How to Start a Staffing Business

Business Overview:

If you’re looking for a business idea that relies heavily on good communication and people skills, you should look into how to start a staffing business. Starting a staffing business—a company that sets up clients with temporary work assignments (usually white-collar)—can be a profitable and enjoyable way to hone your entrepreneurial skills, and it can be done for a reasonable initial investment. As a staffing business, you will pay the temp workers, and in turn you then get paid from the business customers that you’ve provided the employees to. In order to get from the business idea stage to the actual business, you will definitely need a staffing agency business plan. This blueprint should include where your business will be located, how you will finance your enterprise, how you will market your business and recruit your clients and the businesses who hire them, and whether or not you will hire employees to work for your company. Note too that in this business, also referred to as an employment agency, business plan details should include a formal contract between you and your clients and you and your business customers spelling out payment options and expectations. Following your plans carefully and paying attention to the finer details will help you achieve your business goals most effectively. From there, you can begin recruiting employees and creating relationships with businesses that are looking for temporary staffers. You might even consider filling a niche market, hiring only clients who do a certain type of work and becoming the go-to staffing agency in that line of work. However you go about it, good planning and a chunk of startup capital will get your employment agency up and running in no time.

A Day in the Life of a Staffing Agency Business Owner:

As owner of a business like this, you’ll have some key tasks to accomplish each day to ensure success for your company, and most of these tasks rely on your communication skills and those of your employees (should you choose to hire a staff). You will need to spend some time each day recruiting, interviewing, and cataloging individuals who are looking for temporary employment opportunities. This is time-consuming though enjoyable work for a people person. You will want to organize your clients carefully according to their talents and expertise so that you know exactly who to recommend when a job opportunity arises. You’ll also want to maintain contact with local businesses so that you can be the first to know when they are looking to hire a temporary employee. Again, having a good contact database will make this job so much easier. You will also want to spend some time seeking out new businesses to which you can offer your staffing services. Beyond that, you will be keeping up with finances and payroll, a potentially tricky element of this business if you don’t stay on top of it. Typically, you pay your clients for the work they perform for the companies you’ve set them up with and then the company pays you directly. In that transaction, you take a fee for your “matchmaking” services. You’ll want to make sure that you pay your clients promptly to keep them happy, but you’ll also want to make sure the businesses you provide temporary staffers for pays you promptly as well. Finally, you will want to review your advertising techniques to ensure that they are working for you and bringing in clients.

About Your Customers:

Your customers are those individuals looking for employment—usually temporary—who come to you to set them up with work situations. Your other customers are the businesses for which you provide staffers. When done effectively, your creation of this work relationship between your two sets of customers results in a happy ending, with both parties pleased with the transaction. Knowing the needs of both sets of customers will ensure this type of success, as well as the success of your business.

What You Need to Start:

• Business license, permit, and insurance
• Startup money for office, payroll, and advertising
• Office space, usually in a professional building, but can be in a home office
• Clients and businesses looking for employees
• A contact database program
• Contracts and required legal paperwork
• Financial-tracking software

The Good:

• This business can be operated with you solely at the helm or with employees who work for you to recruit clients and set up employment opportunities.
• You can run this business from a well-designed home office, if desired.
• You can create a niche for your business and make your company the go-to for a specific type of employment.
• Once you’ve earned a good reputation with the businesses you provide employees to, you can focus more on recruiting clients and let your reputation work for you.
• This business venture can be gainful, especially once you’ve established yourself.

The Bad:

• There are several large, well-known employment agencies whose reach is far and wide. Your business should focus on that which theirs does not, or at least your business can provide the personal touch that a larger staffing agency can not.
• You’ll need to ensure you’ve got enough financial backing to pay your clients for an extended time in case the businesses take some time to issue your company a payment.

Resources:

• American Staffing Association
• International Public Management Association for Human Resources
• Bureau of Labor Statistics on Employment Services
• Wikipedia on Employment Agency

About The Author

---

Templateify

Praesent nec tortor quam. Quisque ac malesuada augue. Sed dignissim gravida odio ut bibendum. Cras fermentum euismod turpis. Nunc nec diam ante, et faucibus ipsum. Etiam imperdiet mattis elit et molestie. Nulla feugiat mollis leo vel egestas. Pellentesque convallis

- Twitter - Facebook - Google+