels like you.

You can publish jobs from Vincere’s Job Portal and sync them directly to your website in one

easy click. You can also offer candidates a quick and easy job search interface, so it’s made easy for them to find their perfect role.

And for your clients, you can offer them unique logins so they can access everything

they need 24/7, so they can rate and review candidates and arrange interviews.

Find out more on vincere.io/rag

Season 7 | Ep16 - Anthony Kelly on growing his own recruitment brand DeepRec.ai to 5 heads in 5 months inside the wider Trinnovo Group

Wed, 15 Nov 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's show, I was super excited to be joined by Anthony Kelly, the founder of DeepRec.ai which is a niche AI recruitment agency, part of the wider Trinnovo group.

He joined the Trinnovo group three and a half years ago, as part of the Trust in Soda brand.

After seeing early success, he left Ireland, moving to the UK and it was here that he realised he wanted to be an entrepreneur.

At the start of 2023, Anthony decided that it was this year that he wanted to launch his agency and that he wanted to do it in Bishop's Stortford, to be close to his partner and newborn baby.

A little negotiation with the founders of Trinnovo, and they agreed that he could launch his own business within the portfolio, as long as he wanted to build something of scale.

They discussed building a business of circa 50 people in headcount with a 2 million EBITDA as a target focus. Anthony said, “yes, but I want to do it my way in an office five days a week in Bishops Stortford. We're not going to be in London.”

They all agreed and got it off the ground.

So he's now a team of five, five months in. He's got a plan to be 18 in 12 months. They're profitable and they're making significant waves from a placement perspective.

In this show, I discuss:

The strategy behind his business
His approach to building something locally outside of London
How he's going to build that scale and what that will mean for him and the team in the future

If you're wanting to speak to or learn from someone who's right in the thick of the first six months of growth of being a new founder, but with a vision of scale and exit and all the things that most people in our industry want, then this is an episode for you to listen to.

Anthony is a charismatic, open, friendly Irish guy. I love talking to him. I'm sure you will too.

Hoxo Message

Are you spending hours on LinkedIn and cold outreach and want more business coming to you over your competition?

Well, if you're the founder or leader of a recruitment agency, here's what we can do for you at Hoxo.

We will give you the training, support, and resources to take you from what I call “an offline recruiter”, reliant on posting jobs and sending in emails to open up new customers, ultimately looking like every other recruiter on LinkedIn - to “an online recruiter”, being seen by over 25,000 relevant people driving a 200% minimum increase in engagement on your profile and seeing daily lead lists from LinkedIn that you can follow up within six weeks time.

And if you don't perform, you don't pay.

How can we make such a bold, results-driven promise like this? Two reasons:

1) While I've been building The RAG Podcast, we've actually done what we say we’ll do for our clients. In less than two years, we built a business generating from zero to over 1 million views per month on LinkedIn leading to multimillion-pound revenues with a sales team of me plus two people without making a single outbound call.

2) Our track record - not only have we done it ourselves, but we've helped over 350 agencies and over 4,700 consultants do it as well, all in the last three years.

Now, if that sounds interesting to you, make sure you fill in our contact form and we’ll tell you how we can help: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: RecruitHub

Our trusted partner RecruitHub helps new founders launch their own recruitment businesses in the UK, US & UAE. The community is growing rapidly, with over 70 founders on the RecruitHub platform.

Everything you need to launch your own recruitment business with ease.

- Receive 100% of the fees you bill

- Own full commercial control of your business and increase its value

- Cutting-edge tech stack, from ATS to sales automation

- No admin - we handle everything from company registration to contracts, to finance and support

- No setup costs on the platform, no recurring fixed costs, and no surprise fees

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Safe to say it’s been a tricky year for the recruitment sector globally. Many have had to operate through uncertain times, making tough calls and streamlining where possible.

All candidates are benchmarked against UK competency frameworks and are tested for the highest level of communication and language skills.

It’s a simple process: You pay a deposit to kick off the search, they provide a candidates shortlist in 14 days. You can also put people through your own process and then hire perm or on a freelance basis, depending on your needs. They are totally transparent with salaries. Typically your global talent will earn 30% more than their local benchmark giving you high levels of motivation and work ethic, but you’ll still pay 70% less than a UK equivalent support. It’s a no-brainer to complement existing teams to handle surplus demand or to ease cost pressures.

Season 7 | Ep15 - Stuart Fry & Lloyd Cremer on why they are focusing the growth of Halian (1100 staff) in the Middle East and NOT entering the US market!

Wed, 08 Nov 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week’s show, I was super excited to be joined by Stuart Fry & Lloyd Cremer.

Stuart is the CEO, and Lloyd is the CRO, of Halian, a recruitment and IT services business headquartered in the UK with multiple offices all over the UK, Europe, and the Middle East.

Lloyd joined me from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia and Stuart was in Dubai.

They recently completed an MBO where they bought the original founders out, and they're on a journey now for the next four years to create an incredible wealth creation exercise for a number of their teams across the world.

Stuart joined almost 15 years ago and has seen the business grow in both recruitment and IT services, and Lloyd has come through a traditional recruitment route for over 15 years.

In this episode, we talk about

Growing a recruitment firm as well as an IT services firm
Why they are focusing their business in the Middle East
We debunk some myths about the Middle East, about living there and about getting paid in the Middle East
The MBO and what their exit plan looks like
Why they are NOT entering the US market, unlike the majority of other UK recruitment firms

If you're looking to add different services on top of just recruitment, or if you're looking to join an organisation that's growing towards a wealth creation activity, then you should be listening to this show.

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: RecruitHub

Our trusted partner RecruitHub helps new founders launch their own recruitment businesses in the UK, US & UAE. The community is growing rapidly, with over 70 founders on the RecruitHub platform.

Everything you need to launch your own recruitment business with ease.

- Receive 100% of the fees you bill

- Own full commercial control of your business and increase its value

- Cutting-edge tech stack, from ATS to sales automation

- No admin - we handle everything from company registration to contracts, to finance and support

- No setup costs on the platform, no recurring fixed costs, and no surprise fees

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Safe to say it’s been a tricky year for the recruitment sector globally, many have had to operate through uncertain times, making tough calls and streamlining where possible.

However, accessing lower-cost resources internationally has proven to be the 2023 cheat code for business performance, but anyone who has tried it knows it’s not easy to get right. That’s where Untapped comes in.

All candidates are benchmarked against UK competency frameworks and are tested for the highest level of communication and language skills.

It’s a simple process: You pay a deposit to kick off the search, they provide a candidates shortlist in 14 days. You can also put people through your own process and then hire perm or on a freelance basis, depending on your needs. They are totally transparent with salaries. Typically your global talent will earn 30% more than their local benchmark giving you high levels of motivation and work ethic, but you’ll still pay 70% less than a UK equivalent support. It’s a no-brainer to complement existing teams to handle surplus demand or to ease cost pressures.

Season 7 | Ep14 -Sean Anderson on how Q3 was probably the most transformational of my life both professionally and personally!

Wed, 01 Nov 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week’s show, you’ve got me again. I know I’ve been sharing solo episodes the last few weeks and had a couple of weeks’ break, but I really wanted to take this time to share my recap of Q3

So personally, and professionally, I feel like it's probably been the most powerfully transformational quarter of my life.

In this show, I discuss:

Q2 being an extremely difficult quarter for our businesses (and a lot of other businesses as well)
How we turned around our company for the better in Q3
Hoxo’s 3 guiding principles going forward
How becoming a father has changed my priorities and perspectives on work-life balance
Our vision for the future

There's so much stuff I've done that I think can add value to you guys. I really hope you enjoy the show.

Hoxo Message

Are you spending hours on LinkedIn and cold outreach and want more business coming to you over your competition?

Well, if you're the founder or leader of a recruitment agency, here's what we can do for you at Hoxo.

And if you don't perform, you don't pay.

How can we make such a bold, results-driven promise like this? Two reasons:

2) Our track record - not only have we done it ourselves, but we've helped over 350 agencies and over 4,700 consultants do it as well, all in the last three years.

Now, if that sounds interesting to you, make sure you fill in our contact form and we’ll tell you how we can help: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Vincere

need in one place.

Easily set up your candidate, client, and job portal straight within your Vincere account and

configure it to your own brand and theme so it feels like you.

You can publish jobs from Vincere’s Job Portal and sync them directly to your website in one

easy click. You can also offer candidates a quick and easy job search interface, so it’s made easy for them to find their perfect role.

And for your clients, you can offer them unique logins so they can access everything

they need 24/7, so they can rate and review candidates and arrange interviews.

Find out more on vincere.io/rag

Season 7 | Ep13 - 4 steps any recruitment company can adopt to become an inbound recruiter and drive warm leads on LinkedIn

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 12:00:00 +0100

I’m still on paternity leave, so I'm going to give you another super valuable piece of content from my recent Personal Brand Taster series.

In this week's episode, I want to feature the 4 steps that any recruitment company can adopt to become what I call an inbound recruiter.

And that is a recruiter that:

✔️ Lives off warm leads

✔️ Is spotting 25 warm leads a week on LinkedIn and turning that into business

So I'm going to give you four actionable steps that you can take today to do less outbound activity and more inbound activity.

It's only going to be a maximum of 30 minutes. It's super valuable so take notes.

Enjoy the session.

Hoxo Message

Are you spending hours on LinkedIn and cold outreach and want more business coming to you over your competition?

Well, if you're the founder or leader of a recruitment agency, here's what we can do for you at Hoxo.

And if you don't perform, you don't pay.

How can we make such a bold, results-driven promise like this? Two reasons:

2) Our track record - not only have we done it ourselves, but we've helped over 350 agencies and over 4,700 consultants do it as well, all in the last three years.

Now, if that sounds interesting to you, make sure you fill in our contact form and we’ll tell you how we can help: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Vincere

need in one place.

Easily set up your candidate, client, and job portal straight within your Vincere account and

configure it to your own brand and theme so it feels like you.

You can publish jobs from Vincere’s Job Portal and sync them directly to your website in one

easy click. You can also offer candidates a quick and easy job search interface, so it’s made easy for them to find their perfect role.

And for your clients, you can offer them unique logins so they can access everything

they need 24/7, so they can rate and review candidates and arrange interviews.

Find out more on vincere.io/rag

Season 7 | Ep12 - How Precision Sourcing made $2.5M in revenue following Hoxo’s 3X System

Wed, 04 Oct 2023 12:00:00 +0100

Because I’m away on paternity leave over the next couple of weeks, I’m giving you some super valuable information that I’ve recently shared as part of our Hoxo Academy Taster Sessions.

I’m featuring a case study that I recorded about a company called Precision Sourcing. Simon Hair, the MD at the company, was previously on The RAG Podcast and was part of my Personal Brand Bootcamp in 2020, where I taught him how to build his brand and find warm leads daily on LinkedIn.

As a result of that course, he enrolled his whole team in my training.

At the end of 2022, I was working with over 32 members of his team, and they generated over 2.5 million Australian dollars, which is over 23% of their annual gross margin.

So they did just over $10 million, and $2. 5 million of that was generated through Hoxo's warm inbound leads process that we taught them through the bootcamp.

If you're interested in how this team have generated extra gross margin from LinkedIn, then listen up in this episode, I'm going to tell you 10 things they implemented to ensure that our 3X system, which is the process that everyone follows in our training, so well that they got success from everyone in the business.

Also, as part of this show, you can click the link in the show notes, and there's a downloadable guide that gives you everything that I've said (including all the notes). So you can take it and use it in your agency.

So if you want to build your personal brand on LinkedIn, if you want to get more inbound business, and want to get warm leads that win inbound business on LinkedIn, you've got to listen to today's show.

I hope you enjoy it.

__________________________________________

Hoxo 20:10:5

Find 25 x warm leads on LinkedIn every week with our new FREE training!

Our Hoxo 20:10:5 free course is now LIVE!

We've just launched and have had hundreds of recruiters sign up!

All looking to learn how to find warm leads on LinkedIn

We're already receiving messages from people telling us about their initial results

It’s crazy!

NOTE - a warm lead is someone who you can guarantee 100% knows who you are and has shown interest in you in the past 48 hours

Are you ready to learn?

If so, download our free guide and access our free course today - https://bit.ly/3ZtbNKo

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: RecruitHub

Our trusted partner RecruitHub helps new founders launch their own recruitment businesses in the UK, US & UAE. The community is growing rapidly, with over 70 founders on the RecruitHub platform.

Everything you need to launch your own recruitment business with ease.

- Receive 100% of the fees you bill

- Own full commercial control of your business and increase its value

- Cutting-edge tech stack, from ATS to sales automation

- No admin - we handle everything from company registration to contracts to finance and support

- No setup costs on the platform, no recurring fixed costs, and no surprise fees

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Untapped is one of the hottest companies in the market right now, helping agencies in the UK, US, Middle East and Australia transition to the new world, leverage elite remote individuals, and even build whole offshore sourcing & recruiting teams.

They source from the most exciting talent pools on the planet for recruitment staff and embed elite talent into your company to improve diversity, productivity and the cost of your teams.

It’s a simple process, you pay a deposit to kick off the search, and they provide a candidates shortlist in 14 days. You can also put people through your own process and then hire perm or on a freelance basis, depending on your needs. They are totally transparent with salaries. Typically your global talent will earn 30% more than their local benchmark giving you high levels of motivation and work ethic, but you’ll still pay 70% less than a UK equivalent support. It’s a no-brainer to complement existing teams to handle surplus demand or to ease cost pressures.

Season 7 | Ep 11 - The new leadership team at Vincere are answering my questions on what’s been happening since being acquired by The Access Group and why customers aren’t very happy!

Wed, 27 Sep 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's show, I’m speaking directly to our partner, Vincere.

Vincere has sponsored the RAG Podcast for the last three years, and I have a lot of love for the brand and a great relationship with the business. I’m really grateful for the support they've given me and our industry.

However, about a year ago, they were acquired by The Access Group which is the fastest-growing and largest software company in Europe. After they were acquired, the two founders, Bernie Schiemer and Eloise Sutton-Kirkby, exited almost immediately.

Since the acquisition by The Access Group, there has been murmurings across the industry, and their reputation has taken some damage.

So I interviewed Nick Thomson, the Commercial Director for The Access Group’s recruitment division. And Kristy Gilham, the Product Director at Vincere.

She’s been with Vincere pre and post-acquisition.

We had a really candid, hard-hitting conversation on your behalf. I asked them what the hell they've been doing and why there's so much negative press regarding support and functionality - and what they are going to do about it.

Are they actually going to make changes?

In this episode, we break down

🎙️ Some of the big ticket items they're working on

🎙️ The reasons why you felt some pain and

🎙️ What they're going to do about the issues brought forward

And, hopefully, you're going to not only learn about the product, but also build some form of connection with the two people who are going to be the face of the brand and are going to be able to help you get to the bottom of any issues you have.

This is the first in a series of conversations we're going to have with them.

I want you to listen, come back to us with your questions and challenges, and we'll have another conversation.

Over time, I want to make sure that we're holding them accountable to being the best operating system provider possible!

Hoxo Message

Are you spending hours on LinkedIn and cold outreach and want more business coming to you over your competition?

Well, if you're the founder or leader of a recruitment agency, here's what we can do for you at Hoxo.

We will give you the training, support, and resources to take you from what I call an offline recruiter - reliant on posting jobs and sending emails to open up new customers, ultimately looking like every other recruiter on LinkedIn - to an online recruiter, being seen by over 25,000 relevant people driving a 200% minimum increase in engagement on your profile and seeing daily lead lists from LinkedIn that you can follow up within six weeks time.

And if you don't perform, you don't pay.

How can we make such a bold, results-driven promise like this? Two reasons:

1) Whilst I've been building the RAG podcast, we've actually done what we say we’ll do for our clients. In less than two years, we built a business generating from zero to over 1 million views per month on LinkedIn, leading to multimillion-pound revenues with a sales team of me plus two people without making a single outbound call.

2) Our track record - not only have we done it ourselves, but we've helped over 350 agencies and over 4,700 consultants do it as well, all in the last three years.

Now, if that sounds of interest to you, make sure you fill in our contact form, and we’ll tell you how we can help: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

Season 7 | Ep10 - Kyle Grainger on helping you hire highly experienced recruiters from untapped locations around the world (with up to 70% cost savings in the process)

Wed, 20 Sep 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week’s show, I'm joined by Kyle Grainger, our newest RAG sponsor and the founder of a six month old recruitment agency, Untapped.

Untapped specialise in finding remote, highly experienced recruiters for recruitment agencies in UK, US, Middle East, and Australia, sourced from untapped, low cost locations such as the Philippines and South Africa.

The benefit of this model is that you can hire people with a proven track record, who don’t need too much management and training at a fraction of the cost of an equivalent hire in your location!

As you may know, 75% of Team Hoxo is based in South Africa and I can say from experience that this has been an amazing move for us!

The reason I brought Kyle on the show so early on in his journey was simple:

Having raw conversations with people in the first six months will give any new or aspiring recruitment owner the opportunity to find out what the beginning stages of launching a company is really like
I 100% believe in what these guys are doing and have already used them for sourcing our talent internally!

2023 has been a tough market and cost control has been on the agenda for most of us!

Untapped provides a cost reduction, high quality talent solution.

It's a complete no brainer. So listen up, take notes and reach out to Kyle if you're interested.

Episode Sponsor: RecruitHub

Our trusted partner RecruitHub helps new founders launch their own recruitment business in the UK, US & UAE. The community is growing rapidly with over 70 founders on the RecruitHub platform.

Everything you need to launch your own recruitment business with ease.

- Receive 100% of the fees you bill

- Own full commercial control of your business and increase its value

- Cutting-edge tech stack, from ATS to sales automation

- No admin - we handle everything from company registration to contracts, to finance and support

- No setup costs on the platform, no recurring fixed costs, and no surprise fees

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Safe to say it’s been a tricky year for the recruitment sector globally, many have had to operate through uncertain times, making tough calls and streamline where possible.

However, accessing lower cost resources internationally has proven to be the 2023 cheat code for business performance, but anyone who has tried it knows it’s not easy to get right. That’s where Untapped comes in.

Untapped is one of the hottest companies in the market right now helping agencies in the UK, US, Middle East and Australia transition to the new world, leverage elite remote individuals and even build whole offshore sourcing and recruiting teams.

They source from the most exciting talent pools on the planet for recruitment staff and embed elite talent into your company to improve diversity, productivity and the cost of your teams. Your UK team will also love the help with some of the repetitive, time consuming work that lands on their desk, improving their job satisfaction.

They put around 3000 candidates per month through an intense 4 stage interview and online testing process to find the top 1% and secure these people roles in UK agencies doing research, marketing, finance, sourcing, end to end recruiting, coordination and account management.

All candidates are benchmarked against UK competency frameworks and are tested for the highest level of communication and language skills.

It’s a simple process, you pay a deposit to kick off the search, they provide a candidates shortlist in 14 days, you can put people through your own process also and then hire perm or on a freelance basis depending on your need. They are totally transparent with salaries. Typically your global talent will earn 30% more than their local benchmark giving you high levels of motivation and work ethic but you’ll still pay 70% less than a UK equivalent support. It’s a no brainer to complement existing teams to handle surplus demand or to ease cost pressures.

Season 7 | Ep9 - Mel Kang on his mission to build a top 200 law firm by focusing on being a headhunter!

Wed, 13 Sep 2023 12:00:00 +0100

This week’s show is going to be a little bit different.

My guest is Mel Kang, the CEO of Mezzle, a consulting law firm, not a recruitment agency.

Mezzle takes traditional lawyers who work for traditional law firms and flips the model.

They attract lawyers who join them without a set salary but take home 70 percent of their annual earnings/ billings.

The reason Mel’s a guest on the show is because of how similar the law industry is to the recruitment industry. The way they set their firms up is almost identical.

Mel’s whole day job consists of headhunting lawyers from traditional firms and bringing them into Mezzle.

He launched Mezzle with his friend and partner Raj on the first day of the pandemic

Since then, they've now grown to 48 consultant lawyers in the UK and Dubai.

They are on track to become one of the top 200 law firms in the world.

I truly believe there's so much you can learn from this conversation as a recruiter or recruitment founder.

Understanding the way Mel thinks and is able to adapt and evolve, can make your recruitment company better. So take notes.

I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did.

__________________________________________

If you’re a recruiter who’d love to listen and learn from some of the greatest recruitment owners and leaders then you need to listen to the RAG Podcast!

We’re having real and raw conversations with successful recruitment entrepreneurs about what is happening in their businesses right now and their plans to navigate market changes.

Episodes are released every Wednesday at 12pm GMT

https://www.youtube.com/c/HoxoMedia?sub_confirmation=1

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: RecruitHub

Our trusted partner RecruitHub helps new founders launch their own recruitment business in the UK, US & UAE. The community is growing rapidly with over 70 founders on the RecruitHub platform.

Everything you need to launch your own recruitment business with ease.

- Receive 100% of the fees you bill

- Own full commercial control of your business and increase its value

- Cutting-edge tech stack, from ATS to sales automation

- No admin - we handle everything from company registration to contracts, to finance and support

- No setup costs on the platform, no recurring fixed costs, and no surprise fees

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Safe to say it’s been a tricky year for the recruitment sector globally, many have had to operate through uncertain times, making tough calls and streamline where possible.

They source from the most exciting talent pools on the planet for recruitment staff and embed elite talent into your company to improve diversity, productivity and the cost of your teams. Your UK team will also love the help with some of the repetitive, time consuming work that lands on their desk, improving their job satisfaction.

All candidates are benchmarked against UK competency frameworks and are tested for the highest level of communication and language skills.

It’s a simple process, you pay a deposit to kick off the search, they provide a candidates shortlist in 14 days. You can also put people through your own process and then hire perm or on a freelance basis depending on your need. They are totally transparent with salaries. Typically your global talent will earn 30% more than their local benchmark giving you high levels of motivation and work ethic but you’ll still pay 70% less than a UK equivalent support. It’s a no brainer to complement existing teams to handle surplus demand or to ease cost pressures.

Season 7 | Ep8 - LinkedIn for recruiters: Transform your team's posting power in just 30 minutes!

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 12:00:00 +0100

This week's show is going to be different. I am featuring a recent webinar I hosted for the recruitment industry where I had over a hundred people turn up and I've had countless messages asking for this information.

At Hoxo, we help brand recruitment agencies and their people better. People are your biggest asset in your organisation. Every single recruiter at a desk level can have such a huge impact on your brand, on your market, and on your business.

I think it's fair to say everyone knows now that you should be getting your team to post more on LinkedIn. But asking them to do it and actually getting them doing it are two very difficult challenges that we see across the industry.

So in this 30 minute episode, I'm going to:

🎙️ Tell you why your recruitment team should be posting on LinkedIn

🎙️ Give you three things to get your team to do to raise the output and the quality of their output

🎙️ Give you some really simple metrics to track performance. So what are the KPIs and measurements you should be looking at on a monthly and a weekly basis to ensure that your team are moving in the right direction?

At the end of this episode, click on the link attached to the show notes, and download our show notes for free. So take your own notes and then you're going to get my notes and you'll be able to take advice and put it into practice and get things moving in your agency tomorrow.

__________________________________________

Hoxo Message

LinkedIn for recruiters: Transform your team's posting power in just 30 minutes!

Download our resource for an overview of:

- Why your team should be creating and posting content on LinkedIn

- 3 important steps to get your recruitment team to post

- What to expect from your teams each week on the platform

Get your copy here: https://academy.hoxomedia.com/download

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Vincere

Vincere’s TimeTemp is your complete integrated timesheet and workforce management solution, pre-built, pre-integrated, and designed so no matter how much your business grows, you’ll be able to keep track of every single worker.

All changes inside Vincere will sync with TimeTemp and feedback into your account, automating the entire process with two-way sync from your front to back office.

Vincere’s TimeTemp enables you to create shift schedules, search available workers, shortlist,

and book assignments in seconds.

It’ll also allow you to track time, leave, and expenses with its built-in pay rule engine,

DoorClock and mobile app for the on-the-go.

Find out more on vincere.io/rag

Season 7 | Ep7 - David Spencer-Percival on securing £4 million in investment funding for Life Science People and what he plans to do with it!

Wed, 30 Aug 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week’s show, I’m excited to be joined for the third time by DSP (David Spencer-Percival!).

The founder of Life Science People, a global life science people provider based in the UK with offices in the US and soon to be opening in Europe. They are just under three years old with 100 staff.

The first time David was on the show, they were on their way to a hundred people - they were flying.

The second time, earlier this year, David talked about how they'd lost a lot of money in the downturn at the end of last year - £800,000 in three months.

The market just wasn't great.

Now, he's back on the show to share that they've just secured £4 million in investment funding by Silchester Partners.

This discreet, private hedge fund now owns 20% of his business and the £4 million is going to fuel their growth for the next 10 years to help them get to 1000 people.

In this 30 minute episode, we cover:

🎙️ The process of the funding,why they needed it, and how they got it over the line

🎙️ What he’s going to do with the money

🎙️ Derisking as a founder on the way up

🎙️ His epiphany - he sold Huntress Group and Spencer Ogden too soon and now he’s on a much longer term trajectory

Anyone who's looking to grow, scale, sell, exit, you've gotta listen to this. DSP is an industry legend!

__________________________________________

Hoxo Message

Are you spending hours on LinkedIn and cold outreach and want more business coming to you over your competition?

Well, if you're the founder or leader of a recruitment agency, here's what we can do for you at Hoxo.

We will give you the training, support and resources to take you from what I call an offline recruiter, reliant on posting jobs and sending in emails to open up new customers, ultimately looking like every other recruiter on LinkedIn - to an online recruiter, being seen by over 25,000 relevant people driving a 200% minimum increase in engagement on your profile and seeing daily lead lists from LinkedIn that you can follow up with in six weeks time.

And if you don't perform, you don't pay.

How can we make such a bold, results-driven promise like this? Two reasons

1) Whilst I've been building the RAG podcast, we've actually done what we say we’ll do for our clients in less than two years. We built a business generating from zero to over 1 million views per month on LinkedIn leading to multimillion pound revenues with a sales team of me plus two people without making a single outbound call.

2) Our track record - not only have we done it ourselves, but we've helped over 350 agencies and over 4,000 consultants do it as well, all in the last three years.

Now, if that sounds of interest to you, make sure you fill in our contact form and we’ll tell you how we can help: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

__________________________________________

Episode sponsor: RecruitHub

Over 70 founders have launched their businesses on RecruitHub in the UK, US, and UAE.

One of them was Stuart Mitchell, Founder of Hampton North in the US.

With experience in both the UK and US markets, million-dollar biller Stuart Mitchell formed Hampton North to tackle the biggest problem in cyber security; the talent shortage.

Before launching his own business, Stuart felt like he had run out of growth and he wanted to achieve a better work-life balance for himself and his team. For Stuart, this meant he could spend more time with his daughter.

He now is on a mission to create the best cybersecurity recruiting team in the industry, with the support of Recruit Hub, The world’s most powerful recruitment start-up solution.

His only regret once joining Recruit Hub? Not joining sooner.

Link to his full story: https://l8.nu/ryze

Season 7 | Ep6 - Ben Wallin and Dan Cox on growing their business by 40% in 2023 and no longer being reliant on their own billing

Wed, 23 Aug 2023 12:00:00 +0100

Part 2 with Ben Wallin and Dan Cox on growing their business to 31 recruiters and being no longer reliant on their own billings within 24 months of trading!

On this week's episode, I'm excited to be joined for the second time by Ben Wallin and Dan Cox, who was previously on the show 12 months ago in August 2022.

Ben and Dan are the founders of Edison Smart (previously Edison Search).

When I interviewed these guys in 2022, we talked about how, in just over a year, they billed £1.7 million in revenue, grown to just under 20 staff, and they were on this absolute mission called Project 2024.

So a year later - have they achieved even more growth as predicted?

In this episode we find out how:

👉They've grown to 31 employees

👉They've opened up an entity in the US

👉They've got boots on the ground in Dubai

👉They're absolutely flying from Basingstoke recruiting internationally

They specialise in smart technology, which is super niche and they work in a very specific way.

Ben and Dan are so methodical in their approach that not only have they grown to 31, but they've done it by building an infrastructure around them of core teams, including leadership, operations, marketing, and L&D.

Now their personal billings are a really small % of NFI.

This is almost unheard of in our sector inside the first 2 yrs!

Now, I often get asked:

How do I become more operational?

How do I work on the business, not in the business?

This episode tells you how to do it and gives you a roadmap to follow.

__________________________________________

Hoxo Message

Are you spending hours on LinkedIn and cold outreach and want more business coming to you over your competition?

Well, if you're the founder or leader of a recruitment agency, here's what we can do for you at Hoxo.

We will give you the training, support, and resources to take you from what I call an offline recruiter, reliant on posting jobs and sending in emails to open up new customers, ultimately looking like every other recruiter on LinkedIn - to an online recruiter, being seen by over 25,000 relevant people driving a 200% minimum increase in engagement on your profile and seeing daily lead lists from LinkedIn that you can follow up with in six weeks time.

And if you don't perform, you don't pay.

How can we make such a bold, results-driven promise like this? Two reasons

1) Whilst I've been building the RAG podcast, we've actually done what we say we’ll do for our clients.In less than two years, we built a business generating from zero to over 1 million views per month on LinkedIn leading to multimillion-pound revenues with a sales team of me plus two people without making a single outbound call.

2) Our track record - not only have we done it ourselves, but we've helped over 350 agencies and over 4,700 consultants do it as well, all in the last three years.

Now, if that sounds of interest to you, make sure you fill in our contact form and we’ll tell you how we can help: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Vincere

Season 7 | Ep5 - Joe Curtis on how his recruitment portfolio of 100 staff has grown in headcount and, importantly, profit, through a unique shared ownership structure which helps recruiters realise their ambition

Wed, 16 Aug 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week’s episode, I'm excited to be joined by an old friend, Joe Curtis.

Initially, Joe was the founder of a recruitment company called 3Search, which then led to building a bigger business called 11 Investments.

11 Investments is a series of niche recruitment organisations that work together and share a common goal with a central operational function.

Joe's role as founder is to bring more people into the portfolio, both people who want to start their own recruitment company and also people who want to work for the portfolio.

He's been responsible for growing the business to 100 people, which they’ve managed to do sustainably and profitably with a clear plan.

In this episode, we talk about:

Joe’s journey of nine years of growth
How remaining profitable throughout that process is really important. Manyrecruitment organisations don't make any money, and as a result, they suffer in times like this
The importance of running a business with a clear direction
The debate around working in the office and working from home. 3Search, 11 Investments, and the whole portfolio believe in working together in an office in London three days a week with a little bit of flexibility, and they're very clear on how and why they've built it that way

So, if you are in a position right now where you are feeling that, post covid, you don't really know the best way to run your firm - whether it's remote, in-house, or a combination - then you need to listen to this because Joe explains it perfectly.

He's got to a headcount of 100 and they’re going towards 200, so there's a lot to learn from this episode.

__________________________________________

Hoxo Message

Are you spending hours on LinkedIn and cold outreach and want more business coming to you over your competition?

Well, if you're the founder or leader of a recruitment agency, here's what we can do for you at Hoxo.

And if you don't perform, you don't pay.

How can we make such a bold, results-driven promise like this? Two reasons

2) Our track record - not only have we done it ourselves, but we've helped over 350 agencies and over 4,000 consultants do it as well, all in the last three years.

Now, if that sounds of interest to you, make sure you fill in our contact form and we’ll tell you how we can help: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

__________________________________________

Epispde Sponsor: RecruitHub

Our trusted partner RecruitHub helps new founders launch their own recruitment business in the UK, US & UAE. The community is growing rapidly with over 70 founders on the RecruitHub platform.

Everything you need to launch your own recruitment business with ease.

- Receive 100% of the fees you bill

- Own full commercial control of your business and increase its value

- Cutting-edge tech stack, from ATS to sales automation

- No admin - we handle everything from company registration to contracts, to finance and support

- No setup costs on the platform, no recurring fixed costs, and no surprise fees

Season 7 | Ep4 - Janette Marx on her inspiring journey of beating stage two breast cancer, staying calm and motivated whilst running a global recruitment business with 900 people!

Wed, 09 Aug 2023 15:00:00 +0100

On this week’s show I’m sharing one of the most powerful episodes I've ever recorded with a lady called Janette Marx.

Jeanette is the global CEO at a company called Airswift, a huge workforce, staffing and solutions organisation headquartered in the US with 62 offices worldwide, 900 employees, and 7500 contractors that they support.

Jeanette's been with the business for nine years and in the recruitment industry for over 20 years. She previously worked for Adecco and was leading a huge operation for them across the US.

What I love about Jeanette is her mindset and how she's done what she's done while going through so much!

She's an author of a book called Together We Rise, which she co-authored after the pandemic with 16 other female leaders in the staffing industry globally.

She shared how she’s grown her career as an entrepreneur and become a global CEO as a female whilst having a baby and running a business. Everything she's done to get to where she was at the beginning of 2023.

And then we talked about the impact of finding out that she had stage two breast cancer at the beginning of March this year and how she dealt with the news.

Because the book she wrote was about dealing with crisis moments and stress and how to stay calm, she managed to put everything in the book into practice and between the beginning of March and the end of April, she was back to work, cancer free.

She went through a series of different operations, she built a team of doctors around her and she took control of a life or death situation and has come back to work with a different sense of appreciation for life.

She's still incredibly motivated to give back, build a business and help her people, but she also has calmness, which has come from getting through something so serious.

In this episode there were moments where I had to take a deep breath and as I was getting quite emotional myself. I'm just inspired by such an amazing woman who and what she's achieved. And I think anyone out there who's dealt with serious illness themselves or seen their family members or friends go through it can resonate.

And anyone who's at the helm or wants to be at the helm of a larger business, you can also resonate with with different things we discussed.

If you’re interested in reading ‘Together We Rise’, you can find it here: https://amzn.to/3KglF41

__________________________________________

Hoxo Message

Are you spending hours on LinkedIn and cold outreach and want more business coming to you over your competition?

Well, if you're the founder or leader of a recruitment agency, here's what we can do for you at Hoxo.

And if you don't perform, you don't pay.

How can we make such a bold, results-driven promise like this? Two reasons

1) Whilst I've been building the RAG podcast, we've actually done what we say we’ll do for our clients.In less than two years, we built a business generating from zero to over 1 million views per month on LinkedIn leading to multimillion-pound revenues with a sales team of me plus two people without making a single outbound call.

2) Our track record - not only have we done it ourselves, but we've helped over 350 agencies and over 4,700 consultants do it as well, all in the last three years.

Now, if that sounds of interest to you, make sure you fill in our contact form and we’ll tell you how we can help: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Vincere

Vincere’s portals is a quick-win solution for agencies in need of a no-code candidate and client

portal. It’s your one-way ticket to attracting top-tier candidates and clients with everything they need in one place.

Easily set up your candidate, client, and job portal straight within your Vincere account and

configure it to your own brand and theme so it feels like you.

You can publish jobs from Vincere’s Job Portal and sync them directly to your website in one

easy click. You can also offer candidates a quick and easy job search interface, so it’s made easy for them to find their perfect role.

And for your clients, you can offer them unique logins so they can access everything

they need 24/7, so they can rate and review candidates and arrange interviews.

Find out more on vincere.io/rag

Season 7 | Ep3 - Alexander Antoniou on growing a 25-staff business in five years at the age of 25!

Wed, 02 Aug 2023 12:00:00 +0100

I'm super excited to be joined by Alexander Antoniou, the founder of AL Solutions, a Life Sciences specialist recruiter headquartered in London, just over five years old, with 25 staff.

Now, the reason I wanted to interview Alexander is because he’s not only grown AL Solutions, but he's also built a portfolio of five other businesses that he does the back office support for. They share infrastructure, and he's basically set other people up.

Alexander is only 25 years old!

He got into recruitment at 18. Having said to his parents, who wanted him to become a lawyer, that he was going to have a gap year and just work in sales to save some money for university.

He then became the top performer at a local life science recruitment firm, and two and a half years later, at the age of 20 years old, he went out and set up AL Solutions, which stands for Antoniou Life Science.

Alexander is an incredible guy with incredible energy. He’s so young and has achieved so much.

He looks at the business with energy, passion, and a level of simplicity. I believe we could all learn from the way he runs his business.

You’re going to enjoy this episode if you are a recruiter looking to start your own business in the future or if you're looking to grow and you want to think a bit clearly and a little bit more simply about the whole solution.

__________________________________________

Hoxo

Are you spending hours on LinkedIn and cold outreach and want more business coming to you over your competition?

Well, if you're the founder or leader of a recruitment agency, here's what we can do for you at Hoxo. We’ll give you the training, support, and resources to help you stand out from the competition and reach over 25,000 relevant people and drive daily inbound leads on Linkedin in 6 weeks - and if you don't perform, you don't pay.

Now, how can we make such a bold, results-driven promise like this? 2 reasons:

1. Whilst I've been building the RAG podcast, we've actually done what we say will do for our clients in less than two years. We actually built a business generating from zero to over 1 million views per month on LinkedIn leading to multimillion pound revenues with a sales team of me plus two people without making a single outbound call.

2. Second is our track record. Not only have we done it ourselves, but we've helped over 350 agencies and over 4,700 consultants do it as well, all in the last three years.

Now, if that sounds of interest to you, follow this link:

https://academy.hoxomedia.com/get-started59434285

__________________________________________

Episode sponsor: RecruitHub

Over 70 founders have launched their businesses on RecruitHub in the UK, US, and UAE.

One of them was Stuart Mitchell, Founder of Hampton North in the US.

With experience in both the UK and US markets, million-dollar biller Stuart Mitchell formed Hampton North to tackle the biggest problem in cyber security; the talent shortage.

He now is on a mission to create the best cybersecurity recruiting team in the industry, with the support of Recruit Hub, The world’s most powerful recruitment start-up solution.

His only regret once joining Recruit Hub? Not joining sooner.

Link to his full story: https://l8.nu/ryze

Season 7 | Ep 2 - Louise Campbell on going from MD of Robert Walters Ireland to Global Head of L&D

Wed, 26 Jul 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week’s show, I am joined by Louise Campbell, Global Head of Learning and Development at Robert Walters.

Robert Walters is a global, household name in our sector, with over 4000 employees around the world.

Louise is based in Ireland. She was the MD of their Irish business for over 20 years.

Recently, she reinvented herself and moved into L&D wth the goal of making a difference across the global team.

I love understanding Louise's mindset.

I've personally worked with Robert Walters for three years. They’ve just signed with us for another year, and we're working with over 500 of Robert Walters's consultants on their personal brand.

Louise has been instrumental in both bringing us on board, and also working with us to ensure that training is delivered well across the organisation.

L&D is normally something that's under-invested in and not very well managed in recruitment organisations.

What I think is so special here, is that Louise went from being an MD of the usiness to then using all of her knowledge for L&D.

So she's not just a trainer, she's a business leader, and we talked about her intrapreneurial journey through Robert Walters, why she loves the organisation, why she's been there for over 20 years, and everything in-between.

If you are looking to develop a strong L&D function in your business and grow organically by building the best team possible, you need to listen to this episode.

__________________________________________

Hoxo Message

Are you spending hours on LinkedIn and cold outreach and want more business coming to you over your competition?

Well, if you're the founder or leader of a recruitment agency, here's what we can do for you at Hoxo.

And if you don't perform, you don't pay.

How can we make such a bold, results-driven promise like this? Two reasons

1) Whilst I've been building the RAG podcast, we've actually done what we say we’ll do for our clients.In less than two years, we built a business generating from zero to over 1 million views per month on LinkedIn leading to multimillion-pound revenues with a sales team of me plus two people without making a single outbound call.

2) Our track record - not only have we done it ourselves, but we've helped over 350 agencies and over 4,700 consultants do it as well, all in the last three years.

Now, if that sounds of interest to you, make sure you fill in our contact form and we’ll tell you how we can help: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Vincere

Vincere’s portals is a quick-win solution for agencies in need of a no-code candidate and client

portal. It’s your one-way ticket to attracting top-tier candidates and clients with everything they

need in one place.

Easily set up your candidate, client, and job portal straight within your Vincere account and

configure it to your own brand and theme so it feels like you.

You can publish jobs from Vincere’s Job Portal and sync them directly to your website in one

easy click. You can also offer candidates a quick and easy job search interface, so it’s made easy for them to find their perfect role.

And for your clients, you can offer them unique logins so they can access everything

they need 24/7, so they can rate and review candidates and arrange interviews.

Find out more on vincere.io/rag

Season 7ㅣEp 1 - Kevin Frater on growing one of the highest performing recruitment teams in Frank Recruitment Group globally

Wed, 19 Jul 2023 12:00:00 +0100

I’m thrilled to have Kevin Frater join me for the first episode of Season 7 of The RAG Podcast!

I usually interview founders and leaders of recruitment firms on the show, but this week we’re interviewing our first unemployed guest.

Kevin is an absolute legend!

He was part of the Frank Recruitment Group (FRG) for over 10 years and left in January of 2023. He started off in a role where he was doing client development, having spent four and a half years with the Allegis Group.

He soon became the fixer. This guy would go to different offices and effectively turn them around.

He started in London, then went to Singapore, and then he spent six years in Germany where he walked into a team of 12 recruiters and six years later left with over 180 staff, with one of the highest performing teams in FRG globally.

He went through two events with the business where he realised some wealth and he finished up at the start of this year to take some time out before starting his next opportunity.

In this episode we talk about:

🎙️ Turning around underperforming sales or recruitment teams

🎙️ Kevin’s ability to let others do the hard work, but what it took to be a true leader behind the scenes so that people could flourish

🎙️ The personal and professional challenges of international travel, and balancing everything in between.

🎙️ Rapid growth and what it takes to go from 12 to 180 staff in six years

If you’re a recruitment manager or recruiter that wants to get into recruitment management and grow your career by being behind the scenes, this is gonna be an amazing episode.

And if you’re a recruitment business in need of a recruitment director, someone who's going to run the business, take on international operations, and drive a really scalable, repeatable model then again, listen to this conversation, because he might be your guy! (And if he isn't your guy, he's going teach you a lot in the process :) )

Hoxo

Are you spending hours on LinkedIn and cold outreach and want more business coming to you over your competition?

Now, how can we make such a bold, results-driven promise like this? 2 reasons:

2. Second is our track record. Not only have we done it ourselves, but we've helped over 350 agencies and over 4,700 consultants do it as well, all in the last three years.

Now, if that sounds of interest to you, follow this link: https://academy.hoxomedia.com/get-started59434285

Episode sponsor: RecruitHub

Over 70 founders have launched their businesses on RecruitHub in the UK, US, and UAE.

One of them was Stuart Mitchell, Founder of Hampton North in the US.

With experience in both the UK and US markets, million-dollar biller Stuart Mitchell formed Hampton North to tackle the biggest problem in cyber security; the talent shortage.

He now is on a mission to create the best cybersecurity recruiting team in the industry, with the support of Recruit Hub, The world’s most powerful recruitment start-up solution.

His only regret once joining Recruit Hub? Not joining sooner.

Link to his full story: https://l8.nu/ryze

S6 | Episode 41 - Stuart Mitchell on billing over seven figures within 9 months of starting his business - all from his personal brand

Wed, 12 Jul 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's show, I was joined by Stuart Mitchell, the founder of Hampton North, a specialist cybersecurity search firm, headquartered in the US with 3 staff.

He's based in Connecticut, just between Boston and New York.

He launched the business in September 2022, so we're only nine months into his journey.

I wanted to interview Stuart because he’s built an incredible personal brand. I have never worked with Stuart, so I can't take any credit, but the way he works is exactly how I believe the modern recruiter should.

It's what I teach thousands of people to do all over the world. He started investing in his personal brand in 2017 and by 2019 he was at Stott & May on the west coast of America.

He was bringing in business all over the world for his teammates and he started to realise the power of personal branding and inbound on LinkedIn.

He then teamed up with RecruitHub and launched his own agency.

After nine months, he has billed over $ 1 million which is incredible!

He's now at three people and he wants to build a company that is fit for the modern era - a remote first business.

All of the people who worked for him have approached him, and they're already top billers elsewhere.

So, anyone who's looking to start an agency, you're going to learn a lot. Anyone who's already running a business, you could learn a hell of a lot from the way he's running his.

__________________________________________

Hoxo Message

Are you spending hours on LinkedIn and cold outreach and want more business coming to you over your competition?

Well, if you're the founder or leader of a recruitment agency, here's what we can do for you at Hoxo.

And if you don't perform, you don't pay.

How can we make such a bold, results-driven promise like this? Two reasons

2) Our track record - not only have we done it ourselves, but we've helped over 350 agencies and over 4,000 consultants do it as well, all in the last three years.

Now, if that sounds of interest to you, make sure you fill in our contact form and we’ll tell you how we can help: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: RecruitHub

Our trusted partner RecruitHub helps new founders launch their own recruitment business in the UK, US & UAE. The community is growing rapidly with over 70 founders on the RecruitHub platform.

Everything you need to launch your own recruitment business with ease.

- Receive 100% of the fees you bill

- Own full commercial control of your business and increase its value

- Cutting-edge tech stack, from ATS to sales automation

- No admin - we handle everything from company registration to contracts, to finance and support

- No setup costs on the platform, no recurring fixed costs, and no surprise fees

If you're thinking of taking the next step in your career and want to discuss your business idea, please book a confidential chat with RecruitHub's team or learn more here https://www.recruit-hub.com/uk-awareness/

Season 6 | Ep40 - James Emmett on his growth strategy powered by strategic acquisitions

Wed, 05 Jul 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's show, I'm joined by James Emmett, CEO and founder of Hanover Group.

Having recently interviewed Anthony Pitt, President at Hanover USA, I was really excited to welcome James, the original founder, on to the show.

James started the business 27 years ago and has now grown to an organisation of over hundred people across multiple international locations including both the UK and USA.

The business has not only grown organically, but also has a clear acquisition strategy too.

In this episode, he talks at length about his buy and build strategy.

This is going to be super important for you to listen to if you are the type of organisation that wants to grow and potentially do this through a similar method. If you're a small recruitment organisation that might actually be interested in being acquired in the future then we also cover the pros and cons to the whole process.

__________________________________________

Hoxo Message

Are you spending hours on LinkedIn and cold outreach and want more business coming to you over your competition?

Well, if you're the founder or leader of a recruitment agency, here's what we can do for you at Hoxo.

And if you don't perform, you don't pay.

How can we make such a bold, results-driven promise like this? Two reasons

2) Our track record - not only have we done it ourselves, but we've helped over 350 agencies and over 4,000 consultants do it as well, all in the last three years.

Now, if that sounds of interest to you, make sure you fill in our contact form and we’ll tell you how we can help: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

__________________________________________

RecruitHub Message

Over 70 founders have launched their businesses on RecruitHub in the UK, US, and UAE

One of them is Kyle Winterbottom, founder of Orbition Group, a niche, talent consultancy that operates exclusively in the Data, Analytics and Artificial Intelligence space across the UK, Europe, and USA.

In just a year of trading, the company has gone on to build an impressive client base in the Data and Analytics space and has an industry-leading podcast with more than 20,000 listeners in 128 countries.

Before joining RecruitHub, Kyle had spoken to other start-up support companies which either wanted him to invest a ton of money upfront, then he’d only own the percentage he’d invested against what it costs to start, or they wanted a lot of equity.

For Kyle, RecruitHub was a great option – they weren’t asking for money upfront to launch, they weren’t taking loads of equity and they wanted to be involved; the company has been able to lean on RecruitHub quite heavily.

Since partnering, Orbition has benefited from tech setup, planning, legal, finance, incorporation, and more and Kyle's been able to focus on the other bits he knows how to do well.

If Kyle had known about RecruitHub earlier in his career, he'd have launched much faster.

Read Kyle's story here: https://www.recruit-hub.com/case-studies/launch-stories-orbition-group/

Season 6 | Ep39 - Roheel Ahmad on growing to 80 staff in 8 years and looking at the next phase of growth - a £60 million valuation.

Wed, 28 Jun 2023 12:00:00 +0100

Roheel Ahmad on growing to 80 staff in 8 years and looking at the next phase of growth - to IPO with a £60 million valuation.

I'm delighted to be joined by Roheel Ahmad. Roheel is the managing partner and co-founder of Forsyth Barnes. I interviewed his partner, Scott, a few years ago during the pandemic and have watched their journey ever since.

These guys are just pushing 80 staff across Nottingham, London, and New York, and they specialise in exec search and leadership roles across three different sectors: FinTech, sports, and eTail, which is retail carried out via the Internet.

Forsyth Barnes was founded in 2015 by two guys who knew each other before and had a mission to grow something big with scale, and they've thrown everything at it.

In eight years, they’ve achieved more than they expected, now they're looking at their next phase of growth - to IPO with a £60 million valuation. They've just given away 33% of the business to the staff, and they are growing like crazy.

So, the RAG is all about growth and everyone looks at it in a different way. These guys have got a clear path that I can’t wait to share with you.

So if you are looking at growing, an exit, or an IPO, then this is the episode for you.

Hoxo Message

Are you spending hours on LinkedIn and cold outreach and want more business coming to you over your competition?

Well, if you're the founder or leader of a recruitment agency, here's what we can do for you at Hoxo.

And if you don't perform, you don't pay.

How can we make such a bold, results-driven promise like this? Two reasons

1) Whilst I've been building the RAG podcast, we've actually done what we say we’ll do for our clients in less than two years. We built a business generating from zero to over 1 million views per month on LinkedIn leading to multimillion-pound revenues with a sales team of me plus two people without making a single outbound call.

2) Our track record - not only have we done it ourselves, but we've helped over 350 agencies and over 4,000 consultants do it as well, all in the last three years.

Now, if that sounds of interest to you, make sure you fill in our contact form and we’ll tell you how we can help: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

Episode Sponsor: Vincere

All changes inside Vincere will sync with TimeTemp and feed back into your account, automating the entire process with two-way sync from your front to back office.

Vincere’s TimeTemp enables you to create shift schedules, search available workers, shortlist, and book assignments in seconds.

It’ll also allow you to track time, leave, and expenses with its built-in pay rule engine, DoorClock and mobile app for the on-the-go.

Find out more on vincere.io/rag

Season 6 | Ep38 - Matt Green on his mission to take his business from £10m to £100m gross margin!

Wed, 21 Jun 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's show, I'm joined by an old client of mine, Matt Green.

Matt is the founder and CEO of IDEX, a recruitment organisation with an employer branding arm and an advisory arm working with the insurance industry, the financial services sector, and now the legal sector.

Matt founded IDEX 17 years ago and they are now fully remote with 60 people in Manchester, Birmingham, London, Edinburgh, and Glasgow.

What I love about this business is that over 17 years, they've managed to do things the right way.

They've built organically without investment.

They've invested a lot into the business without taking too much money away

They've also built a product with a genuine USP where they go into organisations and sell retainers and employer branding packages. They can genuinely take recruiters from £200k billings whilst working with other firms to 1.5 or x2 in billing by giving them access to their services and technology.

And as a result of all of this work, Matt is now on a mission to 10X the business!

But there’s no pressure and no timeline.

Matt has a long-term view, so anyone listening to this episode, especially new founders or even people that are thinking about starting a recruitment firm will learn from this! Matt's a great person to listen to because he’s quite different from a lot of recruitment business owners.

He has patience, sees the long-term picture, and doesn't make rash decisions. He invests in his company and he sees it as his baby. So many people can take advice and learn from him in this episode.

Hoxo Message

Are you spending hours on LinkedIn and cold outreach and want more business coming to you over your competition?

Well, if you're the founder or leader of a recruitment agency, here's what we can do for you at Hoxo.

And if you don't perform, you don't pay.

How can we make such a bold, results-driven promise like this? Two reasons

1) Whilst I've been building the RAG podcast, we've actually done what we say we’ll do for our clients.In less than two years, we built a business generating from zero to over 1 million views per month on LinkedIn leading to multimillion-pound revenues with a sales team of me plus two people without making a single outbound call.

2) Our track record - not only have we done it ourselves, but we've helped over 350 agencies and over 4,700 consultants do it as well, all in the last three years.

Now, if that sounds of interest to you, make sure you fill in our contact form and we’ll tell you how we can help: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Vincere

Vincere’s portals is a quick-win solution for agencies in need of a no-code candidate and client portal. It’s your one-way ticket to attracting top-tier candidates and clients with everything they need in one place.

Easily set up your candidate, client, and job portal straight within your Vincere account and configure it to your own brand and theme so it feels like you.

And for your clients, you can offer them unique logins so they can access everything they need 24/7, so they can rate and review candidates and arrange interviews.

Find out more on vincere.io/rag

Season 6 | Ep37 - Adam Richardson on building a SaaS sales recruitment agency in a market where over 70% of their candidates are underperforming in current market conditions!

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's show, I'm joined by Adam Richardson.

Adam is the founder of Strive Sales, a dedicated go-to-market recruitment agency headquartered in Manchester with an office in Tampa in the US with over 20 employees.

At 33, he has loads of experience in running businesses. He got into recruitment when he was in his early twenties and, within a couple of years, he became an entrepreneur launching his first business outside of the recruitment market.

Upon selling this credit finance business, he launched his first recruitment agency and later a second brand which he now focuses on fully today.

Through that period, he's seen so many ups and downs, specifically in the go-to-market niche, which is predominantly recruiting salespeople into VC-backed software companies.

Over 70% of all the candidates in the sales market in VC-backed companies are underperforming, which means the knock-on effect of recruitment has been astronomical. He saw over 50% of the vacancies he was working on vanish at the beginning of 2022.

So as a company, they've had to evolve, they've had to adapt, they've had to become BD focused.

In this episode we talk about his experience in all his different businesses, but really how using all this experience enabled him to get through such a very difficult 2022.

Now, they’re seeing the upside and it's starting to shift along with economic conditions.

Adam is a young, super ambitious, super motivated, and knowledgeable guy!

I hope you enjoy the episode as much as I did recording it.

__________________________________________

Hoxo Message

Are you spending hours on LinkedIn and cold outreach and want more business coming to you over your competition?

Well, if you're the founder or leader of a recruitment agency, here's what we can do for you at Hoxo.

And if you don't perform, you don't pay.

How can we make such a bold, results-driven promise like this? Two reasons

2) Our track record - not only have we done it ourselves, but we've helped over 350 agencies and over 4,000 consultants do it as well, all in the last three years.

Now, if that sounds of interest to you, make sure you fill in our contact form and we’ll tell you how we can help: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

__________________________________________

RecruitHub Message

Over 70 founders have launched their businesses on RecruitHub in the UK, US, and UAE

Since partnering, Orbition has benefited from tech setup, planning, legal, finance, incorporation, and more and Kyle's been able to focus on the other bits he knows how to do well.

If Kyle had known about RecruitHub earlier in his career, he'd have launched much faster.

Read Kyle's story here: https://www.recruit-hub.com/case-studies/launch-stories-orbition-group/

Season 6 Episode 36 - Sean Anderson on 3 Clever ways to boost your business development using LinkedIn during today’s tough market

Wed, 07 Jun 2023 12:00:00 +0100

Recruitment owners and leaders: struggling in today’s tough market?

Well I’m giving you 3 Clever ways to boost your business development using LinkedIn

On this week’s episode of The RAG Podcast, I wanted to release a very special episode, which is based on a webinar I recently hosted for the market, all about using LinkedIn to boost your business development.

When put into action, this advice will help you:

#1 - Optimise your profile and grow your LinkedIn network

#2 - Get the attention of your market at scale

#3 - Find daily inbound leads

This is part of the process I teach on my Personal Brand Academy, where we’re working with 4,800 recruiters globally to teach them how to win on LinkedIn.

You can take the advice straight to LinkedIn, make some extra revenue, build some more client relationships, and get some more jobs!

This is a 30-minute video session. You can listen to this on the podcast platforms or flip to YouTube and watch this recorded video as I use slides and I show you examples you might want to see.

I hope you make the most out of this. Listen, take it, put it into practice, and go out there and win in a market that is super competitive right now.

__________________________________________

Hoxo

Are you spending hours on LinkedIn and cold outreach and want more business coming to you over your competition?

Now, how can we make such a bold, results-driven promise like this? 2 reasons:

2. Second is our track record. Not only have we done it ourselves, but we've helped over 350 agencies and over 4,700 consultants do it as well, all in the last three years.

Now, if that sounds of interest to you, follow this link: https://personalbrand.hoxomedia.com/get-in-touch

__________________________________________

Episode sponsor: RecruitHub

Over 70 founders have launched their businesses on RecruitHub in the UK, US, and UAE.

One of them was Stuart Mitchell, Founder of Hampton North in the US.

With experience in both the UK and US markets, million-dollar biller Stuart Mitchell formed Hampton North to tackle the biggest problem in cyber security; the talent shortage.

He now is on a mission to create the best cybersecurity recruiting team in the industry, with the support of Recruit Hub, The world’s most powerful recruitment start-up solution.

His only regret once joining Recruit Hub? Not joining sooner.

Link to his full story: https://l8.nu/ryze

Season 6 | Ep35 - David Spencer-Percival on losing £800,000 in three difficult months at the end of 2022 - and what his team are doing to ensure that results are picking up!

Wed, 31 May 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's show, I am delighted to welcome back a previous guest, David Spencer Percival, known as DSP. His last episode was one of most listened to episodes I ever recorded!

David is the founder of Life Science People, a specialist life science people recruitment firm headquartered in London with offices in LA.

They've got over 85 heads and they're only two and a half years old!

I interviewed David in November 2021, where he'd grown to 65 staff in 11 months.We'd also talked about his story.

Before he was the founder he was part of a number of businesses. He’s most famous for Spencer Ogden but he was also involved in two other businesses that grew to a £100 million in growth and over 500 staff.

The reason we brought him on this week was to talk about the reality of the recession right now.

When we interviewed in 2021, the market was going mad.

There were deals going in for fun and it was an easy place to make money. Life science people were growing super fast!

But by September 2022, the whole market changed.

In this episode David explained how perm recruitment literally ‘fell off a cliff’, and it was only because of contract revenue that the business was able to stay afloat.

He lost £800,000 in three months at the end of 2022. They're now seeing a change as there's some positive signs.

In this episode, we cover:

Launching the US office just before the recession hit and the impact of that.

How he kept himself sane, focused and positive despite confidence dropping all over the place

How he's managed to work with a whole team of rookies, bearing in mind, his whole model is based on academy graduates - training and keeping a lot of these guys

What he sees happening and predictions for the future.

If you are suffering and you're feeling that the market's a little bit turbulent, listen to David. You'll get some real quality information that you can action.

__________________________________________

Hoxo

We’re on a mission to help brand recruitment agencies, giving them the means to stand out in the most competitive markets in the world.

Here’s how we can help:

- Recruitment Agency branding

- Personal Brand Academy for recruiters

- Personal Brand Management

Check out our website and social profile for examples of our work in action and to hear what our clients have to say about us. Like what you see? Reach out: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

__________________________________________

Sponsor

‘Wow’ your clients by uncovering tactics and power plays for high-impact candidate submissions.

Download Vincere's eBook "Techify Your Client Experience Strategy"

-Learn Candidate-driven strategies

-How to offer the “VIP” treatment

- Leverage tech for high-impact collaboration

Link: https://personalbrand.hoxomedia.com/vincere

Season 6 | 34 - Adrian O'Connor on how his agency increased fill rates to 78% despite a decrease in job flow during the current economic downturn!

Wed, 24 May 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week’s show, I am joined by Adrian O'Connor, the founder of Global Accounting Network (GAN)

Founded in 2011, GAN is a business of over 27 people headquartered in the UK with an office in Atlanta.

In this episode, we talked about his journey of growth during the last 12 years, including:

How he has built a remote-first culture with UK headquarters and a US based business all whilst personally living and working from Lisbon, Portugal

How he and his team have built a methodology and a process that has enabled them to have a much higher fill rate in the downturn of the economy. So as job flow has decreased, their fill rate has gone up to 78%.

So if you're interested in building a remote-first company, having a US-based office, living abroad and working completely remotely, or you just want to know more about how you can have a much stronger fill rate in today's economy, this episode is for you.

I hope you enjoy this episode!

__________________________________________

Hoxo

We’re on a mission to help brand recruitment agencies, giving them the means to stand out in the most competitive markets in the world.

Here’s how we can help:

- Recruitment Agency branding

- Personal Brand Academy for recruiters

- Personal Brand Management

Check out our website and social profile for examples of our work in action and to hear what our clients have to say about us. Like what you see? Reach out: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: RecruitHub

Thinking about starting a recruitment business in the UK or US?

Download your startup blueprint from RecruitHub and access key information including:

- Funding – how much do you need, and what are your options

- Knowing where you stand - decode your non-compete and understand your restrictions

- Co-founder MUST-knows

- How to automate your way to faster billings

- Business plan basics – what are they, and how do you write one?

- Naming & brand-building – creating a brand that stands out

And more…

Get your copy at recruit-hub.com/startup-blueprint

Season 6 | Ep33 - James Leighton on facing the issues that plague new companies

Wed, 17 May 2023 12:00:00 +0100

James Leighton on how you can build a business like his, which is eight years old, in two years!

On this week's show, I am finally joined by a good friend and client, James Leighton. James is the founder of Anderson James, a specialist construction and property recruitment firm, headquartered in Manchester with over 30 people operating in both contingent,RPO markets, public and private sector in the US.

And I'm delighted to finally have him on because I didn't actually know the story of him building the business.

Now whilst the business launched in 2015 and is effectively eight years old, the business didn't really get moving until 2017, 2018.

So they had at least two to three years at the beginning where they didn't get the business moving for a number of reasons.

Now, James shared in-depth issues that they faced and the different steps they've gone to grow to where they are now. And he broke down exactly how he would get to where he is now in two years.

So for anyone wanting to know how you can build a business that's eight years old in two years, you need to listen to this episode.

He gives some really clear advice, practical examples, all the way through the show as to how a startup founder or someone trying to grow to 30 and above can do it in record time.

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Hoxo

We’re on a mission to help brand recruitment agencies, giving them the means to stand out in the most competitive markets in the world.

Here’s how we can help:

- Recruitment Agency branding

- Personal Brand Academy for recruiters

- Personal Brand Management

Check out our website and social profile for examples of our work in action and to hear what our clients have to say about us. Like what you see? Reach out: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

__________________________________________

Sponsor

‘Wow’ your clients by uncovering tactics and power plays for high-impact candidate submissions.

Download Vincere's eBook "Techify Your Client Experience Strategy"

-Learn Candidate-driven strategies

-How to offer the “VIP” treatment

- Leverage tech for high-impact collaboration

Link: https://personalbrand.hoxomedia.com/vincere

Season 6 | 32 - Matthew Wragg on the reality of being CEO of a Global Agency with over 500 people!

Wed, 10 May 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's show, I was joined by Matthew Wragg, the CEO of Gattaca, an organisation with 500 people, headquartered in the UK.

Matt has been with the company for over 21 years.

From his first role in recruitment, he's worked his way up. He’s had eight or nine different roles in that time! And then, just over a year ago, in early 2022, he got given the CEO job.

While he never vocalised it, this was something he’d always wanted.

In this episode, we talked about his journey to becoming CEO, but also the work he's done beyond becoming CEO.

He talked about:

- His visibility both internally and externally

- How he still meets with clients

- How he sends out messages to his whole company every single Monday

He gives some really practical advice on how you can run a business and focus on growth and attrition.

We also talked a lot about how Matt's super proud of working in the recruitment industry and wants his whole business to share that sense of pride.

Matt is a young, energetic, highly inspirational CEO and a huge advocate for the industry.

You're gonna learn a lot from this one!

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Hoxo

We’re on a mission to help brand recruitment agencies, giving them the means to stand out in the most competitive markets in the world.

Here’s how we can help:

- Recruitment Agency branding

- Personal Brand Academy for recruiters

- Personal Brand Management

Check out our website and social profile for examples of our work in action and to hear what our clients have to say about us. Like what you see? Reach out: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

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Episode Sponsor: RecruitHub

Aaron from IXL launched his own recruitment business with RecruitHub, which offers start-up support that guides new business owners through the process and takes a lot of pressure off their shoulders.

Aaron can focus on recruitment, fully supported by their finance and operations teams as well as benefit from discounts and a full tech stack that he plugged into from day one.

He started at the beginning of this year and is already profitable!

Find out more about his journey here: https://www.recruit-hub.com/case-studies/launch-stories-ixl/

Season 6 | Ep31 - James Wardle on overcoming gambling addiction to building Alderson James to £2 million revenue with a 3-person team!

Wed, 03 May 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's show, I am joined by James Wardle, who is the founder of Alderson James, a specialist talent acquisition and HR recruitment agency headquartered in the UK with seven staff.

Now, what was so unbelievable about this episode is how honest and vulnerable James was.

We spoke about the 10 years of running this business and how he started life with pretty much no plan.

He was a rec-2-rec who wanted to effectively work for himself before getting married and having children.

Whilst the business has been running for over 10 years, everything changed during the pandemic!

Here James had to be honest with his wife, family, and friends about the fact that he was a gambling addict. This came as a huge shock to his nearest and dearest, they had no clue this was an issue.

He was at a point where he was spending - and winning and losing - on ridiculous bets.

He was searching for daily things to place bets on in the first lockdown, like football games in Singapore and Thailand. Anywhere in the world he could find sports to bet on, he was betting and he was also investing in crypto and different highly volatile stocks.

It all culminated in September 2020 when he lost $50,000 in a day.

His business nearly went under. He only one member of staff at that point. He was at rock bottom.

Since then he's gone cold turkey and stopped betting. He turned it all off, and his business has grown as a result!

James soon hit $2 million in revenue with three people, personally billing £1.6m.

He's now built the team to seven. He is working with clients all over the world - some of the most unbelievable brands. He's switched on, he's focused and he's got a growth plan.

He wants to get to 20 staff in the next couple of years.

Now James is not a guest from the biggest business I've interviewed on the show, but it is one of the most honest, vulnerable, incredible episodes I think I've ever recorded. So I really hope you find as much value as I did having this conversation.

__________________________________________

Hoxo

We’re on a mission to help brand recruitment agencies, giving them the means to stand out in the most competitive markets in the world.

Here’s how we can help:

- Recruitment Agency branding

- Personal Brand Academy for recruiters

- Personal Brand Management

Check out our website and social profile for examples of our work in action and to hear what our clients have to say about us. Like what you see? Reach out: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

__________________________________________

Sponsor

‘Wow’ your clients by uncovering tactics and power plays for high-impact candidate submissions.

Download Vincere's eBook "Techify Your Client Experience Strategy"

-Learn Candidate-driven strategies

-How to offer the “VIP” treatment

- Leverage tech for high-impact collaboration

Link: https://personalbrand.hoxomedia.com/vincere

Season 6 | 30 - Elliot Dell on how Salt has doubled to 400 staff & 20 offices in 3 years

Wed, 26 Apr 2023 12:00:00 +0100

This week I was joined for the third time by Elliot Dell.

Elliot is the CEO of Salt, a global leading digital recruitment agency with over 400 staff across 20 offices.

Now, Elliot joined the RAG in person in 2019, just before the pandemic.

At that point, there were 220 people in the company, spread across nine offices. So in three and a half years, effectively doubling the business while dealing with a global pandemic has been an interesting journey for him.

In this episode, we talked about:

🎙️ The reality of the boom post-Covid and how it helped the locations he's expanded into

🎙️ The introduction of an academy for hiring trainees and growing the organisation

🎙️ The reality of a global company - 20 offices located on every continent, and different regions suffering with different issues due to the economic downturn

Elliot also talks about protecting your time as a business leader. He discusses his routine and how he still finds time for his family, the gym, and his own self-care.

As always, Elliot was super honest and very passionate about the Salt business, sharing a vision to grow it to a thousand people in the next few years.

This was a really refreshing conversation that highlighted how high growth doesn't necessarily mean burning yourself at both ends. You can find time for everything else too.

Any business owner or recruitment leader looking to grow their headcount significantly should listen to this episode.

Hoxo

We’re on a mission to help brand recruitment agencies, giving them the means to stand out in the most competitive markets in the world.

Here’s how we can help:

- Recruitment Agency branding

- Personal Brand Academy for recruiters

- Personal Brand Management

Check out our website and social profile for examples of our work in action and to hear what our clients have to say about us. Like what you see? Reach out: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

Episode Sponsor: RecruitHub

Aaron can focus on recruitment, fully supported by their finance and operations teams as well as benefit from discounts and a full tech stack that he plugged into from day one.

He started at the beginning of this year and is already profitable!

Find out more about his journey here: https://www.recruit-hub.com/case-studies/launch-stories-ixl/

Season 6 | Ep29 - James Caan CBE on selling Alexander Mann for £260m, appearing on Dragons’ Den, and why he still loves investing in recruitment agencies today!

Wed, 19 Apr 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's show, I don't have a live guest. I have been away, and unfortunately, a few of the guests have not been able to record their own yet.

So, instead, I'm bringing back one of the most listened to and interesting episodes I've ever recorded, and that's with James Caan CBE.

Most people know James Caan from his time on Dragons’ Den. What most people don't know is that James made his money from the recruitment sector.

James launched his own business, Alexander Mann Solutions, and is now the founder of Recruitment Entrepreneur, helping recruiters startup and scale up recruitment organisations all over the world.

James is a celebrity, and in this episode that I recorded at the beginning of 2021, we got right into James's story and advice for anyone else growing, starting, launching, and becoming a successful recruitment owner.

We covered:

🎙Launching, growing and selling Alexander Mann in 2013 for £260 million

🎙How he felt when he had enough money to retire at 42 years old

🎙Growing Humana International and moving into private equity with Hamilton Bradshaw

🎙Launching Recruitment Entrepreneur in 2014, investing in more than 32 founders to date

🎙The impact his 3 million LinkedIn followers had on his career/business?

🎙Why he loves the industry and keeps on going when he simply doesn’t need to!

James is really humble, honest, and genuine. I hope you get value from this episode.

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Hoxo

We’re on a mission to help brand recruitment agencies, giving them the means to stand out in the most competitive markets in the world.

Here’s how we can help:

- Recruitment Agency branding

- Personal Brand Academy for recruiters

- Personal Brand Management

Check out our website and social profile for examples of our work in action and to hear what our clients have to say about us. Like what you see? Reach out: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

__________________________________________

Sponsor

‘Wow’ your clients by uncovering tactics and power plays for high-impact candidate submissions.

Download Vincere's eBook "Techify Your Client Experience Strategy"

-Learn Candidate-driven strategies

-How to offer the “VIP” treatment

- Leverage tech for high-impact collaboration

Link: https://personalbrand.hoxomedia.com/vincere

Season 6 | Ep28 - Antony Pitt on going from a debilitating alcohol addiction to running a multi-million dollar business in the US

Wed, 12 Apr 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's show, I'm joined by Antony Pitt.

Antony is the president of Hanover USA and has been in the recruitment industry since 1996.

I love this episode because Antony was so candid about his experience.

He's running a business in the US with more than 30 staff. Hanover is a global business specialising in financial services recruitment, with 70 staff headquartered in London.

What's really interesting about this episode is Antony talks about his challenge with alcohol addiction.

He built his recruitment career in London, had a real issue with alcohol to the point where it was affecting everything in his life, and he decided to move to the US to change. When he got there, he was still suffering from his addiction, so he went into rehab.

In this episode, Antony breaks down the story of how alcohol addiction can affect anyone, but also how with the right help and support, you can come out the other side and do wonderful things.

He's now

👉 Running a multiple-million-dollar business

👉 The owner of two homes in the US

👉 More excited about his career

👉 More energised than he ever was before

Anyone who is interested in the challenges we have outside of work and how we can get through tough times and still build a great business is going to be inspired by this show.

I hope you enjoy every word of it.

If you'd like to find out more about Hanover USA, head over to this link: https://www.hanoversearch.com/us

Hoxo

We’re on a mission to help brand recruitment agencies, giving them the means to stand out in the most competitive markets in the world.

Here’s how we can help:

- Recruitment Agency branding

- Personal Brand Academy for recruiters

- Personal Brand Management

Check out our website and social profile for examples of our work in action and to hear what our clients have to say about us. Like what you see? Reach out: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

Episode Sponsor: RecruitHub

Thinking about starting a recruitment business in the UK or US?

Download your startup blueprint and access key information including:

- Funding – how much do you need, and what are your options

- Knowing where you stand - decode your non-compete and understand your restrictions

- Co-founder MUST-knows

- How to automate your way to faster billings

- Business plan basics – what are they, and how do you write one?

- Naming & brand-building – creating a brand that stands out

And more…

Get your copy at recruit-hub.com/startup-blueprint

Season 6 | Ep27 - Jonathan Field on building a super profitable recruitment business where everyone has a responsibility to drive business

Wed, 05 Apr 2023 12:00:00 +0100

Jonathan Field on building a super profitable recruitment business where everyone has a responsibility to drive business

On this week's show, I am joined by Jonathan Field, who is the co-CEO of SSQ.

SSQ is a niche legal search firm headquartered in London with over a hundred staff across 11 offices all over the globe.

They've got offices in Europe and Asia, and they've just opened one up in the USA.

I absolutely loved this episode because Jonathan spoke about things I honestly don't think I've ever covered in four years of hosting the show.

We talked about his journey from leaving a law firm after two years as a practicing lawyer to join the recruitment industry, and then working his way up to CEO.

We also talked about the legal recruitment sector and its high-profit nature, and the way in which they've run their business.

We covered a number of things:

1️⃣How they maintain profit margins of over 30% with over a hundred people

2️⃣How every single person in their business, apart from pure back-office individuals, has a fee-earning responsibility.

3️⃣The employee ownership trust. Last year, SSQ sold 100% of the business to an employee-owned trust, which effectively means that everyone in the business owns the company and will gain incredible rewards from this structure.

Scaling to a hundred people, 30% profit without ridiculous management structures, and then an amazing ownership exit strategy that I've never heard about before!

In this episode, we're gonna cover it all, and you're gonna learn so much from one of the most well-spoken smart founders I've ever worked with.

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Hoxo

We’re on a mission to help brand recruitment agencies, giving them the means to stand out in the most competitive markets in the world.

Here’s how we can help:

- Recruitment Agency branding

- Personal Brand Academy for recruiters

- Personal Brand Management

Check out our website and social profile for examples of our work in action and to hear what our clients have to say about us. Like what you see? Reach out: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

__________________________________________

Sponsor

‘Wow’ your clients by uncovering tactics and power plays for high-impact candidate submissions.

Download Vincere's eBook "Techify Your Client Experience Strategy"

-Learn Candidate-driven strategies

-How to offer the “VIP” treatment

- Leverage tech for high-impact collaboration

Link: https://personalbrand.hoxomedia.com/vincere

Season 6 | Ep26 - Daniel Puttick on how taking his foot off the gas was a HUGE mistake for his recruitment business

Wed, 29 Mar 2023 12:00:00 +0100

For this episode, I’m excited to be joined by Daniel Puttick, the founder of LINKS Recruitment Group.

They’re headquartered in Cardiff, with 25 staff in offices in Birmingham and Bristol.

Dan started the business in 2017 and reached rather quick success.

He saw 7 figures of revenue and record profits inside the first few years.

In Dan’s words, he got to a point where he thought he'd made it.

As they were making more and more money, he began investing in different businesses.

He began starting work at different times, leaving the team to run the business.

He essentially took his foot off the gas…

It soon backfired!

In this episode we talked about:

🎙️How Daniel got to the point where his business was in a great place

🎙️What happened to the business when he took his foot off the gas

🎙️Daniel being quite a controlling leader and what he's had to do to learn from his own mistakes

🎙️How he had to change himself to make the business flourish

Dan was super candid and super humble in his approach, and you can see he's got his fire back to take the business to the next level.

So anyone listening to this who's thinking about starting a business, this is a real honest account of the highs and the lows, the reality of what you must consider.

But also, if you're in the thick of growth and you think you might be at a point where you can take your foot off the gas, hopefully, this might keep you in the right direction.

Hoxo

We’re on a mission to help brand recruitment agencies, giving them the means to stand out in the most competitive markets in the world.

Here’s how we can help:

- Recruitment Agency branding

- Personal Brand Academy for recruiters

- Personal Brand Management

Check out our website and social profile for examples of our work in action and to hear what our clients have to say about us. Like what you see? Reach out: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

Episode Sponsor: RecruitHub

Thinking about starting a recruitment business in the UK or US?

Download your startup blueprint and access key information including:

- Funding – how much do you need, and what are your options

- Knowing where you stand - decode your non-compete and understand your restrictions

- Co-founder MUST-knows

- How to automate your way to faster billings

- Business plan basics – what are they, and how do you write one?

- Naming & brand-building – creating a brand that stands out

And more…

Get your copy at recruit-hub.com/startup-blueprint

Season 6 | Ep 25 - Gary Redman on growing a business that now turns over up to 6 million pounds per year in net profit

Wed, 15 Mar 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's show, I was joined by Gary Redman. Gary is the CEO of the Now Business Group, a collection of recruitment organisations in construction, finance, accountancy, services, and most importantly in the education sector.

The business is headquartered in the UK with a really strong sales and EBITDA profile. We’re talking between five and a half to six million pounds per year in net profit.

Gary started the business 27 years ago. He started in recruitment at 19, quite quickly launched his own company and has been through everything you can imagine since then.

In this episode, we break down and chronologically crawl through those 27 years and talk about:

🎙️The highs and lows throughout his career

🎙️His health issues

🎙️His personal life

🎙️The catalyst that caused a lot of issues and challenges in the business

We agreed at the end of this episode that this will only be part one because Gary's story is one that we’ll need more time to tell. But, even in this first part, you’ll get so much value and inspiration.

I left the conversation feeling so inspired that someone who's in the later stages of their career is still so motivated by just doing a great job, building teams, and building businesses regardless of the money and the financial return.

It makes me think that I've got so much ahead of me.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did recording it.

__________________________________________

Hoxo

We’re on a mission to help brand recruitment agencies, giving them the means to stand out in the most competitive markets in the world.

Here’s how we can help:

- Recruitment Agency branding

- Personal Brand Academy for recruiters

- Personal Brand Management

Check out our website and social profile for examples of our work in action and to hear what our clients have to say about us. Like what you see? Reach out: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

__________________________________________

Sponsor

‘Wow’ your clients by uncovering tactics and power plays for high-impact candidate submissions.

Download Vincere's eBook "Techify Your Client Experience Strategy"

-Learn Candidate-driven strategies

-How to offer the “VIP” treatment

- Leverage tech for high-impact collaboration

Link: https://personalbrand.hoxomedia.com/vincere

Season 6 | Ep24 - Jo Sellick on growing business revenue from £45m to over £95 million in less than 3 years!

Wed, 08 Mar 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's show, I was joined by Jo Sellick.

In 2022, Jo was the sole founder of Sellick Partnership, a specialist recruitment agency headquartered in Manchester.

Over the last 21 years, Jo has worked tirelessly to drive the business forward and has taken the business to £95m in revenue and 105 staff across multiple offices.

In 2019, Sellick Partnership was 70% acquired by a French organisation with further plans for growth.. Little did they know that within a few short months, they were about to enter the pandemic!

In this episode, I spent time understanding Jo’s mindset, breaking down the barriers of what he went through in the early days, and the journey in between, from the start to now.

He’s one of the most personable, natural, and charismatic recruitment founders I've ever met.

This episode is hugely inspirational and Jo gives away some practical advice.

Hoxo

We’re on a mission to help brand recruitment agencies, giving them the means to stand out in the most competitive markets in the world.

Here’s how we can help:

- Recruitment Agency branding

- Personal Brand Academy for recruiters

- Personal Brand Management

Check out our website and social profile for examples of our work in action and to hear what our clients have to say about us. Like what you see? Reach out: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

Episode Sponsor: RecruitHub

Thinking about starting a recruitment business in the UK or US?

Download your startup blueprint and access key information including:

- Funding – how much do you need, and what are your options

- Knowing where you stand - decode your non-compete and understand your restrictions

- Co-founder MUST-knows

- How to automate your way to faster billings

- Business plan basics – what are they, and how do you write one?

- Naming & brand-building – creating a brand that stands out

And more…

Get your copy at recruit-hub.com/startup-blueprint

Season 6 | Ep 22 - Paul Sammeroff on how starting a rec business with two strangers backfired within 3 years!

Wed, 22 Feb 2023 12:00:00 +0100

Season 6 | Ep 22 - Paul Sammeroff on how starting a rec business with two strangers backfired within 3 years!

On this week's show, I'm joined by Paul Sammeroff, the Founder and Director of PAS Capital, a specialist recruitment firm headquartered in Glasgow that exclusively operates within the oil and gas markets.

Paul’s business is only three years old with just under 20 staff at the moment. What's really interesting is the story that Paul's been through in those last three years.

He founded the company in January 2020, just before the pandemic, in partnership with two guys that he didn't know. He was introduced by a rec to rec.

One of the guys had recruitment experience, the other had cash and Paul drove their everyday operations. Together they created a business, but Paul quickly realised that this wasn’t becoming the partnership he had planned for.

Sadly, the relationship didn’t work out and this led to serious strain on Paul, both in business and with his mental health. By the end of 2022 last year, Paul had decided that enough was enough - he was ready to walk away and leave the business or buy out his partners.

In this episode, Paul breaks down everything that he did, all the challenges he faced, and how he got to a positive outcome.

I'm delighted for Paul that he's in a place that he's happy with, and I'm super excited for people to listen to this and learn the do's and don'ts of going into partnership with investors and anyone when launching a new entity. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!

Hoxo

We’re on a mission to help brand recruitment agencies, giving them the means to stand out in the most competitive markets in the world.

Here’s how we can help:

- Recruitment Agency branding

- Personal Brand Academy for recruiters

- Personal Brand Management

Check out our website and social profile for examples of our work in action and to hear what our clients have to say about us. Like what you see? Reach out: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

Episode Sponsor: RecruitHub

Thinking about starting a recruitment business in the UK or US?

Download your startup blueprint and access key information including:

- Funding – how much do you need, and what are your options

- Knowing where you stand - decode your non-compete and understand your restrictions

- Co-founder MUST-knows

- How to automate your way to faster billings

- Business plan basics – what are they, and how do you write one?

- Naming & brand-building – creating a brand that stands out

And more…

Get your copy at recruit-hub.com/startup-blueprint

Season 6 | Ep21 - Tom Glanfield on launching Lhi from his house and growing it to be one of the best-known rec agencies in the UK and beyond!

Wed, 15 Feb 2023 12:00:00 +0100

Due to unforeseen circumstances, I wasn't able to record this week's episode with a new guest.

Rather than leave you with a week of no RAG Podcast, I wanted to bring back an episode that I recorded in 2019, which was one of the best I've ever recorded.

My guest is known as Tom Glanfield, founder of Lawrence Harvey, LHi group. This episode was recorded pre-pandemic in an office in London.

Tom talked about his business, where he was at the time and how he was looking to exit it. He also told his story of launching the business from his house that he ACTUALLY renamed ‘Harvey House’... Amazing :)

The stories in this episode were incredible, and in fact, absolutely hilarious. I remember nearly crying with laughter at one point.

Lawrence Harvey is one of the most well-known recruitment brands to have launched in the UK and scaled globally.

So I'd love to bring it back!

Tom and the team are incredible and have a great business. They've gone from strength to strength since the pandemic!

Today we’re going back in time. I really hope you’ll enjoy this episode!

__________________________________________

Hoxo

We’re on a mission to help brand recruitment agencies, giving them the means to stand out in the most competitive markets in the world.

Here’s how we can help:

- Recruitment Agency branding

- Personal Brand Academy for recruiters

- Personal Brand Management

Check out our website and social profile for examples of our work in action and to hear what our clients have to say about us. Like what you see? Reach out: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

__________________________________________

Sponsor

‘Wow’ your clients by uncovering tactics and power plays for high-impact candidate submissions.

Download Vincere's eBook "Techify Your Client Experience Strategy"

-Learn Candidate-driven strategies

-How to offer the “VIP” treatment

- Leverage tech for high-impact collaboration

Link: https://personalbrand.hoxomedia.com/vincere

Season 6 | Ep20 - Chris Allaire on how his agency was voted the SIA’s best staffing agency to work for in the USA!

Wed, 08 Feb 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week’s episode of The RAG Podcast, I am joined by Chris Allaire, the founder and CEO of Averity, a specialist technology recruitment agency.

Averity was initially headquartered in New York City but is now operating across the USA.

They have 30 employees, are completely remote post-pandemic, and were awarded the best staffing firm to work for in the 10 to 20 employees bracket by the Staffing Industry Analyst, SIA, in 2022.

Chris has got energy and is a big biller! This is his eighth startup team, and he clearly comes with a pedigree of knowledge and confidence that has enabled him to not only grow a business to 30 employees in eight years, but to grow one that is incredible to work for!

In this episode, we break down Chris’ career and his mindset around building a team and business, and what has made his organisation the best place to work for in the USA.

Loads of information, loads of energy, loads of inspiration. I hope you’ll enjoy the episode as much as I did recording it.

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Sponsor: RecruitHub*

Thinking about starting a recruitment business in the UK or US?

Download your startup blueprint and access key information including:

-Funding – how much do you need, and what are your options

-Knowing where you stand - decode your non-compete and understand your restrictions

-Co-founder MUST-knows

-How to automate your way to faster billings

-Business plan basics – what are they, and how do you write one?

-Naming & brand-building – creating a brand that stands out

And more…

Get your copy at recruit-hub.com/startup-blueprint

Season 6 | Ep 19 - Sinead Connolly on billing $1m AUD in the first year of launching Lotus People and what happened to her next…

Wed, 01 Feb 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's show, I am joined by Sinead Connolly. Sinead is the award-winning founder of Lotus People, a specialist business support recruitment firm headquartered in Sydney, Australia, with over 22 staff.

Now, Sinead and I have known each other for a few years.

She’s been a Hoxo client since just after the pandemic, and I've watched her journey go from strength to strength.

In this episode, we talked about:

- Her journey from Ireland to Australia as a backpacker

- How she got into recruitment

- How she launched her business within three and a half years of starting in the industry

- The support and backing she got from another recruitment firm to start the business

- Her original business partner and what happened there

- How she went through severe burnout after nine months of being a founder to the point where she had to take three months out of the company all while as a pair, she and her business partner billed 1 million AUD in their first year

We explored the balance between success and working ourselves to the bone as founders and recruiters, and also why looking after yourself is crucial.

We are all aware of wellbeing in 2023, but this is a real life story of someone who's got the balance wrong and became bedridden because she worked too hard.

Now, seven years later, she's won Recruitment Leader of the Year at the SEEK Awards. She's got a really, really strong business and is in a strategic CEO role where she can look after the business and isn't responsible for billing.

If you are a potential or an existing recruitment owner who is (1) looking to find balance, and (2) looking to offload responsibility and become more strategic and make the business less reliant on your billings, then you need to listen to this.

Sinead is vulnerable, honest, and confident. She's a star in the industry. I hope you enjoy every single second of this episode.

__________________________________________

If you’re a recruiter who’d love to listen and learn from some of the greatest recruitment owners and leaders then you need to listen to the RAG Podcast!

We’re having real and raw conversations with successful recruitment entrepreneurs about what is happening in their businesses right now and their plans to navigate market changes.

Episodes are released every Wednesday at 12pm GMT

________________________________________

Hoxo

We’re on a mission to help brand recruitment agencies, giving them the means to stand out in the most competitive markets in the world.

Here’s how we can help you:

- Recruitment Agency Branding

- Personal Brand Bootcamp for recruiters

- Personal Brand Management

Fill in this form to find out more: https://bit.ly/3jpuEWa

__________________________________________

Sponsor

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- Learn Candidate-driven strategies

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Link: https://personalbrand.hoxomedia.com/vincere

__________________________________________

Season 6 | Ep 18 - Luke McCormack on building a super modern, lean and highly profitable agency that ONLY sells retainers

Wed, 25 Jan 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's show, I am excited to be joined by Luke McCormack, the founder and CEO of McCormack Partners.

Luke owns a specialist recruitment business in Glasgow that focuses on the commercial roofing and cladding sectors all over the UK.

Luke reached out to me a long time ago to talk about personal branding, and I've witnessed his journey ever since. I’ve been unbelievably impressed by what he’s achieved.

Luke’s got a team of seven billing just under a million pounds this year, and his process is absolutely crystal clear and mapped out:

-He’s the face of the business

-He’s built a brand that has him in industry magazines

-He’s running podcasts and videos

-He gets lots of engagement online

-He has someone booking all of his meetings

-He sells 100% retained or exclusive assignments, paid upfront

-The whole recruitment process and delivery are taken care of by Luke's team

Being the face of the business, Luke requires the right people around him to deliver the retained assignment successfully within 30 days.

It’s a very different recruitment model to a lot of the businesses I've interviewed over the last few years, but one that I believe is becoming more common and hugely successful.

Luke talks about where he got his inspiration from and his energy and drive to become successful despite his humble beginnings. He also breaks down how he does what he does in a visual document and talks about the future and his plans to dominate in the US in the future as well.

Anyone listening to this will gain lots of value, especially smaller recruitment companies and potential startups who are thinking about disrupting and doing things differently by having a model that's modern and digital.

You need to listen to this episode because Luke is doing something extra!

Sponsor: RecruitHub*

Thinking about starting a recruitment business in the UK or US?

Download your startup blueprint and access key information including:

-Funding – how much do you need, and what are your options

-Knowing where you stand - decode your non-compete and understand your restrictions

-Co-founder MUST-knows

-How to automate your way to faster billings

-Business plan basics – what are they, and how do you write one?

-Naming & brand-building – creating a brand that stands out

And more…

Get your copy at recruit-hub.com/startup-blueprint

Season 6 | Ep 17 - Edmund Blogg on helping rec startups unlock revenue and growth goals earlier by removing friction involved in building a business

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week’s show, I’m joined by Edmund Blogg, the co-founder of RecruitHub, the newest sponsor of The RAG Podcast.

We’ve partnered with RecruitHub because I believe we’re on a shared mission.

These guys are a leading service accelerator for recruitment businesses. They provide new founders with the infrastructure to run their business from day one and allow them to focus on building it. They register the company, build the website and take care of all business finance and back office.

They don't charge for startup costs or monthly bills. They don't chargee you anything until you make money!

I know of loads of people who have been on the show, are in my network, or are clients of mine who have done amazing things with RecruitHub.

Now, I wanted to get Edmund Blogg on the show because he started his career in recruitment, had a really decorated career, ran a global organisation, and then started RecruitHub four years ago. They now have 60 businesses in their portfolio and they reckon they’re going to reach 100 by the end of the year.

In this episode, you're not only going to learn loads about startup recruitment businesses, but also about levers for scale and exit planning. We're gonna talk about why Edmund spotted this opportunity, what's different about RecruitHub to others on the market, and some really useful tips and information for you in 2023.

Edmund is a super smart guy. There's no surprise his business is doing so well. I can't wait to not only release this episode, but also partner with him!

Episode Sponsor: RecruitHub

Thinking about starting a recruitment business in the UK or US?

Download your startup blueprint and access key information including:

-Funding – how much do you need, and what are your options

-Knowing where you stand - decode your non-compete and understand your restrictions

-Co-founder MUST-knows

-How to automate your way to faster billings

-Business plan basics – what are they, and how do you write one?

-Naming & brand-building – creating a brand that stands out

And more…

Get your copy at recruit-hub.com/startup-blueprint

Season 6 | Ep16 - Greg Savage on the metrics you should be measuring to ensure your rec business is scaling profitably

Wed, 11 Jan 2023 12:00:00 +0100

I am excited, delighted, and honored to be joined by Greg Savage in the latest episode of the RAG Podcast.

Now, almost everyone in our sector globally knows who this guy is.

During his time in recruitment, Greg:

-Has built an incredible brand

-Has been an advisor to 16 recruitment organisations in the APAC region

-Has owned and scaled three organisations

-Has authored a book

-Has built his own training academy across the global recruitment community

I interviewed Greg at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. He was the second person I brought onto The RAG Report, which was my daily show in 2020 in which I provided some advice to our community in a time of need.

On today's episode, we talked about the work Greg did during the pandemic, the advice he gave, the advice he would give now, and the reality of the current economic situation.

We also talked about Greg’s book and his experience, and he gave some golden nuggets of information.

He specifically outlined the metrics you should be measuring to ensure your business is scaling profitably.

He said the number one reason he gets involved with businesses is because they tend to grow gross profit but not their profit. So essentially, they scale without profit.

Greg gives some unbelievable advice as to how you can manage this issue and the reasons why it might be worth getting an advisor to help you if you're seeing certain symptoms.

I’d advise you to listen to everything he's got to say. The guy is full of wisdom and experience. Take it on board, take some notes, and I hope you get as much value from this episode as I did recording it.

Vincere

A message to all recruitment leaders looking to upgrade their CRM: Before you sign the contract, be sure to read the terms at least twice.

Common traps to watch out for:

- Not understanding the pricing model

- Discounts limited to only the 1st year of contract length

- Monthly contracts - this could mean flexibility for the vendor to raise prices

- Data hosting - anything outside your country could mean compliance & legal issues

Get Vincere.io’s 10-step guide to keep your vendor due diligence & evaluation process airtight: https://bit.ly/3C2G1s3

Season 6 | Ep 15 - Ephram Stephenson on growing to over 100 people in 12 months of trading

Wed, 04 Jan 2023 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's show, I am joined by Ephram Stephenson.

Ephram is the CEO of Collar Group, a recruitment group based in Australia with nine offices and over a hundred staff.

Interestingly, Ephram only started the business in the summer of 2021 and sent his first invoice in October 2021.

Since then, he's grown an agency that covers predominantly blue-collar recruitment, but is now moving into white-collar recruitment and exec search.

Now, this is not Ephram's first venture into recruitment ownership.

He got into the industry in Australia in the 2000s.

He did two and a half years as a consultant where he was a top biller earning a lot of money, and then started his own business, which he had for 17 years.

He's launched a number of different recruitment businesses and brands within that time and has been hugely successful.

He is one of the most energetic and enthusiastic owners I've ever met. You'll notice this on the podcast.

There have been a few guests over the last couple of years that stand out with that no-holds-barred, high-growth energy and absolutely no ceiling on where they want to go.

And this is another installment of that type of episode.

So if you are in the blue- or white-collar recruitment space, and you are looking to hear about a story of someone with absolutely ridiculously high growth plans, this is one for you.

Super honest, super open, and hugely inspiring. I loved every minute of recording it, and I hope you enjoy the show.

Vincere

A message to all recruitment leaders looking to upgrade their CRM: Before you sign the contract, be sure to read the terms at least twice.

Common traps to watch:

- Not understanding the pricing model

- Discounts limited to only the 1st year of contract length

- Monthly contracts - this could mean flexibility for the vendor to raise prices

- Data hosting - anything outside your country could mean compliance & legal issues

Get Vincere’s 10-step guide to keep your vendor due diligence & evaluation process airtight: https://bit.ly/3C2G1s3

Season 6 | Ep14 - Ben Duffill believes you don’t need to set up your own recruitment company to be successful in the industry

Wed, 14 Dec 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I am joined by Ben Duffill.

Ben is the Managing Director of MRG Group, The Management Recruitment Group.

They’re a 60-person recruitment organisation headquartered in London, with multiple global offices.

Ben has a really unique and interesting story in our sector.

He went to university at 18 years old and quit within six weeks.

Back in Essex, he then managed to get himself into a recruitment career with Hays. This decision set him off on a trajectory to be successful in the future.

Now, at the age of 35, in the second business he's worked for, he's top of the tree.

He is working for the founder as the Managing Director and has equity in the business.

Over the last 15 years, he's grown a family, he's been through ups and downs, but he's been very clear on his vision, what he wants to achieve, and how he can achieve his dreams of being an “intrepreneur”.

Usually, I interview entrepreneurs who have founded their own business, but I do not want everyone in recruitment to believe that the only way you're going to succeed is if you leave and set up your own company.

Ben has proven that you can be super successful by staying with a business as long as one thing happens, and that is what we're gonna talk about in today's episode.

Sponsor: Vincere

A message to all recruitment leaders looking to upgrade their CRM: Before you sign the contract, be sure to read the terms at least twice.

Common traps to watch out for:

- Not understanding the pricing model

- Discounts limited to only the 1st year of contract length

- Monthly contracts - this could mean flexibility for the vendor to raise prices

- Data hosting - anything outside your country could mean compliance & legal issues

Get Vincere’s 10-step guide to keep your vendor due diligence & evaluation process airtight: https://bit.ly/3C2G1s3

Season 6 | Ep13 - Simon Hair on building one of the most socially engaged recruitment firms on the planet.

Wed, 07 Dec 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On today's episode, I am joined by Simon Hair.

Simon is the Managing Director of Precision Sourcing Group, a business headquartered in Sydney, Australia with 31 expert recruiters in project services, SAP, data, and software development.

Now, I've wanted to have Simon on for a long time.

I've worked with him for over two years and for some reason it just never happened.

But the timing is perfect, because last week he got voted Australian Recruitment Leader of the Year at the TIARA Awards.

Nominated by his team, celebrated by his peers.

You can see why in this interview.

Simon is one of the most organised and motivated people I have been lucky enough to work with.

He enrolled in my Personal Brand Academy during the pandemic, took everything I taught him, and drilled it into his team.

Since then, his team has gone and worked with me as a collective for over 12 months.

They now are one of the most well-known brands in Australia in their market.

Over 23% of their net fee income last year, which is well over $2 million, was generated directly from their activity on LinkedIn.

And that doesn't even include the work they've done with candidates. That's just clients they can track who have come in as inbound leads, or they've managed to source via the interaction through LinkedIn.

So I'd say he's building one of the most socially engaged recruitment firms on the planet.

And the way he explains it makes it sound so simple and so achievable.

He's doing so whilst also driving the four-day week, so the team at Precision Sourcing now don't work on Fridays,

He appreciates everything there is to offer and he has an open mindset. That's evident in the episode and also in the business he runs today.

Anyone who wants to grow in a modern, innovative way and who has an open mindset is going to love this episode.

Talent Ticker

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Learn more at get.talentticker.ai/hoxo and take advantage of their special offer for our listeners.

Season 6 | Ep12 - Kayleigh Bottomley on only hiring inexperienced people and still making a profit

Wed, 30 Nov 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I am joined by Kayleigh Bottomley, the Founder and SVP of Storm4.

Storm4 is another branch of Levin, the fastest-growing group of recruitment companies in the world.

A couple of weeks ago I shared a repeat of a 2021 episode with James Brown, the founder of Leven group.

This was one of my highest played episodes since the start of the RAG Podcast, probably because Levin is one of the most talked about organisations in our sector.

They are taking the recruitment industry by storm and doing things differently.

In February 2021, Kayleigh started Storm4, since then they have continued the insane growth of the group as they’ve gone from 0 to 125 staff across multiple locations.

Every single recruiter Storm4 hires is a graduate with no experience and in just over 12 months they were able to become profitable too!

In this episode she’s sharing how she’s done it!

I really went deep into the processes, procedures, and people that are required for a team to grow this fast.

If you are inspired by insane growth and fast-moving recruitment organisations, then then this one's for you.

Talent Ticker

Looking for a way to grow your recruitment business in 2022? Talent Ticker is here to help.

Learn more at get.talentticker.ai/hoxo and take advantage of their special offer for our listeners.

Season 6 | Ep 11 - John Dyson on surviving a major snowboarding accident and running his agency in his own way!

Wed, 23 Nov 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On today’s episode, I was joined by John Dyson.

John is the founder of FJR Group, a specialist recruitment firm headquartered in Manchester with an office in London, operating across financial services, HR, and technology.

John started the business in May 2011, the very same month that I personally started in recruitment.

In that period of time, he’s grown a business to over 50 people and has opened multiple offices.

Recently, during a snowboarding holiday in France, John suffered an accident where he broke his back in a couple of places and had bleeding in the brain.

This specific accident led to many positive decisions and changes to his business - something John would never have foreseen!

In this episode, you’re going to find out about a recruitment owner who I believe is doing things in a hybrid way.

There are recruitment owners that keep the business lean and wrap everything around themselves, and there are ones who aim to build businesses as fast and as big as they can for growth and exit.

John is kind of in between.

He’s building a great leadership team to manage the day-to day-operation of FJR Group, but he’s very close to the frontline.

To anyone looking to grow their business in a more considered way - not wanting it to be a lifestyle but not necessarily wanting it to be the biggest agency in the world - I think this episode will inspire and support you in so many different ways.

Vincere

A message to all recruitment leaders looking to upgrade their CRM: Before you sign the contract, be sure to read the terms at least twice.

Common traps to watch out for:

- Not understanding the pricing model

- Discounts limited to only the 1st year of contract length

- Monthly contracts - this could mean flexibility for the vendor to raise prices

- Data hosting - anything outside your country could mean compliance & legal issues

Get Vincere’s 10-step guide to keep your vendor due diligence & evaluation process airtight: https://bit.ly/3C2G1s3

Season 6 | Ep 10 - James Brown on owning the fastest-growing recruitment agency in the world

Wed, 16 Nov 2022 12:00:00 +0100

In early 2021, I interviewed James, the CEO of Levin, to discuss his growth plans on The RAG Podcast.

Now, almost 2 years later, the company with brands Storm2, Storm3, Storm4, Storm5, and Storm6, published $44m USD NFI in its third year and has grown to over 600 people.

This trajectory is remarkable!

I am re-releasing my episode with James as so many people loved it.

It is still in the top 3 most-played episodes of The RAG and there are so many amazing learnings to take from it!

I will be back with fresh eps from next week but in the meantime, enjoy learning from the trailblazers of the global sector!

Vincere

A message to all recruitment leaders looking to upgrade their CRM: Before you sign the contract, be sure to read the terms at least twice.

Common traps to watch out for:

- Not understanding the pricing model

- Discounts limited to only the 1st year of contract length

- Monthly contracts - this could mean flexibility for the vendor to raise prices

- Data hosting - anything outside your country could mean compliance & legal issues

Get Vincere’s 10-step guide to keep your vendor due diligence & evaluation process airtight: https://bit.ly/3C2G1s3

Season 6 | Ep 9 - Sean Anderson on the 3 fundamentals every agency needs to maximise its brand and stand out from the competition on LinkedIn

Wed, 02 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0100

On this week's episode of the RAG Podcast, you are stuck with me again!

In October, I was invited to the very first recruitment expo in Germany. This was hosted by a company called StaffingPro, in coordination with APSco.

This expo was targeted mainly at the agency market, but also at some in-house recruiters. I was invited to Frankfurt for a couple of days and I spoke on stage about the three fundamental things every single recruitment agency needs to consider if they want to stand out on LinkedIn.

Now that might sound quite similar to the talk I did in Birmingham a couple of weeks ago, which I featured on the podcast, but this presentation focuses on recruitment agencies more holistically, not just on personal branding.

In this episode, it's going to be me talking on stage in Germany, in Frankfurt, and you'll hear all about the three things every recruitment company needs to consider if they want to stand out from the competition now and in the future.

The sound quality is not as good as normal because I was on stage during that talk, but I do hope you enjoy this episode. Please feel free to ask any questions.

I hope it gives you a lot of value.

Talent Ticker

Looking for a way to grow your recruitment business in 2022? Talent Ticker is here to help.

Learn more at get.talentticker.ai/hoxo and take advantage of their special offer for our listeners.

Season 6 | Ep 8 - Richard Wright on enjoying his recruitment career more than he ever has before in his mid-fifties

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On this week’s episode of The RAG Podcast I was joined by Richard Wright, CEO of Acre.

Acre is a specialist recruitment consultancy focusing on everything to do with sustainability, which includes climate change, social issues, and more.

Richard has a long history in the recruitment sector.

He originally worked for one of the biggest organisations in the world and later bought into a boutique agency as a partner.

Richard was at the helm of that business for a long time and eventually sold the business to Randstad.

He then stayed in the company for a further three years post-acquisition, before exiting and having some time out of the industry.

After a period of time believing he would leave the industry forever, he was persuaded to come back and joined Acre back when it was a 10-person business.

It now has well over a hundred staff and 4 international locations.

During the episode, Richard was very open about his career and said that right now, he's enjoying it more than he ever has before.

Who'd have thought that you could continue to love this game more and more over time?

You’re going to love this episode.

Richard is super knowledgeable, super inspiring, and a really nice guy.

Vincere

A message to all recruitment leaders looking to upgrade their CRM: Before you sign the contract, be sure to read the terms at least twice.

Common traps to watch:

- Not understanding the pricing model

- Discounts limited to only the 1st year of contract length

- Monthly contracts - this could mean flexibility for the vendor to raise prices

- Data hosting - anything outside your country could mean compliance & legal issues

Get Vincere’s 10-step guide to keep your vendor due diligence & evaluation process airtight: https://bit.ly/3C2G1s3

Season 6 | Ep 7 - Laurie Boyall on how he has never ever found himself bored during his 35 years as Founder & Group CEO of McGregor Boyall

Wed, 19 Oct 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On this week’s episode, I was joined by Laurie Boyall, the Founder & Group CEO of McGregor Boyall, one of the most renowned recruitment agencies headquartered in London.

Laurie started the agency in 1987, having never worked a day in recruitment in his life!

He was a self trained computer programmer and having found a job via a recruitment agency in 86, he saw the invoice attached to his placement. This was all it took for him to change career path!

In this episode, we covered Laurie’s 35 years as founder, which involved:

- The early days of his career selling European travel tours to USA students

- How his Angel-backed 1st business failed and he returned home after 3 years

- How he then started his agency, having seen the invoice for his own services in IT

- The reality of launching his business and needing to use a phone box for the first 3 weeks as BT phone lines were down

- Laurie’s story of growth over the years and how he has constantly loved his role

- The economic impact on his business right now and how he sees a huge recession hitting harder than most people think

- His new role as CEO and how he spends his time

Laurie is a real character, full of humour, honesty and wisdom.

Anyone wanting to contact Laurie can reach him via LinkedIn

Talent Ticker

Looking for a way to grow your recruitment business in 2022? Talent Ticker is here to help.

Learn more at https://bit.ly/3DE7wLl and take advantage of their special offer for our listeners.

Season 6 Ep 6 | Sean Anderson on 3 simple things every recruiter should implement now before LI changes6

Wed, 12 Oct 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On this week’s episode of the RAG, I’m excited to be featuring one of my own talks.

Last week I presented at the Birmingham Recruitment Agency Expo in a room filled with well over 200 recruitment professionals.

I discussed my thoughts and opinions on how LinkedIn is going to change over the next few years and what every recruiter should be doing now to make the most of their own opportunity before it does.

I've rerecorded this session live in front of about 35 recruitment professionals as part of one of our Academy Taster Sessions, so this is a zoom recording, which is much clearer than the original stage recording, but it is the exact same presentation.

I really hope you enjoy this because ultimately I think there are a lot of recruiters out there that don't quite know what they're doing on LinkedIn.

They spend a fortune

One of the biggest spends in recruitment businesses is on LinkedIn licenses.

The average recruiter spends four hours a day and has a recruiter license, which is over £5000 per year, per person. Multiply that by your team and it's a huge investment!

However the problem is that training, support and understanding of what you can do on the platform every day to reach thousands of people and ultimately stand out from the competition in your market is nonexistent in most agencies.

So I’m giving you really simple, practical tips that you can use to take straight back to your agency.

If you would like to find out more about how we can help you personally improve your performance and stand out on Linkedin, book a call with me and my team.

Here we can then have a bespoke conversation with you in your recruitment business to see if our Academy program is right for you and whether we are the right fit: https://personalbrand.hoxomedia.com/register

Vincere

A message to all recruitment leaders looking to upgrade their CRM: Before you sign the contract, be sure to read the terms at least twice.

Common traps to watch:

- Not understanding the pricing model

- Discounts limited to only the 1st year of contract length

- Monthly contracts - this could mean flexibility for the vendor to raise prices

- Data hosting - anything outside your country could mean compliance & legal issues

Get Vincere’s 10-step guide to keep your vendor due diligence & evaluation process airtight: https://bit.ly/3C2G1s3

Season 6 | Ep 5 - David Morgan on going from sending CVs by fax to driving business via social media over his 22 years as founder of Morgan Law

Wed, 05 Oct 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On this week’s episode, I was joined by David Morgan, who in 2000 co-founded Morgan Law, a UK specialist public sector recruitment agency with 35 staff.

In this episode, we went through David’s 22 years as a founder to unearth the highs, the lows, and the learnings you can take from them.

We covered:

-The reality of setting up a business in 2000 when the recruitment industry still operated using fax machines!

-How his life changed as the business grew

-David’s relationship with alcohol and how that's changed over the years

-The breakdown of David’s first marriage and how this affected the business

-David's approach to the business during and post Covid-19

-The economic impact on his business right now and how he sees the market changing over the upcoming 18 months

-His new role as CEO and how he spends his time

David is an awesome guy with a unique and a powerful story, I hope you enjoy this as much as I did recording it!

Anyone wanting to contact David can reach him via davidmorgan@morgan-law.com

Talent Ticker

Looking for a way to grow your recruitment business in 2022? Talent Ticker is here to help.

Learn more at https://bit.ly/3DE7wLl and take advantage of their special offer for our listeners.

Season 6 | Ep 4 - Hannah Donaldson on the reality of leading and executing an MBO backed by Private Equity to fuel a long term future for Meet with significant strategic growth.

Wed, 28 Sep 2022 12:00:00 +0100

Hannah was a guest on The RAG in June 2021 and she told the story of growing Meet, an international talent provider to the life sciences sector. At this point the business was 12 years old, 135 staff and multiple offices globally.

She ended the episode by telling me that they had significant and strategic growth plans. I wasn’t entirely sure what this meant as Hannah chose not to elaborate.

In September 2021, I realised why Hannah kept her cards so close to her chest, as Meet announced that lower mid-market private equity firm NorthEdge has backed the primary management buyout of the business.

It then all made sense that Hannah had to be very careful about what she said on The RAG, as the transaction was at a very critical point!

On this week’s episode I was so excited to have Hannah back on the show to talk about everything she couldn’t discuss last time.

We covered

-Why she felt the need to start the MBO process in the first place

-The reality of the process

-The impact on her life and family

-The moment the transaction completed

-What this means for her and her staff

-How she has now grown the business to 230 people (a net growth of 95 in 16 months)

-The working relationship with PE firms and why it can be an amazing one!

For anyone looking to buy or sell a recruitment business, here is another story that details out the reality of the process and offers huge advice based on real life experience!

Vincere

A message to all recruitment leaders looking to upgrade their CRM: Before you sign the contract, be sure to read the terms at least twice.

Common traps to watch:

- Not understanding the pricing model

- Discounts limited to only the 1st year of contract length

- Monthly contracts - this could mean flexibility for the vendor to raise prices

- Data hosting - anything outside your country could mean compliance & legal issues

Get Vincere’s 10-step guide to keep your vendor due diligence & evaluation process airtight: https://bit.ly/3C2G1s3

Season 6 | Ep 3 - Lloyd Gordon on the details of his acquisition of Cognitive Group and how his business is now 107 staff!

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 12:00:00 +0100

Lloyd is BACK! This is episode 3 with Lloyd, as he came onto the show twice in 2019.

In part 1, he was leading a small agency of 15 staff and spoke mainly about his career as a £1.6m biller and how/why he launched his original agency known as Focus Cloud.

In late 2019, he talked about the growth of his agency to over 30 people and how his dream was to build Focus Cloud to 100 staff in the future, by expanding into numerous cloud-based recruitment markets.

I had an absolute blast recording the first two episodes; from hilarious moments to some really hard-hitting deep revelations, Lloyd held nothing back.

On this week’s episode, Lloyd is back, but things are different. In the past 12 months, he has worked tirelessly to acquire the number one UK-based Microsoft recruitment partner known as Cognitive Group.

I have had the Founder & CEO of Cognitive Group Jon Keen on the RAG before and know the company well.

Lloyd shares the full story of how he acquired the business and became extremely close friends with Jon.

The newly created Focus Cloud Group now consists of over 107 staff, with Lloyd at the helm as Group CEO.

He has made his dream come true, but he is only just getting started!

This is another amazing episode with an incredible person, enjoy!

Talent Ticker

Looking for a way to grow your recruitment business in 2022? Talent Ticker is here to help.

Learn more at https://bit.ly/3DE7wLl and take advantage of their special offer for our listeners.

Season 6 | Ep 2 - Alex Odwell on building a truly automated system that generates shortlists in seconds and allows his lean team of senior recruiters to outperform the competition!

Wed, 14 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0100

On this week’s episode, I was delighted to be joined by Alex Odwell, Founder of fintech specialist recruitment agency Referment and most recently of tech business - Radar.

Alex has been in the recruitment industry for 14 years. Previously a member of the founding team at Harrington Starr group, he left to launch his own agency in 2016.

Referment was born to attract more candidates via referrals. As this is something every agency relies on, Alex was obsessed with making this process faster and more automated.

Alex wanted to build something totally different to what he had before. He specifically wanted a lean team with systemised processes that work behind the scenes to surface relevant candidates for every job that his recruiters are working on and track information automatically within the CRM.

Now, with 6 senior consultants each billing huge numbers, the investment in the technology has truly paid off.

As a result he is now launching - Radar, a recruitment optimisation tool built by former recruiters for recruiters.

Alex is a really honest and likeable guy who clearly understands the reality of running a modern day recruitment business.

This episode is not to be missed if you are wanting to be more efficient and productive whilst using the tools you already pay for!

Vincere

A message to all recruitment leaders looking to upgrade their CRM: Before you sign the contract, be sure to read the terms at least twice.

Common traps to watch:

- Not understanding the pricing model

- Discounts limited to only the 1st year of contract length

- Monthly contracts - this could mean flexibility for the vendor to raise prices

- Data hosting - anything outside your country could mean compliance & legal issues

Get Vincere’s 10-step guide to keep your vendor due diligence & evaluation process airtight: https://bit.ly/3C2G1s3

Season 6 | Ep 1 - Ed Rossiter on securing 1 million euros of investment to hire 250 recruiters in the next 3-5 years

Wed, 07 Sep 2022 12:00:00 +0100

We are back with season 6 and WHAT a guest to kick this season off!

In this season, we will be continually digging into the stories of amazing recruitment founders but also talking about the reality of today’s economy. If any changes are happening in our sector then I want to find out and bring it to you first.

On this week’s episode I was delighted to be joined by Ed Rossiter, Co-Founder & CEO of Phoenix Search, a specialist recruitment firm headquartered in Ireland but with offices in London and soon to be on the ground in the USA.

Although it’s only 4 years old, Phoenix Search has scaled to 45 people and in the past few months secured a 1 million euro investment to scale the business with a further 250 people in the next 3-5 years!

In this episode we spoke about:

-Ed’s start-up story and why he decided to start Phoenix

-The reality of the early days

-How he’s got the business to 45 staff in a short period of time

-Why and how he secured the 1 million euro investment

-How he intends to spend it

-His vision for the business

-The impact the recession is having on his business today and his thoughts on what could happen next

Featuring the first Irish guest on The RAG, this episode was packed full of information that I believe ALL potential and experienced recruitment owners will benefit from!

Talent Ticker

Looking for a way to grow your recruitment business in 2022? Talent Ticker is here to help.

Learn more at https://bit.ly/3DE7wLl and take advantage of their special offer for our listeners.

Season 5 | Ep 40 - Ben Wallin & Dan Cox on invoicing £1.7m in their first year in business despite only forecasting £200k!

Wed, 31 Aug 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On this week’s episode we wrap up Season 5 of the show in spectacular style!

I was honoured to be joined by Ben and Dan, Co-Founders of Edison Search a specialist IoT recruitment firm headquartered in Basingstoke UK with 20 staff within 14 months since inception.

Ben and Dan worked together for a long time in their previous company, Ben was head of perm and Dan was head of contract recruitment. Their skills were always complimentary to each other and they always talked about starting their own firm.

During the pandemic they had a group video call with their wives involved and made the decision to take the plunge - Edison Search was born!

In June 2021 they launched their business with a few simple goals for year 1

Be 100% niche in the IoT space and recruit exclusively into the US from Basingstoke
Invoice a minimum of £200k
Begin to hire people by the end of the year

They got to work in a small office and hit the phones hard, what happened next is nothing less than incredible.

They are now 20 staff and looking to open an office in the US in the next year.

A breath of fresh air to speak to, these owners are taking traditional methods but with a modern approach and it's working!

A huge inspiration for any start up founders and one to watch for more established businesses, you will not regret tuning into this one!

Vincere

A message to all recruitment leaders looking to upgrade their CRM: Before you sign the contract, be sure to read the terms at least twice.

Common traps to watch:

- Not understanding the pricing model

- Discounts limited to only the 1st year of contract length

- Monthly contracts - this could mean flexibility for the vendor to raise prices

- Data hosting - anything outside your country could mean compliance & legal issues

Get Vinvere’s10-step guide to keep your vendor due diligence & evaluation process airtight.: https://bit.ly/3C2G1s3

Season 5 | Ep 39 - Rogier Rouppe van der Voort on working his way up to becoming a CEO at age 33!

Wed, 24 Aug 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I was joined by Rogier, the CEO of PCN Recruitment, a payments sector specialist recruitment agency with 30+ staff across offices in Amsterdam, Berlin and the USA.

Rogier joined the business as an entry-level recruiter 9 years ago. He knew he wanted to work in sales and was keen on the payments sector - but he had no interest in staying in recruitment!

When he heard about PCN he decided it would be a clever move to join as his first job. He worked as the first employee, working directly for the founder, and had the most incredible education in the process.

His journey is inspiring to every person who doesn’t necessarily want to launch their own agency but is excited to stay on the journey with their current business!

Sponsor:

Looking for a way to grow your recruitment business in 2022? Talent Ticker is here to help.

Learn more at get.talentticker.ai/hoxo and take advantage of their special offer for our listeners.

Season 5 | Ep 38 - Chris O’Connell on how he went from owning a £25m recruitment agency to a painful exit and subsequent suicide attempts

Wed, 17 Aug 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On this week’s episode, I was joined by Chris O’Connell, a Leadership Coach, NED 🚀 and the host of The Purpose-Led Leadership Podcast.

A top billing recruiter at S3, in his early 20s Chris co-founded Timothy James Recruitment, which he and his business partner grew to £25 million in turnover within 9 years.

Chris had a life where he focused on the business 100% and sacrificed all else.

Over the next 3 years, everything came crashing down:

He had a painful exit from the business
His marriage ended
He left the family home
He tried to commit suicide

Thankfully, Chris managed to turn his life around and now works with recruitment businesses to ensure that they grow sustainably and avoid the mistakes that he made!

A super open and vulnerable guy who is an inspiration for many around the world, I hope you enjoy this episode as we can all no doubt relate to many of Chris’s experiences!

Vincere

A message to all recruitment leaders looking to upgrade their CRM: Before you sign the contract, be sure to read the terms at least twice.

Common traps to watch:

- Not understanding the pricing model

- Discounts limited to only the 1st year of contract length

- Monthly contracts - this could mean flexibility for the vendor to raise prices

- Data hosting - anything outside your country could mean compliance & legal issues

Get Vinvere’s10-step guide to keep your vendor due diligence & evaluation process airtight.: https://bit.ly/3C2G1s3

Season 5 | Ep 37 - Toni Phoenix-Coles on her journey from senior consultant to MD of Digital Gurus whilst growing a family at the same time!

Wed, 27 Jul 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I was joined by Toni, the Managing Director of Digital Gurus, a specialist Tech & Digital recruiter with 66 staff across offices in Manchester, London, Bristol and Birmingham.

Toni joined the business as a Senior Consultant 11 years ago. She’d had a successful career in recruitment in Leeds and fancied a change of company and city.

Little did she know when she arrived in Manchester that she would end up managing the whole business!

In this episode we discussed how she:

Entered the industry because she knew that earning money was the top priority for her after university.
Moved to ReThink Group (DG) and settled in Manchester
Took on a leadership role and realised that she loved the challenge more than being an individual biller
Nearly quit to go travelling but was offered the chance to take DG to Manchester and changed her mind
Has grown into the MD and had 2 children in the same period
Maintains her family as her priority and is focused on finding a great balance between home and work life
Is taking the whole of August off work to travel with her kids during the summer!

An inspirational female business leader, we need more examples like Toni to make a positive change in our male dominated industry!

Sponsor:

Looking for a way to grow your recruitment business in 2022? Talent Ticker is here to help.

Learn more at get.talentticker.ai/hoxo and take advantage of their special offer for our listeners.

Season 5 | Ep 36 - Kyle Winterbottom returns to discuss how Orbition has generated 100% of its 7 figure revenue as a direct result of his brand

Wed, 20 Jul 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On this week’s episode, I was joined by Kyle Winterbottom, the Founder of Orbition Group, a specialist Data & Analytics recruitment agency with 10 staff based in Manchester.

Kyle first came on The RAG Podcast in November 2020 when his agency was less than 3 months old. Kyle was a member of the Hoxo Academy back then and was beginning to win business using his daily Linkedin content in addition to his marketing events and podcast that he was already running.

In 18 months, he has managed to grow the business to a team of 10 and can track 100% of the revenue back to his brand!

In this episode, we discussed:

The growth from recruiting in his mother-in-law’s back bedroom to a swanky city centre office
How his brand has brought in global retainers and multi-hire projects
Being the first recruiter to ever be selected in the ‘Data IQ 100 Most Influential People in Data 2022’
The reality of personally earning less than during his agency career due to reinvestment and cash flow issues
Some super low moments he experienced over the past 6 months and is grateful for the support of his coach and his wife when times get tough

Kyle is a down-to-earth guy who is doing some amazing things with his brand right now. Plenty of established businesses should listen to this episode to learn how he leverages his brand to win bigger projects!

Vincere

If you're following Vincere’s LinkedIn page, you'll notice that they’ve been sharing stories from their customer community on a weekly basis.

If you're shopping for a CRM or wondering if there's something better out there, check out Vincere. They have a library of customer stories from all sectors and recruitment types, be it perm, exec, contract and temp, available on Youtube: https://bit.ly/3uYdZM7

Season 5 | Ep 35 - Lawrence Rose & Elliot Payne on going into business as life long best mates and achieving £1m GP in their first full year during a pandemic!

Wed, 13 Jul 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I was joined by Lawrence & Elliot, the founders of Arto Recruitment, a specialist life science recruitment agency. The business is headquartered in Canterbury, Kent and expanded to more than 23 staff in just over 2 years of existence during the pandemic!

Lawrence and Elliot have been best mates since they were 3 years old! Their story is one of real trust, ambition and friendship.

People say to never go into business with friends, but these guys are proving it can work.

I met Lawrence at a property development course in 2017 and we have been friends ever since - I am so happy to bring him and Elliot onto the show!

In this episode they discuss how they:

- Grew up together and never spent any time apart

- Started in recruitment and both flew up the ranks at Phaidon International

- Decided to move back to Kent and commute 2 hours each way to London daily

- Kicked off Arto a month before Covid-19 happened and what life was like for them

- Had to work in UK perm when their whole experience was in EU contract recruitment

- Hit £1m GP and bought sports cars to celebrate

- Plan to grow in the UK and the USA to begin with!

Don’t miss this conversation with two friends of mine who I am convinced are building a real powerhouse recruitment agency for the future. Enjoy!!

Season 5 | Ep 34 - Matthew Baird on the reality of both the highs and lows of his first 16 months as a solo recruitment owner

Wed, 06 Jul 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On this week’s episode, I was joined by Matthew Baird, the Founder of Baird & Co Recruitment, which is part of District4.

Matt has been in recruitment since 2012 and has worked for a number of agencies recruiting into the social housing sector.

During the pandemic, he became disillusioned with working for other people, and at a time of real uncertainty he made the bold and scary decision to start up alone…

However, he didn’t have the finances or the knowledge to manage all areas of the start-up process, so he decided to partner with our sponsor District4.

In this episode, we discussed the reality of his first 16 months as a business owner, which have included a number of highs and lows.

Most notably, I found out that:

His first deal happened within 3 weeks and was his largest EVER deal!
He took his foot off the gas during the summer as things were going well, which began to bite him in Q3 when sales dried up and he made no deals for 2 months!
He worked with his District4 coach to build a robust plan that works for him to drive successful outcomes daily

Matt is another great example of what it takes to thrive in today’s recruitment start-up community. If you would like to speak to Matt directly about his story or D4, then feel free to contact him directly via LinkedIn!

Vincere

If you're following Vincere’s LinkedIn page, you'll notice that they’ve been sharing stories from their customer community on a weekly basis.

Season 5 | Ep 33 - Jamie Trevett & Tony Robbins on taking a huge risk during the pandemic to keep the business alive - and it worked!

Wed, 29 Jun 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I was joined by Jamie & Tony, the founders of The Just Group, a specialist group of construction recruitment brands headquartered in Bromley, Kent with 24 staff which launched in 2012.

Jamie & Tony launched the business with a 3rd partner Alan, and up until the pandemic things were going great! However, Covid hit the business for six and they quickly dropped to 6 staff and had to re-evaluate everything.

In this episode they discuss how they:

Dealt with the pandemic and questioned their business direction
Parted ways with Alan, their business partner, due to a conflict
Took out a huge loan to keep the business alive and support their people
Went back into lockdown in Jan 2021, which brought huge fear and anxiety
Changed the business completely and have grown to their biggest ever since this time
Want to enjoy the journey and enjoy life whilst building the business sustainably

They’re great guys with a genuine story of ups and downs, I’m sure we can all relate to their journey!

Sponsor:

Looking for a way to grow your recruitment business in 2022? Talent Ticker is here to help.

Learn more at get.talentticker.ai/hoxo and take advantage of their special offer for our listeners.

Season 5 | Ep 32 - Anthony Webster on his story of coming out as gay and the impact this has had on his recruitment career!

Wed, 22 Jun 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On this week’s episode, I was joined by Anthony Webster, the MD of DVF recruitment and Board Member of Career Legal Group - which has several recruitment entities in London with a collective staff of 50 people.

Anthony was my colleague for almost 5 years and is also a true friend.

Anthony, alongside Amar and I, was originally going to be a founder of Hoxo - the recruitment agency - in 2017. However, in late 2016 he decided to pull out after lengthy discussions and realising he could not commit to this whilst he had other things to achieve.

What I didn’t realise was that Ant was in fact ready to come out as gay to the world. This included his family, friends and colleagues

In this episode, we discussed the reality of his journey both growing up and working in recruitment whilst hiding his true self.

5 years on from coming out and he is a much happier person! Super successful as always, he is living a life that is 100% authentic and it is clear to see.

June is Pride Month and both Ant and I wanted to share this story to raise awareness and help others!

If you would like to speak to Ant directly about his story or D&I in the workplace then feel free to contact him directly via LinkedIn!

Vincere

If you're following Vincere on their LinkedIn page, you'll notice that they’ve been sharing stories from their customer community on a weekly basis.

If you're shopping for a CRM or wondering if there's something better out there. Check out Vincere. They have a library of customer stories from all sectors and recruitment types, perm, exec, contract and temp, available on Youtube

District4:

Do you feel like you’re not surrounded by peers and you’ve stopped learning? Imagine only working alongside other experienced recruiters who you can really collaborate with, while having the freedom to do work your way. If you’re thinking of a change, check out District4, where you can launch your own business and not be alone!

Visit www.district4.io/hoxo to see what they can do for you.

Season 5 | Ep 31 - Jez Heard on billing £500k in his first 6 months as an agency owner at the age of 24!

Wed, 15 Jun 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I was joined by Jez Heard, the founder of Scale-Genesis, a specialist Blockchain & Crypto recruitment agency launched in November 2021

Jez is a 24 -year old lad from South Wales who is direct and honest! He only started in Recruitment in 2020 during the pandemic, and within less than 1 year decided to set up his own business

He worked 14-hour days, 7 days a week

He researched Blockchain and Crypto every single day

He built his personal brand on LinkedIn

In 6 months he has

Billed £500k+
Hired 6 recruiters
Built a personal brand reaching over 250k views a month across the recruitment industry which has helped him hire ALL his consultants and brought in 5 deals worth £100k

Jez is young, ambitious and probably a bit crazy - but it’s working!

An episode not to be missed, if you would like to speak to Jez about his story then you can contact him directly on Linkedin!

Sponsor:

Looking for a way to grow your recruitment business in 2022? Talent Ticker is here to help.

Learn more at get.talentticker.ai/hoxo and take advantage of their special offer for our listeners.

Season 5 | Ep 30 - Nader Beshara on growing to 10 staff at his own pace during the pandemic!

Wed, 08 Jun 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On today’s episode I was joined by Nader Beshara, the CoFounder and Director of Ingham Jones a start up financial services, risk, technology and compliance global recruitment search firm with 10 people headquartered in Brighton UK.

Nader has been an avid listener of The RAG and I was delighted to hear that listening to the show has helped him a lot since launching in November 2020.

We discussed the reality of his journey since launching during the pandemic and here are a few highlights

- Launching in covid was an amazing time to do it as he was literally missing out on NOTHING in life whilst working all hours he could

- He and Jermaine his business partner hit their annual target inside 12 months

- He has loved the entrepreneurial experience to date and would recommend it to any recruiter whos questioning their plan right now

- He is growing but stressed that it will be at their own pace and they won’t try and follow the ‘growth crowd’ that we see in our sector

Super honest and genuine, Nader is a recent and relevant example of what is possible with the right attitude as a start up recruitment founder!

Season 5 | Ep 29 - Harry & Rex from Rec Hub on why focusing on your staff being HAPPY first leads to success and not the other way around!

Wed, 01 Jun 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast I was joined by Harry Bigwood and Rex Rusling.

Along with Ben Leeson, these guys founded The Rec Hub at the end of 2018 originally as a contingent agency.

Soon they decided to flip the model to become an “Embedded Talent Partner” to Tech start & scale ups and have since grown to 50 people!

In this episode we break down their decision to change the model and how this has helped them grow (it hasn’t been easy, I can assure you).

We also talk about the philosophy of growing the business as they all believe that focusing on your staff being HAPPY first leads to success. Not the other way around!

Have you worked in an agency where people believe that once they hit targets they will be happy? I think we all have.. These guys are challenging that notion and I love it!

Young, ambitious and innovative founders, these guys are a true reflection of all I love about this industry!

If you would like to speak to Harry or Rex about their story then you can contact them directly on Linkedin!

Sponsor:

Looking for a way to grow your recruitment business in 2022? Talent Ticker is here to help.

Learn more at get.talentticker.ai/hoxo and take advantage of their special offer for our listeners.

Season 5 | Ep 28 - Matthew Eames on why he still loves the daily challenge of growing Eames Group after 20 years since inception!!

Wed, 25 May 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On today’s episode I was joined by Matthew Eames, the Founder and CEO of Eames Group, a global insurance and financial services recruitment agency with circa 140 people across UK, EU, Asia and now the USA

Matthew was a guest on The RAG in Feb 2019 and whilst the business was a similar size back then, things were very different. Most notably:

- Matt was not the CEO at the time and spent 50% of his time externally facing in business development and exec search

- The business operated 5 days a week in the office

- Matthew personally had a 3-hour daily commute

Now approaching the 20-year anniversary of the business, Matt is again the CEO and more excited about the growth journey than ever.

Whilst grand exit plans seem to be on the agenda for most owners in our industry, Matthew proves that you may enjoy the role too much to want to step away any time soon!

Vincere

If you're following Vincere on their LinkedIn page, you'll notice that they’ve been sharing stories from their customer community on a weekly basis.

District4

Visit www.district4.io/hoxo to see what they can do for you.

Season 5 | Ep 27 - - Jake Anderson on burnout, depression, anxiety, insomnia, Covid and winding down a 7-figure global agency….

Wed, 18 May 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast I was joined by Jake, my little brother.

One of the most charismatic and successful guys I know (and annoyingly good-looking!)

We got into recruitment in Melbourne together in 2011.

Later in Sydney, Jake became a recruitment owner in his mid 20's, but in 2016 he sold his shares in TheDriveGroup.

He was building a great business but, for some reason, he wasn't happy.

He put this down to being 'home sick' and moved back to the UK.

In 2017 he launched One Life Social Media – a fast-growing 7-figure global digital marketing agency in the fitness industry.

With no experience in the industry, he built a business that operated in 20 countries with over 600 clients, helping them with customer acquisition and lead generation online.

He led a team of 20+ people too, all before the age of 30.

Jake had all the extrinsic measures of success that society says we need to find fulfillment and happiness – wealth, status, validation from others, approval, a growing company, recognition, etc.

But something wasn't right.

Over the next 2 years, Jake’s life completely changed forever.

He suffered the most severe anxiety and depression I have ever witnessed. Due to this, the pandemic, and realising he simply wasn’t happy and needed to change, Jake closed down his second business.

I have watched him focus on recovering and embark on a journey of reconnecting to his mind, body, soul, health, consciousness, relationships, and life.

I am so happy and proud to say that now he is a completely different person from two years ago.

He is happy, healthy and present.

Jake is now dedicating his life to helping other high performers who are suffering from the same issues of burnout, anxiety, and depression.

I am going to warn you that this is an extremely raw account directly from Jake.

He talks about the pain he suffered.

How he even had suicidal thoughts (this breaks my heart.)

But it’s all true and I feel like the future is bright.

If you would like to speak to Jake about his story or his coaching services then you can contact him directly on Linkedin here or via his website www.onelifemindsetcoaching.com

Recorded during Mental Health Awareness week. If this helps just one person in any way then I know Jake and I will be delighted!

Sponsor:

Looking for a way to grow your recruitment business in 2022? Talent Ticker is here to help.

Learn more at get.talentticker.ai/hoxo and take advantage of their special offer for our listeners.

Season 5 | Ep 26 - Joshua Rayner on why his franchisee model was completely broken, restructuring his agency, and rapidly growing to 20 x self-employed ‘licensees’!

Wed, 11 May 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On this episode of The RAG Podcast I was joined by Joshua Rayner, the Founder & CEO of Rayner Personnel, a specialist in UK Property Recruitment.

I originally interviewed Josh in February of 2019 in my first Hoxo office in London.

At the time, Josh had a team of 13 who were all operating as franchisees. This involved buying into the business and scaling a branch of RP in their specific geographical area of the UK.

In the first year, this approach appeared to be working (listen to the first episode for more on that!).

But in late 2019, it was clear that he had the wrong model and the wrong people.

As the pandemic began, Josh made the bold decision to release all but one of the franchisees and start again.

He redesigned his business model whilst at home and went out on a mission to grow.

Since then, he has built a team of 20 self-employed licensees, making a small change to the old model with huge benefits for Josh and his people.

In 2021, he wrote a book about his journey as a serial recruitment agency owner - The Recruitment Rollercoaster is available via Amazon and is a current best seller! All the proceeds from sales go to Mind Charity.

A really interesting story with a unique approach to scaling a recruitment firm!

The RAG sponsors

Vincere:

Vincere have refreshed their homepage! They’ve redesigned their look and feel to incorporate the full universe of tools in their stable. Vincere’s platform has evolved so much over the past year that their website and branding needed to catch up. The new visuals are a clear reference to the solar system, with the Vincere CRM/ATS at the core and all their other modules working in harmony around it. Go check it out at https://www.vincere.io/ -

If you’d like to request a demo, follow this link https://www.vincere.io/rag - they’ve got an exclusive deal for RAG listeners!

District4:

Visit www.district4.io/hoxo to see what they can do for you.

Season 5 | Ep 25 - Dan Taylor on being a Recruitment "in-trepreneur"- showing that you don't have to start your own agency to have a hugely successful career in the recruitment industry

Wed, 04 May 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's episode, I was joined by Dan Taylor, MD of Morgan Hunt, a UK Public Sector specialist agency with 150 staff.

Dan started at Hays in 1996 and has worked his way through many positions in his 26-year career.

In 2018 he became MD of Morgan Hunt and has been on a journey to change the business for the better.

Dan shares his unique insights into leading a large recruitment agency on a daily basis and how he never actually considered starting his own agency.

His reason - he wanted to work at scale from day 1 and this is rarely possible with a start-up business.

A genuine, warm, and inspiring story from someone who shines positivity onto our sector.

Season 5 | Ep 24 - Emrah Baykal on building a recruitment agency that truly invests in the health and wellness of the staff and doesn’t revolve around booze and billers lunches!

Wed, 27 Apr 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On this episode of The RAG Podcast, I was joined by Emrah Baykal, the Founder & CEO of RO, a specialist energy-focused recruitment agency. The agency is based in London & Houston with 10 staff, and is part of the Tempting Ventures Group of over 80 recruiters.

Emrah is the first to admit that in the early days of his recruitment career, he loved a billers’ lunch or two.

In the first couple of years as owner of RO, he would find any excuse to take his team out for drinks (mainly because he fancied one!).

However, his attitude to all of this changed during the pandemic, as he began to exercise daily with a colleague.

Emrah began running and weightlifting and taking his nutrition more seriously. He began to develop better habits and in turn feel much healthier for it.

Since then, he has implemented some amazing ideas to ensure his own team follows suit and adopts a healthy lifestyle!

This was a great episode and one for any owner who is seriously thinking about changing their own lifestyle and the culture within their business!

The RAG sponsors

Vincere:

Vincere refreshed their homepage - galaxy/Nasa space vibes theme.

Vincere’s platform has evolved so much over the past year and their website, new modules, and branding needed to reflect that.

They've refreshed their visuals and the product diagram. What you see is a reference to the solar system. With Vincere CRM/ATS as the core and all the other modules working in harmony around it - just like nature intended.

Go check it out: https://www.vincere.io/

If you’d like to request a demo, follow this link https://www.vincere.io/rag - they’ve got an exclusive deal for RAG listeners.

District4:

Do you feel like you’re not surrounded by peers and you’ve stopped learning? Imagine only working alongside other experienced recruiters who you can really collaborate with while having the freedom to do it your way. If you’re thinking of a change, check out District4, where you can launch your own business and not be alone!

Visit www.district4.io/hoxo to see what they can do for you.

Season 5 | Ep 23 - Chris Sheard on building a socially responsible recruitment brand that has found it relatively easy to recruit strong, experienced recruiters!

Wed, 13 Apr 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On this week's episode I was joined by Chris Sheard, the founder of SR2 Recruitment, a 54 person agency with offices in Bristol, London and soon to be opening in Austin TX.

Launched in the middle of 2017, the business is almost 4.5 yrs old and has grown extremely well in that period.

In this episode Chris shares the story of why he decided to build a rec agency that gives 5% of operating profit to charity and the impact of having such a clear and powerful mission.

Across the industry, attracting internal talent is arguably the most difficult thing right now. Hiring strong recruiters will allow any agency to capitalise on the crazy opportunity in the market today

SR2 have been hugely successful in attracting experienced talent and believe their brand is the secret weapon!

The RAG sponsor

Looking for ways to stay ahead of your competition in 2022? Talent Ticker is here to help.

Through the end of this month, any Hoxo listeners who request a demo of Talent Ticker will receive a free, personalised list of leads to help them get a jump on the rest of the year.

Talent Ticker is the world’s first recruitment intelligence platform, providing you with accurate contact information for passive candidates and matching them with companies looking to hire them.

What is unique to Talent Ticker is that they predict when a company will be hiring whilst giving you the projected hiring roles and contact info for the hiring managers.

Any recruiter who uses this tool will be calling the right person, at the right time and for the right reason. Don't wait. Head over to get.talentticker.ai/hoxo/ and claim your free leads today.

Season 5 | Ep 22 - Ed Stevens on building his second recruitment group to over 1000 staff (without hiring a single employee with recruitment experience along the way)

Wed, 06 Apr 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On this episode of The RAG Podcast, I was joined by Ed Stevens, the Founder of 94 Group, a specialist group of recruitment agencies in London with 50 staff.

This isn’t the first time Ed has built up a successful recruitment business. He launched, grew, and sold his shares in Eximius Group over 8 years between 2008 and 2016.

Ed is honestly one of the most impressive recruitment owners I have ever met.

His approach to growing this business is crystal clear:

He is the ONLY shareholder and ONLY person with recruitment experience.

The result is a genuine opportunity for hyper-fast career growth and equity for his business and the people that work in it.

If you have aspirations of growing a future or current recruitment company, you NEED to tune in to this one!

The RAG sponsors

Vincere:

If you're a recruiter looking to switch careers and move to Tech, this is your chance. Vincere is hiring for a variety of roles across all their offices. There are opportunities to join their Sales, Customer Success and Implementation teams. Learn more about Vincere on their LinkedIn or Instagram for behind-the-scenes updates. Their careers page is here: https://careers.vincere-digital.io/join-the-team

District4:

Do you feel like you’re not surrounded by peers and you’ve stopped learning? Imagine only working alongside other experienced recruiters who you can really collaborate with while having the freedom to do it your way. If you’re thinking of a change, check out District4 where you can launch your own business and not be alone!

Visit www.district4.io/hoxo to see what they can do for you.

Season 5 | Ep 21 - Liam Thomas on the reality of leading his agency whilst losing his business partner after a 7 year battle with cancer

Wed, 30 Mar 2022 12:00:00 +0100

This week's episode was one that I wanted to have but was also really nervous about. It is without a doubt the most emotional and heartbreaking conversation I have ever recorded.

I was joined by Liam Thomas, the Founder of Highfield Professional Solutions & Data X Connect, a specialist recruitment agency headquartered on the South Coast of England with 45 staff.

Liam launched the business with his mate and business partner, Sam Hughes, 15 years ago when they were both 25 and fearless!

A classic recruitment founder story.

But in 2014, when the business was well-established and growing, Sam was diagnosed with Stage 4 Bowel Cancer. The diagnosis changed everything for them.

Over the next 7 years, Sam battled everything that came his way and the business continued to grow. Liam admits he was in denial and always believed his partner and friend would be back to work full time again one day.

In September 2021, Sam lost his life after an incredible fight.

In this episode Liam talks about it all: when they started the business, coping with the diagnosis, and dealing with the reality of losing Sam.

There were tears shed during the recording and I hope it moves you as much as it moved me.

I am so proud of Liam for speaking about this and I am sure you will be too.

The RAG sponsors

District4

Do you feel like you’re not surrounded by peers and you’ve stopped learning? Imagine only working alongside other experienced recruiters who you can really collaborate with while having the freedom to do it your way. If you’re thinking of a change, check out District4 where you can launch your own business and not be alone!

Visit www.district4.io/hoxo for more info

Vincere

Vincere.io published a playbook, like a buyers guide, for those shopping around for a new system. Inside you will find:

- ROI-driven strategy to building out a comprehensive feature checklist

- How to assemble an effective CRM evaluation team

- Battle-tested compliance & security vendor scorecards

- Understanding inclusion versus integration

- Power plays & frameworks for vendor due diligence

Download here: https://bit.ly/3C2G1s3

Go to www.vincere.io/rag to book a demo - RAG listeners get an exclusive deal!

Season 5 | Ep 20 - Adrian Carboni on why he walked away from over £1m worth of shares to launch his own agency!

Wed, 23 Mar 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On today’s episode of The RAG Podcast I was joined by Adrian Carboni, the founder and CEO of Masento, a specialist technology recruitment agency in London.

Adrian launched Masento 5 years ago after a 15-year career with his previous employer!

From being one of the top billers in the company to leading the most profitable division, Adrian was granted shares in the business that were projected to yield life-changing returns.

In this episode, Adrian talks at length about the reasons for walking away from the business and what he has learned from 5 years of leading a growing recruitment agency.

Honest, humble, and always adding humour, it's no surprise that Adrian and his team are onto something special!

The RAG sponsors

Vincere:

Nailing your CRM tech strategy Playbook

Vincere published a playbook, like a buyers guide, for those shopping around for a new system.

Inside you will find:

ROI-driven strategy to building out a comprehensive feature checklist
How to assemble an effective CRM evaluation team
Battle-tested compliance & security vendor scorecards
Understanding inclusion versus integration
Power plays & frameworks for vendor due diligence

Download here: https://bit.ly/3C2G1s3

Go to www.vincere.io/rag to book a demo - RAG listeners get an exclusive deal!

District 4

Do you feel like you’re not surrounded by peers and you’ve stopped learning? Imagine only working alongside other experienced recruiters who you can really collaborate with while having the freedom to do it your way. If you’re thinking of a change check out District4 where you can launch your own business and not be alone!

Visit www.district4.io/hoxo to see what they can do for you.

Season 5 | Ep 19 - Spencer Knibbe on his move from working as Head of Risk for global investment management firms to building his own talent sourcing and advisory business in the same space!

Wed, 16 Mar 2022 12:00:00 +0100

In this week's episode, I’m excited to be joined by Spencer Knibbe, the Founder of MBK Search.

Headquartered in NYC, the business now has 13 staff and has just opened its UK operation in 2022, intending to expand into APAC next year.

As a listener of the show, Spencer and I connected recently and I was blown away by his story!

Spencer never worked in recruitment for anyone else. After a successful career as the Head of Risk for a number of investment management powerhouses like Bridgewater and ICAP, he decided to go alone and launch his own advisory practice.

Within 12 months he noticed each client wanted to hire him to run their practice and he was instead finding them other candidates to fill the mandate. It was then that the idea for MBK Search was born.

MBK’s story is unique in many ways, and it is one of the first US firms I know that have moved to the UK to expand – it’s typically the other way around :)

Spencer is a humble, motivated and honest guy. Anyone looking to hire people from within the industry and convert to recruitment NEEDS to listen to this episode!

Enjoy!

The RAG sponsor

It’s no secret that recruiters are notoriously time-poor, with highly demanding goals they must achieve to be successful.

Talent Ticker was specifically designed to help recruiters get ahead of their most time-intensive tasks like sourcing and prospecting, by providing them with:

Powerful predictive intelligence;
A candidate database of more than 600 million profiles;
And integrations with popular recruitment tools.

Any recruiter who uses this tool will be calling the right person, at the right time and for the right reason.

Request a demo at TalentTicker.ai and mention Hoxo for a free personalised leads list of candidates or hiring managers.

Season 5 | Ep 18 - Lysha Holmes on tragically losing her dad to Cancer in October 2021 and why we are together taking action to raise funds and awareness for Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund!

Wed, 09 Mar 2022 12:00:00 +0100

On a special episode of The RAG Podcast this week, I am joined by fellow Recruitment Podcast Host - Lysha Holmes!

Lysha is a great friend of Hoxo and myself and we were deeply saddened to hear the news of her father passing away to cancer in October last year! He was diagnosed at such a late stage that the family did not get the time with him that they would have wanted.

On 29th April this year, a small group of us will be raising awareness and money for the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund - visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/quirecruitmenthoxorammytohale2022 to find out more!

The RAG sponsors

Vincere:

Nailing your CRM tech strategy Playbook

We've just published a brand new playbook, like a buyers guide, for those shopping around for a new system. Inside they will find:

ROI-driven strategy to building out a comprehensive feature checklist
How to assemble an effective CRM evaluation team
Battle-tested compliance & security vendor scorecards
Understanding inclusion versus integration
Power plays & frameworks for vendor due diligence

Download here: https://bit.ly/3C2G1s3

Go to www.vincere.io/rag to book a demo - RAG listeners get an exclusive deal!

District 4:

District4 support experienced recruiters who want to launch their own businesses. They offer an impressive start-up package which includes back office support, coaching, and help choosing and implementing new technology.

Launching a business successfully takes a lot of hard work and preparation. Even if you aren’t ready right now, get the support you need sooner and you’ll stand the best chance of success when the time is right.

Visit www.district4.io/hoxo to see what they can do for you.

Season 5 | Ep 17 - Stuart White on his journey from starting Provide 21 years ago and his current role post acquisition by TXM Group!

Mon, 07 Mar 2022 06:00:00 +0100

On this week's episode, I am excited to be joined by Stuart the Co-Founder and Director of Provide

With 21 years since starting the business, Stuart has seen pretty much everything there is to see in a growing recruitment agency

Most interestingly, post acquisition by TXM Group, Stuart moved into a new role as Director of Strategic Partnerships - leading their RPO division. I am super excited to hear the story of this change!

The RAG sponsor

It’s no secret that recruiters are notoriously time-poor, with highly demanding goals they must achieve to be successful.

Talent Ticker was specifically designed to help recruiters get ahead of their most time-intensive tasks, like sourcing and prospecting, by providing recruiters with:

powerful predictive intelligence
a candidate database of more than 600 million profiles
and integrations with popular recruitment tools

Any recruiter who uses this tool will be calling the right person, at the right time and for the right reason.

Request a demo at TalentTicker.ai and mention Hoxo for a free personalised leads list of candidates or hiring managers.

Season 5 | Ep 16 - Sean Anderson (me) on 5 weekly tips any recruiter can adopt to build a personal brand on LinkedIn!

Mon, 21 Feb 2022 06:00:00 +0100

On a special episode of The RAG Podcast this week, I want to share with you my talk at the Recruitment Agency Expo 2022 in London.

“The 5 Weekly Habits All Recruiters Need To Build A Winning Personal Brand On LinkedIn”

Company pages don't get a lot of engagement on LinkedIn. The recruiters in your business are the best way of getting your brand's message to market. Every consultant you employ has a platform to reach thousands of people, and there is a formula to follow for success.

I talked through several simple but SUPER effective tips you can use right away to start driving more leads and closing more deals from LinkedIn activity.

I hope you find it valuable!

The RAG sponsors

Vincere:

For the very first time, Vincere is giving their customers direct access to their product teams (and vice versa!). They’re opening up their roadmap for customers on a product portal. It's a place for Vinny customers to have a say on upcoming features and shape the direction of their all in one #RecOS platform. Find out more here: https://portal.productboard.com/vkbt4oj2lbnswyuqsn1a69ys

Go to www.vincere.io/rag to book a demo - RAG listeners get an exclusive deal!

District 4:

Visit www.district4.io/hoxo to see what they can do for you.

Season 5 | Ep 15 - Tom Hibberd shares his secrets to scaling Precision Resource Group (PRG) to 175 staff in 12 years

Mon, 14 Feb 2022 06:00:00 +0100

I was joined by Tom Hibberd - Founding Director at Precision Resource Group (PRG) parent company to Panoramic Associates, iO Associates, Panoramic Care and Finitas.

With 20 years in the recruitment industry, like so many other successful owners, Tom started his career at S3 before going alone.

In 2009, Tom jointly founded Panoramic Associates and spent the first 2 years enjoying life as a small and extremely profitable recruitment agency.

After significant success and exciting growth within the senior level staffing sector, Tom took the strategic decision to form a group company, Precision Resource Group (PRG) to house, Panoramic Associates, iO Associates, Panoramic Care and Finitas.

The RAG sponsor

Valentine’s Day is coming up quick, and our sponsor Talent Ticker is here to help you find your special someone. That “someone” being your next big client.

To help you make more meaningful connections this year, Talent Ticker is providing an exclusive list of the Top 50 fastest growing start-ups all recruiters should know. Their data indicates that these companies are all on the brink of a significant expansion and perfectly primed to decide on a recruitment partner.

Download the list for free at: get.talentticker.ai/hoxo

Season 5 | Ep 14 - James Osborne on his predictions for the global recruitment market in 2022!

Mon, 07 Feb 2022 06:00:00 +0100

This week's episode sees the return of a great friend and one of the recruitment industry’s most trusted advisors: the one and only James Osborne is back on The RAG Podcast!

James is the Chairman of The Recruitment Network, a global community of almost 9,000 active recruiters, managers, and business leaders.

We discussed how mad the market was in 2021, what James expects to see as the next big thing appearing on the recruitment industry’s horizon, and why candidate short markets shouldn’t be a problem for recruiters - it’s precisely the environment we were meant to operate in!

Not only that, but when you’re running businesses and building communities, how do you make time for yourself? Your family? The things you enjoy in life?

James is a value machine, and there’s plenty of useful takeaways and insights in this conversation. Get stuck in!

The RAG sponsors

Vincere will be exhibiting at the Recruitment Agency Expo on the 9th of February, stand C20. Drop by to see all the latest ways you could improve your recruitment website, including: shift schedulers, automation tools, and video interviewing.

Go to www.vincere.io/rag to book a demo - RAG listeners get an exclusive deal!

District4 provide the vital structural and back office support you need to launch a recruitment business successfully. They also work with up and running brands that may need a little extra help in one or two key areas.

If you've recently launched a recruitment business and are finding some of the less glamorous aspects a challenge, speak to District4 today to find out how they can help. And get back to focusing on what you love most: running your business.

Visit www.district4.io/hoxo for more information.

Season 5 | Ep 13 - Clare Cooper (Part 3) on her experience of the first 12 months after launching Storm3 and reaching 60 people across London, Amsterdam, Dallas and Singapore!

Mon, 31 Jan 2022 06:00:00 +0100

This week we welcome Clare Cooper back to The RAG Podcast for a third time!

Clare is the founder of Storm3, the second brand in the Levin group.

I first interviewed Clare when she was a global lead for one of the world's most recognised recruitment brands.

Clare launched Storm3 in Feb 2021, and I interviewed her for the second time just 4 weeks later - when she was the only employee of the business!

Today, Storm3 is 60 people strong, with teams in London, Amsterdam, Dallas, and Singapore. By the end of April, they’ll have reached 150 heads.

Doing the first few months solo before immediately entering a period of hypergrowth, it is safe to say it’s been a hectic year.

Clare’s previous episodes have been some of the most listened to in RAG history, and this one doesn’t disappoint.

The world is watching the growth of Storm3 with real interest. Find out why as we dive into Clare’s story!

The RAG episode 13 sponsor

Did you know: around 80% of people abandon their New Year’s resolutions by February? That’s a staggering statistic. Especially if you’d resolved to grow your recruitment business this year.

To support your growth goals in 2022, Talent Ticker is providing an exclusive list of the Top 50 fastest growing start-ups all recruiters should know about. Their data indicates these companies are all on the brink of a significant expansion, and are perfectly primed to decide on a recruitment partner.

You can download the list for free at: https://get.talentticker.ai/hoxo/

Season 5 | Ep 12 - Alex Zoboli on building one of the fastest growing agencies in Japan reaching 40+ staff in the last 2 years with 100% of the team being in the office!

Mon, 24 Jan 2022 06:00:00 +0100

Our first episode of 2022 and what a cracker to be kicking off with!

I was delighted to be joined by Alex Zoboli, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Cornerstone Recruitment Japan K.K.

Alex and his business partner scaled their previous recruitment business in Japan from 20 to 200 people and opened their own business only 2 years ago.

Already 40 people and looking to grow again to 200 as fast as possible!

It was super exciting to find out more about his story to date, secrets to success and plans moving forward.

One thing I really respected about Alex was his conviction in the strategy behind HOW his team operates post pandemic. He has a team 100% in the office and will not allow remote working unless the government says otherwise.

He believes this is a huge opportunity to build culture and get ahead of the competition. You may choose to agree or disagree but I love the confidence and direction he displayed.

If you would like to chat to Alex directly either to enquire about joining his team or to pick his brains on all things start up life then reach out via LinkedIn here.

Please note in 2022 we will be live on LinkedIn each Wednesday NOT Thursdays like in 2021 - this will typically be at 12pm UK time but is subject to change!

The RAG Episode 12 Sponsors:

Vincere joins forces with Access Group. They’re partners with the heavyweight who shares their vision of providing a single operating system for the front, middle and back office of recruitment firms, on a global scale. Vincere has the same people, same vision, but with way more firepower. Press Release here.

You can visit www.vincere.io/rag to book a demo - RAG listeners will recieve an exclusive deal.

District4 provide support for experienced recruiters to launch their own businesses. They offer an impressive start-up package which includes taking care of the back office, providing coaching and implementing a suite of technology products, meaning recruitment entrepreneurs can focus on what they do best: providing an excellent service to their clients and candidates.

If you're thinking about starting your own recruitment agency, speak to District4 about the kind of support they can provide. Launching a business successfully takes a lot of hard work and preparation. Even if you aren’t planning anything for a few months, get the support you need sooner and you’ll stand the best chance of success when the time is right for you.

Visit www.district4.io/hoxo for more information.

Season 5 | Ep 11 - Adrian Kinnersley on building TwentyAI based on core values that go against the classic recruitment agency!

Mon, 20 Dec 2021 06:00:00 +0100

On the final episode of 2021, I was delighted to be joined by Adrian Kinnersley.

Adrian is the Founder & CEO of TwentyAI, headquartered in London with offices in New York, Charlotte, and Austin US.

Launched in the middle of the global financial crisis, Adrian was certain he wanted to build a brand he could be proud of. He’d already worked for a number of traditional recruitment agencies and wanted to do things his way!

Now happily living in the USA and operating remotely, in this episode we discussed:

What he disliked about other recruitment agencies
His startup journey
The decision to launch in the USA - albeit a little too early
Life during the pandemic
How they are using AI to their advantage

A genuine guy with a no nonsense attitude, what a way to finish 2021!

Thank you so much to everyone who has tuned in to our biggest year yet - we will be back in January 2022 with more episodes.

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Thanks to our long standing sponsor Vincere.io - who have experienced a record breaking 2021! Growing a truly global community of recruiters, I can not wait to see what they have in store for 2022.

If you are interested in finding out more about Vincere, they offer great discounts for RAG Listeners at www.vincere.io/rag

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Thank you also to our friends and sponsors Odro.co.uk.

I know many of you are winding down for Christmas, but if you want to get your ducks in a row to hit the ground running in 2022, now's a great time to check out Odro.

They’ve pulled together a new framework which aggregates the best practices from their most successful customers, and helps you create more meaningful connections with your candidates and clients at no fewer than 18 different touchpoints during the hiring process.

The guys are offering a free audit of your process against the framework. Plus first time customers can take advantage of a new 90-day guarantee which means you’re not tied in if you don't want to be.

Request a demo at their site odro.co.uk, I'm certain you’ll take something from it.

Season 5 | Ep 10 - Lewis Maleh on building a global, boutique search firm with a clear focus on building profit rather than scale

Mon, 13 Dec 2021 06:00:00 +0100

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast Live, I was joined by Lewis Maleh, Founder and CEO of Bentley Lewis, an award-winning boutique executive search firm.

Also the host of 2 x podcasts: “Don't take out your phone!" and “The Recruitment Show”.

Lewis believes he and his team are building the best executive search team in the world.

Lewis had no prior experience of exec search, but decided to back himself to make it work.12 years later, it’s safe to say he delivered!

The business was previously located in Central London offices. Since the pandemic, they’ve moved to a remote model with a drop in location in London for anyone who needs or wants to use it!

A super positive guy who is an inspiration for anyone looking to grow a great business with a focus on profit!

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A big thank you to today’s sponsor Volcanic.com - the best in class recruitment website provider delivering websites that look good and perform even better.

Following the recent success of Volcanic’s client Camino Partners winning Best New Website award at The NORAs, Camino have provided great insights on how they’ve used their website to elevate their brand messaging, celebrate their consultants, and position themselves as experts in their sector. You can read all about it on the Volcanic blog at https://www.volcanic.com/blog/2021/12/camino-partners-best-new-recruitment-website

Finally, we are offering RAG listeners an MOT of their current site – landing page is here (and embedded on the above page) The Access Group

www.volcanic.com/hoxo

This applies to any recruitment website.

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Thanks to our sponsor District 4

District4 supports experienced recruiters to launch their own recruitment businesses with an impressive start-up package, and take care of the back office and technology which allows them to focus on what they do best: providing an excellent service to their clients and candidates.

District4 is a community of expert recruiters who are all business owners in their own right. As a community, they support each-other professionally and personally to hit their goals.

If you would like to start your own agency in 2022, then you really should be speaking to these guys! Visit www.district4.io for more information.

Season 5 | Ep 9 - Amy Golding on her journey of scaling Opus from 150 to 300 people, consolidating the 13 brands down to 3, becoming a Mother and securing PE investment in less than 5 years!

Mon, 06 Dec 2021 06:00:00 +0100

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast Live, I was delighted to be joined by Amy Golding

Amy Golding is the CEO of Opus Talent Solutions, Headquartered in Bristol, UK, Opus has more than 1,000 clients in over 50 countries with 300 staff across eight offices spanning the UK, the Netherlands, Australia and the US.

I met Amy back in late 2017 and found her to be truly inspiring, she had such grand plans for the business.

Recently acquired by Graphite Capital a UK mid-market private equity specialist- this conversation was fascinating!

In this episode we discussed:

Her journey from Deloitte to becoming Business Advisor to James Caan CBE
Launching Recruitment Entrepreneur
Joining Opus as CEO and taking over from Founder Darren Ryemill in 2017
How they made the decision to reduce the business from 13 to 3 brands and become true specialists in Tech and Energy markets.
Becoming a Mother in Feb 2020 and then surviving the pandemic from March onwards
Story of securing PE investment in 2021
The vision for Opus future

A remarkable leader who is respected across our sector, I know you will love this episode!

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Thank you again to our friends and sponsor today - Odro.co.uk .

Have you heard about Odro's up and coming new framework that's launching this week? If you don't follow the guys, you might not have so let me tell you about it....

Based on conversations from the best of the best in the recruitment space, the guys have pulled together a new framework that helps recruiters create more meaningful and longer-lasting connections with clients and candidates at various different touchpoints throughout the process. It's literally a diagram that really just distils all the opportunities throughout the process where video can be used to help to better attract, assess and provide aftercare, for improved relationships. Look it sounds simple, right?

And, actually, it is. But when you see it down on paper like that, it's amazing how many opportunities you realise most businesses are probably missing.

Hit the guys up at odro.co.uk/demo and I'm sure they'll be happy to send it on.

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Thanks also to our second sponsor Vincere.io - are officially launching in the US with a new office in Atlanta.. Whilst they have gathered US Clients, they strategically held back from going into the US until they were ready to hire a team and do it in full vinny style! They are ready and looking to work with agencies with 20+ users - as they want to ensure the support is in place to cater for the wider demand of the smaller agencies!

If you are in the US or UK and interested in finding out more about Vincere, they offer great discounts for RAG Listeners so use www.vincere.io/rag

Season 5 | Ep 8 - James Johnson on how the stress of being a global Recruitment Agency CEO led him to changing his entire lifestyle and career

Mon, 29 Nov 2021 06:00:00 +0100

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast Live, on this week's episode of The RAG Podcast I am re-joined by James Johnson!

James is the founder of District 4 and also a CEO coach. James works with ambitious founders, CEOs and VCs where the difference between success and failure is £m's

James was previously the CEO of Nicoll Curtin and decided to change his lifestyle after he and his wife suffered from their second miscarriage. The stress of running a global business meant that he was under investing in other, more important areas of his life.

Since then, he has changed almost every aspect of his life and now has the family he always wished for!

In this episode we went deep into James' own story but also the reality of the stress and challenges faced both inside and outside of work for his many recruitment agency owner clients.

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A big thank you to today’s sponsor Volcanic.com - the best in class recruitment website provider delivering websites that look good and perform even better.

Volcanic were thrilled to see 14 of their clients receive nominations across 13 categories for the recent National Online Recruitment Awards, and special shoutout to their client Camino Partners for winning Best New Recruitment Website!

They’ve also recently published a case study from leading recruitment agency Aspire, where they have reported cutting their website costs in half since switching to Volcanic, which delivered a staggering three websites in just three months! You can check out their website at weareaspire.com.

Finally, we are offering RAG listeners an MOT of their current site – landing page is here (and embedded on the above page) The Access Group

www.volcanic.com/hoxo

This applies to any recruitment website.

Thanks to our second sponsor District 4

District4 supports experienced recruiters to launch their own recruitment businesses with an impressive start-up package and take care of the back office and technology which allows them to focus on what they do best: providing an excellent service to their clients and candidates.

District4 is a community of expert recruiters who are all business owners in their own right. As a community we support each-other professionally and personally to hit out goals.

On Monday 8th November they started an exciting 5-day challenge “So you want to start your own recruitment business?”

Over 5 days you will explore your why, your vision, your financials, your market and put together a business plan.

This challenge is for experienced recruiters who have thought about going it alone and want to explore it at a deeper level.

At the end of the challenge you will either be raring to go and start your business or have decided that it is not for you.

It is running all of this week and there are replays available for anyone who has missed the sessions

You can catch up either in the challenges closed facebook group at (1) Start your Recruitment Business in 2022 Free Challenge | Facebook or if they search in groups for "Start your recruitment busines in 2022 Free Challenge or by going to my LinkedIn profile and viewing the featured section.

They have a new task going live everyday at 9.15 and then a daily Q&A answering all of their set up questions at 12 noon both live via my profile.

The link to join the challenge is: https://growyourrecruitmentbusinessevent.vipmembervault.com/products/view/1110290

Season 5 | Ep 7 - On why choosing the right business partner is essential to growing your recruitment business!

Mon, 22 Nov 2021 06:00:00 +0100

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast Live, I was delighted to be joined by Ishpal Bansal

Ishpal founded Aston Holmes, a resourcing and talent acquisition consultancy, alongside his business partner Brad Bloom in 2014.

Shortly after launching the business, Ishpal was diagnosed with a heart condition and needed open heart surgery!

Thankfully he came through treatment and since then has gone on to grow teams across the UK and Africa (LDN, Cape and J’burg) Approaching 50 people and growing well.

In this episode Ishpal was incredibly honest about the challenges he and his partner have faced in their journey so far and why choosing the right partner is non negotiable!

An essential episode for anyone who has a business partner today or is considering launching their agency in future!

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Thank you again to our friends and sponsor today - Odro.co.uk .

Have you heard about Odro's up and coming new framework that's launching this week? If you don't follow the guys, you might not have so let me tell you about it....

And, actually, it is. But when you see it down on paper like that, it's amazing how many opportunities you realise most businesses are probably missing.

Hit the guys up at odro.co.uk/demo and I'm sure they'll be happy to send it on.

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If you are in the US or UK and interested in finding out more about Vincere, they offer great discounts for RAG Listeners so use www.vincere.io/rag

Season 5 | Ep 6 - Nick Vaughan on scaling Hamlyn Williams to 100 people and then leaving the business to build the Bloomberg of the recruitment sector!

Mon, 15 Nov 2021 06:00:00 +0100

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast Live, I was joined by Nick Vaughan, Founder of Hamlyn Williams and now CEO & Founder of Talent Ticker an actionable market intelligence platform for the recruitment industry.

Nick’s life began as a 3rd generation farmer in Herefordshire who moved to London to work in the city.

After learning his trade with S3 and JCW, he launched Hamlyn Williams in 2011, a specialised STEM focused Recruitment Agency with a HQ in Cardiff.

Over the next 7 years Nick managed to scale the business to over 100 people across multiple global offices in 3 continents before deciding that his skills were no longer suitable to take the business forward.

Today, the business is over 200 people and managed by a new CEO, Nick is fully focussed on the launch of his next venture and what a plan he has!

In this episode he shared

Nicks start up and scale up story
How he got to 30 staff with no infrastructure and led to 100% staff churn
The decisions that enabled him to scale to 100+ recruiters
His top 3 tips for aspiring high growth business owners
His sacrifice at home and the solid partnership with his wife whilst scaling
His daily morning routine for success
What is Talent Ticker and why should agencies consider using this innovative tool

An extremely inspiring entrepreneur, one you do not want to miss!

If you wish to speak to Nick personally - feel free to message him on LinkedIn here

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A big thank you to today’s sponsor Volcanic.com - the best in class recruitment website provider delivering websites that look good and perform even better.

If you would like to see some of the fantastic websites that Volcanic has delivered for clients globally, you can visit volcanic.com/our-work which showcases their best-in-class website designs across various locations and sectors, as well as a number of success stories for leading agencies such as Premier Group and Search Consultancy.

Volcanic also recently ran a webinar along with Gordon Webb from Idibu and Janine Owen from The Talent Crowd on ‘Conquering the candidate conundrum’. This will soon be available to catch up on demand for insights on how to find those unicorn candidates in today’s war for talent! Keep an eye out…

Finally, we are offering RAG listeners an MOT of their current site – landing page is here (and embedded on the above page) The Access Group

www.volcanic.com/hoxo

This applies to any recruitment website.

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Thanks to our second sponsor District 4

District4 is a community of expert recruiters who are all business owners in their own right. As a community we support each-other professionally and personally to hit out goals.

On Monday 8th November they started an exciting 5-day challenge “So you want to start your own recruitment business?”

Over 5 days you will explore your why, your vision, your financials, your market and put together a business plan.

This challenge is for experienced recruiters who have thought about going it alone and want to explore it at a deeper level.

At the end of the challenge you will either be raring to go and start your business or have decided that it is not for you.

It is running all of this week and there are replays available for anyone who has missed the sessions

You can catch up either in the challenges closed facebook group at (1) Start your Recruitment Business in 2022 Free Challenge | Facebook or if they search in groups for "Start your recruitment business in 2022 Free Challenge or by going to my LinkedIn profile and viewing the featured section.

They have a new task going live everyday at 9.15 and then a daily Q&A answering all of their set up questions at 12 noon both live via my profile.

The link to join the challenge is https://growyourrecruitmentbusinessevent.vipmembervault.com/products/view/1110290

Season 5 | Ep 5 - Dr. Aria on optimising your mindset for higher performance inside and outside of your recruitment business.

Mon, 08 Nov 2021 06:00:00 +0100

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast Live, I was delighted to be joined by Dr. Aria, a high performance psychologist who works with A list actors, singer and C Suites execs and business owners from 7 figures to billion pound organisations (including recruitment agencies)

Just over 1 year ago today, I first heard about Dr. Aria when listening to his powerful story on The Diary of a CEO Podcast with Steven Bartlett..

I was recently single, living alone, and wondering WTF was going on with my life..

Dr Aria's had also been through a similar story personally and coaches people all over the world to stay at peak performance by better understanding their mind and body.

I felt compelled me to contact him and agreed to get to work right away..

I’ve spent 90 mins each week working with him to better understand my mindset.

Since then I feel I have learnt more about myself than ever before

I am clearly not the finished article and that is ok... Every day is a learning experience..

In this episode we discussed his unique story; how he has helped me and revealed some practical advice for recruitment entrepreneurs and leaders to both feel and perform better each day..

You do not want to miss this!

If you are interested in speaking with Dr. Aria directly relating to his services or just some simple advice, then reach out to www.dr-aria.com or via LinkedIn and Instagram - @dr._aria

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Thank you to our friends and sponsor today - Odro.co.uk . Odro announced their latest CRM integration yesterday!

Their video engagement and interviewing tech is now fully baked into the JobAdder system.

If you know the Odro team as well as I do, you'll know their developers don't do things by halves so it's safe to say it's a really slick integration into the JobAdder CRM that'll really help users to further streamline their processes and get the very best from the tech. The guys are already integrated with Bullhorn and Vincere and there are more to come.

So if you're a JobAdder user, any of the others or you want to see what's coming next, get in touch with the guys for a demo. odro.co.uk/demo

Loads of my connections are already onboard and the feedback I hear is always really positive so check it out; trust me, it's well worth half an hour of your time.

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If you are in the US or UK and interested in finding out more about Vincere, they offer great discounts for RAG Listeners so use www.vincere.io/rag

Season 5 | Ep 4 - David Spencer-Percival on his secrets to growing £100m recruitment agencies multiple times and doing so without a laptop, purely operating on his iPhone!

Mon, 01 Nov 2021 06:00:00 +0100

On this weeks episode of The RAG Podcast Live, I was joined by David Spencer-Percival, Founder & CEO of Life Science People and serial recruitment entrepreneur.

David was in the founding team of Huntress Group in 2000 and exited in 2009 for a life changing sum of money.

He then started Spencer Ogden in 2009 and repeated the process all over again! Growing to over 500 people and reaching over £100m in revenue, he then decided his work was done before leaving the company in 2020.

He is now back with one of the fastest growing recruitment start-ups in the world, with over 65 people in the business inside 12 months.

During his glittering career, David has adopted some really consistent habits and basic principles for success.

In this episode he shared

The start up stories of each business
His formula to scale via graduate academies
Why he doesn’t have a computer and runs his whole operation from an iPhone
His take on why many do not scale
Why profit isn’t the driver when scaling and how quick profit arrives when you slow down growth
How he felt when he exited his businesses and why he knew he needed to get back in the game after 3 month breaks
His life outside of work, happily married without children- he balances life in London with rural countryside and Ibiza to keep himself happy
How turning 50 certainly affected his mental health and how he deals with this
Finally his vision for the future and some wise words for budding recruitment entrepreneurs

One of my all time favourite episodes, you do not want to miss this!

If you wish to speak to David personally - feel free to email dsp@lifesciencepeople.co.uk

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A big thank you to today’s sponsor Volcanic.com - the best in class recruitment website provider delivering websites that look good and perform even better. Over 1800 recruitment websites globally, they supply 30% of the top 100 UK recruiters and integrate with our partners for efficiency, including Access Recruitment CRM, Access Profile, Access RDB, Broadbean, Logic Melon, Bullhorn, Salesforce, Idibu and more

Perfect for start up, scale up and enterprise recruitment businesses

We are offering RAG listeners an MOT of their current site – landing page is here (and embedded on the above page) The Access Group

www.volcanic.com/hoxo

About the MOT:

A visual inspection undertaken by one of our senior website professionals in the business of your current site, analyse performance and identify areas for improvement. Leverage Volcanic's many years' expertise in designing, developing, and delivering recruitment websites to identify how your current site can be improved.

Request your FREE, personalised visual 'MOT' website health check including an overview of your:

- candidate attractiveness

- client engagement abilities

- brand-building capabilities

- and more.

This applies to any recruitment website.

www.volcanic.com/hoxo

Thanks to our second sponsor District 4

District4 support experienced recruiters to launch their own recruitment businesses with an impressive start-up package and take care of the back office and technology which allows them to focus on what they do best: providing an excellent service to their clients and candidates.

District4 is a community of expert recruiters who are all business owners in their own right. As a community we support each-other professionally and personally to hit out goals.

Join the Recruitment Startup Experts at District4 for this exciting 5-day challenge “So you want to start your own recruitment business?”

Over 5 days you will explore your why, your vision, your financials, your market and put together a business plan.

This challenge is for experienced recruiters who have thought about going it alone and want to explore it at a deeper level.

At the end of the challenge you will either be raring to go and start your business or have decided that it is not for you.

Want to make 2022 the year that you finally take action? Join in from Mon 8th November to Friday 12th November 2021 and explore what being a recruitment business owner could mean for you.

The link to join the challenge is https://growyourrecruitmentbusinessevent.vipmembervault.com/products/courses/view/1110290

Season 5 | Ep 3 - Gaelle Blake on her secrets to finding ‘balance’ whilst being a mother, a yoga enthusiast and a UK & Ireland director at Hays!

Mon, 25 Oct 2021 06:00:00 +0100

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast Live, I was delighted to be joined by Gaelle Blake, the UKI Director for Permanent Appointments & UKI Director for Construction and Property Appointments at Hays

Hays is known globally for its huge workforce in every corner of the world, and being at the helm of such a company will come with pressure and sacrifice!

Being a female in this situation obviously presents additional pressures relating to family and industry stereotypes.

Gaelle and I were recently introduced and I was blown away with her attitude to life, work and our industry!

A super inspiring female role model for our sector- this is for anyone seeking balance in their life!

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Thank you to our friends and sponsor today - Odro.co.uk . These guys won an impressive three TALiNT tech star awards at their first in-person event since lockdown last month. Followed up just two weeks later with a much sought-after Recruiter award, best in innovation, and a special commendation for CEO Ryan McCabe for all his efforts over the last 18 months. It really is great to see such a brilliant company recognised, and so well deserved. So well done guys! Smashed it.

And the good news is, they’re hiring - which they’ve asked me to let you know. So, if you’re listening and are looking for a move, I couldn’t recommend them highly enough. There are vacancies across their Sales and Customer Success departments right now, and they really are a great bunch. If you’re interested, get in touch with CRO Dougie on LinkedIn or email recruitment@odro.co.uk for more info.

Thanks also to our second sponsor Vincere.io - A single tech platform to streamline the Front, Middle & Back office operations of Exec Search/Perm/Contract/Temp businesses. The technology that they have invested in is becoming a disruption in the space, more and more recruitment businesses are using this to give their recruiters a competitive advantage.

For RAG listeners who you are thinking about changing CRM or you are a new business looking to launch with a new CRM then I would get in touch with these guys because if you mention that you are a rag listener you get an amazing deal- visit www.vincere.io/rag.