James Waissel set a modest goal of £125K in year 1 of launching his own agency. Instead,  he ended up billing over £300K in revenue in just seven months.

On this week’s episode of The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by James Waissel, founder and CEO of Huntsman Consult, a construction and real estate recruitment business based in London.

James started the business in June 2024, backed by a couple of key clients, and has built a small but growing team of three. In this conversation, he shares what it’s really like in the first nine months of running a recruitment agency: the wins, the lessons, and the pressure of getting it right.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What helped him smash his first-year revenue goal in just seven months
• The financial, emotional, and operational challenges of early-stage growth
• How he’s building the foundation for long-term success

If you're in the early stages of launching a recruitment business (or thinking about it), this is a must-listen.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to The RAG Podcast and James Waissel

02:31 James Waissel's journey into recruitment

10:02 The decision to start a business

16:54 Building a recruitment business from scratch

25:29 First steps and early successes

33:23 Achieving growth in a challenging market

34:27 Transitioning to a 360 role in recruitment

37:30 Leveraging LinkedIn for business growth

41:34 Exploring new business verticals

44:16 Building a partner network for growth

46:47 The role of AI in recruitment

49:44 The importance of quality over quantity

52:45 Understanding client needs for business success

56:35 Lessons learned from past experiences

01:00:06 The importance of financial management

01:03:36 Combining sales, AI, and brand for success

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