Hello Everyone I am new to the board and wanted to see if I could get some feedback.

The business industry I am talking about is the staffing industry. I currrently work in this industry but have been thinking alot about going it on my own, but there are so many headhunters/recruiters/agencies out there that are recruiting for companies that I don't even know how a new and of course one maned small, unknown business would even begin to penetrate the market.

My actual idea is to cater to small businesses, since they may not be able to pay the big agency fees but they just like any other business eventually need to hire employees be it temp or permanent and they need someone affordable, knowledgeable and experienced in this area to do so.

So again my question to you is, how would I penetrate this market? Right now this is just a thought, no company yet I want to make sure that when I start I start off right and with pending clients.

Should I be surveying small businesses in the meantime? What suggestions, ideas or thoughts do you have on this point. Any and all help is welcome.


New Member

As you already know, you've chosen a really competitive industry. In my area staffing agencies are a dime a dozen. Having worked in the industry and worked in Human Resources and owned my own retail business, I've had a lot of exposure in this area.

Many people that are interested in starting their own agency don't fully comprehend that the main focus is actually sales. A one man band really can't run such a businesses alone. A person needs to be devoted to sales to drum up the clients. That in itself is a full time position and requires someone with a strong sales background.

Then you need a strong background in employment laws and regulations to be sure you are compliant every step of the way. You will need to have plenty of applicants with a variety of skills available to work at a moment's notice.

Then there are the behind-the-scenes duties that you will need to be on top of such as payroll, workman's compensation, benefits, taxes,etc. And the overhead and start up expenses such as rent, utilities, permits, fees, advertising, equipment, office furniture can be sky high even for a small business.

While I don't mean to discourage you, it's vital to write up your business plan so you cover all of these issues and see if it is really doable as a one person company.

http://smallbusinessstartup.biz/plan/

WoW!

thank you for responding Sylvia. Obviously I am not ready yet then and need to do more research and also gather together a potential support team.

Thank you for your advice and input.

From my somewhat limited experience I would also have to add that "cater to small business" isn't specific enough.

"Small businesses" cross every possible topic / subject / field / experience possible.

Try to narrow the subject area.

If I'm a small business owner that runs a machine shop, my staffing needs will be drastically different from a caterer.


Marlin Creek - Idea Seeds
http://marlincreek.com

Mako's Kitchen
http://makoskitchen.com

Had a thought that I figured was worth expanding on at my business idea site...

http://marlincreek.com/content/view/120/43/

I still think that if you go the traditional approach, you'll need to narrow your niche... but you might consider how you could become a personal agent to people.

Athletes and executives have them... why can't the rest of us?


Marlin Creek - Idea Seeds
http://marlincreek.com

Mako's Kitchen
http://makoskitchen.com