I’m not generally one for reminiscence or introspection but 12 months into my own start up (and what a 12 months!) finds me reflecting on the journey so far. As Kaizen celebrate the one year milestone with, I’m delighted to say, a successful year behind us and business looking very healthy, I’ve been thinking about the highs, lows and lessons learnt so far.
After 12 years with my corporate recruitment employer, it was just over a year ago that I decided to act on a long held desire to go it alone and cut my ties with them. While statistics on small business survival rates vary, none of them make inspiring reading for the budding entrepreneur with roughly half failing in the first five years. What I had on my side, however, was the confidence that I had a product that employers in the space I work in actually needed. In short this is a people-focused, client-centric, added value approach to recruitment. I was also convinced that I could deliver a more rigorous search and selection methodology than the competition and that herein lay success.
I’m delighted to say that this belief has been borne out by our successes so far with 20 placements being made including several multiple-hire campaigns. Much of this has been extremely fulfilling and it’s refreshing to recruit across different sectors and in many and varied scenarios – no two client briefs are the same. Although a lot of the work we do is in manufacturing, this year we’ve recruited a brand new business improvement team of 3 for a leading law firm. This is a particular coup as very little has been done in this area outside of the ‘Magic Circle’ and London.
It’s hugely rewarding working with SMEs, where the difference we can make by recruiting first class candidates is tangible. Recruiting for larger corporates, on the other hand, allows us to really get our teeth into the commercial realities of a business. This year has seen Kaizen partnering with the Managing Director of a global aerospace manufacturer who has been leading the turnaround of two factories. We are immensely proud of the senior management team we have built for them across Operations, Quality, Purchasing and Supply Chain; 10 candidates in total to date.
We were also delighted to become approved and preferred supplier to global brands such as JCB and Aston Martin, leading to the successful recruitment of roles including Purchasing Director, Engineering Manager and Continuous Improvement Manager.
It’s something of a cliché but, from a personal point of view, I’d like to think that I also now have more “balance” in my life as I can manage work commitments to fit in better with what’s going on at home. I’ve even managed to project manage a major build on our house which, to be honest, was more of a challenge than getting Kaizen up and running!
Has running my own business lived up to expectations? Absolutely! That’s not to say there haven’t been real challenges along the way. Leaving behind corporate culture was liberating - I couldn’t believe how much time I used to spend in meetings! The flip side of this is that I now find myself wearing a whole host of new hats; accountant, marketeer and lead technical consultant to name a few.
External factors also come into play; just when things were starting to come together in the summer, the news of Brexit sent shock waves through British industry. To be honest, while we may not be quite back to “business as usual”, the immediate alarm following the vote has subsided in light of the knowledge that the major changes are still a way off. Employment law, immigration and the ability of employers to bring the right skills they need into their business, however, were key themes focused on in the campaign. These will no doubt be subject to change as Brexit rolls out and will most certainly have a bearing on the hiring decisions employers make.
Manufacturing forms a significant part of Kaizen’s business and I’m glad to say as a global sector this has remained buoyant. M&A activity from buyers overseas has increased as the pound loses strength and British companies become attractive and this has actually generated work for us. All in all, alongside other small businesses we will “watch this space” and closely monitor how the Brexit manifests itself over the coming months.
Would I do it all again with the benefit of hindsight and the knowledge that the UK may face a turbulent few years? Without a doubt! I am confident that if I work hard and offer a service of the highest quality that stands out as different, then I have every chance of making my business successful.
Looking to the future I have ambitious plans to build on our first year’s success. We are therefore looking to build the team and I’d be delighted to talk any talented people either with or without recruitment experience who’d be interested in joining us on the next stage of our journey.
Finally, I’d just like to thank everyone who has supported us through this first year in business. We have really benefited from both your practical help and wisdom as well as your good wishes and words of encouragement.
Here’s to the next 12 months!
Simon Owens, Kaizen Managing Director, December 2016.