On this week’s episode of The RAG Podcast with Harry Portch, founder of HM Staffing.  

Harry’s journey is anything but ordinary. He started his business at just 20 years old – almost by accident – while playing FIFA! 

Now, six years later, he’s built a leading sales and marketing recruitment agency, transitioned to a fully remote model, and became a LinkedIn Top Voice.  

In this episode, you’ll hear about:  

- How Harry started his business + the COVID-19 challenges he had to face right from the start

- Why he wanted to take the risk and launch a business so early in his career (and the lessons he learned from his mistakes) 

- How Harry is building a recognisable personal brand and staying authentic online  

- His insights into managing business growth, going fully remote, and dealing with industry negativity  

If you’re interested in building a business, growing your personal brand, or scaling a company with Gen Z talent, this episode is for you!  

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Harry Portch and HM Staffing

02:46 Harry's journey into recruitment

05:01 The accidental entrepreneur

09:00 Early challenges and growth

14:40 Navigating COVID-19 and its impact

19:47 Scaling the business post-COVID

21:11 Building a personal brand on LinkedIn

25:50 The importance of authenticity in content

30:00 Handling negativity and staying positive

34:21 Introduction to Atlas and Founders License

35:19 Negotiating with clients: the art of influence

36:14 Handling unsolicited opinions

37:09 The trade-off of public exposure

38:35 The emotional journey of content creation

39:34 The shift from private to public identity

40:58 Authenticity in online presence

42:21 The impact of remote work on lifestyle

44:14 The challenges of letting people go

45:37 Navigating business growth and challenges

46:35 Transitioning to a remote work model

49:20 The benefits of remote work culture

52:12 Future hiring strategies

54:05 Balancing work and family life

57:31 The realities of business ownership

01:00:18 Vision for the future of the business

----------------------------------------

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you. 

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter. 

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Now how many of those conversations can you recall with 100% accuracy? How many hours a week do you spend making notes to try and retain as much as possible? And how much is still getting lost along the way? 

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now. 

They were built to rely on the structured, tagged, categorised, and formal data you could feed it. Manual processes that needed you to input specific information, based on specific questions and answers. 

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day? 

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own. 

How? 

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance. 

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/ 

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

If you’re a recruiter who’d love to listen and learn from some of the greatest recruitment owners and leaders, then you need to listen to The RAG Podcast!

We’re having real and raw conversations with successful recruitment entrepreneurs about what is happening in their businesses right now and their plans to navigate market changes.

Episodes are released every Wednesday at 12 pm 

https://www.youtube.com/c/HoxoMedia?sub_confirmation=1

__________________________________________

Episode sponsor: Hoxo

Recruiters: are you sitting on a goldmine of LinkedIn connections without knowing how to turn them into real opportunities?

Most recruiters spend hours every day on cold outreach and endless scrolling, hoping for replies that never come. But what if LinkedIn could work for you instead?

The Hoxo 7-Day LinkedIn Challenge is a simple, step-by-step framework designed to help you:

• Identify warm leads already in your network
• Start meaningful conversations with potential clients and candidates—without feeling pushy
• Share content that gets noticed and builds trust – without spending hours online

Transform LinkedIn into an inbound lead generator in just 7 days!

This challenge isn’t about writing viral posts or spamming DMs.

It’s about small, proven actions that take just 20 minutes a day – and start generating results from day one!

Ready to unlock your LinkedIn potential?

Over 7,000 recruiters worldwide have already used this framework to generate inbound leads, grow their pipeline, and win more business. Now it’s your turn.

Join the FREE 7-day LinkedIn Challenge today and start unlocking the opportunities already in your network.

Head over to https://hubs.ly/Q031DT2s0 to get started. See you there!

The fastest-growing LinkedIn account I have ever seen in the recruitment industry!

This week I sat down with Andrew MacAskill.

From launching Executive Career Jump to becoming Chief Commercial Officer at Fraser Dove, Andrew has built a personal brand that’s led to over 105,000 LinkedIn followers, a published book, and global business success.

 What we cover in this episode:

• How Andrew built his LinkedIn brand and the financial impact of visibility.
• The power of personal branding in recruitment and executive career coaching.
• Writing the Job Search Playbook and how it created new business opportunities.
• Scaling Fraser Dove for exit – how branding & leadership drive ROI.
• The future of recruitment, life sciences, and career coaching in a changing world.

If you’re serious about growing your LinkedIn audience, building a business that scales, or leveraging personal branding for success, this one is a must-watch!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Andrew McCaskill and his journey

05:48 The rise of personal branding on LinkedIn

10:06 The impact of writing a book

14:52 The importance of purpose in business

19:04 Building a personal brand for competitive advantage

24:51 Navigating the emotional side of content creation

29:08 Transitioning back to recruitment: The Fraser Dove experience

34:27 The intersection of food, exercise, and mental health

35:49 Navigating company culture and growth strategies

37:46 Expanding into new markets: The US and Switzerland

39:37 Building relationships with private equity firms

41:05 Balancing personal branding and professional growth

43:30 Challenges in the life sciences sector

45:54 Leadership dynamics during difficult times

48:40 The emotional journey of founders

51:34 The importance of self-awareness in leadership

53:01 Triggers for change in leadership dynamics

54:58 The cost of recruitment and leadership investment

56:25 Finding opportunity in recruitment

58:48 Creating community beyond transactions

01:01:41 Building purpose-driven communities

01:03:07 Long-term value creation in recruitment

01:06:34 Evolving the purpose of the show

-----------------------------------------

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Untapped is THE market leader and go-to agency for finding and hiring tried-and-tested offshore talent into UK, US and Australian-based recruitment companies.

They’re providing top-class TEAMMATES, NOT OUTSOURCES! 

We use Untapped for Hoxo’s own offshore hires, and it’s been a total game-changer for our team. No one else can compete with the quality of their network, their in-depth candidate assessment process or their time to hire. 

If hiring elite-level overseas talent into your business to boost sales and increase productivity whilst saving yourself a huge amount in employment costs isn’t on your radar for 2024, it should be!

Untapped are hiring recruitment, sales, marketing and support staff into recruitment agencies of all shapes, sizes and specialisms globally and they are growing rapidly!

Join the waiting list today so you don’t miss out on the next cohort of business-launching hiring projects. https://bit.ly/47GGdvZ 

------------------------------------------------

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Recruiters: are you sitting on a goldmine of LinkedIn connections without knowing how to turn them into real opportunities?

Most recruiters spend hours every day on cold outreach and endless scrolling, hoping for replies that never come. But what if LinkedIn could work for you instead?

The Hoxo 7-Day LinkedIn Challenge is a simple, step-by-step framework designed to help you:

• Identify warm leads already in your network
• Start meaningful conversations with potential clients and candidates—without feeling pushy
• Share content that gets noticed and builds trust – without spending hours online

Transform LinkedIn into an inbound lead generator in just 7 days!

This challenge isn’t about writing viral posts or spamming DMs.

It’s about small, proven actions that take just 20 minutes a day – and start generating results from day one!

Ready to unlock your LinkedIn potential?

Over 7,000 recruiters worldwide have already used this framework to generate inbound leads, grow their pipeline, and win more business. Now it’s your turn.

Join the FREE 7-day LinkedIn Challenge today and start unlocking the opportunities already in your network.

Head over to https://hubs.ly/Q031DT2s0 to get started. See you there!

Introducing the Top 100 most influential recruiters on LinkedIn...

This week, I am re-joined by Jordan Shlosberg, founder of Atlas, for an unmissable episode of The RAG Podcast.

Since we last spoke in September, Atlas – the world’s first AI-powered CRM for recruiters – has skyrocketed to nearly £1M ARR in just 9 months! 

But this episode isn’t just about AI: it’s about how recruiters can leverage technology, brand building, and social selling to drive real revenue.

 Here’s what we cover:

•  How AI is reshaping recruitment CRMs & why voice tech is the future.
•  The Atlas x Hoxo Top 100 – ranking the most socially engaged recruitment leaders.
•  Why personal branding & social selling aren’t just buzzwords – they drive real business growth.
•  How the most successful recruiters are using content to generate inbound leads.
•  The power of consistency – why audience building is a long-term game with massive payoffs.

If you’re in recruitment and want to understand how AI, branding, and content can transform your business, this one’s for you!

Check out the ELITE TOP 100 list by Atlas & Hoxo discussed in this podcast here: https://hubs.ly/Q035mrPg0

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the RAG Podcast and Atlas

01:55 Atlas's growth and AI integration

10:36 Customer base and SaaS metrics

12:02 Balancing work and personal life

16:20 The Atlas and Hoxo partnership

20:37 The importance of social selling

25:23 The role of opinion in recruitment

29:03 The future of recruitment and AI

33:37 Navigating recruitment challenges in 2025

34:58 The power of building an audience

36:53 Personal growth and brand building

39:14 The importance of consistency in recruitment

41:32 Understanding market dynamics

43:54 Purpose beyond placements

46:21 The role of authenticity in content creation

49:47 Crafting engaging content and hooks

53:39 The importance of authenticity in communication

56:36 AI's role in recruitment and sales

01:01:28 Delayed gratification in building relationships

01:05:41 The future of recruitment and brand building

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you. 

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter. 

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Now how many of those conversations can you recall with 100% accuracy? How many hours a week do you spend making notes to try and retain as much as possible? And how much is still getting lost along the way? 

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now. 

They were built to rely on the structured, tagged, categorised, and formal data you could feed it. Manual processes that needed you to input specific information, based on specific questions and answers. 

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day? 

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own. 

How? 

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance. 

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/ 

__________________________________________

Recruiters: are you sitting on a goldmine of LinkedIn connections without knowing how to turn them into real opportunities?

Most recruiters spend hours every day on cold outreach and endless scrolling, hoping for replies that never come. But what if LinkedIn could work for you instead?

The Hoxo 7-Day LinkedIn Challenge is a simple, step-by-step framework designed to help you:

• Identify warm leads already in your network
• Start meaningful conversations with potential clients and candidates—without feeling pushy
• Share content that gets noticed and builds trust – without spending hours online

Transform LinkedIn into an inbound lead generator in just 7 days!

This challenge isn’t about writing viral posts or spamming DMs.

It’s about small, proven actions that take just 20 minutes a day – and start generating results from day one!

Ready to unlock your LinkedIn potential?

Over 7,000 recruiters worldwide have already used this framework to generate inbound leads, grow their pipeline, and win more business. Now it’s your turn.

Join the FREE 7-day LinkedIn Challenge today and start unlocking the opportunities already in your network.

Head over to https://hubs.ly/Q031DT2s0 to get started. See you there!

Some recruitment founder stories end with an exit.

This one starts with it falling apart.

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I am joined by James Sanders

James built PSR Solutions from his bedroom to:

• £65M turnover
• 200+ staff
• Multiple acquisitions
• 4 specialist brands

Then came an unexpected call:

£3M due. 7 days to pay.

But some key lessons came from all of this and in this powerful episode, James candidly shares:

• The rise of PSR Solutions from a startup in 2005 to a business with 200+ employees and four brands.
• The challenges of navigating financial turmoil, including going into administration with £3M in debt.
• Hard-earned lessons on leadership, adaptability, and resilience during the toughest times.
• The importance of building strong client relationships, fostering team loyalty, and investing in personal well-being.
• How James is rebuilding and looking ahead with a renewed focus on growth and stability.

This candid conversation dives into the highs and lows of running a recruitment business, offering valuable insights for entrepreneurs navigating challenges in any industry.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to PSR Solutions and James Sanders' Journey

02:49 Early Career and Transition to Recruitment

06:14 Branch Management and Leadership Style

09:09 The Decision to Start PSR Solutions

12:05 The First Year of Business and Initial Challenges

15:00 Building a Brand and Establishing Reputation

17:52 Growth and Expansion of PSR Solutions

20:47 Navigating Challenges and Market Changes

24:10 Leadership Changes and Strategic Decisions

27:03 COVID-19 Impact on Business Operations

43:12 Navigating the Pandemic: Building Loyalty and Transparency

45:08 Strategic Acquisitions: Expanding into Healthcare

47:33 Innovating Through Technology: The Birth of Novello

51:20 Challenges in FinTech: The Impact of Market Changes

56:30 Crisis Management: Facing Financial Turmoil

01:01:56 Rebuilding After Administration: A New Beginning

01:08:24 Stability and Future Growth: Lessons Learned

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you. 

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter. 

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Now how many of those conversations can you recall with 100% accuracy? How many hours a week do you spend making notes to try and retain as much as possible? And how much is still getting lost along the way? 

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now. 

They were built to rely on the structured, tagged, categorised, and formal data you could feed it. Manual processes that needed you to input specific information, based on specific questions and answers. 

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day? 

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own. 

How? 

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance. 

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/ 

---------------------------------------------------------------

If you’re a recruiter who’d love to listen and learn from some of the greatest recruitment owners and leaders, then you need to listen to The RAG Podcast!

We’re having real and raw conversations with successful recruitment entrepreneurs about what is happening in their businesses right now and their plans to navigate market changes.

Episodes are released every Wednesday at 12 pm 

https://www.youtube.com/c/HoxoMedia?sub_confirmation=1

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming, and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document, you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

• 4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn
• Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template
• Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I am joined by Hemish Ilangaratne, founder of RX Group, a specialist life sciences recruitment agency.

In this candid episode, Hemish sheds light on his inspiring journey: 

• From 11 years at S3 Group (where he didn’t close a single deal in the last seven years) to launching RX Group in 2023.
• Exceeding his modest first-year goal of £150k and reaching nearly £1M in revenue within two years.
• How self-doubt and perseverance shaped his decision to become an entrepreneur.
• Building a successful life sciences recruitment business serving clients across the US.
• The role of personal branding, LinkedIn, and a supportive partner in his rapid growth.
• Insights on leadership, team-building, and creating a positive impact in a niche market.

Hemish’s story is a testament to resilience, strategy, and the power of believing in yourself – even when doubt creeps in. 

If you’re considering launching your own business or want to learn how to thrive in 2025, this episode is for you!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Hemish Ilangaratne and RX Group

06:49 Career development at S3

12:26 Transitioning to management roles

17:58 Challenges in leadership and team management

21:01 The decision to start RX Group

25:19 Navigating family expectations and career choices

29:49 Transitioning to entrepreneurship

32:38 Starting the journey

34:04 Building a personal brand

35:58 Leveraging LinkedIn for success

37:30 Quantifying revenue growth

39:54 The importance of leadership

41:21 Balancing work and personal life

43:17 Enjoying independence in business

45:29 Future growth plans

47:53 Hiring strategies and team dynamics

49:19 Creating a meaningful impact

51:54 The bigger picture of business goals

53:27 Attracting talent in a niche market

55:31 Building confidence before quitting

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Episode Sponsor: Beyond the Founder.

What is the essential senior hire you need to make to increase revenue and protect your recruitment business as it grows? 

Let’s be honest, building and scaling an agency isn’t just about billing more. It’s about putting together a leadership team that you trust to help you take your business to the next level. 

That’s where Beyond the Founder comes in. 

They specialise in placing leaders who make an impact – whether it’s a Managing Director to shape your vision, a Sales leader to boost revenue, or an Ops expert to streamline your processes. Their no-nonsense, tailored approach is designed to save ambitious recruitment founders time and to deliver results.

Paul, the man behind Beyond the Founder, has over 20 years of experience scaling recruitment businesses himself, so he understands what’s at stake for his clients. 

What Paul and his team do so well is relieve that pressure. 

They help you remove your biggest obstacle to growth: finding and securing your key hires. And they do it in a way that supports your long-term business goals.  

So, if you’re serious about growing your recruitment agency or if you want to build a business that suits your lifestyle, you need to contact these guys. 

Head to beyondthefounder.co.uk or email them directly at [email protected]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Untapped is THE market leader and go-to agency for finding and hiring tried-and-tested offshore talent into UK, US and Australian-based recruitment companies.

They’re providing top-class TEAMMATES, NOT OUTSOURCES! 

We use Untapped for Hoxo’s own offshore hires, and it’s been a total game-changer for our team. No one else can compete with the quality of their network, their in-depth candidate assessment process or their time to hire. 

If hiring elite-level overseas talent into your business to boost sales and increase productivity whilst saving yourself a huge amount in employment costs isn’t on your radar for 2024, it should be!

Untapped are hiring recruitment, sales, marketing and support staff into recruitment agencies of all shapes, sizes and specialisms globally and they are growing rapidly!

Join the waiting list today so you don’t miss out on the next cohort of business-launching hiring projects. https://bit.ly/47GGdvZ 

This story is unlike anything I have heard in over 300 episodes of The RAG Podcast.

On this week’s episode, I speak with Nick Asbridge, founder of Asobbi, a UK-based AI-focused recruitment company. 

Nick shares his incredible journey:

• From 15 years in recruitment to launching Asobbi in January 2023, achieving £1M+ in annual revenue in just two years.
• Why he worked less and felt less stressed as an entrepreneur compared to his corporate career.
• The unique company culture he’s built by treating employees like adults.
• How he prioritises building genuine relationships with candidates and clients.
• The importance of productising recruitment services for efficiency and sustainability.
• Balancing personal growth, family support, and business success.

Nick’s story is packed with insights on creating a sustainable, enjoyable business while embracing technology and modernising recruitment processes. Whether you're an existing recruitment agency owner or an aspiring entrepreneur, this episode is a must-watch!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Nick Asbridge and Asobi

07:05 Nick's journey into recruitment and early challenges

15:11 Transitioning from employment to entrepreneurship

24:09 Building Asobi: vision and early success

31:58 Creating a unique company culture at Asobi

36:18 Building a sustainable business model

39:04 Embracing brand building and technology

42:20 Growth and community building

45:24 Productising recruitment services

49:13 Navigating client relationships

52:07 The importance of quick decision-making

55:59 Developing a strong team culture

01:00:01 Future aspirations and work-life balance

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you. 

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter. 

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Now how many of those conversations can you recall with 100% accuracy? How many hours a week do you spend making notes to try and retain as much as possible? And how much is still getting lost along the way? 

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now. 

They were built to rely on the structured, tagged, categorised, and formal data you could feed it. Manual processes that needed you to input specific information, based on specific questions and answers. 

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day? 

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own. 

How? 

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance. 

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/ 

This is exactly what I see happening in the recruitment industry in 2025…

This week is a special solo episode of The RAG Podcast, where I reflect on the challenges and lessons from 2024 and share my predictions for 2025.

In this episode, I’ll dive into:

• 📊 Why profit and quality are now prioritised over growth in recruitment.
• 🤖 How AI and LinkedIn are reshaping the way we recruit and build relationships.
• 🌍 The importance of community building for sustainable growth.
• 🎯 Setting clear goals for 2025 and focusing on quality over quantity in work and life.

2024 was a tough year for many in recruitment, but it’s also been a time of growth, change, and opportunity.

 If you’re a recruitment founder, leader, or anyone looking to align personal and professional success, this episode is packed with insights that will resonate with you.

Click here to access our free 7-Day LinkedIn optimisation challenge: https://hubs.ly/Q031DT2s0

Chapters

00:00 Reflecting on 2024: A year of challenges

10:35 Embracing change: The evolution of recruitment businesses

18:04 Personal transformation: A journey towards better living

26:02 Looking ahead: Goals and aspirations for 2025

The man who’s helped me live alcohol-free for the past 12 months!

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I am joined by Keith Cronin, the founder of Alcohol Free Living.

Keith has been my personal coach for the past year and supported me in quitting the booze for a better life.

In this honest conversation, he shares his powerful journey from struggling with alcohol to living a purpose-driven, alcohol-free life.

In this episode, Keith and I discuss:

• 🍺 The cultural glorification of alcohol in Ireland and its impact on mental health.
• 💡 How taking a break (or quitting entirely) can transform your health, relationships, and sense of purpose.
• 👨‍👩‍👧 Why being a great dad and husband became a driving force for Keith.
• 🌱 Building a fulfilling business by helping others navigate their relationships with alcohol.
• 🤝 The importance of community support and coaching in making lasting life changes.

Keith’s story is a testament to the power of self-reflection, personal growth, and breaking free from societal norms. 

If you’ve ever wondered how an alcohol-free lifestyle could elevate every area of your life – or how to help others do the same – this conversation will inspire you.

Our industry has always been centred around “working hard and playing hard”, but slowly, things are changing!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Keith Cronin and alcohol-free living

01:59 Keith's journey with alcohol

05:20 Cultural perceptions of alcohol in Ireland

10:00 Personal experiences with family and alcohol

13:14 Transitioning from teaching to recruitment

18:23 Realisations about alcohol and mental health

22:09 The decision to stop drinking

29:01 Building a business around alcohol-free living

36:05 The journey to alcohol-free living

39:09 Finding purpose in coaching

43:31 The impact of alcohol on life choices

49:06 Transforming relationships and health

53:19 The power of taking a break from alcohol

01:00:46 Building a successful alcohol-free business

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Beyond the Founder.

What is the essential senior hire you need to make to increase revenue and protect your recruitment business as it grows?

Let’s be honest, building and scaling an agency isn’t just about billing more. It’s about putting together a leadership team that you trust to help you take your business to the next level.

That’s where Beyond the Founder comes in.

They specialise in placing leaders who make an impact – whether it’s a Managing Director to shape your vision, a Sales leader to boost revenue, or an Ops expert to streamline your processes. Their no-nonsense, tailored approach is designed to save ambitious recruitment founders time and to deliver results.

Paul, the man behind Beyond the Founder, has over 20 years of experience scaling recruitment businesses himself, so he understands what’s at stake for his clients.

What Paul and his team do so well is relieve that pressure.

They help you remove your biggest obstacle to growth: finding and securing your key hires. And they do it in a way that supports your long-term business goals.

So, if you’re serious about growing your recruitment agency or if you want to build a business that suits your lifestyle, you need to contact these guys.

Head to beyondthefounder.co.uk or email them directly at [email protected]

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Untapped

Untapped is THE market leader and go-to agency for finding and hiring tried-and-tested offshore talent into UK, US and Australian-based recruitment companies.

They’re providing top-class TEAMMATES, NOT OUTSOURCES!

We use Untapped for Hoxo’s own offshore hires, and it’s been a total game-changer for our team. No one else can compete with the quality of their network, their in-depth candidate assessment process or their time to hire.

If hiring elite-level overseas talent into your business to boost sales and increase productivity whilst saving yourself a huge amount in employment costs isn’t on your radar for 2024, it should be!

Untapped are hiring recruitment, sales, marketing and support staff into recruitment agencies of all shapes, sizes and specialisms globally and they are growing rapidly!

Join the waiting list today so you don’t miss out on the next cohort of business-launching hiring projects. https://bit.ly/47GGdvZ

__________________________________________

Hoxo Message

Ready to find 25+ warm leads within 7 days on LinkedIn?

As a recruiter, most of the working day is spent chasing people via cold outreach on LinkedIn.

This method is super time-consuming, and most people don’t reply because they simply don’t know or trust you.

But it can be different...

If you follow the process in this document, you will hack the LinkedIn Algorithm in just 15 minutes per day and drive warm leads whenever you want them.

A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 5000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

You can have this too!

Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

Get access to:

• 4 bite-sized training videos that can immediately help you boost business on LinkedIn
• Exclusive access to Hoxo 20:10:5 warm leads tracking template
• Free support from the Hoxo team to help you implement the process and get the results

This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 5000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

In this week’s episode of The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Chris Peace, founder of Peace Recruitment, a specialist construction and engineering recruitment agency based in Scotland.

Chris recently exited his business through a vendor-initiated management buyout (VIMBO) – a unique process that allows founders to sell their companies to their teams without the need for external financing or debt.

In this candid conversation, Chris shares:

💡 How he structured the VIMBO process to ensure a smooth transition for the business.

⚙️ The key considerations founders need to plan for when preparing to sell.

📈 The benefits of this approach for boutique agencies looking to empower their teams.

💪 The impact of coaching on leadership, team happiness, and business growth.

🔑 Insights into his leadership journey, the challenges of letting go, and his plans for life beyond Peace Recruitment.

Whether you’re dreaming of your next chapter or seeking a stress-free exit strategy, this episode offers actionable advice and real-life inspiration for boutique recruitment owners.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Chris Peace and his journey

02:51 The vendor-initiated management buyout process

06:05 Early career and entry into recruitment

12:13 Launching Peace Recruitment

21:02 Growth and challenges in business

29:03 Coaching and personal development

33:52 Translating personal skills online

34:21 The journey of building a brand

35:19 Evolving leadership styles

36:15 Authenticity in leadership

37:38 Coaching and empowering teams

39:02 Vision and business growth

40:58 Navigating business offers

42:51 Leadership structure for exit

45:18 Impact of COVID on business

48:40 Personal struggles during crisis

49:36 Management buyout process

52:29 Structuring the buyout

55:15 Tax implications of selling a business

57:40 Future plans and new ventures

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you. 

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter. 

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Now how many of those conversations can you recall with 100% accuracy? How many hours a week do you spend making notes to try and retain as much as possible? And how much is still getting lost along the way? 

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now. 

They were built to rely on the structured, tagged, categorised, and formal data you could feed it. Manual processes that needed you to input specific information based on specific questions and answers. 

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day? 

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own. 

How? 

By removing all your low-value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance. 

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/ 

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

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A warm lead is a person who you can 100% guarantee knows who you are, and what you do and has shown interest in you and/or your services in the past 48 hours.

Over 7000 recruiters around the globe are following this process daily and the results have been amazing!

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Access the Hoxo 20:10:5 guide here: https://bit.ly/3PLjaJY

If you’d prefer to consume this information directly from our Co-Founder & CEO Sean Anderson (the creator of 20:10:5), you can join our free training course now!

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This course is part of the hugely successful Personal Brand Bootcamp which has seen over 7000 recruiters graduate and drive millions of warm leads and £££ in revenue as a result!

Get free access to the course once you’ve downloaded our guide.

This week on The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Gary Redman, former CEO of Now Education and now its Chairman. 

Just 18 months ago, Gary shared his vision to grow the business and exit. Now, with the dust settled on his incredible MBO success, we revisit his journey.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

💼 How Gary structured the MBO and secured his £17M payday.

🤝 The emotional challenges of stepping away from a business after decades of leadership.

📈 The strategies that made Now Education a high-value asset.

🧠 Why mental health, identity, and community become even more critical post-exit.

🌟 How Gary rediscovered passions and built a new chapter beyond the boardroom.

If you’re dreaming of scaling and exiting your business or just curious about the human side of such a life-changing moment, this episode is packed with real, honest insights.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Gary Redman's journey

04:45 The decision to exit: a personal reflection

12:31 Navigating the exit process: MBO and valuation

22:26 The emotional rollercoaster of selling a business

29:10 The aftermath: Life after the exit

31:50 Financial milestones and personal achievements

34:12 Transitioning from business to personal life

36:15 Rediscovering passions and hobbies

37:28 Navigating identity and mental health post-exit

39:17 Re-engaging with community and education

40:44 Managing relationships in business

44:07 Reflections on loneliness and transition

45:34 Key strategies for business exit

51:14 Maintaining business value and growth

54:31 Future aspirations and new ventures

56:27 The importance of human connection in business

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you. 

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter. 

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Now how many of those conversations can you recall with 100% accuracy? How many hours a week do you spend making notes to try and retain as much as possible? And how much is still getting lost along the way? 

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now. 

They were built to rely on the structured, tagged, categorised, and formal data you could feed it. Manual processes that needed you to input specific information based on specific questions and answers. 

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day? 

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own. 

How? 

By removing all your low-value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance. 

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/