How to Build a Solo Recruitment Practice Without Office Rent or Salaries

What if getting fired 20 times wasn’t failure, but the perfect preparation to build something meaningful? In this episode, recorded in London, I talk with James Rowe about what it really takes to build a six-figure solo recruitment practice without office rent, payroll, or management headaches. James shares how experienced recruiters can keep more of what they bill using smart systems, automation tools, and a resilient mindset. If you’ve ever thought about going solo or simplifying your business, you’ll get practical ideas you can apply right away. Timestamps 0:00 Intro 5:14 Getting fired 20+ times and discovering recruitment 13:15 From “terrible employee” to entrepreneur 14:01 The economics of solo recruiting 18:37 Why general recruiters struggle 24:33 Finding balance as a solo recruiter 29:02 Email and automation that work 40:54 Two email tweaks that boosted replies 20% 46:03 Lead magnets that convert at 50% 56:06 Why resilience and community matter most You’ll learn: How to structure your solo desk to scale without overhead The automation tools (Clay, ChatGPT, Phantom Buster) that win clients Why niche specialists thrive while generalists get squeezed The “Sent from my iPhone” follow-up trick that increases replies Why resilience and community matter more than talent The Resilient Recruiter brings you weekly conversations with top agency leaders, solo recruiters, and search-firm owners, hosted by Mark Whitby, coach and founder of RecruitmentCoach.com.

Most recruitment agency owners hit a wall around 10–20 people. The culture that made you successful starts to crack, and the personal touch gets lost. Nicholas Barton didn’t just avoid that wall he redefined what scaling could look like. From packing boxes in a warehouse to leading a 100-person global firm, Nicholas built The Barton Partnership into one of Forbes’ “World’s Best Management Consulting Firms,” with offices in London, New York, and Singapore. He built a platform before headcount, gave away 35% of his business through share options, and kept his early hires for nearly two decades. While competitors chased quick wins, Nicholas played the long game scaling internationally without losing the cohesion that made his business special. In this episode: [03:40] How Nicholas found his niche in strategy consulting [10:50] The “spray and pray” moment that launched his career [13:04] The hires who’ve stayed 18 years — and why [18:33] Why giving away 35% made his firm stronger [29:08] The “airport test” and how to hire for culture [35:20] Build your platform before you scale [1:04:42] Why great service always beats great selling 🎙️ Hosted by Mark Whitby, The Resilient Recruiter Podcast

AI isn't coming to recruitment. It's already here. And the gap between recruiters who know how to use it and those who don't is widening fast. My guest today has data proving it: recruiters adopting AI correctly are seeing up to 30% increases in GP per desk. Manan Shah is CEO and co-founder of Recruiter Flow, an AI-first recruitment operating system built for search firms, agencies, and solo practitioners doing permanent and contract placements. After accidentally discovering that recruitment agencies were "a decade behind" in tech adoption, Manan and his team have built what could be the most comprehensive AI-enabled platform for modern recruiters. This conversation gets tactical. We discuss how to run your firm with SaaS-level business intelligence, AI note-taking that structures unstructured data, job change alerts that put you in front of clients at exactly the right moment, and multichannel sequencing that lets you scale BD without adding headcount. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: RecOps: Stop Guessing, Start Measuring Many recruitment firm owners are flying blind. They figure out salary budgets, marketing spend, and incentive structures by gut feel. Manan introduces "RecOps" (Recruitment Operations), borrowed from how SaaS companies run. It means tracking the metrics that matter. In SaaS, they know their customer lifetime value versus what they spend to acquire that customer should be 3:1. You should be spending one-third or less of what a client is worth to you on getting them. Simple, but many recruitment firms haven't made this calculation. Successful firms are now hiring operations people who aren't recruiters but keep the business running tight. Job Change Alerts: Three Opportunities From One Signal When someone in your database changes jobs or gets promoted, you get three plays. First, that person's new company often needs more hires or creates turnover when they bring in their own team. Second, their old company needs to backfill. Third, the one most people miss: that person was probably interviewing elsewhere. Build rapport, and they might tell you about the other positions they turned down. Those companies might still be hiring. Recruiter Flow monitors your database automatically and pings you when these changes happen. Multichannel Sequencing: Scale Your BD Without Adding Headcount Many agencies rely on their best billers to also do all the business development. They're making calls when they remember, sending one-off emails, maybe a LinkedIn message here and there. Nothing systematic. Recruiter Flow's multichannel sequencing lets you map out an entire BD campaign with conditional logic. Send a LinkedIn connection request. If they accept in 3 days, send a message. If not, trigger an email instead. If they open your email 3+ times but don't reply, the system creates a task for your recruiter to call them. This means your team can run sophisticated, persistent BD campaigns that would normally require hiring a dedicated BD person. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: How Manan accidentally discovered the recruiting agency market and why one client signed a 3-year contract after less than a year in business What "RecOps" means and why recruitment firms need to adopt SaaS-style business intelligence AI-first vs. AI-bolted-on and why your ATS needs to be rebuilt from the ground up The three categories of AI adoption: AI-native, AI-assisted, and AI-augmented How AI note-taking captures tribal knowledge and turns it into searchable intelligence Data enrichment built in: contact finder, job change alerts, executive appointment monitoring Why it's a triple opportunity when someone changes jobs MPC automation with branded landing pages and client interaction tracking What's next: 40+ AI agents in development and the ability to build your own custom agents Why AI doesn't just lift the average but widens the gap between top and bottom performers ABOUT MANAN SHAH: Manan Shah is CEO and co-founder of Recruiter Flow, serving thousands of customers globally, from solo practitioners to firms generating over $100M in annual revenue. Before founding Recruiter Flow in 2015, Manan built his first AI company in 2013, long before AI became mainstream. Connect with Manan on LinkedIn or visit recruiterflow.com CONNECT WITH MARK WHITBY: Get your free 30-minute strategy call: recruitmentcoach.com/strategy-session LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mwhitby Twitter: @MarkWhitby Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter for weekly insights on building a scalable, profitable recruitment business.

What happens when you sell a 100-employee company at 28 and decide freedom matters more than settling down? Lauren Fernandez didn’t just dream about working from anywhere—she made it a reality. But this isn’t a glossy “digital nomad” story. It’s the unfiltered truth about building a recruiting business while navigating serious health challenges, redefining success, and realizing your best life might look nothing like others expect. Lauren is the founder of Palm Coast Staffing, a legal recruiting practice she built while traveling the U.S. in an RV. After selling her first company with 100+ employees across three states, she and her husband skipped the mortgage and bought an RV instead. In this episode, Lauren reveals her three-section daily system that creates freedom through discipline, why she believes relationships beat cold calls, and how she structured her firm to keep running through unexpected crises. Episode Outline and Highlights [2:51] From selling rocks as a kid to building and selling a 100-employee company by age 28. [8:17] Hiring over 1,000 people—and what it taught her about matching success to the individual. [13:07] Rejecting the house for an RV and a new staffing business. [15:10] The unglamorous reality behind digital nomad life. [18:23] Her three-bucket daily planning system (no tech required). [23:19] An anti-cold calling philosophy: “find people where they are.” [27:59] Why returning to the same conferences builds long-term credibility. [34:42] Combating recruiting industry distrust through authentic relationships. [38:25] Running a business while navigating her husband’s serious health diagnosis. [44:52] Why entrepreneurial lows aren’t as devastating as you think—and highs aren’t as high. On Building a Business That Serves Your Life After selling her first company, Lauren chose differently. When her husband was later diagnosed with myositis and developed stage three heart failure, their flexible model proved its worth. In her words: “Success looks different for different people at different times. Maybe right now you’re in the building phase and you can work 12 hours a day, seven days a week. But maybe in a few years you’ve got kids and success is having freedom to spend time with them while they’re young.” She asks every agency owner to reflect: “Is your company the tool to get you success, or is your company the success? Is it the means to the end or is it the end?” Her System for Freedom Through Discipline Lauren’s three-section daily planning system is simple but effective. Using a paper planner, she breaks down daily into business development, recruiting, and operations. The buckets are interchangeable, so one disruption doesn’t derail the whole day. “When you run your own business, there’s a lot in the ‘other’ section,” Lauren says. This system helped her keep placing candidates and winning clients—even during week-long hospital stays. Her insight: discipline in planning is what creates the freedom to adapt. Lauren Fernandez Bio Lauren Fernandez is the founder of Palm Coast Staffing, specializing in legal recruitment nationwide. She previously co-founded and scaled a sales and marketing company to 100+ employees before selling it at 28. After agency experience in Florida, she and her husband launched Palm Coast Staffing in 2022 with a unique twist—building the business from an RV while traveling the country. Lauren has personally hired over 1,000 people, giving her deep insight into aligning opportunities with candidates’ life priorities. She’s passionate about rebuilding trust in recruiting through authentic relationships, not spammy outreach. Currently based in Florida, she continues to build Palm Coast Staffing while supporting her husband through ongoing health challenges. Their next adventure? An RV trip from Florida to Alaska. People and Resources Mentioned Atomic Habits by James Clear Hug Your Customers by Jack Mitchell "If—" poem by Rudyard Kipling Starlink Internet Airtable Recruit CRM ChatGPT Connect with Lauren and Mark Lauren on LinkedIn Palm Coast Staffing website Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call: RecruitmentCoach.com/strategy-session Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Twitter Mark on Facebook Mark on Instagram

Most recruitment firms stall at $1M revenue. Greg Fischer broke through by building a high-retention offshore team, embedding himself inside client organizations with RPO, and using LinkedIn commenting as a smarter BD strategy. As Co-Owner of AMI Network, Greg scaled from $1M to $4.2M revenue and $1.4M profit sustaining 30–40% margins. His model: hire offshore staff directly, integrate them as equals, and use a 2:1 sourcer-to-recruiter ratio to free recruiters to bill more. Alongside that, he mastered RPO pricing, transforming a $30K placement into a $1.5M account. Today, as founder of Well Oiled Machine, Greg helps other firms replicate this approach. In this episode, he shares how to structure offshore teams for 85%+ retention, qualify RPO opportunities, and win clients through LinkedIn commenting. Episode Outline and Highlights 6:42 From solo founder’s first hire to 40-person team. 7:40 Breaking the $1M ceiling with offshore hiring after failed BPOs. 12:37 Why sourcing was the first offshore function and how it lifted billings. 23:18 Landing a $50K/month RPO by reframing a client’s hiring challenge. 28:07 How that grew into an $80K/month RPO account with 30–40% margins. 30:45 When to pitch RPO: the minimum job volume that makes it viable. 33:47 The “open + close” fee model that stabilized cash flow. 36:23 How a 2:1 sourcer-to-recruiter ratio frees recruiters to bill more. 39:08 Why most agencies fail with offshore—and how to do it right. 47:19 Choosing the right country: Mexico vs Philippines vs South Africa. 54:51 Greg’s daily LinkedIn commenting routine that built an inbound pipeline. Key Takeaways Offshore Done Right Fuels Scale Greg’s agency was stuck at $1M for four years. BPOs failed, freelancers flaked. The breakthrough came when he hired offshore staff directly, trained them thoroughly, and treated them as equals. Within three years, AMI scaled to $4M+ revenue with 30–40% profit margins and 85% retention. Offshore wasn’t a cheap fix; it was the lever that freed recruiters to focus on revenue-driving work. The RPO Question That Unlocks Recurring Revenue A referral asked for an internal recruiter. Greg’s partner asked: “Why now?” The answer—50 hires in six months—turned a $30K placement into a $50K/month retainer that ran three years, worth $1.5M. His rule: RPO only works with 5–10 requisitions/month and $15K+ revenue. Anything less is contingent search. Over time, he moved to an “open fee + closed fee” model that kept revenue flowing and profit margins at 30–40%. LinkedIn Strategic Commenting Works Greg built AMI Network through cold outbound. For Well Oiled Machine, he went another route: commenting daily on posts from 60 recruitment thought leaders. Thirty minutes before posting, thirty minutes after. The results? Comments hitting 20,000+ impressions—often outperforming original posts. On LinkedIn, comments are content, and for agency owners this is a repeatable, low-cost BD strategy that beats cold calling. Greg Fischer Bio and Contact Info Greg is the former Co-Owner of AMI Network, a healthcare recruitment agency that did $1.4M in Profit on just $4.2M in revenue. His secret? 18 of his 40 team members were Offshore high-performing employees, with annual retention over 85%. Now his firm, Well Oiled Machine recruits Offshore & Nearshore staff for Recruitment Firms & Staffing Agencies. Greg Fischer on LinkedIn Well Oiled Machine website link Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Facebook Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

Andy Dunne thought other agency owners were the enemy. They'd steal clients, poach candidates, copy ideas. Sound familiar? Then he joined Team in 2014 just to save £130 a month on job boards. Eleven years later, he's their managing director, overseeing 500+ agencies that split over £6 million in fees last year. What changed? Andy learned that protecting everything actually kills more business than it creates. In this episode, you'll discover: Why 80% of Team's agencies went from generalist to specialist since 2014 (and why the generalists are getting crushed) The market intelligence strategy that makes prospects call you instead of you chasing them How two specialist agencies split £40,600 by collaborating on out-of-niche roles The mental health reality of running an agency alone - and why Andy champions this cause Why your real competition isn't other agencies, but AI and managed service providers Andy shares the quarterly report strategy that made one agency owner "untouchable" with prospects, the collaboration mindset shift that's transforming the industry, and why the isolation of solo agency ownership is something that can't be ignored. Whether you're a solo agency owner or leading a team, this conversation challenges the "protect everything" mentality and shows how collaboration can transform your business. Andy Dunne is Managing Director of Team, the UK's largest network of independently owned recruitment businesses. With over 20 years in recruitment, including running his own agency, Andy is passionate about collaboration and community. Since joining Team, he's helped agencies save millions in job board costs and connect through an active network that shares over £6m annually in split fees.

What if you could run your recruiting firm on autopilot while launching a completely new business? Brian Gabay has mastered this balance—his 5-person team makes placements without him while he builds a tech startup. Brian founded Brian Simon Associates (BSA) in 2016, specializing in PR and marketing recruitment. He built systems, transforming his business from constant attention to running independently. This freedom allowed him to launch Arrange AI, eliminating interview coordination, which consumes 70% of recruiters' admin time. Brian reveals his framework: getting your entire team on client calls, his "hire two people" strategy, and the mindset shift to step away from daily operations. Plus, surviving a 6-month placement drought taught him the resilience needed to juggle multiple ventures. Episode Outline and Highlights [7:19] The reality TV opportunity that came at the worst time [8:11] How a 3-year kidney donor search taught him resilience [19:50] Why are placed candidates overlooked for new business [20:27] Daily LinkedIn habit: One new connection PLUS one reconnection [23:40] Surviving the drought: First placement took 5-6 months [26:14] The 6-month cash cushion rule for going solo [36:35] Hiring strategy: "If you like two people, hire them both." [44:27] Why 70% of recruiting time is wasted on scheduling [50:18] Game-changer: Getting your entire team on client calls [52:58] Building systems: "Placements happen without me" Building Through Setbacks Brian's approach to adversity was forged through personal crisis. With his father on dialysis, Brian applied recruiting skills to find a kidney donor. "I wasn't a blood match. Neither were my sisters. He's type O... I searched for three years. There was a dark world out there. People wanted money... My dad's life is on the line." The breakthrough came through Jennifer Wolf, who responded to his outreach "just like we would do on LinkedIn." When Fox discovered his YouTube video and offered him a spot on "Home Free" to compete for a house for Jennifer, the timing couldn't have been worse. The 6-Month Rule Brian's practical approach began with planning: "I saved enough to pay rent for six months. That was my cushion... I need to make a placement within six months. If I can't, then maybe this is not for me." His advice emphasizes transparency: "If you're starting your own firm and leaving your current one, have a transparent conversation... Even if these are connections you made yourself, it was created under someone else's umbrella. Leave on good terms." From Solo to Scale After three years solo, Brian began building a team. When he discovered an employee ignoring candidate emails, instead of retreating, he refined his approach: "Out of 10 people, if there's two you really like and you're on the fence, hire both. If one doesn't work out, you still got a really good one." The transformation came from one change: "Having them involved in all client calls... Now if it's a new business call, it's all five of us. They meet the client, ask questions, take notes... I've seen the ownership kick in." This freed Brian to launch Arrange while BSA operated: "Sometimes there's placements being made and I'm not involved at all." Brian Gabay Bio Brian Gabay founded BSA in 2016, specializing in PR, Marketing, and Digital/Social recruiting. He's partnered with recognized PR agencies and brands nationwide. With over a decade of experience, Business Insider named him one of the top PR recruiters in the country. Earlier this year, he launched Arrange AI—a smart scheduling tool for recruiters coordinating meetings between external parties. Brian on LinkedIn Arrange AI: arrange.ai BSA: briansimonsassociates.com Resources Mentioned "Home Free" on Fox Tim Tebow on LinkedIn Connect with Mark Whitby FREE strategy call: recruitmentcoach.com/strategy-session LinkedIn | Twitter: @MarkWhitby Facebook | Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

Johnny Campbell drops a bombshell: "Can AI recruit better than humans today? Hundred percent better than humans on average." He's got the data to back it up. Johnny explains why half of all recruiters will be gone within the next decade—and how to be in the half that thrives. Johnny runs SocialTalent and has trained over a million recruiters globally. He survived launching an agency during the 2008 crash and now shares what's coming next. Episode Outline and Highlights [3:35] How Johnny survived launching an agency into the 2008 crash [8:37] "Peak recruiter" happened in 2023—why it's downhill from here [10:41] The bank loan analogy that destroys the case for human interviewers [15:05] The AirPods story—why candidates will accept AI interviews [19:33] UK research: AI persuades people 10x better than humans [28:10] Marc Andreessen's "barbell model"—why the middle dies [31:24] Indian recruiters abandoned email—what WhatsApp means for outreach [36:26] Mercor: Three 21-year-olds built a $2B AI recruiter in 2 years [38:14] The Hudson RPO arbitrage—selling AI to companies that can't use it [52:07] Why recruiters need Johnny's "Mini MBA" Key Takeaways: Your $2 Billion Wake-Up Call: Three 21-year-olds started Mercor two years ago. Now valued at $2 billion. Their pitch: "5 qualified candidates in 5 minutes." They didn't improve recruiting—they eliminated it. Where AI Wins: Johnny breaks recruiting into three parts. Finding candidates? AI wins. Assessment? AI does it better with less bias. But closing deals? That's where humans matter. "There will always be a role for a human advising the business." No Middle Ground: McDonald's hires in 7 minutes with AI. Zuckerberg personally calls candidates. If you're doing "decent recruiting at decent prices," you're dead. Pick a side: tech-powered efficiency or ultra-premium service. The WhatsApp Revolution: Email is dead for recruiting in India. Everyone uses WhatsApp. Johnny's insight: AI will soon predict the best platform per candidate. Agencies sending LinkedIn InMails are playing yesterday's game. Johnny Campbell Bio and Contact Info Johnny Campbell is the co-founder and CEO of SocialTalent. With over 250,000 LinkedIn followers, he's recognized globally as a thought leader on AI and recruitment. Father of 4 boys, avid runner, aspiring youth rugby coach. Johnny on X Johnny on LinkedIn Johnny on Instagram SocialTalent website link SocialTalent on Facebook SocialTalent on YouTube People and Resources Mentioned Mercor website link Glen Cathey on LinkedIn Hudson RPO website link Clay website link ChatGPT  Copilot Gemini Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby Mark on Facebook Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

Most recruitment agencies waste £50+ per cold call meeting. Anthony Lewis found a better way to scale from startup to 50-person team. Anthony's team made 1,500 cold calls for just 27 placements. That 1.8% conversion rate would panic most agency owners. Instead, he built a candidate experience system that turns rejections into revenue. What You'll Learn: How to build agency growth without expensive cold calling Business development strategies that actually work How 86% candidate satisfaction became his competitive advantage Agency scaling secrets from startup to 50 employees Why treating candidates like future clients changes everything Key Insights: 9:39 Why purpose prevents fee-chasing behavior 24:53 What "psychological safety" means for performance 35:30 Why individual KPIs beat generic targets 45:43 The candidate feedback system that drives growth 50:26 How the MD personally calls every unhappy candidate Anthony Lewis Bio and Contact Info  Anthony is passionate about the careers of public sector leaders, and for over a decade has supported organisations nationally to attract and hire the best talent. Whether interims, Non Execs or people into permanent roles, Anthony is never happier than when helping people fulfil their career ambitions.  Anthony is Managing Director at Tile Hill, a public sector-focused executive recruitment company, and is hugely proud of the achievements of the business and those around him. From having been awarded Best Company to Work For, Best In House L&D at the 2024 REC Awards, the Best Candidate Experience category at the 2024 Tiara Awards, and most recently voted the number 1 interim service provider in the Institute of Interim Management Annual Survey, it is a reflection of the values led approach and passion that Tile Hill's team show as they approach their work every day. With an EVP of #Lovetheimpactyou make, we are all inspired to make a difference for those who are shaping the society we live in. • Tile Hill website link Anthony Lewis on LinkedIn Different Leadership website link Tile's fundraiser for Alzheimer's Society People and Resources Mentioned David Weir on LinkedIn Leo Hewett on LinkedIn  Force24 JobAdder Adecco Group Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby Mark on Facebook Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

Fired in 3 days, Dario Furman rebounded to bill $6.5M. Learn his recruitment growth strategies using relationships, niche focus & AI. Fired three days into his first recruiting job, Dario Furman could have walked away. Instead, a bold “second chance” email to the CEO got him rehired and launched a 17-year executive search career placing 500+ professionals and billing $6.5M at StevenDouglas. In this episode of The Resilient Recruiter, Dario shares how resilience, relationship-building, and smart use of AI helped him become one of Florida’s top billers. You’ll learn how he turned candidates into loyal clients, outworked his competition, and built a sustainable desk focused on quality, not transactions. You’ll discover: The comeback story that began with a “second chance” email. How Dario became a top 3 national biller within a year. Overcoming fear of business development and calling C-suite decision-makers. Turning long-term candidate relationships into client revenue. Why did he “MPC’d” himself into StevenDouglas? Leveraging niche focus, KPIs, AI tools, and warm introductions to boost results. Automations that enhance, not replace, human connection. About Dario: Dario connects top-tier finance and accounting talent with South Florida’s leading companies. Since joining StevenDouglas in 2014, he’s placed 387 professionals with an 8% falloff rate, generating over $6.4M in fees. Fluent in English and Spanish, he combines modern recruiting tools with an old-school relationship-first approach. People and Resources Mentioned: James Cairns on LinkedIn ChatGPT  Herefish  Quil AI Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby Mark on Facebook Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter