In this episode of the Recruitment Founders Podcast, Lindsay Hartland and Greg Elton unpack the hard lessons they wish they’d understood earlier when starting and scaling their own recruitment businesses. Drawing on their own founder journeys, plus what they’ve seen through Recruitment Founders Club, they explore why good recruiters don’t usually fail because they lack ability, they fail because they don’t learn the right lessons quickly enough. From the loneliness of losing the office noise, to the danger of moving into unfamiliar markets, saying yes to the wrong work, underpricing too early and hiring before the business is truly ready, this is a candid episode about becoming a business owner, not just a biller with a company name.

Loneliness is one of the biggest shocks of starting up.

The LinkedIn launch buzz feels amazing for a week, but then the noise drops off and it can become just you and four walls. Founders need people around them who understand business ownership, not just well-meaning family or employed recruiter mates.

Your support network has to be relevant.

Family, friends and colleagues can be supportive, but they may not understand the pressure of running a service business where deals can collapse days before starting. Founders need sounding boards who have been there, can challenge them and genuinely care about their success.

Changing market is a major risk.

Greg reflects on starting in medtech, neuromodulation and the US without prior experience, describing how much he underestimated. Moving into a new market can work, but it adds time, pressure and uncertainty — especially if you’re already learning how to run a business.

Being a good recruiter is not the same as being a good business owner.

A high-performing biller may be brilliant within an existing brand, desk and infrastructure, but ownership adds finance, operations, marketing, positioning, pricing, networking and decision-making. It’s the same job plus a significant extra layer.

Decide what you want to be known for.

Founders need a clear niche, a sensible outer boundary and the discipline to say no to work that sits outside it. Taking on the wrong role, even on a retainer, can drain time, cash and focus.

Saying no can still build your brand.

If a candidate or client is outside your space, referring them to someone better placed creates a positive memory. That goodwill may not pay off immediately, but it helps build a network and reputation beyond short-term transactions.

Confidence in pricing comes from knowing your value.

If you’re only selling CVs, clients can push you down on price. If you’re selling insight, trust, market access and specialist delivery, you can negotiate from a stronger position, but you need to know where your walk-away point is.

Don’t grow too quickly.

Hiring because you’ve had a good first year or have cash in the bank can be dangerous. Before adding headcount, founders need to ask whether they have client infrastructure, leadership bandwidth and a genuine platform for someone else to succeed.

• “Most recruiters don’t fail because they’re not good enough. They just don’t learn the right lessons quick enough.”
• “The biggest thing for me that I underestimated was the loneliness element of being an entrepreneur and being a business owner.”
• “Being a business owner and being a high-performing biller are not the same thing.”
• “Know where to say no, but try and define those boundaries.”
• “If you can’t see a deal, you can’t see the deal.”
• “You could genuinely have £200k or £300k in the bank and still not be ready for growth.”

About Recruitment Founders Club

Recruitment Founders Club is your launchpad to owning a successful recruitment business. We provide comprehensive mentorship and cover your start-up costs for the first 12 months. Coupled with our robust network and ongoing support, we not only help you start your own business, we ensure you thrive.

Find out more: https://recruitmentfoundersclub.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Recruitment Founders Podcast, Lindsay Hartland and Greg Elton step back from the usual talk of fees, targets and growth to explore a deeper question: what keeps you motivated when money stops being enough? Through personal stories from recruitment, leadership, family life and business-building, they discuss how purpose evolves over time, why contribution often outlasts commission as a driver, and how a more meaningful definition of success can improve both performance and fulfilment.

Key Takeaways

Money is not always a lasting motivator. One of the central themes of the episode is that, for many experienced recruiters, there comes a point where earning more stops being enough on its own. Lindsay and Greg reflect on how purpose, contribution and impact can become much stronger drivers than targets or commission alone.

Purpose can be developed over time. The episode makes clear that purpose is not always something people start their careers with. It can emerge through experience, reflection, goal-setting and a better understanding of personal values.

Helping others can sharpen your own success. A powerful idea explored in the conversation is “self-transcending purpose” — focusing on improving outcomes for others rather than obsessing over your own results. The argument is that this shift can reduce unhealthy fixation on targets and, ironically, lead to stronger performance anyway.

Recruitment changes lives when done well. Greg talks about helping a candidate secure a salary increase of nearly £50,000, while Lindsay shares an example of placing an interim leader who helped save a factory and protect jobs. These stories reinforce the idea that recruitment can have a real, human impact far beyond filling vacancies.

Happiness first can be a better formula. Lindsay shares a mindset shift that challenged the old belief that money brings happiness. Instead, he describes learning to think of it the other way round: get the happiness piece right first, then success is more likely to follow.

Meaning can come from building something that helps others. Greg explains that a major source of fulfilment in RFC is giving people the opportunity to become entrepreneurs with support around them, especially those who might not otherwise have believed they could do it alone.

Purpose does not need to be purely professional. Lindsay also speaks about opening his home to a Ukrainian mother and daughter during the war, and donating part of the profits from his book to a Ukraine-linked charity. It adds another dimension to the episode: that purpose often becomes clearest when it connects work, family and service to others.

Best Moments

“Money equals success equals happiness. He said, you got it the wrong way around. Happiness equals success equals money.”

“Focus on having a clearly defined… self-transcending purpose. So you are doing it for others.”

“I got him a near 50 grand salary increase. It changed his life.”

“That is what motivates me about RFC… giving them the opportunity to become an entrepreneur.”

“Really that’s our number one measure of success as a business is how many lives we progress.”

“So they’re our family… I’ll donate 20% to a charity linked to the Ukraine war.”

About Recruitment Founders Club

Recruitment Founders Club is your launchpad to owning a successful recruitment business. We provide comprehensive mentorship and cover your start-up costs for the first 12 months. Coupled with our robust network and ongoing support, we not only help you start your own business, we ensure you thrive.

Find out more: https://recruitmentfoundersclub.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Recruitment Founders Podcast, Lindsay Hartland and Greg Elton explore how recruiters can stop treating placements as one-off wins and start building long-term, profitable client relationships. They argue that too many recruiters do the hard part, winning the client and closing the deal, only to move straight on to the next opportunity. Instead, they share practical ways to stay relevant after the placement, add value without always selling, and become the recruiter a client thinks of first when the next need arises.

Key Takeaways

Winning the client is the hard part, so do not waste it. Greg makes the point that recruiters often work hard to land a client, complete a placement, and then fail to focus on keeping that relationship warm. The episode challenges the industry habit of chasing the next deal instead of maximising the value of the client already won.

Build retention into your process. Greg shares a simple but powerful strategy: schedule 3, 6 and 12 month follow-up meetings with the hiring manager as soon as a placement is made. That creates natural touchpoints, keeps you close to the client’s world, and gives you a real reason to stay in contact long after the rebate period has passed.

Make the meeting about them, not you. These follow-ups work because they are centred on the client and the success of the hire, not on selling another role. That is why they are less likely to be cancelled and more likely to deepen trust.

Value-first beats transaction-first. A strong thread throughout the episode is that retention comes from consistently giving useful insight, feedback and market context with no immediate ask attached. Whether that is post-placement feedback, industry news or relevant market intelligence, value builds trust over time.

Informal touchpoints can strengthen relationships. Lindsay explains that for his market, retention often comes through more natural contact, such as WhatsApp messages, LinkedIn engagement, sharing useful posts, and sending relevant news or opportunities directly to clients. The key is to stay visible in a way that feels helpful rather than forced.

Do not ruin a good meeting by asking for jobs. One of the clearest messages in the episode is that if you have added value and built a genuine relationship, you do not need to tack on “have you got any jobs?” at the end. If the trust is there, work, referrals and opportunities tend to come naturally.

Retention is still business development. Greg argues that just because a meeting does not contain an obvious sales pitch, that does not mean it is not productive. Relationship-led meetings are business development in its purest form, because they keep you embedded in the client’s thinking and often lead to future roles, referrals or market intelligence.

Consistency is what makes you partner of choice. The episode lands on the idea that clients stick with recruiters who show up consistently, understand their world, and prove they are invested beyond the fee. That is how you become the first call, rather than one recruiter among many.

Best Moments

“Clients are really hard to win… and it’s funny how the industry achieves a client which is the hardest thing to do, but actually doesn’t focus on keeping them.”

“I schedule a 3, 6 and 12 month call with the hiring manager based on the candidate start date.”

“Because I make it about them. It’s not about me.”

“People want to buy, they don’t want to be sold to.”

“It’s amazing how much you end up selling them” when the agenda is not selling them something.

About Recruitment Founders Club

Recruitment Founders Club is your launchpad to owning a successful recruitment business. We provide comprehensive mentorship and cover your start-up costs for the first 12 months. Coupled with our robust network and ongoing support, we not only help you start your own business, we ensure you thrive.

Find out more: https://recruitmentfoundersclub.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.