Proximity Recruitment Limited aged 12 months and a quarter. The business plan would state that the business started off as a vision to create a specialist Marketing & Digital Recruitment agency to complete great work in a growing, competitive local market (Midlands & Home Counties).
Brainstorming ideas on branding/logo, potential partners & value proposition gave us a start but then we were into December and had to get going, this is what the last 12 months had in store for us:
December 2016 – Start-Up Day 1!
Start-up costs – Web, CRM, Insurance, Email & Phone amongst others – racks up quickly!
Huge personal ‘Fear of Failure’ feeling with mortgage, wedding & honeymoon on the horizon.
Great time of year to start as the competition start to wind down for Christmas!
January 2017
Totaljobs selected as the job board of choice (got a deal!).
1st placement made & 1st invoice paid – breathing space until next month.
Using LinkedIn as a CRM tool as the Bullhorn database grows from zero to somewhere near zero!
February 2017
Partner Mindful Chef (Lifestyle Partner) – recipe book given to partners.
1st final demand letter sent, and invoice finally paid – a lesson in carefully selecting clients.
1st networking event attended, found a Print Company for wedding invitations, but no business yet. Quarter Review – Chasing leads for most of the day. Getting into a routine of working from home.
March 2017
Partner Katharine House Hospice (Charity Partner) – over £1000 donated in 2017.
1st ‘repeat business’ client secured.
Partner Simplicity Outsourcing (Payroll) to support the temporary market opportunities.
April 2017
Partner Neris Analytics (Psychometric Partner for Clients & Candidates).
1st Marketing & Digital Sector review written and sent to the market – some good feedback.
Start-up debts repaid and first profit registered.
May 2017
1st holiday away whilst running a business – testing times!
1st VAT Return completed and paid to HMRC – not possible without our accountant!
Continuing to learn that I’m awful at IT & need support – becoming expensive.
Quarter Review – Confident on delivering on projects. Need to keep focused and not spend time on elements of the business that won’t show returns.
June 2017
Started to trial content on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram to increase followers with a varying degree of successes and failures, mainly failures.
18 testimonials for the website.
‘Candidate Short’ market reflected in heavy job portfolio.
July 2017
Took advantage of working from home by re-homing a rescue dog to join the family.
2nd networking event attended, found a Travel Agent to help plan the honeymoon but no business yet.
Best revenue month of the year so far.
August 2017
Introduced AI to the Proximity website.
Still chasing leads to generate new partnerships.
Still listening to YouTube videos during the day to generate innovative business ideas.
Quarter Review – Set up nicely for a strong final quarter. Getting ‘head space’ to start planning for next year. Becoming stronger at delegating to my partners.
September 2017
Invested in LinkedIn Recruiter Services to offer clients more head-hunting support.
10 blogs in 10 months (unsure if my writing style is improving or not).
1st back-out.
October 2017
2nd holiday whilst running a business – more testing times!
Understanding GDPR and taking measures to be compliant.
Planning & Budgeting for year 2.
November 2017
Best revenue month of the 1st 12 months.
Deliver 1st Presentation to CIM (Chartered Institute of Marketing).
Winner of Best Newcomer at the Marketing & Digital Awards 2017 in London.
Yearly Review – A really pleasing finish to the year with an increase in successful projects completed and an industry award.
Year 2 clearly is about momentum. Can we turn progress into real performance and can we hire quality people to support our business model? Watch this space…
